[00:00:21] Ka-Ce: Hello, and welcome to Books, Cats, and Chaos. This is a special In-Between episode where I’m going to do a book review, and the book is For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn. If you’re new here, I’m Ka-Ce. I’m half of the Books, Cats, and Chaos, uh, creators. James is off creating chaos with our cats, and I am a fellow book dragon and cat mom. Content warning, just like all of our other episodes, this In-Between episode is for adults only, as I will be discussing adult themes and probably will use some adult language.
[00:00:59] If you like what you hear, please give us a follow or rating. We are currently on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and all of the special social medias. Not special, social. Uh, TikTok, Threads, Insta, Facebook. Uh, so, let’s jump right into it. Like many on TikTok, I have been highly anticipating Jaysea Lynn’s debut novel, For Whom the Belle Tolls.
[00:01:26] As soon as she announced it, I pre ordered it on Amazon. could not wait for it. I’ve, I’ve been waiting and wanting this book as soon as she, you know, had started saying that she was getting ready to publish it. if you haven’t already, I highly, highly, highly recommend watching Jaysea’s videos. On the Hellp desk in Hell’s Belles, all of the characters she has created, they’re just, they’re phenomenal.
[00:01:53] Her storytelling, her acting, the skits, her humor, her wit, everything is just chef’s [00:02:00] kiss, top notch. Absolutely love it. So, when I found out that she was writing a book, um, and self publishing, I was like, yes. I need more. I, I love everything about these skits, about this world that she has created, so. Really, really, really was like, yes, can’t wait for this book.
[00:02:21] Um, I will have to say this book is like a detailed prequel to her videos. Um, do I think you need to watch the videos in order to read and enjoy the book? No, you, you don’t have to sit through all the hours of all of her TikTok videos, or I believe she’s putting them on YouTube now. Do I think you should watch the skits anyways?
[00:02:44] Yes, 100 percent yes. Go enjoy it. Have fun with it. but like I said, the book is like a detailed prequel to the skits. you get more insight into some of the characters. So, if you happen to like any of the following themes or tropes, this book is definitely for you. Friends to Lovers. Romantasy.
[00:03:09] More on the urban romantasy side, I would say. Demon human relationships and, yes, sex. Uh, a strong FMC. A demon MMC. Complete with wings and a tail and horns, um, a healthy consensual relationship, and found family. So, with that said, I’ll give a little synopsis of the story and just kind of my own notes about, like, plot, uh, character building, that sort of thing,
[00:03:44] And yeah, you can go out and find the book. So, Lily is our main character, our main FMC, and she is diagnosed with aggressive cancer and dies, leaving behind her parents, her brothers, and all of her goals and dreams that she had for [00:04:00] herself on the mortal world. She isn’t thrilled with being dead and in the afterlife, even though her personal slice of paradise is phenomenal.
[00:04:10] And while she is visiting other realms, she can’t quite bring herself to go into the Heaven Realm. Instead she’s drawn to Hell, and into the soul sorting area of Hell. And after meeting with several demons that are trying to work in this area, inspiration strikes and she starts the Hellp Desk. And she forms new relationships, um, You know, with other demons, and other souls, and some deities.
[00:04:42] And she happens to have a chance meeting with Bel, who will be our, main MMC. And later on Sharkie. And it has her re examining her goals and her thoughts on reincarnation and what she ultimately wants for herself. But not all is peaceful in paradise, and there is a threat from another universe that wants to destroy everything and everyone that Lily and her newfound family hold dear.
[00:05:11] Unless they can take a stand and fight like hell. So, moving forward, I will try not to give a whole lot of spoilers or anything. I’ll try to keep it as spoiler free as possible. if you don’t care about that, please continue to read or watch on. but if not, this might be a good stopping point for you.
[00:05:33] And, you know, DM us, message us, email us. Let’s discuss this book and let me know if you enjoyed this book as much as I did. So the plot, pacing of the book, overall, I really enjoyed it. I thought the plot and the pacing were really nicely done. I did feel like the very beginning was a little rushed. we start the journey, we meet Lily, like I said, When she is immortal, when [00:06:00] she’s on Earth.
