Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC of this book in digital copy.

I read Love Story by Lindsey Kelk this summer and loved it. As romantasy made me accept my swoon for the romance genre in its entirety, I requested this book. I have to say it’s really well written and the writing is so different from her usual romcom style.

I liked the plot, characters and world building but something was missing to make this a blow away read for me. This may be as it is YA and I could see the plot coming from a distance which to some is comforting of course.

Perfect for lovers of Twilight, Beautiful Creatures etc.

This YA/emerging adult gothic fantasy/romance by Lindsey Kelk was a surprise. It's a step away from her usual genre but it really works. She captures the feelings of a being a young adult transplanted from rural Wales to Savannah who faces a succession of family secrets, the discovery of a world she didn't know and the exhilaration of first loves and new friends. The story is pact, the dialogue convincing and I raced through it in a day. If you grew up with Buffy, loved Vampire Diaries you'll love this. (Copy received from Netgalley in return for an honest review).

This was okay. Not my favourite from Kelk but an okay read.

I really enjoyed the main character and the friendships she made. However, I was not a fan of the insta-love. There was also some very obvious foreshadowing which made one of the twists not really that twisty, bit I could see the potential. There were a lot of modern slang and references which kind of took me out of the story when they were mentioned, but the worldbuilding was excellent and I truly felt like I knew what Savannah was like.

Definitely a great YA Witchy Gothic read, which was enjoyable but didn't hit that sweet spot for me. I enjoyed but wasn't obsessed.

I actually thoroughly enjoyed the plot of this book despite it being YA. I’ve seen a few people say the romance side progressed too quickly but I think you have to remember these are two 16 year olds so it’s probably a bit more realistic! Catherine was a perfect villain through and through, very believable. I think the only off putting thing is TikTok style language “unalive” made me cringe a little but again, if I was 16 reading this I probably wouldn’t have flinched as much. If there’s a book 2 I would be interested seeing where the plot goes as I think there is some unresolved threads, like why Em’s mum and Lydia’s mum was in the same locket, Lydia being a potential witch etc.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've never been to the USA, let alone Savannah, Georgia - but oh boy did this book bring it alive! I really felt as if I was there walking the swelteringly hot streets beneath oak trees covered in Spanish moss, drinking sweet tea and eating biscuits for breakfast. While this was slow to start, and read more like a coming-of-age contemporary YA for the majority of the first 30%, things really began to up the ante in terms of magical happenings after that. I ended up liking the slow burn, the unfurling of reveals and secrets like a late-blooming azalea. There's something vicious and sinister behind the southern charm of Emily's long lost grandmother, and as she discovers more about her family and the many surprising things she's inherited from them, the more that unease grows.

Go into this knowing its a YA book, and the characters will act as teenagers so often do - there's some insta-love/infatuation, some silly decisions, and of course plenty of slang and cultural references.

Firstly thank you to the publisher for sending me an e-arc to review.

Sadly I really don’t think this was the right book for me. This book is meant to be a cosy witchy fantasy where the FMC finds herself after losing her only parent. She’s thrown into a new town, world and family where she’s slowly discovering new things about herself as well as catering to the ‘Insta love’ trope with MMC Wyn.

I just didn’t personally feel gripped by this story, which I felt was a shame but I do think that for others, it will be such a great read.

My main issues with the book and why I DNF’d it at 25% is that I felt the plot didn’t really move along at any type of pace. Whilst there’s great writing and great world building, I just found the plot itself to be lacking and this didn’t excite me or make me want to pick the book back up.

It’s spooky season, and there isn’t anything better to read than an amazing book about witches! This book has it all, some romance, some tragedy, overbearing family members, a prophecy, witches and werewolves.

I loved this book, it has an amazing historical backstory based on the true story of the creation of Savannah. The Bell family descended from Emma Catherine Bell, a settler on the good ship Anne. She was an English witch and ever since then there has been an Emma Catherine Bell living at Bell House, Lafayette Square, Savannah.

Emily Caroline James was raised by her father, she moved around a lot due to her father’s academic career. She was sixteen when her father died in a car accident during a storm in Wales. She learned that she had an aunt and grandmother that she never knew about and she was soon on a flight to Georgia to live with them.

