Audio Review: Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
Narrator: Kristin Atherton
Series: Belladonna #1
on 2022-08-30
Age Range: 14+
Length: 417 pages
Length: 13 hours and 14 minutes
Listening Speed: 1.7x
Reviewing Audiobook, Hardcover from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2025 Audiobook Challenge, 2025 Beat the Backlist, 2025 SFF Reading Challenge

#1 New York Times bestselling author Adalyn Grace brings to life a highly romantic, Gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal.

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.

Fantasy and murder? Why, yes please! Belladonna by Adalyn Grace is a YA murder mystery fantasy that I didn’t know I needed to read. It combines all the things I love in both genres and, for me, was unputdownable. Following the story of one girl and her encounters with death, Belladonna weaves a tale of heartbreak, loss, and finding family.

Signa is an orphan who has had a long string of guardians who didn’t want her or were afraid of her. She is touched by Death, seeing him on occasion and seeing the spirits of those long dead. I like Signa. She is capable of so much and wants so much out of life. The setting is reminiscent to Victorian England, so she is wearing the pretty dresses and trying to live up to the impossible standards society sets for women of her time. Her abilities to see Death and the dead though make her an outcast with whispers of witch floating around her. But all of that changes with the death of her current guardian and the Hawthornes.

When Signa arrives to her new home of Thorn Grove, sickness hangs in the air. The Hawthorne matriarch is dead, the family in mourning, and their daughter sick with the same illness. Signa quickly learns that illness isn’t the cause of death, but that the mother and daughter have been poisoned. She is now in a race against time to find the person responsible before Death can claim another victim.

Death is as much a character as Signa. He seems fascinated by her, and she is, rightly, terrified of him. Death helps Signa investigate what is going on while also showing her that there is something to explore between them.

Overall, I really enjoyed Belladonna. I loved the mystery, the ghosts, and Death himself. Signa is a fun character to follow, and after that ending, I cannot wait to continue reading in Foxglove. If you are a fan of YA paranormal mystery with a touch of romance, I highly recommend it.

Audiobook Note: While I own a Fairloot edition of this book, I opted to listen, and I’m so glad that I did. The narrator is fantastic. I was fully immersed in Signa’s world and didn’t want it to end. If you are a fan of audio, highly recommend this format.

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