I sadly guessed every plot twist to come from this book around the 35% mark. But even with its predictability, it was a very interesting and fast paced read. The world was very compelling, with a sentient city and statues that come to life in the night. Even though the villain doesn’t come into the story truly until about the 70% mark, he was probably my favorite character. Through-out the entire book the pace is pretty fast and makes you want more, even with how predictable it was which is a plus!

I normally get pretty bored once I’ve figured out everything but the world was what kept me reading, (sentient city, who needs anything else tbh). I only had a few troubles with this book; one was that because the plot was predictable, it made me want to smack the main character because of how blind she was to A LOT of things. Not only with people and their actions around her but with not trying certain things that I would assume anyone else would do in specific scenarios. The other would be that sometimes it became a bit confusing, the world did make sense overall but every so often there would be times I would have to reread and feel like I was missing something and that there was a hole that just wasn't being filled. Definitely will be recommending though because I’m always on the lookout for fantasy stand-alones and especially interested in ones with unique worlds!

actual rating 3.75

Vaiwyn is a city that is alive. If there is damage, it heals itself. If you want to send a message, it will deliver them through the walls. The city has a dark past, though, and the Bell Keepers are entrusted to ensure the evil that happened 1,000 years ago doesn't return. It's a very cool concept. Unfortunately, the delivery isn't perfect. There are some info-dumps, and a lot of the history that is told is very vague. I really would have enjoyed more expansion on how the city works and its long history, including the Saints. I wanted to know more about why the villain became who he is. I feel like the Saints are really just information conduits and not really characters when it's apparent that they are truly important to the history of the city.

I was super happy to see demisexual representation in Mina and a brief mention of asexuality for another character. That is not something we get a lot. The romance was very "meh" to me. Max and Mina don't get a lot of page time together for us to see why they are in love. I also didn't understand why Mina's mother was so hard on her. Mina was doing everything right and the constant ridicule didn't make sense and went on for far too long. This is one of the examples of the characters not feeling fully fleshed out.

Despite its flaws, I enjoyed the book. I haven't really been into YA books lately but the summary really intrigued me. The city being alive and sentient is a great concept. This book is typical for its YA genre, and the plot twists didn't surprise me at all, but it was a little of a brain break. It's an easy and quick read. I think this will appeal to readers who don't need much worldbuilding or deep connections to the characters.

I was interested in this book the first time someone post it on Instagram, it was labelled as gothic dark academia with a female MC (which is kind of book to be right up my alley).

It is very atmospheric and the premise about the sentient city is very intriguing, but sadly, this is the only thing I like about this book. You didn't get enough back story of everything, just too much info dumping.

The writing is too flowery for my liking, it affect my reading experience. Honestly it's hard to follow the story and I had to go back every few pages to reread and understand what's going on.

Only 5% in and already noticed that this is actually too heavy in romance for my liking. After that, I couldn't careless. There's a twist in the end but somehow I already see it from the first time they introduced the MC's love interest—Max.

It was very frustrating to read and left me underwhelmed. I've never rate a book too low but this book is just not for me.

DNF at 25%.

I was really excited to read this book, but ultimately I just found it very confusing with world building and character choices that weren't making sense. The book starts off with a giant info dump that tries to explain the history of the city Vaiwyn, which about 1,000 years ago had a horrible evil known as the Bane unleashed, and one of the city's saints gave her life to take down the Bane by making five bells but somehow the magic of the bells was turned and now if they ring 13 times whenever the clock strikes 1, they'll bring back the Bane. Although no one actually knows what the Bane did. And then you have the FMC, Mina, who lives in anxiety of being yelled at by her mom, who's incredibly angry at her for... I honestly couldn't figure out why. And then Mina has a loving and respectful love interest in Max but is pretty horrible to him because of her terrible mother. It was just a lot, and I found myself not caring once the action started. Maybe answers to these questions come later on, but it just didn't feel worth sticking with to find out what they were.

What Wakes the Bells is a standalone fantasy about a bell keeper and long-dead saints. I absolutely love the premise of this book, and it did not disappoint. There are also great subplots with familial obligations and first love. This is a fantastic book, and I eagerly await Tesch's next release.

Thank you to the author for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What Wakes the Bells is a YA fantasy full with elements of mythology and a gothic atmosphere that ultimately didn't work for me. It felt very surface level, nothing ever seemed to have enough time for the depth to develop for me to care about any characters or anything happening in the story.

I am floored by this book. I admit I was mildly intrigued at best when I requested it as an ARC read through NetGalley, and I was knocked off my feet in return. I wasn't even halfway through before I started recommending it to others, already trusting that the ending would not let me down. This book did not betray that trust. The story was unique and original. The world-building was likewise. The characters were realistic and relatable. Every time I thought I might want more of something - a character, a backstory, a plot twist - this book fulfilled and then some. I may have predicted the ending early on, but in no way did it detract from the journey or the ultimate conclusion. I look forward to reading what this author does in the future!

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.