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The Bell Chime
Winner of the Ladies of Horror Fiction Award for Best Novella of 2020
"Can you hear the bell chime?"
A girl suffering from paralyzing night terrors finds a missing poster hanging from the door of her apartment building. On that poster is a photograph of a frighteningly familiar face.
It’s her.
Only, she’s never seen this photo before and something about its grin scares her. How its eyes seem to follow her no matter where she finds herself in the room.
Over a series of strange events to follow—events that will make her question whether her sanity is still there or fleeting—she must discover:
What is real and what is the nightmare?
The Bell Chime is the disturbing, psychological novella debut from Mona Kabbani. Slated for publication on September 2nd, 2020, the Full Corn Moon.
"Can you hear the bell chime?"
A girl suffering from paralyzing night terrors finds a missing poster hanging from the door of her apartment building. On that poster is a photograph of a frighteningly familiar face.
It’s her.
Only, she’s never seen this photo before and something about its grin scares her. How its eyes seem to follow her no matter where she finds herself in the room.
Over a series of strange events to follow—events that will make her question whether her sanity is still there or fleeting—she must discover:
What is real and what is the nightmare?
The Bell Chime is the disturbing, psychological novella debut from Mona Kabbani. Slated for publication on September 2nd, 2020, the Full Corn Moon.
154 pages, Paperback
First published September 2, 2020
391 people are currently reading
14013 people want to read
About the author
Mona Kabbani
12 books427 followersMona Kabbani is a horror fan, writer, and reviewer obsessed with psychology and the human condition. She emulates the conflict of the good versus the bad and all of the in between in her work while providing an entertainingly horrifying experience. She is the author of The Bell Chime, which won the award for Best Horror Novella of 2020 from LoHF, Vanilla, and For You. She is a Lebanese immigrant living the dream in New York City where much of her writing is inspired. You can follow her on Instagram and TikTok @moralityinhorror for more and sign up for her mailing list on her website, www.moralityinhorror.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 823 reviews
August 25, 2025
I don’t quite know what I just read omg wow… but it was well-written lol. Unsure if I’ve ever come across a book with an intermission half-way through before.
I love this author’s mind. I am now very intrigued by Mona Kabbani, especially considering this is their debut!
The Bell Chime is a unique, dark, horror novella about night terrors and sleep paralysis.
The foreboding sense of utter dread and terror is built up well throughout. The psychological horror elements build up as the characters, and the reader, try to figure out what is a dream and what is reality…
”What would you abandon for happiness?”
I love this author’s mind. I am now very intrigued by Mona Kabbani, especially considering this is their debut!
The Bell Chime is a unique, dark, horror novella about night terrors and sleep paralysis.
The foreboding sense of utter dread and terror is built up well throughout. The psychological horror elements build up as the characters, and the reader, try to figure out what is a dream and what is reality…
”What would you abandon for happiness?”
January 5, 2023
A beautifully written story that at times felt like I was experiencing a night terror. Loved it!!
May 10, 2024
I’ve been on an amazing roll of exceptional reads. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m just happy that it’s happening.
The Bell Chime is unnerving from the very beginning and it’s getting all five of my stingy stars. Although I haven't been super grinchy with them in 2021! I’m starting to sound like a broken record and this is such a strange spot for grouchy me to be in!
A young novelist spots a strangely sinister missing persons poster tacked to the door inside of her apartment complex. The poster features her face but her face is twisted in a weird way! What the heck? And things, well, things only get weirder from here and I am not going to spoiler any of it for you.
The Bell Chime is crawl under your skin creepy and impressively disturbing and at one point incredibly gross and it will more than likely confuse you. It confused me and I was pretty sure it was going to break my brain by the time all was said and done but it’s also incredibly readable. And the way it all comes together in the end is exquisite! Perfect really. I don’t have a single complaint. Books like these are welcome to break my brain any day of the week. My highest recommendation. I think everyone should read it! Right. This. Minute!
CW:
The Bell Chime is unnerving from the very beginning and it’s getting all five of my stingy stars. Although I haven't been super grinchy with them in 2021! I’m starting to sound like a broken record and this is such a strange spot for grouchy me to be in!
