Disclaimer: I did not finish this audiobook. I gave up at the 55% mark.

The Bell Witches by Lindsey Kelk is a novel that, despite its atmospheric promise, ultimately left me wanting much more in terms of story progression, character dynamics, and overall pacing.

First, I have to give credit where it's due: the voice acting and narration in the audiobook are superb. The narrator brings a vibrant energy to the story, with each character voiced distinctly, enhancing immersion and giving the book a rich quality with a vibrant backdrop. This made it easier to stick with the book up to the halfway mark, even as the story itself lagged.

However, the plot and character development just didn't hold up. Much of the first half is heavily dedicated to descriptions of the book’s setting, particularly the mansion, which—while interesting at first—soon felt overwhelming and repetitive. The focus on place rather than pace makes it feel as though the mansion itself is the real main character, and unfortunately, that leaves everyone else underdeveloped and unengaging.

The main character seems thwarted at every turn by people who clearly know more than they’re letting on but choose to keep her in the dark for no apparent reason. Instead of giving her information, they seem content to "drug" her into compliance with herbs, a baffling and uncomfortable tactic that doesn’t serve the story well. Having the characters declare "It's for your own good" only made it worse. This reluctance to communicate creates an artificial, frustrating barrier that makes it hard to connect with the plot or understand the stakes - if there are any; it certainly never felt like there was anything on the line.

Adding to this frustration, the dynamics between the teens in the story felt confusing and unnecessarily focused on wanting to date someone. The characters are constantly wrapped up in romantic thoughts about this guy and that guy, with older characters strangely adamant about keeping everyone FROM dating—yet again we never understand why, because no one is telling anyone anything. There’s also a bizarre romantic contradiction: the protagonist "falls in love" with a stranger she met three days ago while dismissing another potential romantic interest she met four days ago on the grounds that he’s also a stranger. This inconsistency is never addressed, and it made it hard to take her (very intense) emotions seriously.

At some point I was ready to accept it as a slow-burning, character-driven setup—perhaps leading to bigger things in a sequel. Then, out of nowhere and almost completely unprompted, a semblance of plot appeared around the 54% mark. A rather jarring switch of tone. The so-called “mystery” (the suddenly appearing plot) involving a wolf attack and a missing brother doesn't just feel completely random, but seems also overly transparent; I felt confident I had already guessed the outcome well before I put the book down at 55%. Of course, I don't know if I'm right, since I never got to the end.

Overall, the pacing is unbearably slow, making this reading experience feel like watching a glacier move. It’s unfortunate, as the eerie southern setting and high-quality narration set the stage for a compelling tale, but the story itself seems bogged down by its own reluctance to advance.

I wanted to love this book, but with such little payoff in the first half, I couldn't bring myself to finish. For readers with a lot of patience and a deep appreciation for atmosphere-heavy prose who don't mind dating-crazy teens, The Bell Witches may still hold some appeal, but it was ultimately a DNF for me.

A mysterious, enchanting and spellbinding story that is perfect for spooky season. I was captivated from start to finish and couldn't recommend this enough.

This is the first book by Lindsey Kelk that I have read, and is the first in her new Savannah Red series. I listened to the audiobook which is very well narrated by Ashleigh Haddad.

The plot moves along quite quickly, with enough backstory to set the scene. In my opinion, the female characters are much better developed than the few male characters, and the romance is shallow and unbelievable, even given the "fantasy" element. However, although I became hooked, and wanted to know how "The Bell Witches" ended, I'm not sure that I connected well enough with the characters to want to continue reading about them.

The Bell Witches had an interesting premise, and it was built delicately around the plot. Since it was an audiobook, the narrator delivered a brilliant performance, earning a solid five stars for that aspect. However, I wasn't a huge fan of the character development; it felt a bit rushed. If this is the first book in a series, I can understand that we might see Emily grow throughout the saga, but for now, it simply felt too quick, and the instalove didn't help either. While the twists were somewhat predictable, that didn’t really diminish my enjoyment of the read, especially considering that I'm well beyond the target age for young adult fiction. Overall, I appreciate the opportunity to listen to this advanced listener copy from Harper Collins UK Audio.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator was very good and kept you hooked.
Emily moves in with her grandmother and grumpy aunt after her dad dies unexpectedly. A move from rural Wales to Savannah. Here she learns that she, like her grandmother is a witch.
A fast pace story with a few twists and turns, tension and a little romance thrown in for good measure.
Enjoyable holiday read.

