Georgia Kostopoulou

 

Oh my! I can’t wait for Book 2!!!! Please tell me it’s coming out soon!!!

Ok, I’ll tell you all I can about this book, so you can see for yourselves why I’m like this and why I need the second book in the series immediately. If you like a Gothic-infused romantic murder mystery with Death as a love interest, then Belladonna is the book you need to read.

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa Farrow has not met love, family or the feeling of belonging. The only person that was able to give her all those feelings and a few more was her grandmother. But she was an old woman and one day she had to leave this world. After that, all Signa’s guardians were more interested in the wealth she was to inherit, than her or her well being. And each one of them met an untimely end. It was without wonder for Signa to believe that she was marked with death somehow. All those guardians where somehow her fault, that’s what she believed. Until Death told her otherwise.

Now that she is getting close to being 21 and inheriting, she has to live with her remaining relatives, in a grand, glittering and at the same time gloomy estate, Thorn Grove. The Hawthornes are somewhat eccentric. Signa’s aunt died not so long ago and yet parties are held every night at the estate by her mourning husband, who loved her deeply and cannot come to terms with his loss. At the same time, his son is trying to save the family’s reputation while his daughter is suffering from a mysterious illness, much like the one that took her mother away. But when the mother’s restless spirit appears to Signa and requests her to save Blythe, her daughter, from the poisoning that took her own life, Signa knows she would do all in her power to fulfill the request and find the murderer. This is the only family she has left and she doesn’t want to lose them.

With the help of the stable boy that escorted her to Thorn Grove from her previous house, she tries her best to find all the hidden secrets and piece together the puzzle of this mystery. However, she soon realizes that her best chance of uncovering the killer is to accept a proposal from Death himself. An alliance with the creature full of shadows, the one that never shows his face and has made Signa’s life all the more difficult is not an easy decision for her. Though Death comes to show her that their growing connection may be so much more powerful that she could possibly imagine.

If you reached this far, you now have a very good idea what this book is about! This story has all the gothic and paranormal vibes and is a perfect read for the Halloween season. If you are looking for books for your spooky season TBR, make sure you add this one and you won’t regret it! The story is so string and solid, with interesting and well developed characters that hook your attention instantly. There is mystery and there is paranormal. There is the murder that took place and the one that Signa is trying to prevent. And there are also the spirits and of course Death himself. How can one fall in love with Death, you may ask. Well, if he’s written by Adalyn Grace there’s a good chance you do!

I was lucky enough to get approved for the audiobook and I just couldn’t stop listening! The story is amazing and the narration helped in creating the perfect atmosphere. I loved the voice the narrator gave to Death, it felt so ghostly!

Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton Audio, Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of this book. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.