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'belladonna' by adalyn grace, book review

belladonna; romance, mystery, gothic, victorian, young adult, ghost story

my synopsis (spoiler free);

Signa Farrow is an orphaned 19-year old girl set to inherit a grand fortune and manor on her 20th birthday. She dreams to live in high society and spends all her time studying how to be a lady. There’s a catch though: Signa isn’t able to die, yet everyone around her seems to pass away. is she cursed? Let’s not forget that she can speak to Death himself, and she can see spirits too. When Signa’s vicious Aunt Magda dies, she is invited to live in Thorn Grove manor with her distant relatives, the Hawthornes. Upon moving in, she learns that the head lady of the house, Lilian, has recently died. With the help of Sylas, the stableboy, Signa sets out on a journey to discover the truth behind Lilian’s passing. Her biggest wish is to be rid of Death forever. Will Signa accomplish her goal of freeing herself from Death once and for all?

my thoughts (minor minor spoilers);

okay, so i have some things to say about this book. belladonna is a great book. it’s quite slow in the first half, but once you hit around page 180, it’s a page turner. the gothic setting really pulls you in and creates a dark, spooky, ghostly, yet comfy(?) atmosphere. the characters are a bit bland at times, but the relationships that develop between them are heartwarming and cute. nothing remarkably special or notable about the characters though. the story is a classic ghost-gothic-romance type, but it does it well enough that it doesn't feel like a cliche. i think one of the reasons i enjoyed it so much was because i had no idea that death would be the love interest. i went into this book with no knowledge of it, and i think that’s the best way to read a book. it was definitely a lot better than ‘all the stars and teeth’. i couldn’t even get past page 300 with that one. i do have some critique tho. firstly, what kind of name is signa farrow... secondly, some of death’s lines can be pretty cheesy and over-the-top, but this is a romance novel so i get it i guess. but still. some of the prose can be kinda complicated with really long sentences, but i appreciated the artistic effort. i just think that y/a has a pattern of authors trying really hard to write artistic prose and sometimes it just comes off as a over the top and cheesy. it's not enough to ruin the book though, so it's no biggie.

overall rating: 4/5

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'all the stars and teeth' by adalyn grace, spoiler free review

disclaimer; i think it's important for me to say that i stopped reading the book by the last 100 pages meaning i got about 70% through and stopped. this blog is for impatient readers (like me), so ima just be transparent.

all the stars and teeth (atsat) is a fantasy, romance, adventure novel written by adalyn grace and released in 2020. it's the first installment the duology with the second installment, all the tides of fate, being released in 2021.

first and foremost, i will give this novel a 3.5/5 based off what i read. in short, it was lukewarm. there were some things i really enjoyed and could get by, and there were others that were detrimental to the plot and over all enjoyability of the book. in the end, the cons outweighed the pros and i could no longer get myself to read the book.

characters (3/5)

the main character: amora is a teenage girl who just went through some serious trauma so it's understandable why she's kind of... unlikable? the whole book is told from her perspective so if you don't vibe with her that much, it can make reading it kind of a chore. amora is a very boring protagonist. she's supposed to be super altruistic and girlboss and care about her people/kingdom a lot to the point where she does some dumb shit just for "her kingdom". she's not very relatable, she doesn't have many emotions like she's pretty stoic which also makes her kind of boring imo. she's super mean to her arranged marriage fiance, ferrick. it gets to a point where she basically hates him and like doesn't care about his safety?? at all? even though he's not even bad she just doesn't like that he's in love with her. anyway, yeah i just don't really care for her.

love interest: bastian is the main love interest and he's also kind of a second lead i guess. he's a pirate with a deep dark secret that wants to help amora on her journey. hes charming, playful, kinda full of himself, mischievous, and hot. he's a lot more interesting than amora. i find this happens sometimes with ya novels aimed for teen girls: the male lead is usually more intriguing and fun than the female lead which i guess is because girls are supposed to put themselves into the main character's shoes and fall in love with the ml. i think he's a decent character, but not the typical swoon-worthy type.

side characters: ferrick and the mermaid chick(i can't remember her name at all) are the two side characters. these two are honestly great and i found them a lot more likable as people than the leads.

setting (4/5)

the best part of the book is the setting. you follow the crew on this ship and go to different magical islands on a magical boat. it's pretty cool and enjoyable.

story/lore (3/5)

it's a very typical 'i need to save my kingdom' type story, nothing you haven't seen done before. the plot can be confusing and hard to keep up with. the magic amora uses is also confusing and i didn't understand it. i had to keep referencing the beginning to remember, but maybe that's just me. i think the plot could have been more clear and simple? i just had a hard time keeping up with the story and understanding the characters' motivations. the romance side plot is decent, but as a romance LOVERRRR it didn't satisfy my needs.

verdict

this book was fun and exciting when i first started it. it's a pretty good book debut for adalyn grace. if you like fantasy adventure, pirates, and the sea, i recommend trying it out. but it isn't anything crazy worthwhile or different. if you're the impatient type like me, it could be a hit or miss. there's also a sequel, so keep that in mind.

overall rating; 3.5/5

i actually read this while i was waiting for belladonna to be available in my local library, and now i finally have it so i'm probably gonna be reviewing that real soon :)