dnf at 47%

I should’ve looked at reviews before cuz i didn’t know this book was just smut. I liked the other aspects like the characters were interesting (stereotypical though) and when the creepy things were happening I was really enjoying it. The world also seemed very built up and interesting. I just couldn’t do the spice anymore, what fully made me stop was “kitten” as a pet name. That’s just too cringy for me

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I cannot wait to add this to my home library! This is the type of book that I would love to see turned into a movie. I loved the very naughty gothic horror feel. Plus the god is woman and witchy vibe. The only beef I had is that I wish there was more explanation as to why Bramwell was not interested in physical intimacy at all. At first I thought he may have had a thing with Ly, but that wasn’t it. Was his character asexual? Did his mom screw him up? Other than that, I loved this book! I can’t wait to read the next installment!

Lady hell is an MFF horror/romance that follows Belle who marries Lord Bramwell and is whisked off to live in his gothic manor. There she meets his cousin and her husbands best friend and quickly a romance blossoms between the three. But little do they know that there is more to Lord Bramwell than meets the eyes and he is playing with forces that are more powerful than any of them can imagine.

I really enjoyed this book, the world building was excellent but not over the top.
As a fan of gothic horror he gothic vibes in this are so great, everything from the gothic manor to the vibrant red garden.

The body horror in this freaked me out so deeply, mixed in with the overwhelming sense of dread that came with just being present in that house and I found myself rushing to figure out the story and to see what was going to happen next! I don't think I'll ever look at a painting the same way again!

The soothing part of this story is the romance between Belle, Flo and Lyren, the three of them have a very deep connection and they have some very well written erotic moments that are really beautiful.

I can't wait to read the next instalment of this book and see what is going to happen next! It was an excellent read.

I really wanted to like Lady Hell. The premise intrigued me, and I was hoping for a dark, gothic horror experience, but unfortunately, the book didn't quite hit the mark for me.

The story is told from a third-person perspective, but it frequently alternates focus between various characters. While I typically enjoy a multi-perspective narrative, the transitions here felt jarring and rushed at times. The quick jumps between characters often left me disoriented and broke the flow of the story. At moments, it even seemed like the narrative strayed from the established third-person perspective, which further disrupted the reading experience.

Additionally, the tone of the book leaned more toward romance than horror, which was a real disappointment given my initial expectations. While romance can certainly be a compelling element in a gothic horror novel, it overshadowed the darker, eerie atmosphere I was hoping for.

All in all, Lady Hell just didn't deliver the gothic horror experience I had anticipated. While the writing had potential, the pacing and genre shift ultimately left me unsatisfied.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC of this book.

This was so atmospheric!! From the first page, I was hooked.

Also I love love loved the rep - it was so satisfying watching the characters' bonds unfold alongside the Gothic background. WOW.

This book started off really strong with some very creepy scenes (which is why I'm giving it more than one star) and then....it basically stopped. Literally the synopsis covered the first 25%, and that's it. I honestly felt like I was reading two different books. The creepy elements happened and then the characters just went on about their days. In one scene, the main character is fleeing a haunting and then randomly falls into a sex scene with no further discussion of the haunting.

The book also randomly hops between POVs, from paragraph to paragraph, which was really confusing. It also hops between several storyline, none really discussed in depth, and none I really cared about. I also felt like the characters kept changing with no real explanation, and I didn't buy it at all.

Also, why do we suddenly want to have empathy for Bram's awful parents?

This was an almost DNF several times, and I kind of wish I'd stopped after the really creepy hauntings at the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!

We follow the young woman Belle as she journeys to her new home and possible new start. Her arranged marriage to Bramwell Hellthorne may not be just as it appears, the man holds a myriad of secrets close to the chest. Eerie happenings seem to occur around every turn; and when her own sister is possessed following a visit to the manor, Belle—and her pair of lovers—must garner a strength she didn't know she had to survive.

Will she become just another secret hidden within the walls?

This is a speedy read, I knocked this one out fairly fast during a chronic illness flare-up thanks to the shorter chapters. We have the facets of the subgenre that do go beyond simple set-dressing or aesthetics, yet I wish we leaned more into the gritty, gruesomeness of horror. There are many types of horror, as well as, levels of confort for readers; yet for me I think the story would have been more successful taking some scenes a step or two farther.

One facet of this book I found less than successful was the pov usage. We bounce between characters at times from paragraph to paragraph, which is a bit off-putting and confusing. I understand the desire to showcase the cast's emotions as events take a turn for the worse, yet there could have been other ways to show that which were more fluid and cohesive. The constant "purring" verb choice for dialog was also a bit irksome to be honest. Perhaps one more round of edits—to the book as a whole—focused on readability and word usage would be helpful here?

If you want a Gothic Romance that's creepy without toeing the line of the extreme subgenre or that is straight up erotica, perhaps considering giving this a go!