A young novelist spots a strangely sinister missing persons poster tacked to the door inside of her apartment complex. The poster features her face but her face is twisted in a weird way! What the heck? And things, well, things only get weirder from here and I am not going to spoiler any of it for you.
The Bell Chime is crawl under your skin creepy and impressively disturbing and at one point incredibly gross and it will more than likely confuse you. It confused me and I was pretty sure it was going to break my brain by the time all was said and done but it’s also incredibly readable. And the way it all comes together in the end is exquisite! Perfect really. I don’t have a single complaint. Books like these are welcome to break my brain any day of the week. My highest recommendation. I think everyone should read it! Right. This. Minute!
CW:
May 15, 2021
This was an interesting story. But I couldn't get into the horror of the story. I think because the poster reveal and what follows happened so quickly it didn't come off as creepy. Not much buildup. The author also writes too much description. Sometimes I just wanted her to get on with the plot instead of describing a setting. She's a good writer but a lot of the sentences seemed like she wanted to be poetic. And I didn't really understand what the bell chime was. The author didn't really explain it or it went right over my head.
I read this because it got a lot of good reviews and an author I read reviewed it. It's not bad, but I don't know what everyone else is talking about.
I read this because it got a lot of good reviews and an author I read reviewed it. It's not bad, but I don't know what everyone else is talking about.
November 26, 2022
This book consumed me in ways I never thought it would. I deal with depression and nightmares and this book hit home for me. Did I want this book to end? No. I felt like I was stuck in a fever dream that I didn’t want to wake up from. Am I even awake now?
February 22, 2024
Very well written, uncomfortable and sometimes almost ethereal feeling, worth the read just for the stylistic experience.
January 25, 2021
Did I read the same book as everyone else? I thought this was pretty pedestrian for an adult novel, one that professes to be horror. I’m sure the author has something better inside her, and I’ll give her another shot with her next book, but this one... I feel like the emperor has no clothes, if you catch my drift. I even gave it to a writer friend of mine, and he agreed. Good for Mona for collecting so many positive reviews from unpaid strangers.
October 8, 2020
This little novella just absolutely knocked me off my feet! And to think that it’s the authors debut makes it even more mind blowing. How can a first time author be so damn bloody good?! Amazement at that fact aside, this story is just so freaking excellent. I could feel the terror and dread mounting as I was reading and I was so absorbed by it, I felt like I was in the story along with the characters and living it alongside them. It is such a beautiful and yet incredibly creepy and terrifying story at the same time and I just devoured it in one sitting and then was terribly sad that it was already over. This author is one to watch out for, I can’t want to see what they come up with next!
June 27, 2023
On the lower end of being a 3-star but there’s something there. A young woman thinks she is going insane, starts seeing missing posters with her own face on them and keeps hearing a bell chime. We learn all is not what it initially seems. It’s a portrait of youthful anxiety, if not very deep, but reasonably heartfelt. Almost gave up multiple times during the first segment which I thought was pretty bad, only for it to turn out in the afterward that the first part was a short piece that the author had expanded on. Well, thank goodness for improvements. It’s short, there’s a disturbed, sort of anxious vibe; a light snack of mental illness perhaps.
September 2, 2024
this is one of those books where I needed to read the afterword to ✨️get it✨️ but once I got it, it's clearly very well done.
January 17, 2025
Absolutely exquisitely written. It’s a tale I love—one about wanting to escape a dour existence, and having the only alternative be sweet lies. But oh how comforting those sweet lies are. And this book gets that—it’s not laced with bullshit and happily ever after; it gets that the happy ending as a concept—in itself—is bullshit. Dark and cerebral. Just the way I like it.
October 4, 2022
If I could give this book a half of a star I would.
It began with a half thought out version of a nightmare.
It drifted endlessly through boring and awful prose that discussed the ins and outs of psychosis with the same understanding as a self-diagnosing teen on tumblr.
It went through a pretentious and haughty intermission that served absolutely no purpose than for the author to say "look, this is scary, okay?"
Then it ended with a predictable, annoying, and whiny ending.
I think the worst part about this is the pretentiousness. The complete lack of humble grace that comes from actually being a writer and not being someone who spouts off random words and calls it horror.
Worst book I've read in a long time. Don't waste your time.
It began with a half thought out version of a nightmare.