Emily soon finds out that she is a witch, that werewolves exist and that she killed one to save her grandmother's life. She is coming to terms with her power that she will need to fully accept on her seventeenth birthday in her Becoming ceremony. She finds out about the prophecy, she will be the most powerful witch in Bell history, but her visions suggest she will be the reason that Savannah burns to the ground.

This book is fast paced, it kept me hooked, I loved the history and backstory of previous generations. Jackson and Lydia are great characters. Lydia the loyal, loving and slightly crazy friend. The relationship between Emily and Wyn is adorable. The ending was also a big reveal. I cannot wait to read the second book in the series to see what happens next. This is a great autumn read, perfect for the spooky season.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction and Magpie for the opportunity to review this ARC.

The Bell Witches was one of my anticipated reads of the year and overall I really enjoyed it.

The atmospheric setting was sublime I loved everything about the Deep South I was transported to in Savannah and even though I’ve never been the writing was so descriptive and thorough that it was so easy to imagine yourself there and immersed into the world building and story that the author created.

This gave me the feeling of reading the YA novels I have always loved..Emily learns she is a witch after she is sent to live with her estranged grandmother and aunt after her father tragically dies and this leads to her discovering secrets about her family history and herself.

The only thing I really wasn’t a fan of is the romance and that is because it is very insta love there isn’t any build up between the two characters they were professing their undying love for each other by the third date and I really wish this had been developed more throughout the book as I’m sure it would of felt so much more believable.

Aside from the romance I did throughly enjoy this book for what it is, a really fun atmospheric witchy YA book perfect for the autumn.

This is a captivating young adult novel with an enchanting setting and an abundance of witchy vibes! Having read a number of Lindsay Kelk’s books, I approached this one with curiosity, as it’s quite different from her usual style. However, I was thoroughly impressed when I finished the book.

The Main character, Emily, relocates from the UK to the Savannah, Georgia, to live with her grandmother and aunt following her father’s death. Soon enough, she uncovers the family’s deeply rooted magical powers, which have been passed down through the generations. Things take an even more intriguing turn when she crosses paths with Wyn, a charming young man whose life is just as mysterious as her own.

One of the standout aspects of this novel for me was the breathtaking, gothic atmosphere of the American South. The setting is a perfect match for the novel’s supernatural themes (if you’ve seen *The Originals*, you’ll have no trouble picturing it). While the plot is relatively straightforward, and some of the twists are predictable, i still really enjoyed reading it.

Lindsay Kelk is known for her brilliant romantic writing, and while Emily and Wyn’s love story unfolds rather quickly, it feels authentic to the teenage experience. I also wish some of the other characters in Emily’s friendship group had been explored in more depth.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The gothic atmosphere and fast-paced narrative sweep you along effortlessly, and despite its simplicity, I found it hard to put down. In fact, I devoured the whole thing in under two days!

This was a beautiful story of those changes that young women go through in their teens but because Emily is a Bell it's not as simple as it is for the rest of us, not that that is ever simple anyway, but for Emily there are many more changes happening to her as she becomes! Learning about her family history was fascinating and kept the pages turning especially once the real truths of what had been happening started to be revealed!
The love story between her and Wyn was very sweet as are Emily's other friendships and her relationship with her aunt and grandmother now that she has discovered them! Following Emily as she learns the truth of her life and discovers those things hidden from her all these years made the pages turn ever faster and I have to say I was a little saddened when I turned the past page. I really hope there will be further books about the Bell Witches and all the others we met in this one, I would love to know more about them all!

Many thanks to Harper Collins, Lindsey Kelk and NetGalley for letting me have access to this ARC. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review and read this.
Rating- 3.5 stars
(E-ARC)
The Bell Witches is a coming of age story filled with magic, witches and suspense. When Emily's father tragically dies, she is forced to go and live with the only remaining family she has. Her auntie and grandmother who are both as mysterious as each other. But it is not all that it seems and Emily realises that the Bell family is hiding secrets. A lot of secrets. However, Emily soon makes a connection with a boy called Wyn and believes that she has found the one as a instant connection is formed. As the sparks and the love grows between them, Emily's life begins to take a exhilarating and terrifying turn where secrets began to unravel and new secrets form. But as she grows to love him more, it begins to take her further away from her family....

