Cassandra Khaw

Uncover the lost years of Critical Role’s unrelentingly upbeat undead spellcaster in this original prequel novel to Laudna’s adventures with Bells Hells.
 
For as long as she can remember, Laudna has had a friend. A mentor. A little voice whispering in her cropped ear, promising that, no matter how monstrous she becomes or how far she wanders, there will always be someone to guide her.
 
And so, Laudna is content.
 
But the thought of more—of life, of love, of the magic stirring in her still veins—is unrelenting in its familiarity. More is the dream of the young girl trapped behind the bloodstained walls of Whitestone, and the nightmare of the woman who now stalks the woods outside them. More, Laudna’s little voice reminds her, is dangerous. From Tal’Dorei to Marquet, the world is infested with heroes destined to rid their kingdoms of creatures like Laudna.
 
The little voice is right, she knows.
 
But still, she thinks of more. And when she reaches for that dream, what reaches back will change everything.
 
Written by USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, Critical Role: Bells Hells—What Doesn’t Break delves into the unexplored years before Laudna joined up with the crew of Bells Hells, chronicling her departure from Whitestone and her solo adventures on the road to Jrusar.

Critical Role: Bells Hells – What Doesn't Break

I know this is a fun play on the title of the book, but I just <33333

Caitlin

Someone for mothers to point to when their daughters asked if there was more to the world than being a bride. This is what you become, they would whisper balefully, if you don't serve in the role you're given. But she shouldn't let Delilah see her cry. Bradbury women, as her mother had said so many times before, did not break. 

 For hours after, the voice would be quiet, and Laudna would think to herself how strange it was that all hearts broke the same way.

Florence

But joy, like autumn, like childhood, like the kind of love that brought worlds to ruin, never seemed to last long enough

Hope didn’t just spring eternal; it leaked from even the tiniest gap. 

People so often misunderstand the idea of home, they think it is passive, a thing to be chosen. Sometimes, it is the reverse. A person or a place that calls, and you can’t help but answer.

Critical Role: Bells Hells – What Doesn't Break quotes

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