Belladonna by Adalyn Grace is a young adult Gothic themed novel. This is an intriguing story with a creepy atmosphere that triggers heightened emotion. Adalyn Grace is known for taking readers into a world of betrayal and rich settings with romance sprinkled in. Belladona is Grace's first book in the series. The sequel, Foxglove (Belladonna #2) will be available in 2023.

Belladonna's target audience is 16+. That age group will love this mysterious tale. Despite being an older reader I was hooked by Signa, the main character who guides you through encounters with ghosts and the curious spirit of Death. Dark humor and plot twists abound in this book. I thought I had the plot figured out, but as I finished reading it was clear the author had me fooled. Can you unravel this twisty tale?

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace is available on August 30th.
(4.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫)

Thank you, NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, for allowing me to review this thriller. Your kindness is appreciated!

#Belladonna #AdalynGrace #youngadult #LittleBrownBooksForYoungReaders

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC! I enjoyed this book, it was an interesting plot and I think the audience this was aimed at would enjoy this book. The overall book was a really quick read, and I liked the twist at the end. I would be interested to see what is next for this author for sure!

This book was so good I absolutely loved it. It gave me a sort of Hades and Persephone vibe which I really enjoyed. I loved the ghost and the kind of creepy horror vibe it gave as well and really enjoyed the mystery I definitely didn't predict how the ending was going until I was almost finished with the book nothing like a good plot twist.

Adalyn Grace is an author that has been on my want-to-read list for a while now, so I was thrilled when my request to read Belladonna was accepted. This young adult fantasy novel was a refreshing entry into the genre. I mean, I can’t think of another book that highlights a girl with death-related powers as a pseudo-detective in a gothic world. For the most part, that angle worked and was satisfying. However, there were still some developmental issues that made it difficult for me to fully lose myself to this novel.

To start off with the strengths of his novel, there are a few that I can think of. The writing style, story atmosphere, and world-building being the strongest of developmental story pieces. Many of the highlights I made were pulling out pieces of beautiful writing. Adalyn Grace did blow me away when it came to her figurative language, for she uses many analogies, similes, and metaphors I haven’t seen (or haven’t regularly seen) in other novels. That alone was a huge asset to her creation of those world and my ability to sink right into its gothic spookiness.

(Sidebar: I also love that this book has both a prologue and an epilogue. Prologues were something publishers moved away from post-Twilight era, and I am thrilled to see them coming back into trend again.)

However, the novel falters with its characterization and character relationships. While I did really enjoy Signa as a main character (it has taken me to the end of the novel to NOT call her Sigma—oops), I do think pieces of her development were a bit lackluster. Much of her backstory didn’t come from Signa herself, but from other side characters she interacted with. And there is the issue of her relationships with the side characters. For myself, the relationships developed rapidly. At one point, I made a note that “Relationships between characters? Blink and they’ll be there.” I will admit that I have been reading more adult fiction lately, so I’m used to character/relationship development taking a little longer within the context of the story. And I couldn’t help but want the development to both slow down (when it came to character relationships), but I also wanted development to be more present when it came to the characters changing as the plot continued.

The other area I wished had more development was the side characters. They often felt like accessories to Signa’s story, instead of being pillars of her story. I didn’t feel as if I got to know the side characters as well as I got to know Signa. As a reader, I wouldn’t expect to know the side characters as intimately as we know our main character; however, the side characters did fall flat for me. Many of them lacked agency until the end of the novel; meanwhile, Signa was running around the estate, trying to solve a murder. It felt too imbalanced when compared to our main character’s establishment and development.

I am going to continue to discuss the romance side-plot Be warned: there are spoilers in the next paragraph.

The romance with Death? I have mixed feelings when it comes to that side-plot. On one hand, I am intrigued by the thought of a human girl 1) being a reaper, and 2) having a romantic relationship with Death itself. We’ve seen plenty of stories about gods, demigods, fae, etc., falling in love with humans, but I’ve never come across a novel where a human falls in love with a tangible form of death. On the other hand, the romance felt both rushed and empty, but also toed the line of grooming. (Grooming as in Death had known/watched Signa since she was a baby, had directly interfered with bad home situations she had found herself in, but didn’t approach her about teaching her how to use her death-powers until she was nineteen.) Since this is going to be a two-book series, I would have much rather seen that plot line given more room to breathe and develop. I wanted more slow-burn and less insta-love for Signa and Death.

