Belladonna was absolutely breathtakingly amazing. This dark tale weaves a story with finding new relationships, love, revenge, mystery, and self discovery, that left me easterly turning pages, gasping for more and more. Brilliantly written. The mixture of dark and light, revenge and love, enemies and friends as so compelling. Highly suggest everybody preorder this one!

Signa has been raised by a string of guardians and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.
Maybe it’s because I was excited for this one, but this just did not live up to my expectations. I did love the plot although it did take a while to get there. I abosulyl loved the cover and that is a big reason why I wanted to read this one. Sadly, the plot twists were easy to see coming. What I really didn’t like was the romance and how it took away from the plot and most importantly felt kind of gross. I won’t go more into the romance because I don’t want to spoil anything. Overall, it was an good book, but not exactly what I was expecting.
Thank you Netgalley for an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

it took me a while to finish this one and gather my thoughts...!

the first third of this book was a whirlwind. i mean that both emotionally and in setting the gothic ghostly tone, but also just so so fast. it felt like so much was happening and flying by, and i had to reread some of it to pick up on things i felt like i was missing. i enjoyed reading it every time i picked it up, the prose is gorgeous and captivating, but i didn't hit my stride until around 50% into the book.

signa is not an unlikeable main character perse, and she has her relatable moments. i particularly enjoyed being in her mind's desire to desperately fit into high society at first. but i did find myself rolling my eyes at her at times too... anyway the best character by far is blythe... #BLYTHELOVECLUB i'm making us t-shirts <3

my favorite aspect of the whole story--and honestly the only thing that didn't feel rushed--was the romance. it was to Die for... hahaha no pun intended (pun very intended.)

i'll probably pick up the sequel from my local library!!

thank you kindly to netgalley and little, brown books for young readers for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review. :)

BELLADONNA by Adalyn Grace is like Bridgerton meets Addie La Rue. I loved the twists and turns of this book, and especially (mild spoilers) loved Grace's characterization of Death, which I think was less fierce than typical "night incarnate" portrayals but just as compelling. While it felt slow at times, it picked up in ways that definitely made up for it and I'm excited to see where Grace takes the cliffhanger. Would recommend to lovers of murder mysteries, the supernatural, and VE Schwab.

Adalyn Grace continues to keep me enthralled with her books. I absolutely loved All the Stars and Teeth and was beyond excited to receive an eARC from NetGalley for Belladonna! I have to say I was not left disappointed! I was dragged immediately into the story and loved Signa and Death. My only complaint is I now have to wait a year to find out what happens next!
I never thought I could find myself loving Death, but Belladonna proved me wrong!

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Grace's All the Stars and Teeth duology, and now BELLADONNA, I am thoroughly convinced that she is a master a writing boys in YA books to pine over. Do I prefer Death or Bastian? I don't think I can choose between them!

In this series, Grace introduces readers to Signa as she approaches her twentieth birthday, who has had the unlucky experience of being orphaned as an infant and passed around from one relative to the other. Why was she orphaned? Everyone at Foxglove Manor (including her parents) were poisoned... and so was Signa, yet the poison didn't kill her, in fact it doesn't seem like anything could kill her like a normal human. Rather it set a course for her life where Death was always around, and as she grew up, she spoke with him... and learned how to call him by using poisonous berries. Now as a ward of her last familial connection, Signa is tired of Death (and death) following her wherever she goes, so when she discovers that someone is poisoning her cousin at Thorn Grove, she is determined to stop it before it's too late. With the help of the snarky, but handsome stable boy, and with Death himself, Signa is on a race against time to put all the pieces together to save the Hawthorne's... if she can only figure out who is doing the poisoning and why.

I thought the mystery was interesting, I loved the setting at Thorn Grove, and while I had put some of the pieces together, I had not figured it all out by the time Grace gives readers the reveal so that was fun. I LOVED who Silas turned out to be, that was a delightful twist! And it was great to see Signa start to come into her own and accept this unique situation she has been given with being a human that has powers of a reaper... and also having her face the consequences of playing with other people's lives.

And that ending! The second book in this series cannot come out soon enough but I HAVE to know what happens next! Grace has quickly become a must-read author for me.

