If you’re a TikTok frequenter, you might have heard of Jaysea Lynn’s “Hell’s Belles” series which apparently happens to be pretty popular. Now, there’s a book on this series, For Whom the Belle Tolls. Is this a Booktok hype I can get behind or is my ‘I can’t deal with hypes’ argument still standing?

About the book

For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn
Published by Independently published on December 30, 2024
Pages: 628
ISBN: 9798991230506
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

They told her to go to Hell.

She’ll go on her own terms.

Lily is less than thrilled about her arrival to the Afterlife, but what awaits her is more fantastical than she ever could have imagined. Deities wait in line at the coffee shop. Fae flit between realms. Souls find ways to make death a beginning.

As Lily explores everything the Afterlife has to offer, she finds herself drawn to a place most people would rather avoid at all costs: Hell.

What she discovers there subverts everything she’s ever learned, and Lily realizes the demons working at the gate to guide souls need help—badly. Armed with years of customer service experience and pent-up sarcasm, Lily carves out a place for herself among the demons, confronting, sassing, and aiding the spectrum of humanity to redefine justice and redemption.

A chance meeting with Bel, a demon general with a distractingly sexy voice, sparks an immediate and deeply healing friendship. However, the undeniable heat between them simmers, and it’s only a matter of time before it combusts.

Meanwhile, something stirs beyond the boundaries of their world, threatening to destroy everything they’ve ever known and everything that could be… unless they fight like Hell to stop it.

My review

Before reading

Okay, I totally didn’t know what to expect from this book. I am not on Booktok and never will be, so it’s not from that platform I learnt about this book. In fact, it was from a Discord server. It got chosen as book of the month for December and truth be told, if that didn’t happen I probably would never have picked it up. My expectations were very low, because yeah it’s another Booktok hype. And, let’s face it, the quality of those hyped books is not too good, mediocre at best. Especially the newer releases. I hardly enjoy those and therefore stay as far away from them as possible. However, I decided to play nice and read this one, not expecting it to be a chonker, and definitely not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.

Characters

This book is classified as a cozy fantasy, so the characters are quite important. And Lynn delivers on those, although I wasn’t sure at first. Lily is dead and enters the afterlife. Here she meets lots of restless souls, but also gods and demons. With her experience in customer service, she tries to invent a “hellpdesk” to direct souls to their destination and answer their questions. Along the way she befriends the most diverse group of people, whom mostly consists of demons. The prince of hell, Belle, is amongst them. These characters are all real friendly, unless things get serious. They communicate in a healthy way, especially Lily and Belle. Their chemistry is undeniable. I just enjoyed everyone’s banter and Lily finally finding a place where she belongs. If you love found family, these characters do pique your interest.

Writing

Despite it’s length, the writing of this book is smooth. I have to admit that I had a tough time at first, but once the story progresses, I got used to it. The chapters are of average length and the POV changes are clearly noticeable. Admittedly, I missed it the first time, but I grew into it. It’s just captivating and I found it hard to put the book down. Reading into the AM did happen.

Plot

The plot is the least important element of the book and that shows. Is that bad? No, not at all. It’s pretty predictable as it follows the formulaic structure of a romance. There is some tension as something is brewing. Not just in hell, but also romantically. However, the spice is not continuously present. It’s there and adds up to the actual story. If you prefer plot driven books with high stakes, than this one might not be too intriguing for you.

Final thoughts

Usually I check whether characters and plot are balanced, and reading enjoyment is a side thought when reviewing a book. With Jaysea Lynn’s For Whom the Belle Tolls however, I put all review etiquette aside and just let my reading enjoyment dictate my rating. When just solely looking at characters and plot, this book would definitely have received a lower rating. However, I had an unexpectedly good time whilst reading, so I just had no choice than rating this book 10 out of 10, a.k.a. five stars. I think it’s not too cozy, although the stakes are pretty low. However, there is some tension that increase the stakes a bit. The spice does too, although it’s not constantly present. It’s not minimal either, because the spice there is, is pretty graphic. But, it adds up to the story and that matters. The healthy communication between these characters is refreshing too. I wasn’t really aware of the size of this book as I flew through it in a breeze ha! But yeah, it’s a big one.