It drifted endlessly through boring and awful prose that discussed the ins and outs of psychosis with the same understanding as a self-diagnosing teen on tumblr.
It went through a pretentious and haughty intermission that served absolutely no purpose than for the author to say "look, this is scary, okay?"
Then it ended with a predictable, annoying, and whiny ending.
I think the worst part about this is the pretentiousness. The complete lack of humble grace that comes from actually being a writer and not being someone who spouts off random words and calls it horror.
Worst book I've read in a long time. Don't waste your time.
November 26, 2022
One of the most creative and dynamic horror stories I’ve read.
"Can you hear the bell chime?"
The Bell Chime is a novella that does several things really well. It structurally does some things that managed to surprise me, in ways I didn't even know I could be surprised. Definitely don't skip the introduction!
It's comfortably at home in the horror genre, continually unsettling even when the overt scares are on the back burner. It works at delivering horror that's sometimes predictable (I mean, any horror nut out there has seen a spooky picture change.) But there's just as much that feels fresh and introspective. It wears its melancholy on its sleeve (book sleeve?) and leans into the bleakest terrors of the human mind.
How many nights has she had like this? Where one little word or wrong question triggers her? Where she cries herself to sleep because she can’t deal with the eventuality. The eventuality that everything is just as it is, that there is no explanation. No rhyme, no reason. These things just sometimes happen.
The Bell Chime is an odd and haunting little book that I never expected. I'm always happy to find a hidden horror gem like this one.
"Can you hear the bell chime?"
The Bell Chime is a novella that does several things really well. It structurally does some things that managed to surprise me, in ways I didn't even know I could be surprised. Definitely don't skip the introduction!
It's comfortably at home in the horror genre, continually unsettling even when the overt scares are on the back burner. It works at delivering horror that's sometimes predictable (I mean, any horror nut out there has seen a spooky picture change.) But there's just as much that feels fresh and introspective. It wears its melancholy on its sleeve (book sleeve?) and leans into the bleakest terrors of the human mind.
How many nights has she had like this? Where one little word or wrong question triggers her? Where she cries herself to sleep because she can’t deal with the eventuality. The eventuality that everything is just as it is, that there is no explanation. No rhyme, no reason. These things just sometimes happen.
The Bell Chime is an odd and haunting little book that I never expected. I'm always happy to find a hidden horror gem like this one.
January 21, 2023
What would you abandon for happiness?
A girl discovers a missing person poster with her face on it. What follows is a tightly coiled tale of paranoia, grief, and the lengths we’ll go to in order to escape reality.
This didn’t go in the way I expected it to, tbh, but that’s what made it so intriguing. It kept me on my toes. There are countless “what the fuck?!” moments. I loved the narration, the breaking of the fourth wall. The author really invites the reader into the story and that’s what makes it so fucking terrifying.
The writing is v dramatic at times. Somewhat inconsistently. Gets lost in metaphors and imagery.
A girl discovers a missing person poster with her face on it. What follows is a tightly coiled tale of paranoia, grief, and the lengths we’ll go to in order to escape reality.
This didn’t go in the way I expected it to, tbh, but that’s what made it so intriguing. It kept me on my toes. There are countless “what the fuck?!” moments. I loved the narration, the breaking of the fourth wall. The author really invites the reader into the story and that’s what makes it so fucking terrifying.
The writing is v dramatic at times. Somewhat inconsistently. Gets lost in metaphors and imagery.
February 14, 2024
It's not often that I can honestly say "I don't get it"...but this one? I don't get it, and I don't think from what I did get, that I ever want to. It's a novella of psychological horror that makes the worse nightmare you ever had fall into the best dream you ever had category. The story is mostly a horrible depiction of a person in the midst of a quite severe mental illness, and much of the narrative is from the main character's muddled and delusional point of view. To say this character's grasp on reality has taken the last train out of the station and is far down the line...is a vast understatement.
January 12, 2023
I’m always looking for unique books, and boy, did I ever find one with The Bell Chime. It’s told out of order (like Pulp Fiction), so the information is presented slowly, carefully and oh so perfectly (with a little help from our narrator who feels like the story guide from the Dark Pictures Anthology games)! The prose stands out with each simile landing on a beautiful dark note. There’s so much emotion jammed in this story that when you finally take a step back to think about what you just read, you have so much to feel and chew on. I’ve never read a book like this, and I’m unsure if I’ll find another like it, but I’m going to keep reading Mona’s work in hopes that I do!
