
Member Reviews

I really enjoyed this book! I though the world building and plot was so good and it really delivered on a good gothic tale. I also thought the writing was great and I felt transported into this world!

This was okay. The premise of a slavic gothic fantasy with a city and its gargoyles coming to life was super interesting to me, but the execution beyond that felt a bit lacking in substance.
The writing itself is decent, outside of a few clunky moments in the dialogue. Where the story faltered for me was everything beyond that. The atmospheric setting was fun and engaging, but I wanted more depth in the world-building. I liked Mina and her love interest from the outset, but the emotional stakes of the story rely too heavily on the reader's investment in their romance, given how little we actually get to see of it. There are some parallels that the plot relies pretty heavily on, that feel superficial given how little we know of the relevant characters and their relationships. The plot was fairly predictable and the villain was uncomplicatedly evil, which isn't necessarily a problem, but it did mean that this read on the younger end of YA.
Elle Tesch clearly has very interesting ideas, and I'd love to see future books of hers that delve deeper into those premises and flesh out the worlds more thoroughly.

I loved "What Wakes the Bells"! The world-building was impressive and expansive. I loved how Mina came into her own; the ending for her was perfect! I appreciated the diverse cast of characters of her family; they really completed the fullness of the book.

I went into this book pretty blind and was pleasantly surprised. This is a YA gothic fantasy that follows an 18 year old girl unraveling century old secrets to save the city.
While some parts were rather predictable, I am one to enjoy some predictability so this did not disappoint. I did feel the world building could have used more explaining as some parts I just did not understand or was easily confused on but it did not hinder the story itself.
Overall, I do recommend this and excited to see what else the Author will release in the future.

I love a gothic and spooky setting and the idea of a sentient city. I think for a debut, the writing was done well however I really could not connect to the characters and wish there was more lore to the saints. The plot was simple and I wish it was a little more complex with the history of the city and saints.

For a debut novel, the writing is solid, and the Gothic atmosphere is well done. However, I struggled to connect with the characters, and many aspects of the story felt underdeveloped. The plot often felt disjointed, and key details were left incredibly vague (like the saints lore), making it difficult to fully engage with the narrative.
(And why was the town the way it was… am I missing something here)
If you're looking for a simple, atmospheric read, this might be a good fit. But if you’re hoping for something more intricate and deeply layered, this one may not fully deliver. A solid debut, but it didn’t completely work for me.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

to start off, the writing and overall atmosphere of this book is absolutely phenomenal! i think the author has a true craft in capturing the aesthetics of scenery and creating a world that can be transportive to the right reader.
my issue was with the world building in the sense of some historical context not being given which made it really difficult to connect with the story. the first half of this read like the second book in a thoughtfully constructed gothic fantasy series with sporadic informative paragraphs but many things were still left to be presumed upon by the reader.
the characters were interesting but lacked a certain emotional depth one would expect in these high stakes encounters so i never felt truly invested into any of them although i did appreciate the approach to ace representation.

What Wakes the Bells is a tense, dark ride that kept me on edge in the best way. I especially adored the relationship between Mina and Max and the sentient city that can turn both helpful and horrific. Definitely recommend this one for readers looking for dark YA fantasy with Gothic vibes!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

A masterclass in deliciously dark, gothic fantasy.
What Wakes The Bells feels just as alive as the city it's set in. Just as Vaiywn breathes and bleeds (yes, the city is sentient and it's so cool), this book begs you to turn the next page. It's underpinned by intricate world building and prose so vivid you feel as if you can step straight into Vaiwyn, with its haunting bell towers and mysterious catacombs.
The romance in this book is achingly tender, and so well-written. Tesch explores complicated family dynamics, the bond between siblings, and the feeling of familial obligation so expertly. This is a standalone, but it absolutely leaves you wanting more, which is a testament to the world and characters that Tesch has built.
Thank you to the author for the early copy. I'll be watching Tesch's career with great interest.

Loved the concept but the execution was a tough sell. I thought the mythology was neat but had a hard time with the characters and their relationships. It didn't feel true to life. But maybe I'm just too old for YA.

