Belladonna by Adalyn Grace: an heiress, a ghost and Death with more presence than several living people

Thorn Grove is a mansion where nobody seems all right

Signa Farrow arrives at Thorn Grove, the estate of the wealthy Hawthorne family, after a life that has left her moving between relatives and guardians. The mansion is full of people who seem to be hiding something, and a suspected poisoning gives her a reason to investigate. The gothic atmosphere arrives exactly as promised: grand rooms, family history, illness and the sense that someone in the house knows more than they are saying.

Thorn Grove works as more than a pretty spooky backdrop. The Hawthornes have wealth, rules and a family structure that decides whose needs get taken seriously. Signa is entering a place where she is expected to become an heiress while also trying to understand the death that hangs over the household. It is hard to know whether the ghosts are the most unsettling residents or simply the ones with the least ability to lie.

Signa wants a life of her own and finds the script already written

Signa has spent much of her life being told what her unusual ability means and what kind of future she should want. She can see Death, and she is trying to understand whether that power is a curse, a gift or a relationship she has not learned to manage. The story asks what it means to make a life beyond the one other people have written for you.

She wants answers, but sometimes rushes into an investigation before measuring who might hear her and how much danger she has around her. The novel recognizes her limitations; a few decisions still feel like ways of moving her to the next encounter rather than evidence of a clever deduction. Signa is curious and determined, but not every brave choice is a smart one. She is learning, and sometimes the lesson starts with “what was the plan here?”

Death enters the room and takes over the conversation

Death is a character, not only an abstract presence. Their connection with Signa gives the book one of its more unusual relationships. Death can be dangerous, magnetic and surprisingly attentive. Several scenes rely on that contrast: a supernatural being who appears at the worst moments and somehow has more conversational presence than half the living people in the house.

The romantic tension has charm, but some of its scenes repeat a familiar shape: a charged approach, a secret, a retreat and another intense look. Death does not need to make a dramatic entrance every time someone opens a door. I like the idea and the relationship; I would have liked the mystery and other characters to keep more room around it.

A family mystery puts Signa among suspects

The possible poisoning of Lillian Hawthorne brings Signa into the family’s web of secrets. She has to watch the people in the house, sort what they tell her from what they avoid and decide whom she can trust. That structure gives the book a proper mystery instead of using gothic décor as a substitute for a case.

The clues are there, but some turns depend on information the story saves until it is convenient. The romantic focus can push the investigation aside, and several members of the Hawthorne family are less developed than their introductions suggest. I wanted more of their motivations and less repeated insistence that Death is mysterious. I get it, sir; you can lower the cape.

Blythe is not reduced to a sick girl in a room

Blythe Hawthorne could have been written as a fragile person whose only job was to make Signa worry. Instead, she has a point of view and does not want illness or family expectations to define her. Her relationship with Signa changes as the story unfolds, and that gives the family drama another emotional angle.

I wanted more time with Blythe and with the rest of the Hawthornes. There is enough tension in their relationships to support more than a set of clues. The story moves quickly toward the romantic and supernatural threads, and some of the family members remain half-developed in the background. Thorn Grove has too many corridors; the people could use a little more space too.

Gothic romance has charm and its conventions

The book mixes inheritance, poison, a manor full of secrets and a supernatural romance. Its atmosphere is candlelit, dramatic and designed to make the reader curious about what is at the end of the next hallway. Signa’s connection to Death gives the romance a fantastical hook that is distinct from a conventional love triangle.

The mystery and romance do not always balance evenly. Some scenes repeat the same tension, and the case can wait while the supernatural attraction takes center stage. If you arrive for the investigation, that may frustrate you. If you like gothic romance with a mystery beside it, the mixture is part of the appeal.

What I did not like

Signa sometimes investigates before considering who can hear her or how much danger she is in. Some of her choices move the plot toward the next meeting more than they show intelligent deduction. Several romantic tension scenes follow the same pattern, and Death does not need a dramatic entrance every time someone opens a door.

The mystery has enough clues, but certain turns depend on information withheld until the story is ready to reveal it. Romance can displace the case, and some Hawthornes receive less depth than their introductions promised. I wanted more of Blythe and the family’s motivations, and fewer pauses to remind me that Death is mysterious. We have established the cape, sir.

My verdict: a manor, a suspicious death and an impossible bond

Belladonna combines a manor full of secrets, a poisoning mystery and an heiress inventing a life beyond the fate assigned to her. Signa’s connection to Death is distinctive; Thorn Grove delivers the gothic atmosphere; and Blythe gains space as a young woman who refuses to be defined by illness or family.

The investigation could be stronger, Signa rushes in, and the romance repeats some familiar conventions. Still, the mix of mystery, fantasy and romantic tension has personality. The novel reads easily and leaves room to see how the rules change in the next books. Death gets a few scenes that should have been included in somebody else’s contract. If you like candlelight, secrets and a love interest who can literally appear at any moment, Thorn Grove is waiting. Wear comfortable shoes; the house has too many hallways.

Who should read it

Read it if you enjoy young adult gothic fiction with a mystery, supernatural romance and wealthy families who need therapy before another party. It is the first book in a series, and Foxglove continues Signa’s story. If you need a tightly balanced detective plot and a protagonist who never gets into trouble, Thorn Grove is not the estate for you.

My rating

4 out of 5 stars. The atmosphere, central idea and Signa’s connection with Death carry the story. I take off a point because romance takes air away from the mystery and some turns feel deliberately withheld. Thorn Grove has the right amount of candles; it could use a few more honest conversations.