Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. 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.
However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.
Title: Belladonna (Belladonna, #1)
Author: Adalyn Grace
Publication Date: August 30, 2022
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
I’m so glad I finally read this book. It was amazing! A gothic fantasy with plenty of romance, mystery, and dark secrets to keep me on my toes.
Signa was such an interesting character. People died around her no matter where she went which was why she was passed around between family members her whole life. And then there was the whole “she can see Death” thing. I loved seeing this juxtaposition of death in her life with her desire to be normal and go to tea with the girls and just live an average, happy life. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for us readers), Signa wasn’t made to be normal.
I also loved the mystery aspect of this book. We’re trying to figure out who in the Hawthornes’ manor is killing people. We’re trying to figure out why Signa has all of these abilities and connections with Death. We’re trying to figure out who exactly Death is. It’s a nice story to have so many missing components to. I loved having things slowly revealed along the way because it kept me so invested and engaged the entire time.
Rating
Adalyn Grace is a New York Times bestselling author of All the Stars and Teeth, which was named “2020’s biggest YA fantasy” by Entertainment Weekly.
Prior to becoming an author, Adalyn spent four years working in live theatre, acted as the managing editor of a nonprofit newspaper, and studied storytelling as an intern on Nickelodeon Animation’s popular series The Legend of Korra.
Local to San Diego, Adalyn spends her non-writing days by watching too much anime, and by playing video games with her dorky dog.
Such a great review! I’ve been wanting to pick this up soley based off the cover. I should have realized it’s a bit dark too. I can’t wait to eventually get to it.
The cover is so gorgeous and the cover for book two is going to look so good next to it! Definitely a darker vibe with lots of talks of death and Death as a character.
Yeah, it totally sounds up my alley. I’m here for dark books. I’m very interested to see what death as a character is like.