Book Review: Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
Never have I ever… Wanted to read a book as bad as I wanted to read ‘Belladonna' by Adalyn Grace. Everything about this book is very “me” in design. The cover, stunning. The summary? Perfection. The reality? Uh oh.
“Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one 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.”
This blurb nearly killed me with how hard I wanted to get my hands on this book. Fitting, since Death features as a prominent figure in the novel.
Billed as a “Gothic-infused romantic young adult fantasy” I'd say that was mostly correct. The “Young Adult” bit I struggle with as Signa, our protagonist, is nineteen (and turns twenty by the end) and the themes and focus aren't what I would normally associate with YA.
Interestingly, Sophie gave ‘Belladonna' 4 stars, and I gave it 3 (begrudgingly). So I would be really keen to see what she makes of this review when it's all written up…
We read ‘Belladonna' as part of season 7 of The Dark Academicals. The episode is streaming now! But where we focus on the Dark Academia aspect within the podcast, here I'm looking at it more from a reader's enjoyment POV.
I think my main issue is that it often felt very surface level, and some of the plot points and clues were very convenient. Did I like the read? Yes, it was fine. But I had one too many sighs during the experience that I couldn't shake off this feeling of disappointment.
Things I didn't enjoy: Signa's relationship with Death (a serious abuse of power and position, coupled with her vulnerable status, and the fact that he is her first experience of male companionship, also see: Hades and Persophone…), Death as a humanoid character (how?), romaticising having a sexual relationship with a concept, the twist I saw coming from a mile away (looking at you, Sylas), the neat ribbon everything gets tied in at the end, the fact that Signa is special but we don't know why, or really what her powers are, or how, or what… She just is. And Death is lusting after her. Blythe as a way to get messages and plot over to Signa, and the reader.
Things I enjoyed: The last 20% had great pacing, at last, because it was fairly slow until then. The setting and the atmosphere (give me historical gothic environments, give me all of them). Sylas, until the end. Gundry, because dog. Mitre, because horse.
I'm sad because there was just so much of this book that was a miss, for me. I'm intrigued to see if it can bring it back home in the sequel ‘Foxglove’, but I'm not holding out much hope. There is so much potential, but ultimately I think it didn't go deep enough, it stayed a safe distance away from all the real intensity.
For me, ‘Belladonna' is like the grown-up version of ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events', smashed together with Bridgerton (without the spice). It's so close to hitting the nail on the head, so close.
I can see why people have rated this book highly, it just doesn't fit me the way I thought it would.
Maybe next time.
Written by Sarah
