This was tremendous. Witchy, prophesies, mystery, herbs and potions. Dark and mysterious, and everything you want from an October Witchy read. Bring on book 2!

Thank You NetGalley for the Audio eArc.
I’ll have to give this story a 2.5 stars. The narrator did well with the change of accents I just feel like hearing Emilys accent would’ve been a great contrast though. Personally this book really missed the mark for me. I’ve partially read Love me do by this author and ended up DNFing based on the overdone referencing etc & I thought maybe this will be different given the type of book it’s meant to be but still…The references were overdone, the way certain words were used was unnecessary in my opinion and it just felt very flat. There was so much potential but it just wasn’t it for me. I felt like the author was trying too hard to use current social media words rather than a normal conversation.
Yes they’re young but saying “Unalive” was a big stretch!!! 🤦🏽‍♀️ I have no words on that front.
On that note Opinions are opinions so another person may totally love this book! It just wasn’t great to me.

Unfortunately loss is not an unfamiliar concept to Emily. After losing her father she’s forced to go live with her only remaining relatives. Emily becomes fast friends with Wyn, their connection is like no other. Theres a speak between them that grows more powerful with time. Every step closer to him seems to take her a step further from her family. And after discovering magical secret about the Bell family she has a big choice ahead of her.

This is a perfect fall read for all the romance girlies out there who are looking for a paranormal romance that’s not too fantasy forward. If that makes sense. The story mainly revolves around Emily and her journey as she discovers her heritage but it’s easy to consume and digest even if you’re not an avid romantasy reader.

If I were to complain about something it would be how fast Emily and Wyn get together. But I feel that’s fairly normal when it comes to YA books so it didn’t bother me that much.

Emily’s family is something else. Her grandmother gave me the creeps from the get go and how resentful the aunt was took me by surprise. But as the story develops it all made sense. I quite enjoyed the Savannah setting, character development and the twists. They definitely surprised me.

If you’re a fan of twilight, tvd, the originals and so on you’re probably going to love this one. I highly recommend it!

Read this if you like
💜Romantasy
🫶🏼YA
🐦‍⬛Witchy reads
✨Complex family bonds

I’m so excited to share my thoughts on “The Bell Witches”, the first book in the Savannah Red series by Lindsey Kelk. I dove into this YA fantasy with high expectations, and I can confidently say that it did not disappoint. From the moment I started listening, I was completely engrossed in Emily’s world—a sixteen-year-old thrust into a new life after the tragic loss of her father, and the enchanting yet mysterious environment of Savannah, Georgia.
As a listener, I was particularly drawn in by Ashleigh Haddad’s narration. Her warm southern accent perfectly captured the charm of Savannah, enriching the story with vivid imagery and atmosphere. While I truly enjoyed Haddad's performance, I found myself wishing that Emily’s British accent had been more pronounced for contrast. Nonetheless, Haddad has a gift for clear enunciation and engages the listener throughout, immersing me in the humid, magical world Kelk has created.
Kelk’s storytelling shines as we follow Emily’s journey of self-discovery. The Bell family is not just hiding a magical secret; they are also a whirlwind of complexities and relationships. Emily’s growing connection with Wyn felt both exhilarating and haunting, making me root for their relationship even though I typically shy away from the instant-love trope. But in this case, it made sense; Emily has been sheltered for most of her life, and her experiences resonate with the intensity of first love.
The supporting characters—Lydia, Jackson, and the enigmatic Catherine—added depth to the story. The dynamics among them offered humour and warmth, contrasting with the darker elements at play. While I did find the grandma's "evil" tendencies somewhat predictable, I appreciated how Kelk managed to weave unpredictable twists and turns into the narrative. Each plot development surprised me in the best way, and the side characters complemented Emily’s arc beautifully.
That said, there were moments when the pacing lagged, particularly while I waited for Catherine to unveil her backstory. However, I understand that this is just the first book in a planned trilogy, and a lot of world-building is necessary to set the stage for what's to come.
“The Bell Witches” expertly balances light-hearted banter with serious themes—like loss, magic, and found family—and I revelled in the exploration of these dynamics. I’m genuinely excited to see where Emily’s journey leads next, especially with the tantalizing hints dropped throughout the story.
Overall, this audiobook is a delightful introduction to a world that I can’t wait to revisit. I’m eagerly looking forward to books two and three, and I’m so grateful to have jumped into this journey. Kelk has secured her place as a go-to author for me.