Oh boy. This book frustrated me. (Rant incoming, I’m getting there). Here’s the thing, the vibes were immaculate. It was very gothic fantasy with Hunchback of Notre Dame vibes, which is such a unique setting from what is usually done in fantasy. However, this book is filled with characters and magic systems and backstories that were not properly explained. When info was revealed I had to reread over and over again and I STILL I had questions. That is not what you want in the fantasy genre especially, as this genre needs things to be clear more so than any other genre, because a reader is more likely to be confused/need more explanation with a genre that incorporates things like complicated magic systems. And this book did nothing but confuse me and leave me with more unanswered questions due to a lack of clear explanation. I will dive deeper into this later in the review. Prepare for a rant.
The premise: in the city of Vaiwyn, the Vesper Bells were crafted by the Saints to exile an evil entity from their world. Now, the Bell Keepers must ensure that the Vespers never ring all thirteen times, because the thirteenth toll would bring back the concealed evil. As a Strauss, Mina and her family are designated to keep the evil at bay by making sure the Vespers never ring those dreaded thirteen tolls, that would rouse the evil once more. Of the five saints that built Vaiwyn, The Lost Alchemist was the one who defeated the evil a thousand years prior, and crafted the Vespers with her dying breath, so that the people of the city would have warning if the evil ever tried to return.
The biggest strength of this book is the atmosphere. The atmosphere is beautiful, and gives a subtle mix of Edinburgh and Prague, but a fantasy version. Mina is designated to watch over the Vesper in Lyndell Hall, which is a dark academia gothic dream with iron chandeliers, staircases with long landings, tall windows, and aged portraits. This mixed with a unique magic system and lore, plus gargoyles coming to life, you have a book with a really unique atmosphere.
The biggest weakness of this book is again, the lack of clear explanation. When the lore behind the saints and the founding of Vaiwyn was revealed, I found it hard to understand. You also never quite get a solid, CLEAR explanation for why or how Vaiwyn is a living, sentient city. It’s just kind of…there? Came out of nowhere and it’s alive? More so, you never get a real explanation for why Bane became evil either. You hear his backstory, but don’t get an explanation for his motivation on what caused him to go from mortal to evil. When it comes to writing a good villain, they have to have a solid backstory. If you just make it a, they became evil out of nowhere thing, it comes off as cartoony. It’s so much less satisfying to be like, he just became evil, and that’s it. Oooook? This character is really evil and vengeful but you never get a reason WHY. People don’t just become evil out of nowhere and especially not THAT evil.
Side note, you also get ZERO backstory on the saints, how they got their power, etc. All you know is the basic outline of the history of how they formed Vaiwyn, something about a beast but you don’t know where it got its power either, or if it’s what even made the saints become immortal and gave them their power. It’s like, everything is glossed over but too many details are missing.
Despite the lack of characterization and backstory, the most frustrating part is still the parts of this book that are unclear, ESPECIALLY with tricky dialogue. Here’s an example: the book says that immortals, when they die, come back as a different variation with altered appearances, but they can all still recognize each other. Then, shortly after, the book says Elora (the lost alchemist saint) was not in Vaiwyn because “nothing is tethering her to this world” so “all that remains of her is her relic”. This sure make it sounds like she’s completely gone from the universe, possibly ceasing to exist, and “all that remains is her relic”. But again, it sounds like this, yet you’re UNSURE if that’s what they even mean. If it is what they mean, then if she’s an immortal saint, why does the book say she isn’t in the world anymore, when it JUST SAID any immortal that died would come back as a younger person with a different appearance? And if what they actually mean is that she did reincarnate as all immortals do but she’s not in the same world/universe anymore, THATS ALSO CONFUSING BECAUSE THE EXISTENCE OF OTHER WORLDS ARE NEVER MENTIONED, so how would we know? So does this mean that A, for whatever reason she didn’t reincarnate and is dead, which is a direct contradiction to what was just said about immortals when they die, or does it mean B, she’s in a different world/universe? Either option has an issue because A contradicts what was previously said about what happens when immortals die, and B throws in “she’s not tethered to this world” implying her soul is in an alternate world, without ANY mention that alternate worlds even exist in this book’s world. See what I mean? Option C would be, by world they could mean she’s in a different kingdom or city or country or whatever, but that would still be an issue because you said WORLD. See what I mean about the dialogue being unclear?
Note: we do get an answer to this above example above later in the book, around the last 20%. However, my statement still stands, because this is not a matter of, things being unclear because information is being hidden. It’s a matter of, things being unclear because the dialogue is too open to interpretation. We don’t want to have all of the answers at the beginning obviously, that isn’t the issue here. The issue is, if I’m having to reread a paragraph over and over cuz I have no clue what this character means by what they said because it could mean more than one thing. We shouldn’t need spoilers at the end to finally be able to figure out what the dialogue at the beginning was trying to convey.
Before the last 20% (not very shocking) reveal, I debated an interpretation of “she’s not tethered to this world” possibly meaning the city of Vaiwyn is the entire world. Which I doubt that’s what it is, but again, we wouldn’t know because this is not explained due to EXTREMELY LIMITED worldbuilding. The worldbuilding INSIDE VAIWYN is really good, and the vibes are immaculate, but it’s like nothing exists outside of this singular city. The existence of anything else is not even MENTIONED. When all hell breaks loose, leaving the city isn’t even mentioned as an option, and we never know why. Is it because this singular city of Vaiwyn is all there is in the entire world and nothing else exists? The whole universe is just this one city? We never find out. The limited amounts of worldbuilding were good, but it needs to be expanded. It’s fantasy. This is your opportunity to create multiple countries and maybe even draw maps. The way it’s written is so restrictive with the world building that it’s basically implying that this one city is the only thing that exists, ever. Especially with confusing dialogue like the example above.
The thing is, when you write fantasy, you have to know that there’s going to be readers (like me lol) that need clear answers and dialogue, not things open to interpretation that are going to have us scratching our heads. It leads to a very confusing and unsatisfying reading experience. I was so frustrated by all of this that it made me not even want to read the rest. Some readers can let this kind of stuff roll off their backs and is ok with things not being clear. I am not one of them. What was done was done well, but there were too many missing pieces, leading to a lot of frustration at the beginning which made me unmotivated to want to read the rest. This was very imaginative, atmosphere was great, and the writing was good. But I recommend better built out characters, clearer dialogue, and less limited worldbuilding.
Thank you to Netgalley and Feiwel for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