I did have fun with this gothic fantasy book. The Bell Witches really engrossed me from the beginning of the book and loved to see what secrets the family was keeping away from her. As someone who loves to guess things in books, this kept me on my toes and I really enjoyed trying to guess what was going on throughout the novel. However as I got through the novel, I had already guessed the plot and knew what was going on as it was highly predictable what was going on. You could really tell from a mile where the story was going to go.

At times, I did relate to Emily at times where she talked about her romantic experience only coming from Kindles which did make me chuckle a bit whilst reading this on holiday. However, there was times where I felt the writing was quite cringey and felt like there was too many references throughout eg Taylor Swift. The Taylor Swift references were rentless and I just wish they could have been toned down a bit. I also felt like the love between Wren and Emily was too easy and felt like there was no challenges between them and was just instant

As much as I enjoyed this book to a certain extent, I really wish that there was more challenges to Emily's and Wren's relationship as a whole and was not as predictable as to what was going on..

I was really excited to read this book and while I think the concept is a good one I just did not enjoy this.
The twists were predictable and the romance felt rushed and completely unrealistic, failing to really engage the reader in wanting the relationship to succeed. We were at I love you after a couple of dates and some kisses.
I also was completely switched off from this book as soon as the author started using phrases like 'unalive you' and 'rizz'. It completely took me out of the book and felt odd and unnecessary.
I think ultimately this book was just too young for me, I know its YA but this felt much younger than other books I've read in this genre.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up!

The Bell Witches is one of the most hyped-up Fall releases of 2024, and I was so glad to get the eARC. I didn't feel too enamored with it, but it was a decent entertaining witchy read.

We follow Em's journey who, after the death of her father, moves to Savannah and lives with the grandmother and aunt she didn't know existed. Em is quite likeable. She is smart and funny, and she is a realistic and pragmatic person. We likes to have a plan B just in case.

The insta-love wasn't really my thing. One of Em's many abilities is having visions of the future, and those visions made this insta-love safe and right, so it wasn't an insensible insta-love. I'm not a total hater of insta-love, but I didn't like this one very much. It felt dreamy-like as if we were in a fairytale.

The love interest, Wyn, was also a likeable guy. Polite, plenty of humor, manners, with a touch of mischief that made him very charming. Though, the "too handsome, is he even human" part was a bit tiring, as well.

I also liked the rest of the characters. Lydia and Jackson were great side-characters. Ashley is probably one of the most understated characters ever. I felt so sorry for her.

Neither the plot or even the worldbuilding were very original, and I think that's why I didn't enjoy this book more. It reminded me so much of The Secret Circle, but The Bell Witches certainly has much better writing.

Overall, it was a decent witchy read. Compelling and intriguing enough to read. Will I read the sequels? Maybe, maybe not. Will I renew my Locked Library sub? Probably yes because their edges are always superb.

If you’re as excited about fall/ Autumn as I am then you’re in for a real treat with this book. It ticks all the boxes for a perfect cosy month read; long lost family, undiscovered powers, witches, balconies overlooking a bustling square in Georgia and sass. This feels completely different to Lindsey’s usual work and it brings a welcome energy. I’m excited for more.

Basically this book gives me Hocus Pocus and Gilmore Girl vibes and I’m here for it. Roll on book two.

As a huge Lindsey Kelk fan but not a fan of fantasy novels, I was intrigued to read this to see if Lindsey could finally write a fantasy book that I enjoyed...and she did! The Bell Witches is the perfect YA fantasy novel, containing friendships, love and werewolves. And not once was I wishing I had a printed family tree to refer to as with most fantasy novels! I loved it so much that I pre-ordered the special edition hardback the second I'd finished.

Thanks you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Oh boy, first of all, the way I was excited when I was approved for this eArc is something I cannot express in words.
It has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year in the romantasy genre. The pre-reviews I have seen were ravingly great and seems to be one of the hottest releases this fall. Perfect for halloween, right?

Sadly, it did not do it for me.
The writing style felt rough and unfinished. It is written in first person pov, which is not bad, but it makes it trickier to express the teenage angst our protagonist felt. To me, it felt too much, to the point that I was often SO close to DNFing it, but decided to pull through (somehow).

