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If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading
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𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦
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Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Rating: 4 out of 5
Content Warning: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Vomit, Sexual content, Murder
Summary:
The  New York Times  bestselling author of  All the Stars and Teeth  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.
*Opinions*
This was another book that I was influenced to pick up due to social media and word of mouth. To be completely honest with you I didn’t even read the synopsis before grabbing both this novel and the sequel Foxglove (I might have also preordered the final book) because the covers were beautiful. Given the titles I realized it was going to be something to do with poisons, but the Prologue really pulled me in right away and made me interested in Signa Farrow long before I cared about her as a character.
Belladonna follows Signa as she once again has to transfer guardians due to another one dying in her presence. Signa has been able to see Death and spirits ever since she was little and she believes that he is killing her guardians to torment and tease her. She is sent to Thorn Grove to live with her last remaining relatives, the Hawthorns, and has to deal with a very annoying stable hand named Sylas. When she arrives at Thorn Grove she finds that death has already left its mark on the manor and is attempting to steal away another life. Signa vows to stop him, but as she converses with the angry spirit of the death mistress of Thorn Grove and more of the inhabitants, she learns that nothing is as it seems and she has to work quickly to save more lives and keep death at bay.
This novel does not reinvent the wheel or do anything extremely surprising, but it is a very good version of what it is. While this is YA, the themes of death and grief and loss are well handled without getting too far into them. At it’s core this a mystery with a strong romantic element, but Grace makes sure to explore what death means in a story that has Death as a character. The mystery is compelling, and while at times it gets lost in the Signa attempting to find her footing in society, she is a nineteen year old teenager who is surrounded by people for the first time in her life. Every part of the novel was a good version of what it was, but there isn’t much to say about it.
Grace does a good job of pulling nature and the weather into the novel. Plants and gardens also hold a special place in the novel, which given that the title of Belladonna shouldn’t be surprising. Thorn Grove was also well described and Grace did a good job of making each distinct part of the home have a different feeling. The wardrobe of the characters also became important, given that both Signa and the Hawthorns are from high society, and so each character is easier to picture through their clothing than looks at times. Each time Signa was in a new dress or her hair was put up in a new way it helped the vision of the story take shape.
Signa is a likable main character and even when she makes rash decisions, it makes sense given what is happening in the narrative. Her lack of social graces, which are part of the plot, also make sense given her upbringing. While she is impulsive and flusters around men a little too easily, it never got to the point where it was grating. She also is very compassionate due to her familiarity with death and when she embraced her powers did not shy away from the feeling of power. Her loneliness and desire for friends, even when it meant pushing down parts of herself, will also be extremely relevant to the teenage audience this novel was written for.
Death is interesting, but was a little too mysterious to really get a good idea about until you realize the his connection with another character that is in the novel. I don’t want to spoil anything, but Death acts a little too rashly at times for a creature this is supposed to have been around since the beginning of time. At the beginning of the novel he has all this wisdom, but the more time he spends around Signa the more he seems to act the same as any of the other men in the novel. Since he has been alone for so long, his desperation to have someone near him he can see and talks to makes sense, but some of his impulsiveness was hard to believe coming from Death himself.
Now, this romance is about a teenage girl and thousand year old magic man, but that is not a troupe that bothers me as much as other people. Death and Signa have a combative relationship that turns into more of a romance as they are the only other two people in the world that understand one another. While it is unclear why Signa is able to utilize the same powers as Death (given the character who was introduced in the Epilogue I am sure this will be explained later) she needs to use the powers to save the residents of Thorn Grove and Death doesn’t want to be alone. I think some things progressed FAR too quickly, but that is probably just the old lady in me. As a teenager it wouldn’t have bothered me, especially since she has technically known Death all her life (don’t think about that too hard).
Belladonna had a lot of the things I love in a novel, death magic, a novel of manners, and a mystery. While it is not a perfect book or doing anything new, it was an enjoyable read and I am excited to read the rest of the series this summer when the third novel comes out. This is a 4 star read.
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To me, you are a song to a soul that has never known music. Light to someone who has only seen the darkness. You bring out the absolute worse in me, and I become vindictive toward those who treat you in ways I don't care for. Yet you also bring out the best in me - I want to be better because of you. Better for you."
Death Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
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quoteablebooks · 1 month
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kitchen ghosts
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"Because death is only a reprieve for the dead, Mr. Thorly. It cares little for those it leaves behind."
Signa Farrow Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
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Brick mantel with Vermeer   -   Elena Climent , 2021.
Mexican, b. 1955-
Oil on linen on bord, 12 x 18 in.
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"I presume you've seen a flower wilt, Miss Farrow? That's what watching Lillian was like. She was like a beautiful flower, cherished by everyone who knew her. Even the illness loved her so greatly that it gave her little reprieve. It wanted her to itself, and so it stole her life suddenly."
Sylas Thorly Belladonna by Adalyn Grace
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quoteablebooks · 2 months
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One of the signs of luxury for me is books. Mountains of books.📚
*The luxury comes from both having the resources to afford them and time to read them. AND I WANT TO HAVE BOTH!!!
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Genre: Fiction, Adult, Science-Fiction, Fantasy,
Rating: 4 out of 5
Content Warning: Violence, Murder, Death, Sexual content, Child death
Summary:
Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er fight to the death to win unimaginable riches.
Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty…and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa’s forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him.
Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he’s deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he’s one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.
Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa’s adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin’s ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton’s partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she’s playing for—her lover or her kingdom.
