A review by clovetra
The Bell Chime by Mona Kabbani

challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i’m finding it very hard to describe how i feel about this book.
on the one hand, the prose is beautiful, i loved the fourth-wall breaks, and i loved how everything ended up tying together in the end, almost in an existential loop. the first part of the book’s horror was really strong, and had me hooked.
but on the other hand, the rest of the book felt weaker compared to the start, and i did not truly care what happened to our main character(s). also, the actual “bell chime” explanation felt disappointing to me, and the ending didn’t feel fully fleshed out.
i might check out kabbani’s other works in the future, but i defo did have a decent time with this! i mean im not expecting everything to be amazingly fleshed out for a novella. but i still wanted more.
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