I am going to start with the one thing I didn't like as there was so much I did like - I have decided I am against insta love! - Other than that, I loved the twists and turns of this book. I loved that it was modern with phones and social media and mac books but still stayed true to being an old timey witchy southern fantasy book. The twists and turns had some that were obvious and some that had me catching flies in shock!
I would really like to continue on with this series.
Thank you netgalley for letting me read and review.

Overall thoughts:
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
0.25 🌶️

‘Even though I know she meant to be reassuring, I couldn’t help but think her words sounded like a threat.’

Tropes: Witches, Magic, Ghouls, Wolves/ Werewolves, YA, Ghosts.

Newly orphaned Emily founds herself moving halfway across the world to go live with her only remaining & estranged relatives. But something is off.. The Bell family has a lot more secrets than Emily could imagine. They’re also not the only ones with secrets…

I wanted to like this one so much, but it just missed the mark for me. It felt like a story I’d read before & the twist was really
obvious from 50% into the book.

It was well written, however the use of TikTok & words like rizz ruined it for me. Outing myself as a millennial here! 😂

I did like a lot of the characters in the book though! Some of them were really fun, interesting & quirky. Sadly though, the FMC wasn’t great.

*Listened via audio & the quality of work was amazing. Only improvement there would have been having a male voiceover the MMC, but I’m guessing they didn’t because the book is only told from Emily’s POV.*

Thank you to Net Galley & HarperCollins UK Audio for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sweet YA story of a 16 year old called Emily who's lost both her parents and moves from the UK to live in Savannah, Georgia in the US. I enjoyed listening to this but found the narration at the beginning distracting, given that Emily was not born in the US but had American accent throughout. The other characters were voiced well, by the same narrator. This is probably just a personal peeve as a Brit! Overall this is enjoyable and cosy for listening to in the darker months of the year.

This was a re-read as I've already read the e-book of this. I absolutely loved the audiobook, it had me even more engrossed, especially with Catherine and Ashley's southern accents coming through. I just wish we heard more of Emily's british accent for contrast!

Here's my original review for the e-book: 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!

Unfortunately I had to DNF this audiobook at 43% because it was just a series of YA cliches stacked on top of each other. I'm pretty annoyed it was comped to Buffy & The Gilmore Girls as it's more Hollyoaks with pointless family secrets and insta love matches.

This was an enjoyable listen, the audiobook was well narrated and the story is solid.
While the grandma being "evil" was expected it wasn't predictable to the extent that would make this unenjoyable. All the plot twists and turns were a surprise and the side characters play a good addition to the story and main character.
I am excited to see where the story goes from here.

A solid 3 star YA Fantasy, I think it's targeted at 12-18 year olds as it was a soft romance, a dash of insta-love, and no spice.

A gorgeous witchy tale with lots of twists and turns along the way. Emily is an inspirational lead for teens, but I would have liked her confidence to grow as the story evolved, she's been on an incredible journey and needed the boost to feel true to herself.

The world building was perfect, Lindsey has crafted a beautiful intricate story.

I really thought I would love this book but I just didn’t. It was really slow and i was bored throughout. I guessed all the plot twists but i usually don’t mind but there was no real build up that would make it worth it. The plot & magic system was not well written & everything happened so conveniently that there was no real stakes.

The narrator however did a great job and the only reason I actually managed to get through the book.

3.5 stars rounded up

With its witty banter, The Bell Witches is an engrossing southern gothic witchy tale that brings Savannah to life. This is a story of a young girl coming into her own power, found family, and finding your place in a world you’ve been sheltered from.

I enjoyed this, though at times it really lagged for me, waiting for Catherine to finally tell Emily about her past. That said I understand it’s the first book in a planned trilogy, there’s a lot of world building to happen. While the romance is insta-love, which I really dislike, I bought this because it’s fitting with the teenage characters for whom first love is all encompassing and everything moves fast. Emily has been sheltered for nearly 17 years, so I’ll believe it and I’ll believe her nativity in not realising granny knows all, sees all. I could’ve done without the use of Tik Tok euphemisms with ‘unalive’, which, while only twice in the book were still jarring. Same with the Taylor Swift references.

Narrated by Ashleigh Haddad with her clear enunciation and engaging southern accent, I was immersed in the humid, mystic world of Savannah. While Haddad is fantastic, I wish they had cast a narrator closer to Emily’s age—she’s almost 17, but Haddad sounds like she’s in her late 20s. Emily’s mixed accent was also portrayed with a full American one, which would’ve been better if more neutral. I’m picky about audiobooks, and mismatched voices can pull me out of the story, especially when it comes to age

I am hooked for books two and three. I am dying to know what happens to Emily and gang next. Bring it on!