With all that being said, the last 10% of this novel had me in a tizzy. I was gasping and yelling as the plot carried the reader through the last few chapters, with twists and turns I wasn’t anticipating. (Although one of my two theories did prove to be true, which was a bittersweet moment.) But, that last 10% wasn’t enough for me to overlook my thoughts about the characterization of this novel. I can’t help but think that the characters, character relationships, and general character development all could have been stronger and would have better supported the overall plot.

TW: grooming, death (on page), death (off page), violence, murder, grief, sexual content, child neglect

Thank you to Little Brown and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Belladonna is a unique and fantastical “whodunit” story!

Set in the beautifully enchanting and intoxicating late 1800s, Belladonna is a gothic fantasy come true!

By the time Signa Farrow turns 19, she’s had countless guardians. As an infant, her parents were murdered and since then she’s been shipped off time and time again.

While her homes have always been inconsistent, the one consistency in Signa’s life is death.

Death follows her wherever she goes. He’s the one who has taken everyone Signa has ever loved. He’s the reason she can not die.

By all means, there is no one Signa hates more than Death. He is the cause of her suffering and Signa’s revenge will be in his untimely demise.

However, when killing Death doesn’t work, Signa realizes she has to fight fate once more. Her last remaining relatives, the Hawthorne’s have agreed to take her in. Signa knows this is her last chance at having a family.

She will fight tooth and nail for it.

Therefore, when the Hawthorne children’s mother shows up as a restive spirit claiming she was murdered, Signa has a mystery to solve. Who killed Lillian Hawthorne and why are they now targeting her daughter?

To keep the only family that will have her, Signa enlists the help of a stable boy and the ghosts of her new home’s past.

Signa will stop the murderer and save her family.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, she also has to rely on Death, the very being she hates most, to guide her through it.

A tale with twists and turns that readers won’t see coming; Belladonna is an elusive and charming novel.

Adalyn Grace entraps you in her world of mystery, intrigue, and deceit. A tale that never stops getting better! One that makes reader’s desperate and yearning for more.

Audience’s won’t realize what’s hit them until they reach the end - Belladonna is one of the best YA releases of 2022.

Do not miss out on one of the most alluring tales of the year! Belladonna releases on August 30th, 2022!

Thank you Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this ARC.

Having read the author's previous books, I was really looking forward to reading this one. I thought Belladonna had a unique premise and the writing and pacing flowed well. The story includes a lot of tropes - enemies to lovers, found family, self discovery, and everything was centered around a murder-mystery element. There were a few twists and turns and the ending set up the sequel nicely.

Adalyn Grace does it again! The worst part about this book...is that I have to wait for the next one even longer.

What a wonderful mystery wrapped up in a love story.

Murder, betrayal, ghosts, lust, and etiquette all wrapped up in one season of living with the Hawthornes. Signas life has always been plagued with death, but now it is time for a different perspective.

This is a story of finding who you truly are, embracing it, and never letting a man change you into what you aren't. Finding love for yourself and a future ypu never dared to imagine.

'Belladonna", in many ways, is a book that has been geared toward the macabre-enthusiast in all of us. A chance to fall in love with Death, and even become Death in our own right. This book succeeded in some regards, and stumbled in others. While the mystery was fun, it was fairly easy to suss out in all regards, and lacked the punch at the end that many might be waiting for. This could be especially true with the romance itself which, while I can't speak for everyone else, I found to be slightly uncomfortable in many regards? Would I also fall in love with a primordial being who takes a sudden interest in me? Yes. And I suppose that's answer enough for why this book will do well.

Mostly, I felt disconnected the more I read, and maybe that's because I guessed everything early on, and spent half the book being frustrated that Signa was still so far behind, or maybe it was the writing itself. Adalyn Grace quite obviously has a future, and I'll be reading the next book in the series, I just know that this isn't a book I'd come back to, nor is it one I would readily recommend.

