Reviews tagging 'Grief'

For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn

103 reviews

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective tense 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: Complicated

As a fan of the Jaysea Lynn's (@sea.ya.later) Hell's Bells series on TikTok, I was ecstatic to hear that she was writing a prequel novel. I was blown away by the depth and care to which she wrote these characters. The relationships between Lily, Bel, Sharkie, Luci, and all of the others feel grounded in reality even if she is talking about a 7 foot tall purple demon or a sentient Hobbit-hole.

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layneascher's review

4.0
lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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: Yes

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

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Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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: Yes

I don't know if I can accurately put into words just how much I love this book. If there is an afterlife, I hope this is what it's like. This book has one of the kindest, most empathetic takes on death and the afterlife that I have ever seen. This book shattered my heart and put it back together again. I was laughing and crying, sometimes within the same chapter. It is a long book, and you absolutely HAVE to mind the trigger/content warnings. That said, this book could've been a thousand hours long, and I'd have been perfectly content. I've loved the Hell's Belles series on TikTok almost since the beginning, so I already knew and loved the characters, but this book somehow added even more depth to them and made me love them even more, which I really didn't think was possible. I've listened to this book twice already (which is, admittedly, a little insane since it's almost 24 hours long). The first time I read it, I finished it in two days, because I simply could not wait for the next work day to find out what happened next. The second time I read it, it took me through three full shifts at work. To be honest, I'll probably read this several times between now and the release of the next book. The world is so rich and engaging, and the writing is so beautiful. If you love couples who are also best friends, I highly, highly recommend you give this book a try!

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

A thirty-something dies from cancer and she’s now a soul in the afterlife, who opens a help desk in Hell, where she uses her customer service experience to deal with difficult souls who resent being sent to, well, Hell. She falls in love with a demon (a prince of hell and a general in Lucifer’s army), adopts a lost little soul named Sharky, and gives God a piece of her mind. 

It was creative but also weird, and it felt a little too long. And it was also super horny. I actually skipped a few of the steamy scenes because I just wasn’t feeling it. But I liked the found family elements. So overall a mixed bag.

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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: Yes

This is a 6⭐️ read!!!! Wow, what an emotional journey this book takes us on. I cried, I laughed and I cried some more. Every character was loveable and raw, but our MC’s were truly special.

We explore grief and how that can look different for many people, how we cope with grief and learn to acknowledge it and heal from it. 

The struggle with identity and religion is also a main factor, highlighting that faith can be warped at times and that having a sense of self is always important. 

This a beautiful commentary on the afterlife and that even if our physical bodies can no longer continue to fight, our souls and spirits continue to grow and exist in another realm. 

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