Belladonna - Adalyn Grace

  

 

   

⭐ - 4/5

🌶 - 1.5/5

 

(No Spoilers)

I went into this book not knowing a thing about it or having heard anything about it prior to buying it, it was simply the art work that enticed me and the blurb that really gave me the need to read. And I cannot give this book any faults whatsoever. 

Belladonna was honestly such a fun and different kind of read for me. The relationship between the main two characters was such a beautiful development and felt natural in comparison to other stories, and it really helped draw me in to the nature of the story and made it a believable journey for the reader to embark on. 

The story is sent in the Victorian age of the 1800's and follows a young girl named Signa Farrow who is orphaned from birth. Her parents were very wealthy and owned their own estate, however, passed away when Signa was just a baby. Signa is then passed around from family member to family member, who all only take her on so they can benefit from the fortunes that Signa is to inherit from her parents when she turns 20. However, each of her carers seem to pass away, one after the other.

Throughout her journey in life, Signa realises that she has the ability to see spirits and Death himself and she can conjure him and speak with him when she likes ever since being a child, but only if she dies. This then begins to form in to an interesting relationship when Signa grows older, but one she hates due to everyone around her dying. Death is taken by Signa as he wants to know more about her, more so in why she doesn't die and can cheat death, but also communicate with Death as no one has ever been able to do so before, not unless they were a passing spirit.

Signa is then taken on by her Uncle who owns an estate named 'Thorn Grove' and he lives with his daughter and son and their governess, alongside the household staff. The family name is 'The Hawthornes' and they then help to train her to be a young lady and get her ready so she can be introduced into society in the spring 'season' - specifically the governess. Signa is taken to this estate by the stable boy, who picks her up from her previous home and escorts her to Thorn Grove, however, Signa doesn't feel like she gets along with the stable boy as he is rude to her and doesn't speak much to her through the journey.

Whilst at Thorn Grove, Signa is informed that her Auntie had passed away from a disease prior to her arrival at the house and that her cousin is currently suffering from the same disease. Only Signa realises that this is in fact no disease and instead, someone is trying to murder the Hawthornes and she takes it upon herself to find out who it is because she no longer wants people around her to die as she begins to think that it is she herself that is killing the people around her due to her ability to see and communicate with Death. From this, Signa creates an enemy out of Death as she fears him, thinking he is the reason she is killing people and no longer wants him around her and her family. So not only is she fighting to solve a murder, she is also fighting to no longer see Death, even though she enjoys knowing he comes when he is called.

In order to find the murderer, Signa partners with the stable boy - Silas. These characters begin as enemies, starting from the meeting at the beginning of the story when Silas picks her up. The two then begin a friendship as Signa promises Silas a permanent job - should he be seen helping her - at her estate when it is handed down to her, along with the money she will also inherit from her parents. And she also asks Death to help her solve the murder as he can communicate with the spirits of the house whilst she and Silas find out what they can within the human world. This then begins to create the love triangle effect between Signa, Silas and Death.

The story then develops into Signa understanding more about herself, why she can communicate with death and also what society is truly about and expects of women that are her age in that time era. This all begins to define Signa and allows her to fully make her own choices in life and choose the path that she feels is best for her. And Death plays a big part in this role as he encourages Signa to truly be herself and let in the reality of who she is and begins to make her think about the reason of why she can see Death and why she can see and communicate with spirits. 

The story of Signa and Death is truly one that pulled me in from the very beginning because it was a concept I'd not thought of to be something that would work and it gave me many questions in my mind that I needed answering. The main one being...how?

But Adalyn Grace did a fantastic job at making the relationship not only believable, but something I craved more from. I found myself wanting to read more about how they could meet up without people knowing, how they go from enemies to lovers and how Death encouraged her to be her own woman, and not what society was telling her to be. 

The writing was fantastic. The description of the grounds and places that Signa visited was truly exceptional and done so well, it really helped me to envision the image within my head and see the story word for word all throughout. The side characters were brilliant and I begun to feel a bond towards these characters in the way that Adalyn was wanting me to feel for them, whether I was meant to feel happy, sad, angry, confused or hopeful, she managed to get this across so well and form the relationships beautifully and persuasively. 

The tension that is built between Signa and Death keeps you going through the entirety of the book as the slowburn is just too much to not continue with and lose yourself within. Death gives the impression of the "where you go, I follow" character, the man who will never let harm come to the woman he loves, and boy does he follow with this image! He will always be where Signa needs him and ensures that if there is any danger, he is there to warn or save her, even when she doesn't want him there. It is something I craved and let consume me entirely throughout the whole read and I was so glad when I realised that there was another book to follow on from Belladonna, because I need so much more of this relationship to see where it goes.

The ratings I gave this book I will stand by forever as it was such a beautiful, gothic, romantic tale that deserves to be seen a bigger light than it has because it not only carries a beautiful storyline, but also a true message to embrace who you are within and to not let other people define you, no matter who they are and what society is telling you. 

There are sexual scenes within this story but nothing that is to be put under the description of 'spicy' as it is only a couple of mild scenes, but they are written with elegance, which in my opinion, really helped to continue carrying the image of the victorian woman, which again, worked so well and kept me wanting more! 

I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on the next book within this series (Foxglove) and see where the next adventure takes me with Signa! I am already hooked from the cliffhanger that Belladonna leaves you with and simply can't wait to discover more about The Hawthornes, Signa and Death himself. 

If you are a fan of gothic romance with a twist, then this book is for you and I would highly recommend reading it and beginning the beautiful journey that is the Belladonna series.

Let me know in the comments if you have read this book and what you think! And if you have any book recs for me, for both reading and reviewing, then please let me know!

Happy reading, folks!

B x