March 8, 2025
I was not prepared how much the story would impact me and creep me out. One of the more effective horror books that isn't extreme or similar.
May 25, 2023
I didn’t get much out of this book at all, unfortunately. The only real saving grace was it’s short length because I pretty much hated everything else about it.
The brief time we got with the characters made me realise that they weren’t really characters at all, more like vessels for mental illness. They didn’t have a distinct personality or complexity outside of their ailments and I really dislike that. A character can be seriously flawed but should still have depth unrelated to their internal struggles. Besides mentions of her being an aspiring author, coffee and a boyfriend, what do we really get to know about her other than what she suffers from?
I also don’t think the disjointed narrative was necessary, and I actually think a more compelling story could have been told without the random narrator’s interludes and if the events were structured linearly. All the out of order timeline served to do was detract my attention away from the narrative and muddy the plot, which destroyed its pacing for me.
As for horror, there wasn’t any, really. I really wish this wasn’t advertised as such because honestly it’s a stretch. We spend the majority of time in the head of someone who’s perspective is unreliable, and any spooky goings on are more frightening for the character than the reader. The fear didn’t transfer over to me. I just couldn’t relate to the things this character was finding so shocking. I understand this novel, and I guess this premise could have potential, but I just wasn’t engaged at all. I am being vague to avoid spoilers.
I say give this book a try due to its length, you might get something out of it that I didn’t.
The brief time we got with the characters made me realise that they weren’t really characters at all, more like vessels for mental illness. They didn’t have a distinct personality or complexity outside of their ailments and I really dislike that. A character can be seriously flawed but should still have depth unrelated to their internal struggles. Besides mentions of her being an aspiring author, coffee and a boyfriend, what do we really get to know about her other than what she suffers from?
I also don’t think the disjointed narrative was necessary, and I actually think a more compelling story could have been told without the random narrator’s interludes and if the events were structured linearly. All the out of order timeline served to do was detract my attention away from the narrative and muddy the plot, which destroyed its pacing for me.
As for horror, there wasn’t any, really. I really wish this wasn’t advertised as such because honestly it’s a stretch. We spend the majority of time in the head of someone who’s perspective is unreliable, and any spooky goings on are more frightening for the character than the reader. The fear didn’t transfer over to me. I just couldn’t relate to the things this character was finding so shocking. I understand this novel, and I guess this premise could have potential, but I just wasn’t engaged at all. I am being vague to avoid spoilers.
I say give this book a try due to its length, you might get something out of it that I didn’t.
March 29, 2023
Ok. Well now. No way to really summarize this story except to say it’s about a woman’s sanity or lack thereof.
This novella was like borrowed ideas from several other books and movies. I know it was supposed to be dark, but me it was just a gloomy exercise in whining.
The writing was a bit pretentious (in my opinion). Here’s a random sample:
“From between his teeth blooms a garden of desire, seemingly never-ending, as though he is poisoned by his unconditional love. Yet this garden does not die from the poison. It only grows.”
I did enjoy the “intermissions” with Twilight Zone-type narration, but not enough to save the whole thing for me.
I’m glad everyone else loved this so much. I just finished another highly rated book that was so full of flowery prose that it took from the plot. People must like that style. Lots to talk about at book clubs, but it’s just not for me.
This novella was like borrowed ideas from several other books and movies. I know it was supposed to be dark, but me it was just a gloomy exercise in whining.
The writing was a bit pretentious (in my opinion). Here’s a random sample:
“From between his teeth blooms a garden of desire, seemingly never-ending, as though he is poisoned by his unconditional love. Yet this garden does not die from the poison. It only grows.”
I did enjoy the “intermissions” with Twilight Zone-type narration, but not enough to save the whole thing for me.
I’m glad everyone else loved this so much. I just finished another highly rated book that was so full of flowery prose that it took from the plot. People must like that style. Lots to talk about at book clubs, but it’s just not for me.