Dark, romantic, death is coming, this was absolutely amazing! I had heard so much about this release so I had to request it. This is easily one of the best reads of the year for me and it hasn’t even hit shelfs. I need a copy 😂 thank you for approving my review copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. This honest review was based off my experience reading an ARC, which in no way biased me.

This is my first Adalyn Grace book, but it will definitely not be my last.

This book was if Bridgerton, Crimson Peak, and Knifes Out had a love child.

We’ve got a girl who has been followed by Death since she was an infant, but cannot die. She gets bounced around guardian to guardian as they all mysteriously die. She finally says enough is enough and arrives at a place where she feels at home, but Death had beat her to her new home and now death seems to have a target on her new guardian’s family. Signa teams up with a stableboy named Sylas and Death himself to solve this intriguing murder mystery and prevent more death in this household.

Things I enjoyed:
-The character of Death
-HER DEATH MAGIC
-THAT reveal that is probably not what you’re thinking.
-The pacing was done well, I rarely wanted to put this book down.
-I loved the writing


Things I want to know more about:
-The character of Fate
-Death
-WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS NOW?


Things that could have used some work:
-The culprit of the murder’s was very predictable
-The misdirection where the reader was meant to believe it was someone else was TOO obvious.
-Her attachment to a family she just met felt forced, but also she probably finally just wanted to stay in one place.


All in all I had a fun time, and that was unexpected because once I started I was skeptical. 4.5 stars rounded up for Death :) Excited for the next installment.

I knew I wanted to see how Death would be personified. Come on, you're going to always interest me when you tell me Death is coming knocking. And - don't get me wrong - I loved the character of death, talk about clever and a bit wry, but I ended up loving Signe the most. I loved how she has to come into her own powers, but also how clever and resilient she is. Belladonna is very much a gothic mystery meets romance. Signe is tasked with unraveling what happened to Blythe's mother and Blythe yourself.

If you've always loved families who are eccentric, ghosts lingering, and something sinister, this is for you. But Belladonna is also about the pain of grief and ambition and love. It's about her own isolation and who it has shaped her to be - whether she wanted it or not. No one truly ever shows their cards. And I loved how atmospheric Belladonna felt from the beginning which only increases as the story progresses. For fans of romance story lines, that was one of my favorite under dog element.

Reminiscent of Addie Larue but with WAY more action and plot driving, so this is excellent for those that liked the idea of Addie Larue but aren't really setting driven and need a little action/mystery happening.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads this year. I feel so fortunate to have received this ARC. This book masterfully blended romance and murder mystery in a historical fiction setting. These three genres are my favourite combination and this book did not disappoint. The romance was amazing and the many plot twists were unexpected. Signa has been tossed from guardian to guardian since the death of her mother. After each guardian dies mysteriously, she is eventually taken in by the Hawthornes. Upon arriving at their estate she meets a Ghost who claims that she was murdered and is worried that her daughter may be next. Signa dedicates herself to solving the murder while attempting to navigate polite society, understand her growing attraction to a mysterious gentleman, and take her fate into her own hands. If you liked Stalking Jack the Ripper and Caraval, you should pick this book up as soon as it hits shelves on August 30th.

Thank you to Little, Brown Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Wow. Wow. I absolutely loved this book. I tried to take my time reading because I really wanted to savor it! Signa has been surrounded by Death her entire life. When her most recent guardian dies she is taken to Thorn Grove to stay with another relative. She quickly becomes thrown into a murder mystery. I don’t want to give too much away but trust me this is a must read. I love the Victorian-Gothic vibe in this book! I cannot wait for the sequel to come out next year!!!

I was not a fan of this one at all. The wooden prose was awkward at best and unreadable at worst. I thought the plot could've been interesting, but the execution was lacking

With a cover this beautiful I just had to read it.
Nineteen year old Signa spent her whole life shuffled around from guardian to guardian. No one really wanting her since she is believed to bring death with her wherever she goes. When once again one of her guardians dies she is sent to her last remaining relatives. When she arrives at thorn grove she is informed that her cousin is sick with the mysterious sickness that already took her aunt.
Signa who since birth has a strange connection with death, believes that there is more going on. She now has to figure out what really is going on and if there is a way to help her Cousin.