The characters felt very 2d and honestly, the morning after I stopped the book, I already forgot mostly about them. There is instalove and when I say insta I mean INSTA insta, so beware of that if you don't like that. We all love the soulmates lovers genre, however, topped with teenage angst and the very repetitive first person it was just too much. The plot is VERY predictable, like, please, just because something is YA, you don't have to make it super easy for the readers. The supposedly plottwist weren't either twisty nor really plot-exciting.

Also, given that the title promises all things magical, it takes a looong way until anything magical happens (there are some scenes in the first half, though at least to me, they didn't ignite this feeling of tension and anticipation like other magical coming-of-age stories awake in me.)

This review is tough, and I'm glad that to hear that so many people enjoyed this book, even if it wasn't the case for me.

Kudos for the cover though, one of the prettiest I've seen in a while. It is an absolute eye-catcher.

But still, thank you to NetGalley, Lindsey Kelk, and Harper Collins UK for the chance to read and review this e-arc in exchange for my honest review – All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Bell Witches is a story about Emily, a sixteen-year-old girl who, following her father's tragic death, moves to Savannah, Georgia to live with her aunt and grandmother. She soon discovers that not only does her family have incredible wealth and status but also that she is descended from a family of powerful witches, all of this unbeknownst to her until she starts experiencing strange things after the move.

I would like to preface this review by saying that I don't think I was the intended audience. I think if I was 13/14 years old, I could have potentially liked it but as an almost 24-year-old, it just wasn't for me. There were parts I liked but ultimately I found it boring, unrealistic and a waste of time.

The high points of this book mostly happened in the first 5% and the last 20%. The setting of the scene and the atmosphere of this book were enjoyable. The Southern debutant vibe was pretty cool so I wish we had delved into that deeper, there was a lot of mention of the wealth the family had and the fact that they would be being presented to society, but none of that was shown on the page, we were just repeatedly told about it. Everything exciting that happened in this book, happened in the last 20%, as a result, I think that if this had been a prequel novella, I could have enjoyed it but because it felt like nothing happened through the majority of the book and all of the action was thrown at us right at the end, I found myself not caring about the story or the characters. Additionally, everything happening at the end meant that there was no time for me to fully appreciate the villain as being the bad guy, we were 90% in when this information was shared with us and then the climax happened almost immediately after so that led to it feeling very lacklustre.

The Aunt!!! She did a complete 180! At the start of the book, it almost seemed like she was happy to have her niece coming to live with her, even though it was a result of her brother dying. However, she then becomes spitful and childish towards her, as soon as they're back in Georgia. She spent the next 80% of the book punishing this kid for her existence and just being horrible to her. I mean what kind of grown adult tells a literal child whose dad has just died, that they're happy he's dead and the only downside to the aforementioned death is that you're now there? LIKE WHAT? Grow up. In the end, the author did try to redeem her and there was some explanation as to why she was the way she was but Jesus Christ!

Also, some of the word choices in this book annoyed me to no end. For example, the characters used the word 'unalive' as a verb twice. Now, I know it has become popular on apps such as Instagram and TikTok to use this as a placeholder for 'kill' so that your content doesn't get restricted, so it may explain why the author had the teenage girl use it, to show she's trendy I guess... but then the aunt who doesn't use the internet or leave the house uses it too and it just completely took me out of the story.

I don't feel like this book was a fantasy, the only elements that felt even slightly fantastical to me were that they were witches and werewolves existed. That's it. And the love story was just completely unbelievable. I could go on about the romance element for ages, so I'll try and keep it short.

The love interest, Wyn, has little to no personality, he exists just to... well, I don't know what his purpose is, but I was not buying the love story whatsoever. If the romance portion would have been between Emily and Jackson I may have believed it because there was more chemistry between those two in the 3/4 interactions they had than Emily had with Wyn the whole way through! Now, I don't know if I felt this way because of how insta-lovey it was, I mean the main character had implied she was in love with Wyn within the first 58 pages (this was after she saw him out of a window, and then had a maybe five-minute conversation with him), I don't know about you but, I'm not buying it. I mean the irony of this happening and then later in the story when Emily is told that Jackson has a crush on her, for her to say 'I don't know him, just like he doesn't know me. I'm a novelty." is wild!! I get they're supposed to be 16/17 so it might be slightly believable that they could believe they're in love after a minor interaction but it just felt so unrealistic to me.