I loved the narrator
I love the author
I love a good romantasy
This book has it all for me but it had one thing I didn’t love…..instalove!
The narration was so easy to listen to and really added to the absorption into this world. She was exactly what I wanted for this book.
Lindsey Kelk always writes well in my opinion and this was no different. It wasn’t too complicated and held a little mystery in there. I found this book also balanced the fantasy world building with a YA feel so wasn’t overly complicated nor something overwhelming.
I really not a fan of instalove so this is the only reason I wouldn’t give 5 stars

I received this audiobook as an ARC and provide an honest review

I’m a huge Lindsey Kelk fan so I knew I would absolutely want to read this one. The narrator is easy to listen to and I really found her voice matched the character and the story.

The story follows Emily who moves to be with her distant relatives after her dad dies. She soon finds out her family has a witchy heritage and that she herself is a witch. The story focuses on her witchy coming of age and the rituals which come with that. But all is not as it seems.

This really made me want to watch The Vampire Diaries after reading this so you’ll know I’ve barely read anything since.

The Bell Witches had an interesting plot, it was fast paced and fun, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the insta love, it just felt too rushed to me and the story felt a bit too predictable. I loved the narrator, she was fantastic and made the listening experience that much better!

I received an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for a review and it did not disappoint. A quirky, YA witch story which held my interest throughout.

The story follows Emily who discovers she is a witch following the untimely death of her mother and father. Emily moves from Wales to Savannah to live with her long lost family and quickly falls in love with Wyn. The story centres on Emily’s relationship with her Grandmother and her “Becoming.”

The descriptions of the Deep South effectively transported me there and the descriptions of the Bell house were good.

The characters were interesting and varied though some could use some further development particularly Wyn. Some characters felt like they were included in order to tick a box such as Lydia the mixed race, lgbt, quirky best friend however she was perhaps the most interesting and likeable character in the book!

I do have one particular grievance and that is the use of the word “unalive.” Maybe it’s just a pet hate of mine but to me it sounds extremely childlike and isn’t a word I’d expect to stumble across in a book and perhaps would be better left on TikTok and other social media platforms.

A generally enjoyable read though I don’t think I’d be quick to reach for any sequels released.

Finally, can we take a moment to recognise the narration?!? Perfection! It was helped transport listeners to the deep South and really brought the characters to life.

Thank you, Harper Collins UK Audio, for this ALC! 🎧🧙‍♀️

The Bell Witches is a YA fantasy romance with immersive worldbuilding and intriguing characters! 🌌✨

What I loved:

The magic system is unique: the witch’s power skips a generation, passing from grandmother to granddaughter. This made the dynamics between Emily and her family so interesting!
Emily, our protagonist, gets thrown into a whirlwind of chaos, grief, and mystery, and her confusion makes her journey feel authentic and relatable.
Two major plot twists? 👀 I guessed them early on, which was a bit of a letdown, but the surprise factor with Ashley’s character made up for it! He was quiet but ended up being super intriguing.

Why it’s ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5:

- The insta-love between Emily and Wyn felt excessive. They’re teens, but three meetings and an “I love you” needed more context or backstory to feel believable.
- The use of “unalive” instead of words like “kill” or “torture” in a YA fantasy made some scenes feel off. It’s important to have a tone that matches the dark, high-stakes storyline. I understand ´unalive´ is now the hit world on social media now, but for different media there is the need of different vocaboulary. Also what one of the character did, was pure and egoistic killing, even torure by the end... idk the use of this word gave me a huge ick.
-
Overall, a solid read for fans of YA fantasy with dark twists and witchy vibes! 🧙‍♀️💫

I enjoyed this book, however I did find it quite slow in parts.
It’s very YA which I didn’t expect it to be.
There wasn’t as much character development as I would have liked so I don’t dwell on like I could connect with them as much as I wanted to.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
I’ve read the book and also listened to the audiobook on a separate occasion. The narration was really good and draws you into the book and the world you are entering.
I really loved Lindsey’s first YA fantasy novel. I enjoy reading fantasy, however, I struggle with fantasy that is extremely in-depth with world building with lots of things to get your head around and remember. So I felt The Bell Witches was perfect for me. Seeing Emily develop throughout the book and learning more about her parents, and her family history was a good journey to be part of. I would love to get to know more on Lydia and Jackson. Lydia, especially had a great personality that I hope we see more of in book two.
There was a lot of family drama with her grandmother and aunt, which Emily starts to uncover when she moves to Savannah Georgia.
I feel like the book was well done and I look forward to seeing where things go with Emily and Wyn in the sequel, and seeing how they move forward with what’s happened in book one.
There were some lovely quotes throughout the book with a lot of messages that you can take away from the book.
The one problem with reading an ARC of a book you have fallen in love with is that you have even longer to wait for the sequel.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio | Magpie for providing access to the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blessed be the narrator; she was probably the best part of the whole experience, mostly because the book itself provided nothing memorable. We have Insta-love, we have a main character that's lacking any interesting traits, and an MMC that's so perfect he seems made out of cardboard. If anything, I found some of the side characters (Ashley, Jackson, and Lydia to be exact) to be better fleshed-out and engaging, even if they also turned into caricatures at times.

