I wasn’t the biggest fan of this author’s other book, All the Stars and Teeth, so I was excited but wary going into Belladonna. It had many elements I usually love in a book, and I was hoping the book would at least by carried by those traits, even if I had similar issues with this book as I had with the author’s debut.

Honestly, I shouldn’t have been wary at all. I adored this book, and I feel like I almost enjoyed this book more because of how I’d doubted it at first. It was wonderful and beautiful and magical, and I both adored all the little pieces of this story and how it later came together as a whole too. I listened to the audiobook of this one, and I also loved how it was narrated. The narrator had such fantastic voices for everyone (especially Death), and was able to imbue even more emotion into the book, bringing to life what was already on the page.

This book hits the exact same notes as Stalking Jack the Ripper did for me. A core central romance that has a perfect level of tension, a murder mystery that the MC gets completely wrapped up in, and a strong MC to carry it all. However, Belladonna stands entirely on its own, with its own strong themes of family and familial grief and analysis of court politics and freedoms (or lack thereof) that women have within high society. While my favorite aspect of this book has to be the Death (both the romance between Signa and Death and the magical powers and realm that comes along with exploring Signa’s powers), I also loved the family aspects of this story as well. This book not only explores Signa’s loneliness and desire to fit somewhere, but also the complex family ties that exist at Thorn Grove manor, and the tragedies created by the web of secrets and lies there. It was an emotional and heart-wrenching book because of it, but I loved how it all was explored, especially in the latter half of the book. In the end, everything just flowed so well together, weaving together the after-life and spirits, family history and grief, and the suspense and tension that comes with any good murder mystery.

I seriously can’t wait for the next book, Foxglove, and I can’t recommend this first book enough!