Adalyn Grace is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author of Belladonna and the All the Stars and Teeth duology. Prior to becoming a writer, Adalyn studied storytelling as an intern on Nickelodeon Animation's popular series The Legend of Korra. Local to San Diego, she spends her nonwriting days watching too much anime and playing video games with her two dorky dogs. You can find her on Instagram @authoradalyngrace or her website, AdalynGraceAuthor.com. You can find more of my reviews of her work here.
A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous palace nearby. He's hell-bent on revenge after Death took the life of woman he loved many years ago . . . and now he's determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost. Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from wrongful imprisonment if the girls will entertain Fate's presence. But the more time they spend with him, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate's past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide whom they can trust as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate's unexpected games—all with their destinies hanging in the balance. Daring, suspenseful, and seductive, this sequel to Death and Signa's story is as utterly romantic as it is perfectly deadly.
I have been waiting to dive back into this world after I finished Belladonna last year, and I have to say that Foxglove wasn't really what I was expecting at all, so buckle up for a bit of a longer review!
I reread Belladonna before reading Foxglove for a refresher, and I think after a year of getting more heavily involved in bookstagram and discourse surrounding young female characters being enchanted with immortal beings, I find that I'm more wary of romances between those types of characters. While I think Death's and Signa's relationship in Belladonna is entirely appropriate otherwise, I found myself hoping for Foxglove to reinforce the love they shared, and to see them further developing that relationship. However, due to Fate's arrival, Signa's time with Death is severely limited, which means that this gothic fantasy romance doesn't have much romance in it. While Signa's love is in every page, it's mostly her familial love for Blythe and the Hawthorne family that motivates her through Foxglove. And while that is certainly important and powerful, it means the book doesn't deliver on the huge promise of love shared between Death and Signa in Belladonna.
Going off of this, I wanted more from Fate's character as well. There's a sort-of pseudo-love-triangle situation between Signa, Fate, and Death that never gets delivered on, because Signa hardly interacts with Fate throughout the book, either. I was hoping Fate would like a Matthew Fairchild type character (if you haven't read Cassandra Clare's books, run don't walk), but he doesn't get much page-time to make any type of impression outside of his hope for who Signa is. In some ways, I wanted Signa to be tempted by Fate, so that tension there would build, especially since Death was so absent. I felt pretty conflicted about all of this, to say the least.
I loved how Blythe jumped in and helped narrate the story of Foxglove. Although, another big question mark for me was Blythe's character as a whole. I loved that she had a chance to come into this story more, now that she was no longer sick, but I had so many questions about her character outside of her desire to save her father. Who is she? Why is she so motivated? How is she mourning the loss of her family members? What's her past? I could answer all of these questions for Signa, but not for Blythe. While Blythe certainly is taking action throughout the book, I had a hard time understanding who she was outside of the present-day moments for her. Because of that, I wished her POVs had been more balanced with Signa's. I felt that Signa still had a lot of narrative control, when maybe Blythe should have been given more so that we could learn more about her and how she views the world. I also felt that being in her head more, and navigating this tumultuous time with her in a more balanced way, would have made the ending more impactful.
I don't want to end on a negative note! I've followed Grace's publishing career thus far, and am always so impressed by her writing chops, and how atmospheric all of her books feel. Even though I read the All the Tides of Fate duology years ago, I have distinct memories of reading them because of how deeply immersed I got into that world. I felt, every time I opened Belladonna and Foxglove, so immersed in this gothic world, too. I wanted to know more about how Death and Fate interacted with the human souls around them, and I wanted to know where girls like Blythe and Signa fit into that scheme, and I wanted to know if anyone would die and if anyone did if others would figure out how. Grace knows how to steep her writing into the atmosphere to keep readers engaged. It makes me excited that there's going to be a third book in this series to thread through the gaps that appear here, and tighten everything back up. The best part is how the title of that third book is Wisteria, and I already cannot wait for the cover reveal.
I am still 100% intrigued by how the trilogy will end, so you can stay tuned until August 2024, when Wisteria comes out. Until then, you can find Adalyn on Instagram @authoradalyngrace or her website, AdalynGraceAuthor.com. You can find more of my reviews of her work here.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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