It's not a bad book by any means, but I found myself not really caring about any of the plot or character developments. So I'll probably pass on its sequel unless something tempts me to a solid enough degree.

I did not see the plot twists in the one coming at all. I was shooketh!

I loved this story and how it all came together, experiencing tense and strained relationships blossom into love, the plot developments. Everything was truly wonderfu;

Firstly I would like to thank Lindsey Kelk, HarperCollins UK Audio | Magpie , and NetGalley for providing me with an audio copy of ' The Bell Witches ' to listen to in exchange for an unbiased review.
The book follows the life of sixteen year old Emily whose world is turned upside down when her father tragically dies in an accident and she is sent to live with her estranged grandmother and aunt whom she has never met. She soon discovers that her family have been keeping a massive secret and life will never be the same again.

The book is narrated by Ashleigh Haddad and I loved the pace and the style. The tone kept me engrossed and gripped to the story and I was eager to listen to more at every opportunity. Whilst stories of adolescent witchcraft have been told many times over and over although the storyline was quite predictable at times, it still felt fresh and was a pleasure to listen to.

The story connects fantasy and magic to the everyday real struggles of a teenager in a new town who is still grieving from such an overwhelming loss. I loved the friendships and bonds which were formed throughout although I struggled at times to relate to the almost instant romantic connection with Wyn . I feel there should have been a more slow burn depth to it .

Overall this novel would make an amazing film or tv adaption and I am so happy to learn that it is book one of a set . I am eager to continue with the series going forward. I recommend it to all readers who love paranormal stories that are easy reads . Its an ideal book to read on the cold Winter evenings

#TheBellWitches #NetGalley.

The narration will take you right into the bell’s world. The Bell house is full of secrets and mystery. This is a young adult witchy book. Author’s writing is absolutely beautiful. This is filled with tragic loss, magic, awakening, secrets, mystery, family bonds and buried truths.

Emily is sixteen year old. After her father’s tragic death, she begins to live with her grandmother and aunt. But they are not what they appear to be. There she truly discovers her true powers and herself but secrets, rituals, prophecy and mystery also unveils. Unexpected friendships and unexpected love happens. The book is whimsical, it has secrets, choices to be made and magical allure but it has clean romance or few romance moments. The Bell Family is beautiful, mysterious and charming. Author has shared great insights about magic, witch’s abilities, ritual and witches world. I love the atmospheric setting. Wyn’s character is interesting. This is a cosy YA magical witchy book. This is a great beginning to Savannah Red Witchy series.

Thanks to the Author, Narrator and Publisher

I had high hopes for this book based on its description, and I requested it to be a great halloween and witchy read/listen for October 2024.
Unfortunately I ended up being quickly disappointed by it, and found the narrator to be slightly irritating.
The main character Emily has supposedly been raised moving between places in different countries outside of the U.S.A. with her father, and yet seems to have a great lack of worldly knowledge. While I'm a little outside the age range for Young Adult now but I found Emily to be quite irritating in her mannerisms and some of the language she used. Which led to me being completely disconnected from the main character.
The crunch point for me came when two of the characters were attacked around 20% of the way into the book and I had not a care whether anything happened to either of them.
The insta-love is strong in this book, simply a glimpse out of a window and Emily seemingly decides that this boy is her soul mate! And in what I listened to they had no chemistry!
Ultimately I decided that as I had no interest in continuing the story when I was 25% into it, that this wasn't the book for me and to stop listening.
Perhaps someone with more of an interest in insta-love tropes and YA romances would enjoy this more than I did.

The narration was really good and enjoyable. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook perfect for enjoying on a long walk or whilst doing tasks at home It is a young adult read but I am far from YA but i thoroughly enjoyed it, A FAB blend of fantasy, mystery and drama. I

After a long time, I came back to YA fantasy and this didn't disappoint me at all. I had a great time reading this book as the author has focused on each and every element of the background and setting all around our characters as it played a great role in the development of our protagonist and her companions.
The journey of self discovery of our protagonist is brilliantly penned down and while I was reading it, I felt as if I had drifted into the book and living all those scenarios thus you can totally understand how well each and every thing is penned by the author in this book.

I really enjoyed The Bell Witches. It is a really good young adult read with a beautiful blend of fantasy, fall, mystery and family drama. I think the story was slightly predictable some of the time and the romance felt a bit flat for me mostly because it felt a little cliché but I still really enjoyed this book.

The narration was really good and enjoyable. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook.

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Emily uncovers her family’s magical secret in Savannah, finding romance and danger that challenge her loyalty and identity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC, all thoughts are my own.