Lindsey Kelk's *The Bell Witch* sets up an intriguing Southern gothic tale with a richly atmospheric setting in Savannah, Georgia. The novel introduces us to Emily, who, after her father’s death, is thrust into the enigmatic world of her aunt and grandmother, uncovering a family secret that’s steeped in magic. Kelk excels in painting vivid, detailed scenes that bring the haunting beauty of the Bell family home to life. Her descriptive writing is the novel's standout feature, capturing the eerie charm and the mysterious undercurrents that flow through the story.

However, despite the compelling setup, *The Bell Witch* struggles with pacing issues that detract from the overall experience. The narrative moves slowly, and while a slower pace can work in gothic fiction, here it often feels uneven. Key events that could have been more fully explored are instead glossed over, leaving readers wanting more depth and insight. On the flip side, certain moments are drawn out unnecessarily, as if the author was attempting to fill space rather than advance the story, which disrupts the flow and diminishes the tension.

When the action does arrive, it delivers excitement and intensity, but these moments are all too brief, leaving the reader craving more sustained engagement. The relationship between Emily and Wyn, which is central to the story, feels underdeveloped at times, lacking the depth and gradual build-up that could have made their connection more impactful.

In conclusion, *The Bell Witch* offers an atmospheric and visually rich reading experience, but its uneven pacing and occasional lack of depth hold it back from being truly compelling. Fans of Southern gothic tales might still find much to enjoy, especially in Kelk’s evocative descriptions, but the novel ultimately earns a 3-star rating for its inconsistencies in execution.

What’s not to love about a witchy mystery meets Lindsey Kelk ?? Wonderful setting, storyline and characters! I love this new genre for Kelk and I cannot wait to see what she does next! Highly recommended! Thanks so much to NetGalley and to the publisher for my ARC ✨

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 stars

I wanted to love this book so much. It had witches, secrets, werewolves and a historical setting! Unfortunately it just missed the mark for me. The romance sub plot felt rushed and too convenient. This was a fun coming to age storyline but the romance was distracting and didn’t fit.

Emily should have had a lot more questions than what she did. Wyn left and came back and she acted like he wasn’t gone for 2+ weeks. Her aunt tried to kill her and she just kind of shrugged and moved along. I feel like she should have questioned more things and researched information before just going along with half the things that happened.

Wyn came out of nowhere and left just as quickly. I do think his story arc could have been axed completely and we wouldn’t have missed much. I felt like most of what he brought was all bark no bite. He mentioned his pack was coming for him but no one showed up? Just felt way too convenient especially since they were worried about a dark force.

I liked the setting and learning about Bell House and the previous Bell witches. The aunt had a really cool storyline that was over shadowed by how hot and cold she was. The magic system was interesting and I would have enjoyed learning more about that.

I love Lindsey Kelk and I was very excited to read this and I enjoyed this YA title although I felt it lacked the specialness that you normally get from her writing. I did enjoy it and it gave me vampire diaries vibes when reading - but obviously witches! The characters are well written and the story is twisty enough to keep you turning pages I will definitely be interested to see where we go from here.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I know have another author that I want to read more from. This book was so good, a lovely story, I loved the characters. Would I recommend this book oh yes I would.

It's no secret that I love Lindsey's writing already, but wasn't sure if I would be a fan of her debut YA Fantasy... I LOVED IT. Honestly could not put this book down, it had me hooked from the get-go and it was such a great read.

I loved reading the start of Emily's story, and her discovering being a witch. I loved seeing her relationships grow with Wyn, Lydia, Jackson and of course Catherine and her aunt Ashley. I really can't wait for the next book in The Bell Witches series to be out (no pressure Lindsey!) and to see more of Emily + the rest of the Savannah gang. Until then, I think I'll be re-reading this as much as possible!

This made me feel so nostalgic! It had the classic YA urban fantasy feel, set in a small town reminiscent of Mystic Falls, Beacon Hills and Stars Hollow. It was perfectly atmospheric and eerie, but still charming and light-hearted. The book was fast paced and super easy to read, with enough juicy plot twists to keep me engaged and on my toes. But the star of the show was definitely the romance! Emily and Wyn were magnetic, while I adored Emily as a heroine as she navigated her grief after losing her father while finding herself in her new home and learning all about her heritage.

And that cover is absolutely stunning!

Emily has lost her father, and finds herself shipped back to he Grandmother she's never met in a place that she has never visited. As she approaches her 17th birthday, strange things begin to happen and eventually her Grandmother reveals their family secret: Emily is a witch.

This was a pretty good book with some interesting world building. The twists were obvious and I wasn't at all a fan of the insta love, but otherwise I enjoyed it!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest

Massive fan of Lindsey Kelk’s romance fiction and i was also very much into witchy stories as a child/teen so of course I absolutely loved this!

Could tell it was written for a younger audience in mind without also being too protective of them - there’s also a sprinkle of that Lindsey Kelk humour we all love and a great deal of Southern Belle charm!

Atmospheric and creepy at times - if you’re a fan of witchy novels then this one is for you - a great first book of which I hope there will be plenty more!

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley.

The setting of this book was fantastic. The Southern town with the beautiful, old houses, the rich history of the town still influencing the lives of those residing there now. I loved the details like cemeteries and the Spanish moss on the trees. It was really evocative and a great setting for a witchy story. The house itself that much of the story takes place in was so vivid and a great focal point for the story.

