Is this book everything it promises? Yes. Should this book immediately go on your nightstand? Absolutely. Will you devour it, and impatiently wait for the sequel? There‘s no doubt in it.

<i>Belladonna</i> by Adalyn Grace is the perfect book for anyone who wants a moody read for this season, involving a murder mystery, a haunted house, poison and Death himself! Wrap yourself up in a blanket, and enjoy a cup of tea while you join Signa as she is trying to solve the mystery, save her cousin from Death while she herself is becoming <i>very</i> attracted to Death. And yes, <i>phantom hands</i> are involved.

To say I was surprised about how much I enjoyed this book would have been a lie. In fact, I‘m relieved this story offered me just what I was looking for. Recently, it had been rather a battle to find a good YA fantasy that kept me up all night. Even more so I‘m delighted that <i>Belladonna</i> kept its promises and delivered everything my soul was seeking. The gothic setting was perfect for this season. The cast of characters was intriguing and very well developed. And the romance was just <i>incredible</i>. This story definitely belongs to those that you want to binge after a certain plotpoint, and that will keep you up all night guessing and all.

However, there was something missing for me to be screaming out loud „PERFECTION“, and I‘m very sure that it is a case of „It‘s not you, it‘s me“. For one, due to me reading this book quickly, I barely allowed myself to join the whodunit mystery and make up my own theories which led to me becoming slightly less interested in the mystery itself. And second, I would have wished to be tortured a bit more with the tension between Signa and Death. (As painful it might be, it is also wonderful to be screaming „Just kiss already“ every second chapter) Those things, though, I only view as minor issues that could entirely be blamed on my quick reading pace, and therefore, nothing stops me from telling you that you should pick up this book.