November 12, 2020
Review of “The Bell Chime by Mona Kabbani” @moralityinhorror
All I could think when I finished “The Bell Chime” was , Wow! There is something about psychological horror that makes you question your own reality. If I could compare this book to something you would be interested in, I’d say “Black Mirror”. Have I gotten your attention now?
A girl suffering from night terrors wakes to find a missing persons poster with a face that looks oddly familiar. The face on the picture is smiling back at her and the eyes are following her every move. The main character is left to question her sanity. Is this reality or a nightmare?
“...𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙.”
I first off what to say that I love psychological horror because when it’s done right, you never see the ending coming. An author that can pull it off flawlessly can leave you pondering your own reality. The book jumps different timelines and only gives small clues to piece together along the way. The author also includes notes before, during and after to give you some insights and warnings. I really enjoyed getting a look inside the author's mind and where this story arose from. There was one scene in particular that almost made me vomit. I actually can’t wait for more people to read this book so we can talk about it. I won’t give much else because you should go into this book with as little information as I had so that you can piece together the puzzles for yourself. Congrats to Mona on this amazing debut novella. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us with your future works! 5 ⭐️
All I could think when I finished “The Bell Chime” was , Wow! There is something about psychological horror that makes you question your own reality. If I could compare this book to something you would be interested in, I’d say “Black Mirror”. Have I gotten your attention now?
A girl suffering from night terrors wakes to find a missing persons poster with a face that looks oddly familiar. The face on the picture is smiling back at her and the eyes are following her every move. The main character is left to question her sanity. Is this reality or a nightmare?
“...𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙.”
I first off what to say that I love psychological horror because when it’s done right, you never see the ending coming. An author that can pull it off flawlessly can leave you pondering your own reality. The book jumps different timelines and only gives small clues to piece together along the way. The author also includes notes before, during and after to give you some insights and warnings. I really enjoyed getting a look inside the author's mind and where this story arose from. There was one scene in particular that almost made me vomit. I actually can’t wait for more people to read this book so we can talk about it. I won’t give much else because you should go into this book with as little information as I had so that you can piece together the puzzles for yourself. Congrats to Mona on this amazing debut novella. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us with your future works! 5 ⭐️
March 2, 2021
"Can you hear the bell chime?" 🔔
I finished this last night and I’ve been thinking about it all day. A friend recently asked a good question: “what says horror to you?” My answer was the type of horror that gets under my skin is psychological horror. This book is tattooed into my skin. It moved me in ways most books don’t. From the very first page I was hooked. Kabbani writes with the skill of a seasoned author yet this is her first book. I was absolutely floored by this. It’s a love story, it’s a story about mental illness, it’s a horror story and I promise it will haunt you. I don’t want to say too much about the plot, I think it’s best to go into this one blind.
I know I’m not doing the book justice here but it’s the best I can do. It’s one you have to experience for yourself. It’s a book I’ll be recommending to everyone and will most certainly make my favorite reads of 2021. I can’t wait to see what Kabbani comes up with next!
I finished this last night and I’ve been thinking about it all day. A friend recently asked a good question: “what says horror to you?” My answer was the type of horror that gets under my skin is psychological horror. This book is tattooed into my skin. It moved me in ways most books don’t. From the very first page I was hooked. Kabbani writes with the skill of a seasoned author yet this is her first book. I was absolutely floored by this. It’s a love story, it’s a story about mental illness, it’s a horror story and I promise it will haunt you. I don’t want to say too much about the plot, I think it’s best to go into this one blind.
I know I’m not doing the book justice here but it’s the best I can do. It’s one you have to experience for yourself. It’s a book I’ll be recommending to everyone and will most certainly make my favorite reads of 2021. I can’t wait to see what Kabbani comes up with next!
December 6, 2020
"Can you hear that bell chime?"
The Bell Chime is one of my favorite horror stories this year! It's creepy and fascinating, and I was fully invested while reading it. I think it's going to require a re-read at some point because some of it was a little over my head, but I really loved it. The format was different, but it worked really well with the story. I can't wait to see what Mona Kabbani does next!
CW - torture, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, eating disorder, pedophilia
The Bell Chime is one of my favorite horror stories this year! It's creepy and fascinating, and I was fully invested while reading it. I think it's going to require a re-read at some point because some of it was a little over my head, but I really loved it. The format was different, but it worked really well with the story. I can't wait to see what Mona Kabbani does next!