I also enjoyed the friendships the main character cultivated. She’s moved from Wales to the USA following the death of her father to live with a grandmother and aunt she had never met before. This is daunting at a time of great tragedy for our MC and I really liked how the friendships she made have her such a boost during the challenges she faced.

I love a witchy book and this did have some cool magical elements. Some of it was a little formulaic but there were some really fun magic systems and repercussions.

I did feel the book ran a little long but it was a fun witchy story with a great setting.

The first 40% of the book was so hard to get through, but I stuck with it and so glad I did, second half was fantastic, even if a little predictable with the Wares.

⭐️⭐️2.5 stars
🫑0 spice

A big thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for providing me with this arc!

The Bell Witches follows the story of Emily, a sixteen year old girl who moves to Savannah, Georgia from Wales following the death of her father. With no parents, she is taken in by her grandmother, Catherine in the Bell family mansion, and quickly realizes that her family has incredible wealth and status she was unaware of. Emily is a descendant of a family of powerful witches, and this history has been kept from her until she moves to Georgia and starts having odd experiences.

*Light spoilers*
The entire book is about Emily’s “Becoming”, an event on her seventeenth birthday where she truly becomes a witch. For me, this was not a big enough point of interest to keep me entertained for the entire book. The side plots were very tame, and the whole book felt like it was filler to get us to book two. Unfortunately, it never gripped me enough to have me intrigued about another book.

The dialogue is probably what bothered me most. It is very modern language with all of our “slang” we have on social media, including references to Starbucks, Apple, TikTok, etc. Maybe it’s just personal preference, but hearing all of our cringy sayings we use put into a book is not for me. The characters also just said really, really odd things at times.

ALSO - the author mentioned her own name in the book? It was really weird and definitely took me out of it.

The relationship between Emily and Wyn was very insta-love. We had love at first sight, and very quick “I love you’s” said. The thing that sets this apart is that Wyn is also a Were, which also is a very loose plot point.

Overall, I was disappointed with this read. I don’t know if it’s more my taste that made it not as enjoyable, but the story felt underdeveloped. Also, this really is not much of a fantasy, it just happens to contain witches in my opinion. I think if you’re a fan of more “modern” witch-related reads, this might be for you!

There has always been an Emma Catherine Bell in Savannah.

Wow this book is brilliant I loved every part for it, from my own personal reading experiences and series binged it was a witch coming into her element and finding her feet, knowing and understanding her history that had been hidden for so long.

I tried to relate this to Bonnie Bennett from vampire diaries and it helped me visualise what she was going through making this such a nice read and enjoyable experience for me.

I love the nod to Bridgerton that was referenced in the book with the debutante, again assuring my familiarisation with the mystic falls miss mystic. Overall brilliant book and cannot wait to own my physical copy.

I have been a fan of Lindsey for a number of years now so I was very much looking forward to the Bell Witches series. I did really love this book and would recommend it. It is not only a story about love, family and friendship but also magic and new beginnings. The story focuses on Emily who is 16 and her Dad tragically passes away in a car accident which leaves her as an orphan. She learns of her biological family members she's never heard of living in Savanah and her Aunt Ashley brings her home to Bell House where all isn't quite as it seems. Really looved this book and very much looking forward to the next chapter.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There are a lot of things I loved about The Bell Witches - all the witchy drama, the writing, the little trademark Kelk witticisms and the few Buffy references dotted throughout. I'm excited to read the next one.

What did fall flat for me, however, was the romance. Wyn started off with a personality but quickly lost it and simply became a love struck plot device. Kelk is normally great with her romantic leads, so I'm hopeful that Wyn can become more two dimensional as the series progresses.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this early copy

Although I thought this book was aimed at more mature audiences I really enjoyed it the plot was great and the characters are relatable all in all a good read

Love the concept and the setting, found the very YA style a little inaccessible. That said I loved the characters and really enjoyed the story. This would be perfect for someone actually in the audience for YA witchy mystery.

The cover of this book is stunning! Absolutely beautiful.
After seeing the cover and reading the synopsis, I was expecting something a little more towards the mature side, however this was very much a young adult story.
It was well written, with good descriptive work but for me, I could have done with a bit more of a faster pace. Some of the characters could maybe have been fleshed out a little more also and the relationships explored further.
Overall it was a good read.

Thank you for the ARC!

I am so excited to read this one, but the formatting is unreadable on my Kindle and Kobo, and I cannot properly access the file, even after contacting support.

I loved the first chapter, but it was so difficult to read through the formatting, I stopped there. Can't wait for this release to be able to read it more easily without technical difficulties!! I just know I'm going to love it.

The Bell Witches is the first novel in a new witchy-focused, young adult novel from popular author, Lindsey Kelk.
Our story begins with the return to Savannah, Georgia by Emily, after the recent death of her father. Until his sudden death, Emily was unaware of the existence of her paternal grandmother and family, so you know that there are lors of secrets to be uncovered.
And the best part? Emily will uncover some painful and potentially, hazardous truths about her family history.
As mentioned, this is a young adult novel which has a gothic atmosphere and builds up the feeling of danger nicely. It's not difficult as anadult reader to guess where the storyline is headed, but it is a fun journey, filled with brilliantly descriptive paragraphs of magic and nature. I enjoyed the storyline and I look forward to seeing what challenges Emily and co., will face in book two.