✒️📖ARC REVIEW📖🖋️
3.5; rounded down because the characters’ personalities and some of the common YA Troupes almost made me DNF a few times.
I’m always intrigued about books based on myths and legends I haven’t encountered before. The lore, history, and world building are very intertwined in this book and well done. I wish there was a map, but there is enough traveling around the city throughout the book that you can make one yourself.
This is dark//tragic paranormal romance. The magic is “saintly,” and embedded with in the living city (my favorite part!!), and it’s complete with guardian stone statues that come to life and protect/attack like the ones at Hogwarts.
The misunderstood, outcast child trope goes hard in this one. It is laid on very thick, but it gets old after awhile. Most of the people don’t know what is going on, information is being withheld, and they are all blaming//spitting on the one person that saved them (and it continues to happen until the last few chapters of the book). Classic dilemmas that were a bit over done at times. The chosen one arch, however, was paced//well thought out. It was a nice juxtaposition to the “evil” build up, and made logical sense.
Another thing that bothered me about the book was some of the action scenes felt a bit choppy and hard to picture.
Overall, solid debut novel that delivered on what it promised. I would read more from this author. Would recommend to anyone who is looking from something that is darker/gothic fantasy romance, but is distinctly YA troupes (the main character and some of her family were way to whiny and non-communicative for my tastes). The world building that was done in this short of a book while fleshing out a full plot and a few fully realized characters is impressive for a debut novel.
I was provided a free advanced reader copy courtesy of MacMillan Publishing and Elle Tesch via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.
#arc #advancedreadercopy #NetGalley #WhatWakesTheBells #MacMillan #ElleTesch

