Published in 2022, Belladonna by Adalyn Grace is a lush Victorian-Gothic tale about a girl who cannot die, Death himself, and the mysterious illness they must solve together. The writing is superb, the characters are well-rounded, and the mystery is well thought out.
Grace’s writing is both beautiful and easy to read. I read her previous book, All the Stars and Teeth, which had similarly easy to read prose. Sometimes I find that authors try to write romantic prose but instead create stories that are confusing and hard to read. Grace’s books do not have that problem!
When Signa moves in with her elusive relatives, The Hawthornes, at Thorn Grove, she is immediately sucked into the family’s drama. Although quiet, Signa, the main character, is headstrong in her attempt to solve the mysterious illness that has afflicted her female cousin. Death is an interesting character. He’s of course dark and brooding, but he’s also fascinated by Signa’s inability to die, which makes him willing to help her solve the question of who is responsible for her family’s mysterious illnesses and deaths.
Normally, I can see the mystery’s big reveal coming a mile away, but Grace managed to keep me guessing until the very end. If you enjoy romantic or gothic stories, you’ll enjoy Belladonna by Adalyn Grace. The paperback copy releases July 25th and the sequel, Foxglove, is out August 22, 2023.
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers provided a review copy in exchange for my honest review. The thoughts in this review are my own.
