Review: Belladonna (Belladonna #1)

Belladonna (Belladonna #1)
By Adalyn Grace

Published By: Hodder and Stoughton
Publication Date: September 1, 2022
Date Read: October 1, 2024
Genre: YA – Fantasy
Source: Bought
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 408

From Goodreads:
For as long as Signa Farrow has been alive, the people in her life have fallen like stars…

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.

Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer, though, 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.

Belladonna has been on my radar since is first came out a couple of years ago. I got this book in my Fairyloot box back then, but it just sat unread on my shelves until it was selected as the monthly read for my book club. I am so glad that I finally picked this one up as I really enjoyed it. It’s spooky, creepy and very atmospheric. I really enjoyed the fact that this book was more of a fantasy murder mystery than romance… and while I wasn’t expecting that as it was chosen for my romance book club, I personally was thrilled. I’ve always been a big fan of plot over romance so I really loved that about this book. It was fun and it kept me guessing right till the very end.

Signa was a really unique character and the fact that she could commune with ‘death’ was a really interesting concept to me. Right from the prologue where she survives being killed I was super intrigued. I wasn’t surprised that this was a romance between her and death… I’d have loved this to have been something I could discover but the artwork in the Fairyloot edition gives that right away! However, I didn’t mind knowing this as it just made me curious and interested all the more about reading this book. It was done really well and I loved seeing their relationship develop throughout the duration of the book.

Belladonna was a really fun read and I really enjoyed every moment of it. I am definitely interested in reading the rest of the series and hopefully I can dive into those soon. If you’re a fan of mysteries with a hint of otherworldly magic, then this book is definitely going to be for you. I highly recommend it, and I can’t wait to read more in the series soon.