What Wakes The Bells is a YA fantasy about a city run on magic. Plopped right on top of a magical entity the city of Vaiwyn thrives and lives on its own. Snowed is removed from streets, windows repair themselves, letters are delivered through walls. Everyone knows the five Saints and that if any of the towns bells ring 13 then an evil bane will rise to destroy them all.
Mina is a bell keeper from a family of bell keepers. After her father’s untimely death she takes over his post as a bell guardian to the dismay of her mother. Check your trigger warnings for this one because this is included in there. One night Mina’s bell rings thirteen and the demonic entity Bastian is released.
Thank you to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for the opportunity to read and review this book which I am giving 3⭐️.
I really enjoyed the sweet relationship between Mina and her love interest Max. The biggest strength in this book was the world building. I really loved getting to know this town and what it could do. Unfortunately most of that occurred during the first 25% of the book.
One the book hit 30% and the bell was rung we get a huge info dump of lore mainly about the Saints and the entirety of the book is laid out in front of us. This isn’t just a breadcrumb of foretelling we are dealing with, this is honestly one of the most clear ok I know exactly what is going to happen situations I have read in a long time.
I did enjoy this book but was so disappointed by how obvious everything was once the info dump happened that I can’t actually recommend this book because finishing it felt like such a waste of time and yea what I guessed was going to happen was exactly what did happen.

What Wakes the Bells is a haunting, atmospheric masterpiece that grabbed me from the first page and refused to let go. Inspired by a dark Prague legend, Elle Tesch’s debut is a mesmerizing blend of gothic horror, lush fantasy, and pulse-pounding suspense.
The city of Vaiwyn is a character in itself—sentient, mysterious, and steeped in the eerie weight of its past. Mina, as a Keeper of the bells, carries the responsibility of maintaining the city’s fragile peace, but when her bell tolls thirteen times, she unknowingly unchains an ancient evil. The way Tesch weaves mystery, tension, and rich worldbuilding had me completely enthralled. The idea of a city turning on its own people, with gargoyles and statues hunting in the night, is the perfect mix of terrifying and exhilarating.
Mina is a deeply compelling protagonist, torn between duty, love, and the creeping horror of knowing the enemy could be someone she trusts. The paranoia, the high stakes, and the moral dilemmas she faces kept me on edge. The writing is lyrical and immersive, painting each scene with a dreamlike yet visceral intensity. Fans of Adalyn Grace, Margaret Rogerson, and V.E. Schwab will absolutely devour this book.
I read What Wakes the Bells in one sitting, completely unable to put it down. If you love dark, gothic fantasies with razor-sharp tension, morally complex characters, and a city that breathes like a living thing, this book is a must-read. Elle Tesch has crafted something truly special—this is a debut you won’t want to miss.

What Wakes the Bells was an energetic, unique YA fantasy. Tesch is a writer with interesting ideas and I enjoyed how she built her world. We don’t see enough menacing bells in literature—not since Sabriel, and I could see shades of Nix’s book here in the best way. The plot of WWTB is very fast paced and it’s easy to get swept up into the action of the story.
Tesch notes she was inspired by Prague, and part of me wishes she’d just set it in a fantasy Prague because I think the setting would have been stronger. As it was, the gothic elements that the blurb makes sure to highlight didn’t really feel atmospheric enough for me.
Which leads me to my main criticism: most of the story elements didn’t feel ENOUGH for me: the characters were ok but I didn’t really love or hate them. The plot twists were present, but were pretty obvious and so I wasn’t surprised by any. The setting was interesting but felt washed out. Overall, I think a lot of the “color” of the writing was sacrificed in favor of keeping the plot hurtling along. It was a choice, just not the one I would have made (but I’m also not a published author, so take that as you will).
I think there’s good things here and I think Tesch will find her audience in the YA market with this more unique fantasy, but for me, it was just pretty ok.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group / Feiwel & Friends for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

The bells dictate everything. The Strauss family legacy has been to guard the bells, but when the bell rings thirteen times on Mina’s watch, it sets off an ancient evil.
It has everything you’d want to see in a gothic fantasy: a sentient city, Saints, magic bells. Bonus since it’s also inspired by a Prague legend! I’m always down for fantasies inspired by mythologies and legends, but for some reason I did not find myself connecting with the characters. It admittedly took me a long while to finish this, despite my interest in the magic system and Elle’s atmospheric writing. Pretty predictable, but it’s a strong debut. I’d still look out for Elle’s future releases.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for the ARC :>