It's so rare to read a book that hooks you in within the first chapter or two but "Belladonna" definitely accomplished that. I won't make my review to long, for risk of giving away spoilers (and I hate spoilers), but seriously, "Belladonna" is probably one of my favorite books I've read in the last 12 months, and I read a lot. At first I was getting some strong Secret Garden vibes off the story. I mean, orphan girl gets taken in by her rich uncle in the English countryside (or at least I think that's where it was set, it never specifically says), his dead wife has a garden she loved that's locked behind a gate and her cousin is sick and shut away. That's where the similarities end though, because "Belladonna" is so much more. At first I wasn't sure where Signa's special power of essentially cheating death would take her but the story turned into a delightful mystery I was eager to solve. By the end I still hadn't guessed the actual perpetrator which to me shows how good the author did at weaving the story. I may have fallen in love with death by the end too. I definitely recommend Belladonna to anyone who likes to read stories that include elements of Romance, Mystery and a bit of fantasy/magic. Now I can't wait for the second book to come out!

A very cool book and well written premise. I liked Signa's character from the start. A little out there but she very much is 'not like other girls' in a respectful, strong manner considering the times. It wasn't try hard or thumped into your brain by so much telling. Grace did a good job of balancing the show not tell portion of Signa's character. She was fun to follow and well spoken.

I liked how Grace doesn't over glow her main pretty boy by having Signa overly describe how gorgeous he is. I've been getting tired of female authors overly describing pretty boys and having their female characters just ogle constantly. Romance wasn't the focus but it was much appreciated in the tasteful handling of it.

The plot was really subtle, very much built into the world building and mystery surrounding Signa and her extended family. Very much cookie cutter male dominant family with bastard children drama but I actually enjoy a good family drama situation. Grace'd ability to story tell and delve into details without lingering too long to bring me out of the story kept me engrossed in wanting to find out who the culprit is. I had a good time considering suspects and exploring options. I had suspicions but finding out who the guilty party is was a pleasant reveal. I won't say I was shocked like *LE GASP* shocked but i was pleasantly surprised.

Now I will admit, I wasn't a big fan of DeathxSigna at the beginning, but I had my suspicions on who was actually Death and when I figured it out and my suspicion was confirmed, I was happy. It became glaringly obvious about 40% of the way. I just had to really pay attention to see who Death was. I didn't feel the chemistry with them in the very beginning. I had more pupil/teacher vibes. I had a "Just cuz it's Death and he's dark, broody and for all intents and purposes for readers, he's supposed to be a sexy character cuz fan service" feeling for Death, but like I said, once I figured out who he was I wasn't mad because I loved this character at the beginning. Death has a subtle sassiness to his character that I loved and sorta swooned over.

I enjoyed this book and will definitely read Foxglove when it's out. I'm sure this was an uncorrected ARC because there were missing words in several places of the book, but just in case, the book could use proofreading and copywriting.

Belladonna is a murder mystery that follows Signa a girl who has always been able to see Death. When she's sent to live with yet another relative Signa knows she has to make it work this time. The Hawthorne's are a rich family who just lost their mother to a mysterious disease and now the youngest, Blythe, is exhibiting similar symptoms. Signa must figure out what's happening before her cousin ends up like her mother and to do that she enlists the help of Death himself.

So this was an overall entertaining read. The cover is so gorgeous! I know it's probably already been said but YA has been churning out so many gorgeous covers lately! I enjoyed the murder mystery and following Signa as she unraveled the truth and I don't usually read murder mysteries.

Everything I liked: Signa as a character was likable. Her relationship with her cousin Blythe and how that was developed. The romance with the love interest! The concept of death incarnate and Signa's ability to see him felt novel to me. The author did a great job executing the concept.

One very minor thing I disliked was the tea parties and interactions with the socialites. The interactions were minor so I still very much enjoyed this book.

I had never read anything by Adalyn Grace and this book has made me a fan. I look forward to reading the sequel when it comes out.

I love everything about this book. It's a mix of mystery, gothic fantasy, and romance, and it was an amazing experience. The cover is so pretty and I love the aesthetic.

I liked the writing, it was good, flowery but not too much, very easy to read. The characters were nice too, especially Death, and I loved the main character Signa. I can't wait to find out more about them. I love the banter and their dynamic and how they care for each other, their friendship/alliance, the funny moments and the cute ones too. They're just perfect.

The story is quite fast-paced and full of plot twists. If you want to read about a haunted house, about ghosts, about family drama, a dead patriarch, a cool magic system, and just a stunning story overall, then Belladonna was made for you. The story ends on a cliffhanger, but it was perfect and I can't wait for the next book to come out.