Ultimately, this story wasn't quite for me, but if you tend to be a Romance reader rather than Horror fanatic, I'm sure you'll have a better time. I think this was a case of misplaced expectations... also I don't like pregnancy plot lines so that whole thing was a mess I couldn't stand to read.

✨Lady Hell✨

Firstly I'd like to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

Unfortunately, this was a struggle for me to get through. I really, really wanted to like this more than I did but I considered dnf-ing multiple times.

It's told from a third person perspective which I enjoy however it jumped perspective a bit too many times; we would get the insight into someone's thoughts but this would change to another person's thoughts rather quickly. Then later on, the writing style breaks it's rules by revealing that a character was evil; but the entirety of the story has been spent telling the audience what everyone's thoughts are, so wouldn't we have known he's evil beforehand?

It felt like I was reading two different stories; one part was an awesome Victorian horror, and the other a sweet love story between two women and a man. In this instance, the two stories did not mesh for me and I found myself quite irritated with the FMC.

*Potential spoilers ahead*

Lady Hell follows an arranged marriage between Belle and Lord Bramwell Hellthorne, who has to marry before the age of 30 lest he be stripped of his royal title. It appears Lord Hellthorne isn't interested in intimacy (yay for Ace representation) but is happy for his wife to seek external love and comfort, whilst maintaining a platonic friendship. Does a sweet friendship between the two blossom? Sadly no.

In the meantime, we learn that as a child, Lord Hellthorne was kept in a tower away from his mother and false father because he was a product of an affair. His parents told everyone he died during birth and he was left to his own devices, being fed every evening by his mothers breast milk. On the eve of his tenth birthday, he accidentally summons a demon who takes him under her wing, giving him magical powers and presumably murdering his parents by the time he turns 18.

The demon lady returns (did she ever leave? I'm not sure) in the present time by possessing Belles sister and encouraging Lord Hellthorne to allow her to not be banished to hell. You would think a demon would have a significantly bigger part in the story but alas; she is not. I thought perhaps she would slowly corrupt the Lord using her demon ways; she does convince him to kill a priest; but the Lord apparently has gone from good to evil in a split second and is forever labeled a killer by his wife.

Belle doesn't like that her husband, who has been nothing but kind to her, may have killed someone (am I just ruined by morally grey MMCs) and I'm not entirely sure how she came to the conclusion of this though, it just sort of happens. Or maybe it is there and I missed it because I felt like I had to push through the story? The demon does reappear in the body of a bookshop keeper and gives semi cryptic messages to Belle about the Lord, so perhaps I was unable to read between the lines. Or maybe the lines were a mess.

Then, we eventually learn that Lord Hellthorne has always been evil well before the demon returned (with no indication prior, just that he's killed a few people, but what mmc hasn't). He's keeping his dead parents in the basement in a suspended state between life and death so he can torture them for eternity. But they were also terrible and kept him locked in a tower; why should I feel empathy for these terrible parents?

This story didn't really feel like it went much anywhere.

This will be a soft dnf for me at the moment. Unfortunately, the plot, or lack thereof is lost on me at 60%. Really, everything about this should be up my alley—gothic setting, arranged marriage, oil portraits coming to life, gore, possession, and a mff love situation… The plot just doesn’t seem to have a sense of where it wants to go.

Page’s Lady Hell invites readers to a luscious world governed by three Goddesses. Belle is a poor fisherman’s daughter who is reluctantly married off to Lord Hellthorne - a bid to save her family and secure the lord’s access as royalty. Horrors await her at the lord’s manor and Belle must rise to the challenge, but not without love, though she finds herself spurned by her husband.

I found the antagonists in Lady Hell thought provoking though somewhat dull - it felt like they were evil for the sake of it. I did find the true nature of these antagonists to be pleasantly surprising and look forward to further installments in this series. The writing is descriptive, immersive, and Belle is such a delight of a character.

Thank you to NetGalley and Purple Fern Publishing for the ARC!

I'm very sad, but Lady Hell just wasn't for me.

LADY HELL is a gothic victorian horror story featuring:
❆ a haunted mansion
❆ an arranged marriage
❆ sapphic love
❆ a MFF polyamorous couple
❆ demonic possession
❆ a religion featuring three Goddesses
❆ a failed exorcism

^^ I mean doesn't that sound amazing? Sadly, it just didn't work for me.

Reading this book was a horror.

First of all, the start was very rushed. It felt like one very long prologue where about a book's worth of story got smushed into about fifty pages. I didn't mind that events were glossed over, but it missed the space to let relationships develop. Belle, the main character, got into a romantic relationship with one character and a friendship with the other. The only way I know is because the narrator told me. I didn't get to see the actual relationships and see why she cared about them.

By then I also had gotten annoyed by the constant headhopping that took place. It would have made sense if the pov stuck with Belle, but instead, it wandered all over the place. I frequently got thrown off guard when I unexpectedly read a thought from another character.