Thanks to Magpie/Harper Collins UK Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.

THE BELL WITCHES -
LINDSEY KELK -
AUDIOBOOK - ARC
To say I loved this would be an understatement! I adored it, devoured it infact! I love Lindsey's writing anyway but this is something else! The storyline was really good, the magic was easy to understand. the narrator was clear and well suited to the story. I listened at 2x speed and
listened over 2 days I think about 8 hours total might be slightly less though.
I cannot wait for there to be a second book!
@rachaelmcreads

An interesting premise and world but this was rather young YA.

Some books translate YA to older readers as well as young adults but The Bell Witches was not one of them. I know that if I was a teen reading this, I would have gobbled this up but older me could not gel with the immaturity of the main characters and all the instalove. There were so many "I love yous" and after no time at all. All this detracted from the plot which was pretty solid.

I can't see myself reading on because of this.

Audio wise, the narration was single POV with good narration and characterisation.

Thank you to Magpie for the audio review copy.

While this book didn’t 100% work for me, I think new fans to YA gothic/witchy stories are going to eat this up.

This books followed our protagonist Emily who moves to the town of Savannah following her fathers death, to live with her grandmother in the home she was born in but stolen away from by her father as a child. Very quickly, strange and unexplainable things begin to happen to Emily. Perhaps there’s more to her family than she thought! She also meets a young man named Wyn who she can’t help but fall for.

My biggest issues with this book were that I personally struggled immensely with the naivety of the protagonist. It was almost painful how these hugely strange events kept happening around her and she just brushes over it all.

Not to mention the very pointed millenial / Gen Z references like the “I can’t live without Starbucks” quotes that did my head in.

I also did not love the relationship, I wasn’t invested, I didn’t feel the tension. It was Insta love to the max.

I felt like this book was a combination of so many other “witchy” or other paranormal books I’ve read in the YA genre, I wasn’t particularly interested to see where the plot went as I felt like I’d read this book before.

In saying that, I felt like the characters did have depth and I enjoyed the storyline. I also wasn’t bored reading this at all.

I think if you are new to YA gothic witchy books, and you’re not a big romance reader, this book will defining float your boat

This book is perfect for witchy autumn season, and a real fun and easy read.

Emily has suffered great loss and moves to Savannah to a family she doesn't really know. And that has secrets that are of the witchy kind.
In the course of the story she finds herself, friends and love.

This is basically the plot, so don't expect too much. This book is all about vibes and atmosphere. Which it does real well.

There's insta-love with a (foreseeable) twist and everything is really YA.

Not much has stuck with me after a couple of days of having finished the audiobook, so I'll not go into analysis. The audiobook, however, is really well done. The narrator gives life to voices (some with a heavy Southern accent as is fitting) and the production value is great.

3/5 stars and some extra fallen leaves for autumn vibes.

Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollins for the eARC!

#TheBellWitches #Netgalley #Bookstagram

I enjoyed listening to this book. This young adult fantasy novel touches on the universal themes of loss, love, family and identity.
I felt sad for Emma after the death of her father left her an orphan. She also had to move from Wales to America to stay with an aunt and grandmother whom she believed to be dead.
The young characters will appeal to young adult readers as they sound contemporary with references to pop culture, and phrases and trends typically found on social media.
The narrator does a great job of performing the characters and the Southern accent.
There are plenty of entertaining characters. Catherine and Ashley may be Emma's only surviving relatives that she knows of but it is clear to the reader that they are not to be fully trusted. Emma also makes friends her age. Lydia and Jackson are fun and full of mischief. I enjoyed all their interactions. Wyn is somewhat less developed but has an intriguing story that I'm sure will be fleshed out more as the series progresses.
There is just enough witchy magic and goings-on to keep me entertained and looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thai was so similar to so many other YA fantasies and doesn’t add anything new to the genre. Insta love between teenagers and a boring, forgettable plot.

Audio narrator was good.

3.5 stars

A dark YA witchy read. It felt too teenager than YA to me. I think the cover seems YA or adult, but I would recommend this for 12-18 years. I enjoyed the first 40% but it seemed to drag on in the middle.

So many times I wanted Emily to stand up for herself or open her eyes. I was getting frustrated at some points!

The plot was interesting and unique. I loved the narrator and the atmosphere of the book. I felt like I was in Savannah.