This book is a 4 ½ stars for me, and I really, really enjoyed it. It's just beautiful and absolutely spectacular. I would strongly recommend reading it to anyone interested in YA fantasy.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgally for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This story follows Signa Farrow, a girl who can not die and who not only sees death, but who shares the touch of the reaper. She has no idea how she has come about these strange abilities, nor does she want them. All she wants is to be brought up into polite society and debut so that she may marry and care for a handsome husband and a home of her own. Having a large estate and fortune waiting for her when she comes of age, Signa has many who would love to get their hands on the power and money being her guardian comes with. She goes through home after home, guardian after guardian. Each place she goes, death follows, and she can’t seem to shake the feeling she is cursed.

She makes her way to a strange estate, where she begins to become fond of its inhabitants and may even see a future for herself. She begins lessons and is told she may debut come the spring. She meets handsome men, gossiping women, but this does not seem to satisfy Signa as the secret world of Death begins to unravel before her and the truth of what she is and what life she could have unveils itself to her more and more.

With a murder to solve and members of the family falling ill, death is never far behind. As Signa is the only one who can see Death, she takes it as her responsibility to finally put a stop to the endless darkness that surrounds her, but finds it’s not as black and white as she once had thought, and there are many missing pieces to this puzzle.

The romance and the mystery of this story had me intrigued from start to finish. There were several plot twists I never saw coming which made the story that much more enjoyable. The rich adjectives used to describe the world of the living verse the world of the dead made me feel as if I was standing on the bridge with Signa taking it all in. I can not wait for Foxglove. The ending was everything I could have asked for an left me wanting for more. I do not want to wait!!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest review- all thoughts and opinions are my own.



5/5! Loved this one- love a good death romance - if that’s a thing? Murder, mystery, spirits- a little bit of romance. Loved it, can’t wait for the sequel.

Ladies and gentlemen - HER 🖤

Adalyn Grace has done it again 🤩 I quite literally devoured this book like Signa devours belladonna berries 😂

What I loved:
🍇 the opening line - talk about HOOKED
🍇 the plot twists! Didn’t guess a single one - altho I will say I almost never can call it with almost any book 🙈
🍇 the fight Signa has with herself on being polite sweet demure like society wants her to be or to embrace power and do what she wants
🍇 Death himself - swooooon 🔥🔥 dark morally grey gorgeous death god - I don’t have a type right?? (I totally have a type.)
🍇 I’m a sucker for murder mysteries

What I wished for:
🍇 More scenes with Sylas!!! I wanted their relationship development to go so so much deeper to make a certain plot twist more painful and dramatic
🍇 more character development and more relationship development
🍇 More Death - cannot get enough 😂

Overall I ADORED this book and can’t wait for the next!! I recommend this for fans of Bridgerton, Knives Out, gothic murder mysteries, and handsome morally grey love interests 🖤

4.5⭐
I'm OBSESSED with this book. Belladonna is a romantic fantasy with a deliciously gothic murder mistery. I was hooked from the start. I fell in love with Adalyn Grace's prose, it was beautiful and atmospheric.

Signa's evolution was amazing. She was a character that had a heavy backstory and also certain standards that she wanted to meet but throughout the book you can witness how much her character grows. I loved her.

The mystery aspect had me on the edge of my seat towards the end because I thought I knew the identity of the killer but in the end I KNEW NOTHING.

And the enemies to lovers in this book? GORGEOUS. I love the relationship between Death and Signa.

In Belladonna you will find
- lots of banter
- self-discover
- found family
- masquerade ball
- enemies to lovers
- murder mystery
- Death himself being a softie over our MC

I loved the final twists and cliffhanger but I need the sequel right now. I can't believe it ended that way!

Signa, a perpetual orphan, moving from guardian to guardian, given all her guardians keep dying. Signa herself, however, cannot seem to die and can see Death.

Now living with her latest guardian, she teams up with the stable boy and Death to find who appears to be plotting to kill her newly acquired family.

I read this right after reading V. E Schwab’s Gallant, so I did find some councidental similarly plot items: orphan, Death, being taking in by cousins, ghosts, and an Iron Gate. But not mad about it, as I loved both books.

Things that shouldn’t work, like the personification of Death, actually did and I really enjoyed it.

3/5 Stars
2/5 Spice

CW/TW : Violence, Murder, Death, Grief, Suicide, Sexual Content, Child Neglect

I received a Free E-Arc in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley. Thank you to Little, Brown for Young Readers and Netgalley.

