Book Review: Wisteria, a Magical Romantasy Read that Will Have You Stressed Until the Final Page
I almost hurled this book across the room when I finished it, I was that upset, but then I read the epilogue, and Adalyn Grace redeemed herself. Wisteria by Adalyn Grace was, by far, my favorite of the Belladonna trilogy. I read the first two books in this series, Belladonna and Foxglove earlier this year, and to be honest, I didn’t totally get the hype around them. They were ok, but Death, aka Silas, the love interest, watching Signa from when she was a baby honestly gave me the ick, and I haven’t seen anyone else talking about that. It’s definitely not focused on at all, nor was there anything icky about their relationship now that she’s an adult, but it was something that I found weird and it tarnished the series for me a bit. It’s a very beloved series on Booktok though, and I suppose when you’re dealing with immortal beings who’ve been around since the beginning of time, you can’t avoid it. Wisteria focuses on Silas’ brother, Fate, aka Aris, and Signa’s cousin, Blythe, and I thoroughly enjoyed their grumpy - grumpy banter and mutual loathing that gradually turns into something else. When I say you will be stressed reading this book until the very last page, I mean it. There are still some things left open ended with the villain in this story, so I’m hoping those will be wrapped up in a follow up novella that has been confirmed.
Things to Know:
Third book in the Belladonna series
Enemies to lovers
Grumpy - Grumpy trope
Forced proximity
There will be a fourth novella coming
Romantasy with minimal spice
Wisteria picks up where Foxglove ended, with Blythe finds herself with a new husband who loathes her as much as she loathes him, and stuck in a cold, dreary manor nothing like the illusion Aris had weaved for the people in their town. The banter in this book was so much fun, and I loved seeing their relationship develop. There were a couple of decisions Blythe made about things that made me want to pull my hair out in frustration, but I suppose there wouldn’t be a book if she didn’t.
I absolutely loved the winter setting for part of the novel while they were trying to fool her father into thinking he was visiting their fake Kingdom, Verena. We rarely get winter settings in Romantasy, and it was so vivid. Plus, it was so cute how much Aris actually does want her father’s approval, especially considering who he is. And you know I’m a sucker for a creature sidekick, and the fox, Beasty, was the cutest thing—if constantly misbehaving.
While the magic in these books is very nebulous, it’s still beautiful in how it manifests. There’s a scene where Aris and Blythe create a location together, and it was so mesmerizing to read. If you prefer hard magic systems, this is not the series for you.
I liked that Signa and Death/Silas were still very present in this novel, but Blythe and Aris truly do shine as the main couple. I’m trying to keep this review as spoiler free as possible… Solanine was wretched, and like I said, we don’t have a lot of answers yet, so I’ll be curious to see where the novella goes.
Now, would I have ended the book the way it was ended? No. I was honestly so upset and shocked and frustrated. Don’t worry, it is ok in the very, very end, but wow did it have me stressed.
A note on the narration: I love the audiobook version! The narrator does the different voices so well, and somehow captures Aris’ husky voice vibe. I highly recommend it with the physical copy.
Fave Quotes:
“The unfortunate truth is that the world doesn’t work that way. Not every genius will be appreciated, and too many amateurs will get the attention others deserve.”
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“Words are not the only form of answers, love.”
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