I really wanted to love it but ended up a bit disappointed.
The positive
-The idea of this story is great and I was rather intrigued.
- I liked the murder mystery part of the story.
- The twists and turns
- the writing.
- the atmosphere

The things I didn’t really like.
- it felt a bit slow and I sometimes felt a bit bored.
- I wished the romance were explored a bit more, since I didn’t really feel it.
- more interactions between singa and blithe.

All in all I just felt something was missing and I feel like this could easily have been a standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am absolutely shipping Signa and Death!

Signa and Death have been intertwined since she was a baby. When she arrives at her new home of Thorn Manor after her aunt's death, she finds a family that she can grow to love. When one of the ghosts haunting her home asks for her help in solving her murder Signa dives right in. Especially because this death seems to have had the same chilling symptoms as her cousin, who at the moment is still alive, but deathly ill, and Signa will do whatever she can to save her, even ask Death for help...

I loved Death and Signa's relationship, I also loved how much Signa grew. She started off wanting to be the perfect Lady, but slowly realized, with Death's help that she is meant to be so much more.

This is a slower-paced book, but the tension built beautifully and kept me on the edge of my seat frantically flipping pages waiting to see what would happen between Signa and Death and if Signa would be able to save the family she has come to care for.

Belladonna was full of twists and turns and a reveal I didn't see coming, a beautifully gothic setting, with ghosts haunting every corridor,

It ends with a pretty great cliffhanger, and I can't wait to read the next book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off with SO MUCH POTENTIAL. The Prologue was honestly gripping and I was fully engaged by the second page.

Then the actual chapters started and everything went to shit. Of course my constant pet peeve of modern social ideas being foisted onto historical settings was present - there are literally multiple comments about man-spreading. This is a pretty minor problem compared to the fact that 1) the worldbuilding is almost non-existent, 2) the "twist" was so obvious I'd guessed it by literally 10% of the way in, and 3) our MC is unbelievably annoying. She's also pointlessly ignorant; she basically has no idea how to interact with people because she's an orphan, I guess? Despite the fact that she's been raised by a series of noble guardians, at least one of which genuinely loved her, and it makes no sense that she would've received no instruction on how to interact in society.

Maybe I could've looked past these issues if I hadn't read so much stellar YA Fantasy in the past.

I could not put this book down! Full of twists, turns, and topped with a little bit of romance, Belladonna is one read you won't want to miss.

Signa has bounced around from home to home her whole life after being orphaned as a baby. Death seems to follow her everywhere, and yes I do mean Death. He's at every turn in her story, like a constant shadow. Signa finally believes her luck has turned when she is sent to Thorn Grove, but soon realizes that not all is as it seems in the vast halls of Thorn manor. The family is in mourning after the late mother of the house, and the daughter appears to have the same deadly illness. It's up to Signa to find out what's really happening at the manor, and her best bet might just be to make a deal with Death himself.

I have to say that this book was the perfect mix of mystery, thriller, and romance all rolled into one. Add a bit of period setting and costuming and this book was as lush as they get. I felt the ghosts in every hallway and I was on the edge of my seat following Signa as she figures out the real mystery here. And that twist? I did not see that coming, not at all. The ending has left me hanging and I cannot stop thinking about it, I need more!

I absolutely loved Belladonna and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy. I will definitely be requesting an ARC of the sequel when it becomes available,

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Little Brown Books in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book, mainly for the romance and the *vibes*. The plot was engaging as well, until the end, when it fell apart entirely in the explanation/reveal (when the killer revealed his motives I ended up going "huh? but that doesn't make any sense" which, never a good way to end a plot twist). However, I can forgive that because I really did love everything else in this book. It really checks all the boxes of a typical YA Gothic fantasy: murder mystery, haunted manor, boyfriend who is not-quite-human. Belladonna is like your favorite desert: you know exactly what you're getting, but that doesn't make it any less delicious.

I am so excited for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the author’s previous debut, All the Stars and Teeth, even though I never ended up reading the sequel of that duology. And let me tell you, that will not be the case for this series because WOW is it epic.