This was a solid story. 3.75 stars. I read it in one sitting, so it was paced pretty well. It could be a little too descriptive at times, sometimes I would get a little lost and have to reread cause I felt like I missed something. I really liked the plot, with the sentient city and the idea of the bells being a major player in the story. I think this story could have benefited from being dual POV, having both the FMC and the MMC POV. That was a lot of letters, sorry. I feel like the dual POV would have added more depth and more richness to the story.
Overall though, well done. I look forward to more of this authors work. These opinions are my own and reflect personal taste. Thank you netgalley for the ARC!

Billing a book as a gothic fantasy is a guaranteed way of getting me to pick it up. I found the blurb and the elements of the story intriguing, but they didn't quite come together for me. I loved the imagery and atmosphere but many of the reveals seemed obvious and I didn't really connect with any of the characters. I also didn't like how Mina's relationship with her mom was resolved - her mom was terrible to her!

SCREAMING, this is my NEW FAVORITE book ever.
The concept and setting, the new and dangerously dark magical ecosystem of Saints, monsters and bell keepers kept me on edge!!
Mina is a fantastic character with so much depth and understanding for the world around her. While she navigates her doomed situation, love life (she is ace!) and difficult family relationships we learn about the city, legends, and magic with her.
It's dark, atmospheric and real. I couldn't put it down and looking forward to reading more from this author!
Thank you Elle, Fiercereads and Netgalley for the earc!

Firstly, thank you so so much to Netgalley and Macmillan for allowing me to read the ARC of this book -- it took me a while to actually sit down and read it, but I'm glad that I did. Goodreads rating is 5 stars, but my personal rating is closer to a 4.5, which I'll explain further down.
I think I saw another review go, "Oh, y'all are not read for THIS." And I agree. Elle Tesch's debut into gothic fantasy is incredible. The description states that What Wakes the Bells is perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson, and I also agree with that sentiment. Tesch did not put any shame on Rogerson's name or game, so if you liked one you'll definitely enjoy the other.
What Wakes the Bells is a story about many things, but what steals the spotlight every chapter, every page, is the city Tesch has crafted. Vaiwyn, the name of the city, is built upon the corpse of a fallen God, and protected by the Strauss family. The God is dead, but the city is alive, and Tesch describes the walls of buildings as pointed ribs and healing membranes. The city can absorb messages into its walls and spit them out to the correct recipient -- because the walls are still, somehow, alive. It has been a very long time (Honestly, probably since I read Rogerson for the first time) that I have been able to create an entire city in my head from scratch. You can see the bell towers, the cobbled steps. Tesch not only said that Vaiwyn is alive, but she showed it, and it was beautiful.
The setting was breathtaking, but the plot was great as well. We follow Mina Strauss, the newest bell keeper, as she tries to uphold years of family tradition. Every day, she must cut the clapper off her vesper before the bell rings 12 times, otherwise an ancient evil will be unleashed. And since there would be no story without conflict, Mina fails in her duty, and the bell eventually peals out 12 chimes, despite her best efforts.
I won't go too much into the story's details -- they're best read personally. Some of my favorite parts of this book were the magic system and the Saints themselves. It's revealed that 4 of Vaiwyn's saints are still alive and protecting the city, and they have both human forms and magical forms. They are all described beautifully, otherworldly, and in ways that sparked my imagination something fierce. At times the Saints appeared as abstract deities, and the concepts Tesch assigned to them were just so freaking cool.
The only thing I would say docks a half point off for me is that at points I didn't feel overly connected to the cast or the romantic subplot. The book was gorgeous in it's presentation, but I was never attached to Max or the Strauss family. I don't necessarily think this is a failing of the author -- I think it's me being picky. I loved the characters, just not necessarily their intertwining relationships.
Overall, an absolute joy of a book, and I wish it a very good release day!