*Opinions*
So this is one of the books that I got through my Adult-Book-only Fairyloot subscription, and I will admit that I was a little skeptical. I had heard some middling reviews about Chole Gong’s Young Adult Romeo and Juliette retelling, so I wasn’t sure how I would get on with this novel inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. I am happy to inform you that I really enjoyed my time with this novel, though it took some time to collect my feelings on this story and the characters that Gong introduces us to. While I will admit that the scaffolding of the plot was not original, I enjoyed the setting and characters enough that I kept turning the pages to see how this set-up we had seen before would play out. 
The plot of this novel is rather simple at its core and something that has been used before. Two competitors enter a tournament to the death for different reasons, but both have no option but to win. There is an individual behind the scenes pulling the strings, other disruptive forces at work, and an uneasy alliance between the two competitors might turn into something more. After the success of The Hunger Games, and Battle Royal before that, competition to the death is a very common plot in novels and a few of the lower-rated reviews complained about this scaffolding for the story. However, while Gong does make a number of comments about capitalism, the 1%, and social ills, there is a very different tone than The Hunger Games. Everyone enters the games willingly, even paying an entry fee, instead of being forced to fight to the death. They can also leave the games of their own accord at any time without fighting or killing. The society in San-Er has a lot of problems, which Princess Calla Tuoleimi and Prince August Shenzhi want to change in their own ways, but it is managed in a different way than that of The Hunger Games, so I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.   
I have seen a number of reviews complaining about the lack of solid world-building and that things are just said are happening in San-Er without any explanation. While I think some of that is due to not picking up subtle hints that Gong left throughout the story, some of it is that this is the first novel in a trilogy. Now, I will admit that at the back of the Fairyloot edition, there was a printed conversation with Gong, in which she stated that this first novel was very self-contained, but the world would expand in the rest of the series. While I am a strong believer that the story should stand on its own without reading author interviews or blog posts, I didn’t have any issue with the world-building. This novel was about the games and that is what it is focused on, with the rules or lack of them clearly defined. The rules of qi were also explained and then challenged without the context of this novel in a way that made sense to me. Perhaps I was just too enamored with the setting to be bothered by things that were grating to other people. I am also a reader who appreciates character work over plot so that probably contributes to it. 
Speaking of the setting, Gong did a very good job of making the city of San-Er a living breathing character in this novel. You can easily visualize the neon lights, the mass of humanity that is constantly on top of each other, and the smells and sounds that are constant throughout the novel. Gong also makes the reader feel the absence of these things when there are scenes in the Palace of Union or outside of the wall. While at times all the chaos in the city made it hard to track the action that was happening, which added to the chaotic nature of the action sequences in this novel. Still, the setting was a large reason why I enjoyed this novel as much as I did, I really got immersed into the world that Gong created and the constant struggle that the characters and citizens were facing. 
There are three main characters in this novel, Princess Calla Tuolemi, Prince August Shenzhi, and Anton Makusa. Now I don’t know if any of them can be called likable, but I find Calla the most sympathetic of the bunch. What drives her in the games is a naive notion that King Kasa is the reason for all the horrors and tragedy within the city and if she could just remove him from his reign, things would improve for the citizens of Talin. Now Calla is such a practical character that this thought that removing Kasa would start the country toward the path of healing or trusting August who wants the same thing was a little odd to me. However, her thought process usually makes sense, even if she makes decisions that aren’t the smartest. Given the ending of the novel, I am interested in seeing how her character is going to be in the sequel. 
Anton Makusa grows on you as the story progresses, but he doesn’t change, he just becomes obsessed with something new and does whatever possible to keep it. I think what keeps him from being completely unlikable is the fact that he is aware that he can be insufferable at times. I also enjoyed when he is around Calla and the balance they strike between competitors and whatever else is blooming between them. I will admit that the use of “I love you” in this novel was far too quick, especially given the circumstances, but I also have not read the source material so perhaps that is the reason. 
Prince August is the least likable, but the most interesting. Much like Anton, your opinion of him shifts throughout the novel, but he does not get enough screen time to really draw any conclusions about his character. Instead, you get the way that numerous people react to August, especially those who are closest to him. While Calla has naivety and Anton has confidence that is warranted, it is hard to get a read on August. Given the events at the end of the novel, it is unclear if we are going to get a better idea about him as the trilogy continues, but I am excited to get answers if they are provided. 
Overall, I enjoyed this novel a lot more than I expected and it is a 4-star read. However, if someone asked me why I liked the novel I would have a hard time pinpointing something other than the setting. While this is a full arc of a story, telling what happened during the games, the plot and the characters aren’t sitting in my feelings. That being said, I keep thinking about this novel and will pick up the sequel when it comes out.
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quoteablebooks · 2 months
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These librarians sure as hell have a good sense of humor
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Calla had never claimed to be good. She had never wanted to be good. But she seeks it in every corner of the twin cities: a sign that goodness is something Talin is capable of. Every day, she wakes up and she begs for what she had done to mean something, for the kingdom to tell her she is right to believe it could be honorable, that it's befitting to spill blood until there is nothing left of her, until all the pieces are gone, until she cannot feel this twinge of doubt each time her blade slips in and out. There is peace at the end of this. There must be.
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
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Sometimes, though, she feels the weight of loneliness shift and settle inside her rib cage. Like cold tendrils curling softly around her insides. Not enough to hurt, not enough to draw protest from her. But enough to serve as an ever-constant reminder: Here I am, here I shall stay, you can never pull me away.
Immortal Longings by Chole Gong
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