Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn

87 reviews

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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emotional funny hopeful sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I bought a copy for my sister and decided to read it before I gave it to her. It's not my preferred genre but it was very fun! I liked the characters a lot but lost interest towards the end. 

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I am someone who followed Jaysea from her TikTok series called Hell's Belles, so I already had an idea about the plot and knew most of the primary characters going in.

That being said, Jaysea does an incredible job with this book. The pacing is comfortable and even though I had a rough sketch of the plot beforehand, that in no way prepared me for the emotional
boot-fuck
delivered as the catalyzing event in the book.

Hell's Belles veterans and newcomers alike, be prepared to cry. The character development shown within this book (and in contrast to the skits on TikTok) is lethal, and you will be cheering for these characters whether they're old friends or not. 

I cannot wait to read the next book in the series, and this book will likely get a re-read very soon. 

And if you ever see this: congratulations Jaysea. You
fucking
did it!

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Oh my gosh this book was so fun. I didn't know I wanted a cozy fantasy set in hell but I ate this book up. This book is light on plot and heavy on vibes and character development which is just what I needed after reading several plot-heavy books. If healing from religious trauma in the context of a found family for close to 700 pages sounds like your vibe then this is the book for you. This book tackles some tough topics but balances it with humor so the story never got too dark. I fell hard for all the characters and I'm hoping we get a sequel because I'd love to see other characters go on the healing journey that our main characters did. Definitely check trigger warnings before diving in! The topics are dealt with in cathartic ways but the CSA and religious trauma are major themes throughout (as well as other themes that make appearances). 

The narrators knocked it out of the park. Belle's character is described in a specific way the narrator's performance was perfect for him! I also loved the narrator for Lily. This audiobook is a long one (23.5 hours) but it was totally worth it for everything the narrators brought to the story. 

Thanks to the publishers for the advance copies!

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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hopeful fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book healed something within me.
The unique take on the Afterlife presented with mixed mythologies, an insecure but lovable main character, Lily, a ridiculously nerdy MMC Bel, and a whole lot of found family wrapped up in this book of finding every aspect of love when you didn’t get to get it when you were alive, including for yourself. There was a lot of character development, which I loved, and the Hellp Desk, the reason Lily becomes so well-known to all those in the Afterlife, even outside of Hell, isn’t as prominent as I expected it to be within the book, but this wasn’t actually a hindrance, just a surprise as someone who is familiar with the skit series. However, I loved being able to see more of a story behind these characters and I cannot wait to see what the author comes up with next.

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book just sang to me. I've been following along with Hell's Belles on TikTok since the beginning, and have watched through the episodes several times. Even with all of that knowledge of the lore, even knowing that Jaysea Lynn is not shy about dropping truth bombs pertaining to trauma and growth, this book took my emotions and shook it around in the worst, most loving way. I requested that my local library buy it, they did, I got it Saturday, and I finished Monday morning. This book yoinked my entire weekend faster than a college kid grabbing free food samples. I'm also going to buy this book to have a copy of my own as soon as I'm able.

As someone with intense cPTSD and intimacy issues, this book is a must-read. It took so many angles of so many hard trains of thought and made me analyze my own pain in new lights. I'm absolutely discussing the epiphanies in therapy this afternoon. 

As someone who devours fantasy novels, this is a must-read. The pacing is so beautifully interlaid with the plot that I had to LITERALLY remember to stop to eat and drink water. The lore is sprinkled in bite-size amounts throughout the entire 600-page book, it's so beautiful that my author heart squeaked in an unknown register. 

As someone who loves squishy, slow-burn, adorable romances that have some VERY well-written spice, complete with a side of Guy-Obsessed-With-His-Partner, THIS BOOK IS A MUST-READ. 

Also the author uses a blanket content warning, which elevates this automatically in my opinion. Read the novel, follow her on tiktok, talk about it with a friend when it makes you cry. 10/10, thank you Jaysea, from the bottom of my heart 💛

This book does contain CSA, non-descriptive and fleeting. Any trauma listed in this book is quite fleeting. As someone with easily triggered traumas, this book was quite manageable and written with obvious care.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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