Belladonna: The addictive and mysterious gothic fantasy romance not to be missed Paperback – 22 Jun. 2023

Fantastic novel, I was afraid that it would be all romance but the mystery thankfully dominated the narrative. Beautifully written and sparky, even unexpected!

Death personified? Yes! Murder mystery, yes! Paranormal, yes! Victorian vibes, double yes!After suspending disbelief with some things, this story was really enjoyable and unique. I might be biased though because I've always loved the idea of Death personified in a way that's not morbid or grim. The themes of grief and focus on living life are beautifully illustrated through the author's words. It's all about balance, and that comes across very well.YA is a really odd category to put this in which unfortunately knocked a star for me. Why isn't this classified as New Adult? Young me would have loved the story and the way it's written has a more younger vibe, but young me also would have widened eyes on some chapters. I'm not sure what's going on in publishers' brains with some of these books lately, but dude, if it contains some non-fade-to-black spice even if not graphic or very close to "uncomfortable age gap between main characters" territory, bump up that category a bit. I thought the author elegantly wrote these chapters, so older me appreciated them, but yeah, I wouldn't have had this in my classroom library when I was a teacher.I only mention the age gap thing above as it's constantly brought up in the book. If the story didn't repeat this fact multiple times, I wouldn't have even focused in on it. (Suspend that disbelief and all.) Death does say he's only seen her as her future (which moved me along), but as a reader, we see that Death has always literally been around her since she was a baby, and he's always been fascinated by her. Interpret as you will.I'm interested in the sequel Foxglove, especially as we meet a new character at the end of this one, but hopefully it's been properly categorized this time!

It's described as 'a gothic romance' which did have me wondering whether it'd hold my attention. Well...there's kind of romance but the main theme is more about murder, mystery, secrets, spirits and loss. Definitely a pleasant surprise and definitely grabbed my attention. Actually enjoyed the playing/dancing with death and felt it ended well with me looking forward to whatever happens next.The characters are interesting and a little quirky. glad there was a lot of detail and it did keep you guessing. I did feel sorry for Thaddeus, bless him

The pacing for this book was quite good, and for a mystery it's definitely solid with the secrets, the reveals and the plot twists. But be warned, this is a MYSTERY much more than it is a fantasy book. Yeah ok Death is sentient and our FMC can talk with him etc but that's about it, it's very mystery heavy, not at all in a bad way, like i said it's really solid, but if youre into fantasy with proper magic systems, fictional worlds, creatures like Fae etc, this might not be for you. Also the romance, while cute in itself, just did not have enough build up to go the direction it did. Making big eternal love declarations before the end of book 1 does five me the ick just a little, NGL, at least give me another book for that burn, to really watch their dynamic play out and pine for them. Way too fast, soz. 3.5 stars overall.

Belladonna is slow to start off with and initially I thought i wouldnt like it but after the first third, it does get more engaging.Signa Farrow is the main character who (quite literally) courts Death. And he's hot. Hiding in the shadows at all times she has never seen his face (yet). It's definitely a Gothic victorian fantasy; think Wednesday Addams with a kinder personality.I am almost finished & i have Foxglove ready to read on my kindle so i can read Wisteria when it's out!

Small chip in the corner - shame but it happens xEasy to bend - excited to read it!

Slow burn but so worth the build for a fab surprise .Totally getting the next book, Foxglove

I listened to the Belladonna audiobook for this one as I thought I might engage more if the story was being told to me. However this wasn’t the case, I found myself struggling to get into the story but was hooked at the twists and turns of the book. Mixed emotions for this one.