I'm giving this a 2 stars purely for Jackson and Lydia, and the setting of the book, and the fact that I finished it. It just wasn't for me, which is disappointing because I've read and enjoyed some of Lindsey Kelk's other works.

After a tragic accident, Emily loses her father and has to move from rural Wales to Savannah, Georgia. There she meets her extremely wealthy grandmother and tries to settle into a whole new life in her fabulous home, Bell House. She meets Wyn, and feels as though they are meant to be, but who is Emily meant to be? Her grandmother seems to have a few ideas; visiting the rest of the family tips the story into a more supernatural direction, and Emily needs to figure out who she is & who her family have always been.

I’ve read some of Lindsey Kelk’s ‘I heart’ books, but I love the new direction she has taken in The Bell Witches. I can’t wait to read the next in what I hope is a new series. YA & witchcraft is where Kelk shines in my opinion. Highly recommended.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | Magpie, and Lindsay Kelk for a Netgalley digital ARC of The Bell Witches in exchange for a fair and honest review. Lindsey Kelk is a romance author I've been meaning to read for quite a while, and loving a witchy read meant this was a book I was dying to read.

Lindsey Kelk's writing is well-structured and atmospherically descriptive, depicting the Southern State of Savannah, Georgia's history, architecture, and society. The world-building is a sublime depiction of the heat of the South, rich historical architecture, and family pride seen in the old blood families of the Southern states – Lindsey Kelk did an excellent job depicting the vibes of the old eerie sprawling cemeteries vaults and tombs that I've seen in my travels and capturing the little niche details that spark the sense of place to life like the Spanish moss curling around its host trees. The magic lore is uniquely crafted with an ancestral inheritance passed down to each Emma Catherine Bell daughter of the Bell family line.

The plot pulls the reader into the mysterious storytelling of the Bell family's secrets, discovering yourself as you grow up, and a forbidden romance. Pacing can be a little tumultuously uneven. Feeling a bit slow and sluggish at the start but ramps up to a compelling pace as secrets reveal themselves to Emily. The target audience for this book is young to mid-teen years; the language and plot choices reflect this, keeping the story wholesome, innocent and appropriate for the age group for which The Bell Witches is marketed. I think readers of 18 years old might find it challenging to embrace some of the narrative and language choices designed for more modern popular slang and idiosyncrasies.

A diverse range of characters forms around the main protagonist, Emily, with a good range of relationships that add depth to the plot. Her troubled relationship with her aunt, her mother's mysteries, and her grandmother's secrecy add layers to the story. Emily's a quirky teenager with a good head on her shoulders, a humourous way of expressing herself, and vulnerability as she wants to fit in and belong, but sometimes at the cost of doing the wrong thing. The romance is very innocent and quick to form, as are many teenage crushes and infatuations in teenhood. A forbidden love dynamic between a witch and a werewolf is a fun premise, but things formed too randomly between Wyn and Emily. Hopefully, we will get more depth in the next book as they get to know each other and establish a connection beyond a couple of dates.

A coming-of-age story featuring found family, first love, and a witchy heritage with vibes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Vampire Diaries, and Charmed. I wouldn't have called this book gothic save for the gothic parental tragedy that seems to orphan every protagonist in most children's and young adult literature before the 1980s. I didn't think this was the gothic witchy read, but it will appeal to others who will eat it up. I'm still working on my final thoughts for this book, as it was a random mix of elements. I think there is potential in the series, so I will be checking out book 2 to see how The Bell Witches books continue.

[Rating: 3.5 stars rounded up to four for sharing views on netgalley, goodreads, amazon and waterstones]

DNF at 45%

I was super excited to read Lindsey Kelk's first fantasy novel. I read her book 'Love Story' a few months ago and I liked it. But this was so underwhelming for me. I think the extremely slow pace ticked me off. I wanted mystery and intrigue and some interesting world-building but it was honestly disappointing and not at all how I expected.