Spooky High School Throwback
3.5 out of 5 stars
Babylove by I.S. Belle is one of those short listens that sneaks up on you. At just about two and a half hours, it feels like popping in a VHS from 2003 and being transported right back to high school.
Belle sets the stage with all the familiar beats of a teen story (especially from the early 2000s). Complete with a goth girl, cheerleader, and the looming threat of summer school, but quickly twists it into something stranger, darker, and way more fun.
I loved the mix of nostalgia and the supernatural. The setup has that classic teen movie vibe of “popular girl meets/helps outcast,” but it’s spiced up with blood rituals, resurrections, and a sapphic spark that feels fresh and exciting.
Some of the characters lean a little over the top, but honestly, that’s part of the charm. It nails the early-2000s high school energy a little too well—so much so that it made me laugh at how spot-on it was.
Without spoiling, the creepy aspects of this story will probably give me nightmares. Belle did a great job writing a story within a story here, and definitely freaked me out a bit. Even though it’s part of a larger series, this novella stands perfectly well on its own. That’s the reason I love novellas, they give me a full story without needing to commit to a whole series (though now I’m curious about the rest).
Mollie Stark’s narration was a good match for the material. She captured that teen voice without slipping into parody, which really made the characters feel alive and helped sell the story. Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve picked this up as an ebook, but on audio it totally worked for me.
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