[00:06:01] And I felt like it was a little rushed, her, her finding out about the cancer and her dying. And I get that the meat and the crux of this book is her journey in the afterlife. It was just a little, I don’t want to say jarring, but it was a little abrupt for me. It was like, fast, fast, fast, and then now we can slow down the pace.
[00:06:25] That was just me. My own opinion. But I don’t know if there was any other way around that. Like I said, the meat of this book is her being in the afterlife and forming her relationships and coming to terms with what she wanted and what she wants now. Like I said, I could not put this book down. I, as soon as the, as soon as it came in on my Kindle, I was like, yes.
[00:06:55] Hold all my emails, hold all my calls. I, I’m reading this book. Do not bother me.
[00:07:01] The character building, I really, really enjoyed the character building of not only Lily, but also of Bel and Sharkie. so even though the book focuses mostly on Lily, we do get, um, some points of view of Bel and through Lily and Bel we see Sharkie. so each character has their own set of issues, their own traumas that they have to work through and we get to see them.
[00:07:31] Go through these, coming to terms with these, but also building on each other, and then how they’re found family, how they’re there for each other, um, and they know that they are in a safe place, and they’re respected, and they’re loved, and they know that they have a community to fall back to, and so they’re able to work through the issues and through the traumas that they have had.
[00:07:57] So, I really enjoyed. going [00:08:00] through this development with each character. I loved watching Lily’s mind work as she saw an issue at the soul sorting area for Hell and how she developed the Hellp desk and then how it just kept evolving from there. Um, it was as much for the demons, but it was more for her too, which was really cool.
[00:08:25] And you don’t really get that in the skits. You know that it started, that it was her idea, but now we get to see how it started and how it involved. So, it was really cool to see that dynamic. Prose and style, the book mainly follows Lily, but once we’re introduced to Bel, we do get a shift between the both of them.
[00:08:45] So we get to see mainly her, and her story, but we do get to follow Bel around, as well. So it was nice to get that switch up, um, you know. Getting to see the afterlife from her point of view and how she views things, but also from Bel’s point of view, who was born into this as being a demon, and how he works around this, so it was a nice shift back and forth.
[00:09:16] There is some spice in this book, so if I were to give a spice level to this book, I would say maybe,Three and a half to four chili peppers out of five chili peppers. The first good portion of this book doesn’t really contain any spice. sex jokes, yes. Innuendos, yes.
[00:09:36] Some flirting, yes. actual sexy fun time comes later once the relationship develops. And then once it happens, I feel like it happens quite a bit. Personally, for me, I felt like it happened a little bit too much. Don’t get me wrong. This girl loves some sexy scenes. I [00:10:00] just like it when the sex helps to drive the story forward.
[00:10:04] And I felt like there were a couple that were in there just to be in there. Just for the fun of it. And I don’t feel like it helped move the narrative along. Again. That’s just me. That is my opinion. Not everybody will agree, and that’s okay. everybody likes a different amount of sex scenes in their book.
[00:10:25] So, yeah. Towards the end of the book, I felt like there was a lot more of the sex scenes. And that’s okay. If you like that, more power to you. For the world building, I really enjoyed the world building in this book. We get to learn about the world, the afterlife, through Lily and with Lily. So as she’s learning about it, we’re learning about it.
[00:11:00] And so there’s not like this big, great information dump that we get in, like, a lot of fantasy series. It’s, as she is exploring new things and as she’s talking to people, she’s learning about it, so we’re learning about it. so yeah, it was, it was greatly, really well done to the point where I feel like Jaysea created such a unique afterlife and take that I personally wish that it was real.
[00:11:25] Like, that’s the kind of afterlife. I would be excited for. and who knows, maybe, maybe she’s onto something and that’s, that’s what we get to look forward to. if you’re highly, highly religious, I, I don’t know if this would be for you. I grew up religious and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I, I love the take on God and Lucifer, Luci.
