Published: September 30, 2025
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Series: Belladonna #3.5
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 381 (Kindle)
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Synopsis:
Something strange is happening at Wisteria Gardens, the magical manor that Blythe and Aris call home. All they want is a peaceful holiday season with their family, but a group of restless spirits is determined to threaten their festivities. With a new mystery to solve, Signa, Death, Blythe, and Fate must uncover what happened to Wisteria’s ghostly inhabitants and help the spirits move on before it’s too late.
After the conclusion of the Belladonna trilogy I expected nothing more in the universe. Imagine my delight when I saw that Adalyn Grace was releasing a holiday novella that takes place after the events of Wisteria. It’s set just before Christmas and centers around Blythe, Aris, Signa, Silas, and Blythe’s father celebrating their first holiday as a reunited family. Aris has just recently remembered that he is Fate and that Blythe is his wife and he’s determined to make this the most magical, perfect Christmas she’s ever had.
Unfortunately, it turns out Wisteria’s new location is haunted, though Silas (Death) assured everyone that there were no ghosts present. What could possibly be his motivation behind such a deception? Well, it’s either a terrible joke, as Blythe and Aris can’t stand the idea of being haunted yet again, or it’s an ill planned attempt at giving Signa an interesting puzzle to unravel. Appropriately, the ghosts are a theater troupe that died just before their performance of a Christmas play. The group must work together to bring them peace and send them along to the afterlife.
While it’s mostly cozy, there are darker undertones thanks to the whole troupe of dead people tromping around Wisteria and causing mischief. I wouldn’t really describe this as much of a mystery either, as it doesn’t take long to figure out what happened and who the people were. It’s more of a problem to be solved and I actually would have preferred this story if it just focused on our characters enjoying their holiday together and the crisis of Aris finding the perfect gifts.
Overall, Holly was a pleasant addition to the Belladonna trilogy and made a nice holiday novella as well. I was also happy to have additional resolution to the stories of Blythe and Aris and Signa and Sila, though the ‘mystery’ was not particularly satisfying.
Powder & Page 
Leave a comment