I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each one more interested in her wealth than her well-being—and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy. Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation, and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

However, Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful—and more irresistible—than she ever dared imagine.

Short and Sweet Review

Signa was orphaned as a baby and since then she has been raised by different guardians, each guardian has been interested in Signa’s wealth than her wellbeing and each of these guardians have meant an untimely end. Signa only has one more family to go to and it’s the Hawthornes and they live at Thorn Grove. The estate is nice but there’s also a gloomy vibe and that’s due to the matriarch recently passing. To deal with his grief the patriarch throws grand parties, the son is trying to gain control of the family business and keep the family name in good standing, and the daughter is suffering from an illness. When the ghost of the matriarch appears to Signa claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes the family she is depending on could be in grave danger. Signa teams up with the stable boy to figure out what’s going on at Thorn Grove, the thing is Signa may need the help of Death himself. Although Signa finds Death to be infuriating, Signa knows that their connection is powerful and he can help her.

Belladonna is so good and I’m upset I’ve taken so long to read it. Signa’s parents died when she was young but they left her a nice amount of money, she’s been living with different relatives and each one has been more concerned with money than her. Signa has tried to test the limits of death often trying different poisons or taking falls but each time she ends up being met by Death and brought back to the world of the living. When her latest guardian dies, Signa is sent to live with the Hawthornes. Signa meets the Hawthornes, Elijah, Blythe, and Percy. Signa quickly learns that after the passing on Lilith, Elijah has been throwing parties and Blythe is sick with the same illness that took her mother. Percy is more so concerned with keeping his family’s reputation. When Signa came to Thorn Grove she met Sylas, the stable boy but she ends up teaming up with him to find out what’s going on. Signa is also getting help from Death, who tries to teach Signa how to harness her powers. I loved the mystery, who killed Lilith and who was trying to do the same thing to Blythe? Even though Signa hasn’t known the Hawthornes long she’s determined to help them and I loved that about her. We don’t see much of Blythe because she’s confined to her room and dealing with the affects of her poison, but when we do see her she’s a bit out of it but we can tell even though she’s in a horrible predicament she trusts Signa to figure out what’s going on. We see a lot more of Percy, he’s been busy trying to run the family business and help his sister but he’s also skeptical of Signa. I loved the interactions between Signa and Death, even though she doesn’t understand why he’s always around her she knows there’s a connection between them. Death tries to help Signa solve the mystery and also learn more about her power of being in-between life and death. I also enjoyed Sylas as he was helpful and would be around most of the time when Signa needed him. The ending was surprising and the whole thing with Signa’s love interests blew my mind but I was happy. The ending wraps everything up nicely but it also sets up book two which I’m excited to read.

Overall, I loved this book and I think it was one of my first 5 star ratings of 2026. I’m so excited to see what the rest of the books in the series have to offer!