[00:11:53] And some other gods and goddesses that are mentioned in there, and the demons, And that hell, even though it has, like, these [00:12:00] nine layers, The first couple are for The hell is for a justice system, basically, And it’s giving people a way to come to terms with why they’re there, or what they did wrong, and you know, it’s meeting out justice, but it’s also giving people a place to work out their traumas and their flaws and everything.
[00:12:32] I think Jaysea just created something really, really just wonderful and well done. I found this book, like, cathartic and healing in some ways. And. I know I, I cried in a couple of scenes, um, so it, it, it, it’s, I, I can’t say this enough, it is just really, really well done. emotional impact triggers, For Whom The Belle Tolls, does go through some dark and heavy content.
[00:13:10] Where it does not show explicit abusive scenes or anything. There are several forms of abuse and traumas that are talked about, with different characters. so like I mentioned, I did cry in some of these scenes because I could just relate, um, with my own past traumas and everything. And, like I said, I, I felt a sort of cathartic, healing, something.
[00:13:43] I respected how she wrote these scenes and how characters came to terms with them. It was nice to be seen and not feel alone and I think Jaysea just did a wonderful job with these characters and [00:14:00] with these sort of traumas. She, she researched her stuff and she did a wonderful, wonderful job. Is this reread worthy?
[00:14:14] Hell yes. Hell yes. I absolutely love the world and the characters Jaysea has created. I know I always look forward to new episodes, that she puts out. And I felt like reading the book is just an extension of. The stories that she has put out already, It allowed me to get to know some of the characters better.
[00:14:37] And get to know the world that she has created more in depth. And plus now, I can’t wait for book two. And getting to know Penny more. Uh, if you guys watch the videos, you know who Penny is. And so I, I am looking forward to getting to see Penny’s growth and development. As well as her start. Um, At the Hellp desk and her start of her relationship with Lily and Sharkie and Bel and a certain demon later on.
[00:15:09] So right now this book is, an ebook only. I know you can get it like on Kindle, Barnes and Noble and stuff. Jaysea has them listed. So, if she ever does decide to publish a physical book, I will definitely get it and have it sitting on my shelf. I, I can’t wait. I think, I, I wish her all the best and I hope she keeps, creating more stories and publishes more books.
[00:15:38] So, yeah, if you haven’t already read it, I highly recommend it. Again, For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn. And I will link, um, a couple places where you can get it down in the show notes. So, Thank you so much for tuning in. I know this was a quick little, book review here. make sure to come back for more In-Between episodes [00:16:00] where James and I will review our current reads, and maybe at some point we’ll do an In-Between episode together on a book we’ve read, that we’ve both have read.
[00:16:10] In the meantime, we are currently deep diving the Throne of Glass series. So if you haven’t read those books and are curious about it, or perhaps you have read them and you just really happen to miss the world, uh, you know, Celaena, Aelin, Dorian, Chaol, check out our Throne of Glass series podcast. We just finished the first book, Throne of Glass, and we’ll be starting on Crowd of Midnight real soon.
[00:16:34] James has also picked up Fourth Wing, just because of all the excitement around Onyx Storm and he has seen me just go absolutely crazy. So he has picked up Fourth Wing and is absolutely loving it. So we may start a deep dive of the Empyrean world as well. If you like that idea, please give us a comment or an email, and let us know if we should, if we should deep dive the Empyrean world.
[00:17:01] As always, please remember to rate, like, and subscribe. Send us a DM or email for any future books you would like us to review. You can email us at hello at bookscatsandchaos. com. like I mentioned before, we are on Facebook, TikTok threads, Instagram, and YouTube. So, you can reach us out.
[00:17:28] Please also make sure to give us some love, or to give some love over at K9 1 1 ResQ, that’s K9 1 1 R E S Q, and the Pasadena Humane Society for all of their hard work right now. They have been, for weeks now, helping as many animals as they can, due to the L. A. fires. You know, they’ve been picking up animals, housing animals, trying to reconnect owners with their lost animals.
[00:17:56] so please, please, please go give them some love, [00:18:00] some donations. they can use them. I will link both rescues in the show notes below and take care and happy reading.
