Belladonna By Adalyn Grace | Romantasy Book Review

Spoilers ahead!

Synopsis:

Orphaned as a baby, Signa has been shuffled among different guardians, each more interested in her wealth than in her welfare. Also unknown to anyone she can talk to and see Death who has been her fascinating and protective shadow never far from her side. Her life changes when she is sent to live with the elusive Hawthorne's. But everything is not alright here. Her aunt died a painful and mysterious death. And now her cousin is also suffering from the same affliction. Then her uncle is busy throwing away his business and only interested in throwing lavish parties while his son is worried about the family’s reputation.

So, when Signa decides to solve the mystery behind her cousin’s puzzling disease, her only help comes from a stable hand, and Death. Soon it becomes apparent that there is a determined murderer behind her aunt’s death and cousin’s illness. And her aunt’s restless spirit still haunts the place trying to find the murderer.

But can Signa solve this mystery and save this family from the grave danger they are all in?

Review:

This book begins with Signa Farrow, orphaned at a young age due to mass poisoning that leaves her the only survivor. Off the bat Grace has thrown us into the adventure which I loved! Death has come to collect the deceased but can’t figure out why this random baby girl didn’t die. This becomes a regular occurrence for Signa as she grows up and learns that she cannot die, leading everyone who meets her to believe she is a witch, or cursed. From chapter one I was instantly intrigued to know why this was happening, how could she survive anything? We cut to nineteen years later and Signa has been bounced around to many different guardians. All of them are only interested in her for her wealth that she will soon inherit. Instantly, I felt protective over Signa since you could tell she hadn’t had a positive childhood and I wanted her to receive the best happy ending… that you can get in a fantasy novel anyway.

Signa’s aunt dies in a traumatic way when we see a glimpse of how her power escaping death works. This leads to her having to move in with the only family she has left, the wealthy and troubled Hawthorns. As soon as we arrive to this new home, we can tell this location is also haunted by death and has had tragic loss. Signa feels drawn to these feelings that ooze throughout the home and decides to explore more about what could have happened here. This is where we fully dive into the storyline of this book and all of the mystery starts to set in. After having a snoop around the house Signa finds Blythe, the youngest daughter who has an illness that her mother had died of previously. It takes a while for these two to create a bond but soon after they do we learn Blythe is being poisoned which is what her mother had happened to her previously. Thankfully, Signa catches onto this and manages to put a stop to it. This is where we see Signa’s powers come into play for good and she realizes she isn’t horribly cursed. I absolutely loved seeing Signa realise she isn’t a bad person and can do things with positive outcome.

Let’s move on lastly to Silas, the family’s stable boy. He and Signa form a quick romantic connection while Signa is also trying to work out her feelings for Death, who she views romantically too. Silas and Death help her at different times to uncover the mystery of this family and we get the best kind of plot twist when we reach the end and discover Silas and Death are the same person! I found this twist so fun since I myself as a reader couldn’t decide which one of these men I preferred for her love interest.

I had no idea when I started this book that it would be a three-part series. It wasn’t until the end that Adalyn Grace managed to whoosh in and deliver an incredible cliff-hanger that had me instantly wanting more. This novel has romance, gothic vibes, mystery and everything you could possibly want in a fantasy book. I was gripped throughout the entire story, and I struggled to put it down to sleep. As soon as I finished ‘Belladonna’ I went straight onto Waterstones and ordered the sequel ‘Foxglove’. This has since become one of my favourite series and has created my love for Adalyn Grace which made me order her other series ‘All the Stars and Teeth’. If you love authors like Stephanie Garber and Brigid Kemmerer then I believe Adalyn Grace could be the next best author for you.