This story is my newest obsession - the gothic vibes, the snark and charm of the characters, and the swoon-worthy relationships. It’s a tale of murder-mystery and coming-of-age, in a historical setting.

Signa’s journey of self-discovery is full of depth - from being lonely and isolated to embracing her truth and accepting her potential with confidence.

I adore the blurring of lines between friend and foe that always leaves you guessing.

The slow-burn, forbidden romance is dark, seductive, and addictive. It will give you all the feels.

The story is expertly crafted. The plot is a slow trickle of puzzle pieces falling into place. There are plot twists you’ll never see coming, but then wonder how you couldn’t because it makes so much sense.

You will fall in love with Death.

That should be the tagline for this book. Let’s be real, that would be enough for me to immediately pick this one up. And I can promise you, it follows through with that statement.

I do wish two of the character names weren’t so similar, or at least didn’t start with the same letter, because I found myself glancing over them and getting mixed up sometimes. But that is honestly a nit-picky criticism.

I did find the first half to be a tad slow but not so much that I ever considered stopping.

I was hooked into the mystery of it all and invested in the characters, and I’m so glad for that because the second half of this book I could not put down for even a moment.

It’s an exciting adventure with an epic cliffhanger that has me desperate for the next book!

Everything you could hope for in a YA fantasy, and I dare say even adult fantasy (and other genre) readers will find something they love about this one.

This book deserves all the hype! I need one of the special editions because seriously they are gorgeous. 😍

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for blessing me with a copy of this amazing story in exchange for my honest feedback!

If it was possible for Sleeping Beauty to fall in love with the spindle that curses her, then this is the book you're looking for. Add the creepy spirits who have conspiracy theories, a stable boy who I hate then loved, then hated-ish again and Death looming like a stalker and you have the perfect Gothic romance that reminded me of the huge Jane Eyre vibes.

NO NOBODY IS GONNA STOP ME FROM THINKING OF THIS.

Now, onto the review.

Short summary? Girl with deadly touch ends up in a house to uncover the murderer of a spirit who wants justice along with a stable boy who is annoying and Death who definitely likes being possessive (For anyone who's read the ARC, you'll know what I'm talking about ;)
Longer Summary: Signa Farrow is 19 and death follows her like a lovesick being. After she accidentally kills her aunt, she gets sent to the Hawthorne manor with distant family members who are reeling after the death of the matriarch of the home. The family says she died of a mysterious disease, but the spirit of the dead matriarch comes to Signa desperately seeking for help to find the killer before her equally ill daughter is killed too. The only way to find the killer is teaming up with stable boy Sylas (Who I am lukewarm about by the end of the book) and with Death himself who may be perhaps more irresistible and less hated than she originally thought. In an amorous deal and a dance with death, the time is running out for her to find the killer where everyone in the household is a suspect.

When I first started reading this, I immediately thought it was a knockoff version of This Vicious Grace from Emily Thiede, but this gothic romance book sets itself apart with the other book since it features the ghost/spirit side of things and with a definitely uncomfortable romance with death. Ladies and Gentlemen... Death gets romanticized a lot in this book.


Being someone who took a philosophy class in Death, I found myself a bit amused with this novel, even if I was a bit unsettled by it too. After an entire semester talking about death, I am still unsettled by it and reading this left me curious and a bit uneasy too. (Death better not transfer my years of life to someone else COUGH COUGH JUST SAYING)
It was an interesting read that definitely took some time getting used to. Flowery, descriptive language is great, but while it can be slow-paced, things start picking up around the 12th chapter (my advice is skip all those chapters to get to the better part if you like fast-paced reads) At the very core, it's a murder mystery laced with a deadly romance and extreme Jane Eyre vibes (if you've read the book then you'll eventually agree with this statement.)
While I hadn't read any of Adalyn Grace's work, I am definitely curious to see what else is in store for this book series because of course this book ended in a cliffhanger. I don't usually read a lot of ghost stories since it's not exactly my taste but this one ended in a note that makes me want to see where I'll go next once the next book comes out. While the ending isn't like a OMG I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S NEXT, it is still a book series I will keep in mind to keep reading.


Overall: 4/5 stars