"Just as the night had begun with the cry of a baby, it ended with one. Only this time, no one was around to hear it."

I want to start of this review by making something abundantly clear— I read Belladonna in between some of my most anticipated books of 2022, many of which are now favorites of the year. Honestly, I think my motivation and interest in this book was largely affected by those lingering feelings of awe because one can't help but compare the books read back to back. Therefore, if I'd read this at a different time, maybe my feelings would've been different, but overall, I just felt very neutral about this book.

Bridgerton meets Knives Out— what could be better comp titles than this?! As soon as I heard these comparisons, I knew immediately that I had to get my hands on this book. I knew next to nothing about the plot besides poison and death following in Signa's footsteps, but I was excited and that's all that matters when I decide to pick up a book. The first big detriment to this story is going in with the Bridgerton/ Knives Out mindset. Obviously, this story is completely unique and different from both of those stories, but in a way, it made my expectations for the brevity and romance within this story to be... more.

Let's actually switch gears to the romance. Notably, the fact that it did not feel as fleshed out as it could've been. The mortal enemies to lovers trope is the main attraction of this book, but the sudden shift from "I loathe you" to "wait I'm attracted to him even though I thought I hated him" is sorta like whiplash. Suddenly, make outs are everywhere and shadows are skimming the insides of thighs, and I'm honking the horn for the book to slow down for one minute. Now shadows skimming thighs is actually all rainbows and butterflies to me, but it was too sudden for my taste. You have to ease me in, or I'll check out. Changes in desires/ personalities/ etc. have to be believable for me to actually get behind them, and I didn't feel that here. But!— once that awkward transition was done, the romance does have some great chemistry, especially with the skimming shadows that I keep bringing up. It made me think of all the Darkling lovers out there but take away the pure evil element to the male love interest.

“That’s the thing about society, cousin—there are vultures who will wait for the moment you stumble. And when you do, they’ll sooner pick the skin from your bones to serve themselves rather than help you back to your feet. It’s too easy to become prey.”

In terms of the Knives Out plot, I was very neutral. I really enjoyed the conversations and scenes with ghosts, and I wish that aspect to the plot could've been elaborated. If you're a huge fan of murder mysteries, you'll be able to pick up on the killer relatively quickly, but there are some great, small plot twists that snuck up on me. I only wish that more depth was put onto the mystery because the plot did drag slow multiple times, which led me to take long periods away from reading this book in favor of others. Signa is certainly an interesting lead for a murder mystery, but there is a switch in her personality towards the end... I don't really want to get into the nitty gritty details because it is spoilery, but once she confronts the killer, a decision is made that... I just don't know if Signa would make that decision, and if she is the type to do so, then I think more foreshadowing and hints needed to be placed in the text earlier to make that scene more natural for her character.

I was intrigued about this book, but the sad reality is that my favorite part began and ended with the prologue. The writing can be downright gorgeous at times, but I needed the plot, characterization, and romance to hold more weight/ detail. I think if you're a big fan of books with vibes like A Court of Thorns and Roses, Masters of Death, and For the Wolf, you'll enjoy this book, but I simply needed more to be a bigger fan. I'm not sure yet if I'll pick up the sequel.

Thank you NOVL for an ARC copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.