Another thing that utterly frustrated me was that after the tensions rose and the horror started to come alive, it was broken again because the characters couldn't help to be so damn horny for each other. I would also hesitate to call this a romance. Although the characters said they loved each other, I only saw lust.

And lastly, the author used some words that just made me take psychic damage every time I read them, such as the repeated use of cunt, referring to the body part, the word bulbous to refer to an assortment of things and the book also had the word prick in a steamy scene, which is a sure-fire way to get me out of the mood.

Thank you NetGalley and Purple Fern Publishing for giving me access to an e-arc for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you netgalley for the arc copy!
I really enjoyed the gothic romantic aspects of this story. The story focuses a lot on the love triangle of Belle, Lyren, and Florence. Which I can appreciate the spice it brings to the story, but I didn’t quite understand the need entirely. The story has some cool supernatural elements as well, would have enjoyed more elaboration on that. The artwork bits were a very welcome surprise.

I haven’t completed the book yet but the writing style of the book is brilliant! It is so evocative and descriptive that you can’t help but imagine the things going on. I love how the book represents not just one spectrum of the queer community but also others. The gothic style is just *chef’s kiss.”

I really enjoyed this! I was so excited when I got the email from NetGalley that I was able to ARC read this book! I love gothic horror and immediately after meeting Belle and seeing how odd she was I was sold. I also was so intrigued by Lord Bramwell, and every glimpse of him added questions to the list.

I did love the horror elements, it got pretty gorey at times so proceed with caution. But I absolutely loved it! I also really loved the MFF in this!! Florence especially. Though it did get a bit…repetitive.

I’m looking forward to more from this author though! I really adored their writing style and I couldn’t wait to be able to pick this back up and read it again!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!
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Lady Hell was a glorious blend of gothic horror and fantasy! Page’s writing style is poetic and paints a lovely, creepy portrait of a love story. While the story itself is well put together, I also appreciated the representation of delicate themes such as: anorexia, self harm, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, child abuse, etc.

I do wish we received more backstory regarding Bramwell, but I hope that we get it in the second installment. I will most certainly be buying the second book when it is published :)
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All reviews posted as of 3/13/25. Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Tiktok.

This was a great example of Gothic horror with a dash of spice. While it seems like a happy for now type ending, I still have so many questions so I eagerly await the next book. The only thing I didn't like was how the reader would find out things somewhat randomly/almost out of order and the author would say something about it but add the character didn't know about so and so yet. I can think of 2 instances offhand regarding side characters, so there might be more. A bit distracting for me personally but still very fun read overall. Great (in a creepy way) artist depiction of Vel. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

I struggled a bit to keep going on this one. I'm quite picky in term of romance and erotica and unfortunately this one didn't work for me, at all.

It's not a bad book per se. But the rhythm is weird, I felt like I missed lot of important things for the plot at the beginning.

I also didn't really like the writing style but it's definitely a question of taste here. Other readers would probably find it enjoyable.

"She could never get close enough. Their flesh would be flush—suctioned—and she'd still want more. If only she could pry open the cavity of his chest, crawl right in, nuzzle her head against the steady drum of his heart."

3.5 rounded up. Lady Hell is a story about the odd daughter of a fisherman named Belle—a poverty-stricken woman sold off into marriage with royalty Bramwell Hellthorne.

Bramwell, who initially seems to be a kind, respectful gentleman, starts causing suspicions a year or two into their marriage. He'd never kissed her, touched her, been intimate with her. He'd never even been seen with a woman on his arm before Belle.

With her suspicions already high, she grows weary of him. Especially since two women had dropped dead on their wedding day. Something she'd thought nothing of, but Bramwell had been awfully calm during the occurrence... This is what plants the first seed of doubt, and eventually leads to the Lord's unraveling.

Belle is given free rein to love who she wants and to be with whomever she wants, per Bramwell's allowance. She has two lovers: Florence and Lyren. Lady Hell is their story, truly.

Lady Hell is full of things every good gothic book should have: Horror, Witchcraft, Demons, Possession, Pseudo-Religions, and actually well-written politics.

I loved the dynamic between the three, however, I wish Belle and Florence's initial falling in love had been shown on-page instead of off. From the beginning, you are only told of them previously falling in love early into Belle and Bramwell's marriage.

The gore was vivid, and some scenes were incredibly hard to read (and I mean that positively!) The author really did a great job making the reader feel the gut-churning things the characters were dealing with.

Page's writing was good, and lovely to read, however some instances of repetition could've gone unsaid. Aside from some one-liners that just weren't my thing (certain pet names during intimacy) I quite enjoyed Lady Hell.

And with that, I will most likely be waiting on the edge of my seat for the next part of the series to be released. Sending thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Lady Hell by Alyssa Page was one of the most amazing reads this past week for me. The storyline was so good. The characters are perfect and so well built. I rated this book 5 stars.