Wisteria by Adalyn Grace

Blythe Hawthorne has never let anyone tell her what to do—not society, not her overprotective father, and certainly not the man she’s bound herself to, no matter how rude and insufferable he is. In fact, she’s determined to be a thorn in his side for the rest of her days, even as he ensures that her life in his palace is anything but a fairytale. But as Blythe discovers a new side of herself linked to his past, she’ll have to decide if she’s willing to let an unexpected spark ignite…and to discover the truth about who she really is.

 

Series: Belladonna #3 | Publisher: Little, Brown |  Genre: Romantasy | Source: Purchased | Rating: 3.25

Due to Blythe tricking Fate, she and Aris are married. They’re living, unhappily, together, bound by the rings the Fate bestowed upon them. When Blythe’s father arrives at Wisteria to check in on his daughter and her new husband, Fate/Aris must keep up the ruse that they are a happily married couple but there’s something going on with Blythe’s father and soon they find themselves back at Blythe’s childhood home and the chaos that’s going on.

This is the third and final full-length book in the Belladonna Series and I was apprehensive going into this book as the main characters have shifted from Signa and Death to Blythe and Fate/Aris. If you’ve read my previous reviews (Belladonna and Foxglove), you’ll know that Blythe wasn’t my favorite character. In the first two books she’s immature, slightly annoying, and didn’t seem a strong enough character to hold her own book. While the ending of Foxglove shown potential for Blythe’s growth, I feel like Blythe was still too weak of a character to hold her own book and I didn’t feel as though she experienced any type of character growth.

Fate/Aris was a fun and interesting character. He has a story to tell, one that’s very layered and intriguing but I don’t feel as though the author allowed him to fully tell his story. So much could have been done with Fate/Aris and I feel as though his surface was barely scratched.

I did enjoy the banter between Fate/Aris and Blythe. This was something that was formed in the second book and continued on in the third book. While their interactions were great, their chemistry was lacking. I was waiting for the moment when Fate/Aris realized just what Blythe meant to him and, when it finally came, it was lackluster.

Another thing that threw me with this book was the change in tone. The series has changed as it progressed. The first book was a solid Gothic mystery. The second was a little more on the mild side of Gothic and featured more romance and mystery. This book, the third, completely changed and I feel as though it dove headfirst into a Regency Romantasy and completely forgot that it had Gothic roots.

I feel as though the change in tone caused this book to have a slow, rough start.

As this is the final full-length book in the series, there’s a lot that this book needed to address. Unfortunately, a lot of questions went unanswered and the conclusion of the series mystery arc seemed like half an answer.

Overall, this one left me wanting more. I wanted more of the Gothic feel, more of the mystery, more chemistry, more growth, more of Fate’s story, more of everything really.

There is a novella, Holly, coming out in October, which I hope addresses more of these questions but I have a feeling it’s not going to happen.