Hello Lovelies,
Belladonna is a beautiful gothic fantasy by Adalyn Grace. Whilst this book is considered YA (young adult) There are some lightly spicy scenes that had me blushing. It was a beautiful story that had a twist ending I was not expecting. The villain was nothing like what I thought he would be like. One of the main characters is Death, as in the Grim Reaper, as in Death himself. I find the usage of his character and his powers completely interesting. I did not understand him at first, however, his growth as a character along the main character's journey was incredible. If you read my top-shelf blog post you know that the Waistcoats and Weaponry series by GAIL Carriger is one of my favorite series. That series and Belladonna have the same aesthetic vibe. They both are Victorian, a bit gothic and dark, as well as moody. That is an aesthetic in a book that I genuinely love, dark academia tends to be a vibe I lean heavily into within my life, style, and the literature that I consume. Something that had me giggling and kicking my feet the entire time I was reading this book was Death's sense of humor. Nobody else but the main character can see him, so he can say these really offhand comments that for who he is, it's such strange thing to say. For instance, there's this quote where Death is mocking the main character at a tea luncheon where he says “Apologies I forgot to bring my dress and gloves.” He also is a very naughty character. He often shows up in places he's not supposed to be, interrupting the main character, and catching her off guard. I felt like this was such a great use of his character to release some of the tension of the main plot. The main story is absolutely incredible. Signa Is the main character; she is 19 and orphaned. Every single one of her guardians who has taken care of her has met an untimely death. She goes to live with her very last remaining relatives the Hawthornes at their estate Thorn Grove. Once she gets there, she decides to solve the murder/ mysterious death of her aunt. Every character is vibrant and interesting. Her cousin Percy was a complete shock to me as a character. The entire time I read about him, I genuinely believed I knew who his character was, and he completely changed and transformed throughout the book into something that I wouldn't have recognized at the beginning of the story. There are a lot of beautiful interpersonal connections made with Percy's character that really bring the family into perspective in a way that we wouldn't have understood if Signa had just told us or shown us. I think that was wonderful writing on Adalyn Grace's part. Another character that I really loved in this book was Sylas. His character is so dislikable at the beginning of the book but not in a way that is actually unfriendly. He's not very proper considering the time this book is written in, but is when the main character least expects it. He has this type of ruggish charm and rough character about him that makes him jump off the page. When reading his character, I wasn't sure whether or not he was a villain or a good guy, the way he goes about his relationship with Signa is very unconventional. Sylas along with Death were such interesting characters in the way that they helped Signa not only solve the mysterious death of her aunt but also help her find her place in society. Signa Is a young woman who did not grow up learning societal rules, so she has this lingering attitude that leaves distaste for many of the wealthy people she's forced to interact within this book. Charlotte is a character that I genuinely really like, although I'm pretty sure I was not supposed to like her. Overall, the characters in this book are all well thought out and written; they all serve a purpose to the plot, and none of them are fluff. That is something that I truly loved about this book, and as I've read other books by this author, I've discovered that it’s a consistency in all of her writing. Foxglove, the second book in this series recently came out and I will be reading it in the month of September and reviewing it. The ending of this book completely caught me off guard, as we are introduced to a character, we are told at the beginning of the book does not exist according to our MC. However, according to Death who talks about this character often, we learn it's not just a turn of phrase he's using, but an actual warning of a VERY real person. Overall, this book is so eloquently written I will continue to come back to it and reread it as many times as humanly possible. There are only a few books I reread every year; this will definitely be one of those. Let me know what you think of this book if you get the chance to read it, and please note that when you get to page 260 you're entering one of my favorite scenes, and Death's words “Care to find out?” had me squealing and turning the page so quickly. Happy reading, lovelies!
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