CW - torture, depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, eating disorder, pedophilia
February 6, 2021
Reality. It is not the same for all of us. I see a beautiful person that has everything going right for them, but they perceive themself a failure. Too short, too tall, too fat, too thin, hair that won’t do what it is told and a mind that wanders off by itself too often. Take that sense of failure and add in loss. Perceptions multiply. Add in guilt... How does one recover? Wouldn’t you do all you could if you could a least remove the loss and guilt?
Mona Kabbani dances around the edges of what is going on in this book and it perfectly represents an unsettled mind. This novella is presented in a unique way, seeming to be...but I don’t want to give anything away. What is real? How badly are you broken? Are you at your lowest?
“You have a lot of holes to fill, _____. A lot of holes indeed.”
“They used to be filled. A year ago. I was paved not to perfection but enough so you could hardly see the cracks.”
“And now those cracks are returning. And not only are they returning, but they are threatening to grow wider than they ever were before.”
Mona Kabbani dances around the edges of what is going on in this book and it perfectly represents an unsettled mind. This novella is presented in a unique way, seeming to be...but I don’t want to give anything away. What is real? How badly are you broken? Are you at your lowest?
“You have a lot of holes to fill, _____. A lot of holes indeed.”
“They used to be filled. A year ago. I was paved not to perfection but enough so you could hardly see the cracks.”
“And now those cracks are returning. And not only are they returning, but they are threatening to grow wider than they ever were before.”
February 7, 2021
This was so unexpected and unique. I love the way the story was presented. A big thank you to my friend Richelle for turning me on to this one.
August 2, 2023
the story here has a lot of potential but I think the author is trying too hard with it. the original premise of the story is definitely the best part, but as it devolves from a compelling science fiction horror story into a drawn-out meandering about psychosis and toxic relationships, it completely loses sight of what made it interesting in the first place.
the commentary on mental health is paper-thin, if existent at all. this reviewer put it very succinctly by saying the author "discussed the ins and outs of psychosis with the same understanding as a self-diagnosing teen on tumblr." the story takes itself way too seriously and branches in too many directions leaving side characters and subplots shallow and unfulfilled. all in all, Kabanni clearly has a lot of potential but i think she lost her way with the progression of this story.
the commentary on mental health is paper-thin, if existent at all. this reviewer put it very succinctly by saying the author "discussed the ins and outs of psychosis with the same understanding as a self-diagnosing teen on tumblr." the story takes itself way too seriously and branches in too many directions leaving side characters and subplots shallow and unfulfilled. all in all, Kabanni clearly has a lot of potential but i think she lost her way with the progression of this story.
July 3, 2023
DNF at 37%
When i read the synopsis of The Bell Chime i was really excited to give it a go but unfortunately this book put me in a reading slump of 2 weeks.
As much as i hate DNFing books, i really need to let this one go.
When i read the synopsis of The Bell Chime i was really excited to give it a go but unfortunately this book put me in a reading slump of 2 weeks.
As much as i hate DNFing books, i really need to let this one go.
January 11, 2022
Read in this reading vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfEU_...
January 2, 2023
I really struggled with this book I’m afraid found it boring
September 18, 2025
I really did not enjoy this reading experience much at all. Mona Kabbani put a good deal of effort into this, but nothing made sense to me. Everything was like a red herring, baiting the reader to question what was happening or imagined. There were intermissions, different characters occupying chunks of the book as the main focus, author notes, and just a ton of random ideas tossed together. Aside from some general creepiness, I finished the story and had no idea what I just read. Very tough to follow and a general lack of focus, flow, and purpose. Again, the author seemed to work hard at this one, but it seemed to negate the importance for stories to be palatable for the readers, not just the one who wrote it.
October 6, 2024
She has never seen this image of herself before. This monstrous expression. So hungry and evil. Those printed eyes look directly at her with a demonic thirst, that printed mouth twisted into a smile made of barbed wire. She looks crazy—insane—like she has the intention of harming the photographer. Like once the camera is down, she’ll unlatch her jaw. She’ll eat them whole then lick her lips clean after the meal."
What would you abandon for happiness?
3.8✨
What would you abandon for happiness?
3.8✨
Displaying 1 - 30 of 823 reviews