This list of content/trigger warnings for Hell’s Bells is broken into two sections: Vague, non-spoilery topics (first) and more detailed depictions (second). First up is the non-spoilery list.
Click here to go back to the main content warning page.
Non-Spoilery List Of Triggering Topics In Hell’s Bells:
- Abuse, both emotional and physical
- Addiction (referenced)
- Assault (one scene of non-penetrative SA)
- Bullying
- Disordered eating (referenced)
- Explicit language
- Explicit sex scenes
- Fatphobia
- Grooming
- Human trafficking (referenced)
- Infidelity
- Mental health and suicide
- Parental death/terminal illness (before story begins)
- Substance abuse
- Sexual harassment
- Violence
Next is a more specific depiction of events in Hell’s Bells. This larger, more detailed list does contain spoilers.
Please Note: If you are leery of spoiling the overall experience of the book but still have trigger warning concerns, Calla literally has no life and would love to answer any specific questions you have.
If you’d like to peruse potentially triggering topics on your own and don’t mind spoilers, please proceed below.
Spoilery List of Triggering Topics in Book 2: Hell’s Bells
- Abuse
- Scenes depicting large imbalances of power from the financial elite (1%) to the rest of the world (99%).
- References to child abuse (mostly off-page)
- References to child neglect (mostly off-page)
- References to a child forced into a career of stage performance
- Depiction of sexual harassment, including based on attire
- Addiction
- References to family members with addictions (street drugs and gambling)
- Assault
- One scene of non-penetrative sexual assault. A main character is cornered and subjected to a bully’s torments.
- Bullying
- The bullies at Ardmore (also called Nephilim) are actually bodyguards assigned to monitor girls in their care in exchange for large sums of money.
- The main crew (the Idle Hands) use their power for good, but a competing crew is very malicious. They have multiple scenes of bullying characters, including negging, insults, and non-penetrative sexual assault
- Reference cyberbullying and doxxing
- The opening scene depicts teen-on-teen public humiliation/a cruel prank
- Disordered eating
- The main character was fat-shamed in her youth and forced to follow diets. As an adult, she is confident in her body.
- Explicit language
- Including insults specific to women
- Explicit sex scenes
- Graphic, open-door sex scenes involving praise kink exploration and light BDSM
- Fatphobia
- The main character is midsize and has experienced fat shaming. She reflects on her experiences.
- Grooming
- References to implied gang initiation in a fictitious organization
- References to being a “stage kid” prepared for a life of performance
- Human trafficking
- References to off-screen arranged marriage
- References to a large system of power, run by the wealthy, that intentionally organizes marriage matches with the 99%
- Infidelity
- One character’s father is revealed to have a “second family”. The fall-out of this incident has caused harm for years.
- Another character has just exited a relationship due to cheating. This is referenced repeatedly because they are leery of it happening again.
- Mental health and suicide
- Most characters struggle with differing degrees of depression and anxiety
- Flashbacks to abuse/assault
- PTSD
- Parental death/loss
- One character’s mother passed from terminal cancer before the book began
- Characters struggle with/make reference to the loss of parental figures.
- Substance abuse
- References to underage drinking (off-page)
- References to a parent with a gambling addiction
- References to a character in rehab
- One scene of drinking to excess at the age of 21
- Several characters are in recovery from substance abuse to a fictional narcotic (Splice). They make passing references to the method of consumption (injection) and make passing reference to how they’re struggled on the road to recovery
- Sexual harassment
- An authority figure harasses a student based on her appearance
- Violence
- Attempted strangulation
- References to torture
- References to poisoning and murder that occurred in Book 1