I want to start off with this book that has a relationship between the main character and someone who has known her since she was a baby and is an ancient being. I found this very inappropriate and overall weird and definitely ruined some of my enjoyment of this book. This book also has some minor sexual content I didn’t expect to find in a book marketed as YA but the main character is 19/20 for the whole book so she wasn’t a minor for it.

I loved this author’s debut series so I had high hopes for this book, but I was underwhelmed to say the least. This book was a fun historical murder mystery but it could have been so much more. I read this book in three days but unlike some books this one didn’t stick with me.

This book follows Signa Farrow who is able to see and talk to the dead and can see and talk to Death himself. Signa has been an orphan since she was a baby and was bounced from relative to relative most of which just wanted to gain part of her inheritance. Signa just wants to be a normal girl and join society to find a husband, and escape the Death that has followed her everywhere. When Signa accidentally kills her Aunt, she is sent to live with her only remaining relatives the Hawthornes that are going through a very rough time themselves with the Mother of the household having died just a few months ago and the only daughter falling ill of the same illness. When Signa learns that it’s more than just an illness she is racing against the clock to find a killer and save her cousin before Death has to catch up.

Signa felt overall decently developed as she starts to not fear her own powers throughout the book and instead learns to embrace what they can help her do while solving this murder. I didn’t personally connect well with Signa and didn't feel like her motivation changes made a whole lot of sense. There were times I felt like I finally understood her character and then she would do one action and I was back to not understanding her.

The relationships in this book was the part that ruined it for me, Signa’s main romantic relationship was with an ancient force of nature that had known her since he took her mother when she was a BABY. I liked Signa’s relationship with her cousins and uncle and felt like they were well developed. Seeing her finally get to bond with family after having so many bad experiences in the past was really nice and I wish we got to see a bit more of the bonding.

I enjoyed my time reading this book and sped through it very quickly. It’s a book to read if you want just a fun time to vibe and not think super hard about what is going on. I also guessed a lot of the twists that happened which for me hurts my enjoyment of a book because I want to think I know what is going to happen but then it goes completely in a different direction.

If you like historical fiction with murder mystery, mysterious magic, and a dash of romance, this might be for you.

Belladonna is Ya storytelling at it's best. Grace has crafted a story that is effortless,brimming with grandeur and gothic atmosphere.

You will follow orphaned MC, Signa as she survives her youth bouncing from guardian to guardian. Death seems to mysteriously plague all that come into Signa's life but she is determined to ward it off as she arrives at Thorn Grove, an estate that is plagued with it's own ghosts. As this story unravels Signa will soon learn that an alliance with death may be her only way to save her now found family!

This is simply my favorite style of Ya writing. It's one that is easy without compromising depth. The author gives us just enough bones here that readers are able to decided for themselves just how thought provoking Belladonna is. There are some deep and thoughtful lessons here but it runs parallel to a story that is oozing with glitter,glamour, and romance. I don't think this is an easy balance to strike in Ya and I am always in awe when it is accomplished. As a result, I think this will appeal to a wide audience, this will work for romance/beach read lovers as well as folks who crave more.

Endless thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for the review copy.

I would like to thank NetGalley for providing with with an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book.

Belladonna was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022. Pitched as Bridgerton meets Knives Out, we follow our heroine Signa Farrow as she is shipped off to yet another set of relatives to live with at the mysterious Thorn Grove. Having been followed by Death her whole life and able to see spirits, Signa has been orphaned since birth and each guardian she’s lived with since has met an untimely fate. The Hawthornes of Oak Grove seem to be no different, as the matriarch Lillian has recently passed of a mysterious disease, and her daughter, Blythe, seems to be on her way as well. Signa soon discovers that it was not disease but murder who killed Lillian, and must team up with Death to uncover the killer..

This hands down has been the best book I’ve read so far this year. The Grace’s writing style gave every bit the eerie gothic vibe of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca or Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Though one of the big twists at the end I had predicted early on in the book, the revelation of the killer was one I was not expecting, Every character Signa encountered throughout the book seemed to have enough motive to be the killer— something Grace does brilliantly.

The enemies-to-lovers trope works well in this book, as Death is an unlikely romantic partner given his name and role in Signa’s life,. But the longer the two spend time with each other trying to solve the mystery, the more understanding develops between the two of them. Signa’s character growth is wonderfully done, without being too quick or easy.

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic gothic mysteries with a hint of fantasy.