E-ARC Book Review—The Bell Witches by Lindsey Kelk

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper 360, and Lindsey Kelk for the E-Arc.

DNF at 48%

Synopsis: When Emily's father passes away she moves to Savannah, Georgia to live with an aunt and grandma she did not know existed. While Emily is excited to meet her family and learn more about them she quickly realizes that strange things keep happening to her.

While she tries to navigate the magical things going on she meets new friends and Wyn who may be something more.

Review:I can recognize this book as a YA is probably not for me. Wyn and Emily's relationship develops too fast and every time they were togehter it took me out of the story. I can see how this book would appeal to a younger audience but was not for me. Although I was enjoying learning more of Emily and her family but ultimately decided to dnf it. I would recommend this book to teens age 13+. I think this book had potential and other readers would greatly enjoy it if they want a quick love story with some magic to it.

Loved this book, until we hit the werewolf talk and then it just went a bit downhill for me. The witch side of it was excellent and gave a cozy/coming of age vibe.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5 rounded up to a 4 star. I enjoyed this I just didn’t love it. I liked the premise of the story I just didn’t like part of this. I didn’t love how instantly the main characters were in love it literally was almost instantly which isn’t something that I enjoy. It was a bit predictable where the main character finds out she is a witch and falls in love with a werewolf. It was cute and I do want to read the second book.

It was okay, not great, but I think this is more of a “it’s not you it’s me” situation. I can see others enjoying this far more than I did.

A lot of the time it felt like everything was moving too fast and everywhere all at once but the romance was cute! I also did enjoy the family secrets aspects and the friendships. I was just expecting.. more? A bit more of the eerie and gothic. More witchy vibes.

Thank you for the ARC approval!

After some major issues with opening the file, for some bizarre reason, I'm leaving my review.

This was entertaining and low stakes, but it truthfully took me a looooong time to get into it because I didn't feel overly invested, perhaps because everything felt very mild. I felt like the book was trying to hook us and lead to the second, but I just didn't enjoy the first enough to be interested in any follow-ups. The romance was very, very, very instant, and I would've liked more development in this area too. Maybe because it's young adult? But, even so, I needed more buildup.

this book gave me strong "YA but spooky" vibes. I think it’ll hit better for a younger crowd—like, if you're currently navigating teen drama.

i was into the overall plot, but whew...some of those wyn & emily convos had me physically recoiling... idk just didn't hit for me. I will say that I misjudged ashley hard. thought she was just being a certified grump for no reason—but the end cleared that up & now I kinda want to give her a hug.

the plot twist around Wyn? super predictable...so that reveal didn’t exactly hit like it was supposed to. still not sure how I feel about where that landed.

overall, a solid read—but definitely one I think teens or early twenties will vibe with more than us overthinkers with bad backs & trust issues LOL.

HUGE thanks to netgalley & Lindsey for the arc!

Unfortunately I had to DNF at 28%. I was very intrigued by the synopsis for this book, but unfortunately I found myself quite bored and also not connecting with the characters as this seems quite YA with the ages of them.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

After Emily's father dies, she is reunited with her grandmother and aunt that she never met in Savanah. This is only the start to her journey.

This was an interesting one. It's a YA supernatural romance and it reads very much like all those that came before it. You have a chosen one that is on a coming of age, self-discovery into her powers. And of course, there are two possible love interests that pull her in different directions, although which one is meant to be is kind of obvious. I thought the mystery of what really happened to Emily's family was interesting and that kept me wanting to know what was really going on. The thing that I think Kelk did the best in this book was show Savanah. The city is so well described that I want to go see it myself.

All in all, this was a solid YA supernatural romance and an exciting start to a new series!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

ARC Review – 2⭐️

Summary:
After the sudden death of her father, Emily is left orphaned and sent to live with her grandmother Catherine and her sharp-edged aunt Ashley. But as her 17th birthday approaches, strange occurrences escalate, and Emily learns she comes from a long line of witches. Her grandmother prepares her for the Becoming—a ceremony where she’ll come into her full power—but the more Emily learns about her family’s legacy, the more she begins to question everything and everyone around her.

Review:
The premise had promise—witchy inheritance, family secrets, and a coming-of-age under supernatural pressure—but the execution really missed the mark for me.

The biggest issue was character inconsistency. Ashley is supposed to be Emily’s aunt, presumably a full-grown adult, yet she behaves like a jealous teenage mean girl. It made the story feel disjointed and hard to take seriously. I couldn’t get a clear sense of how old any of the characters were supposed to be, and that lack of grounding made it tough to connect.

The pacing lags heavily in the middle with very little development, and when the “twists” do arrive, they’re extremely predictable. I saw every turn coming well before it happened, and the "villain's" redemption felt completely unearned—there’s no reckoning, no consequences, just a quick cleanup and wrap-up.

Also, a personal gripe: using teen slang like “rizz” and “mid” in YA fiction is a fast track to making the book feel instantly dated. Teens age out of slang in months, and most books take at least a year from final draft to publication.

Bottom line: Strong setup, weak delivery.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sorry to say I have dnf’d this read. The writing style and story just weren’t for me at this time. I tried to get into the story but it just didn’t grab my attention from the get. I would love to try reading this one again in the future as I am in a book slump so I don’t want to fully dnf this book!

The story follows Emily who is age sixteen. Emily is from Wales but must move to Savannah, GA when her father dies to live with her grandmother and Aunt. Emily was raised without any knowledge of her being a descendent of witches and part of a wealthy family. You definitely knew you were reading about a teenager with the slang used in today's society and Emily exuded that normal teenage attitude.

Emily and Wyn's relationship was love at first sight which was very strange to me in how it all came about. It felt rushed and the I Love You's definitely was said too quickly. Maybe this is what teenagers are doing so it might not be to abnormal. There was no build up for the relationship. I could also guess that the author has a genuine affection for Taylor Swift because there are so many references to her.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins 360 for giving me this ARC. All of my opinions are my own.

I ended up dnfing this halfway through. It wasn’t bad by any means. I just don’t think this book was for me. I usually like YA fantasy books, but this storyline and these characters felt too YA.

Lindsey Kelk is a phenomenal writer, and though this is meant for a younger audience than her usual, her writing remains enchanting and enthralling. There's some awkwardness in moments of action and the supernatural where here usual style might not fit, but she rounds it out with her style and humor to make it all feel balanced.

I enjoyed the book and I will definitely be continuing with the series as installments are released. I really enjoyed the Savanah setting. The deep south location really lended a magical, even creepy kind of feeling to the story. I have been on a kick of reading "witchy fiction" lately and the Bell Witches was another great read about magical women! I was pretty surprised by the last quarter or so of the book, I really did not expect the "villian" that was revealed! I listened to the audio version and the narrator did a wonderful job with the southern accents! Each character was voiced so independently and uniquely I never once wondered who was speaking. The only negative I would have is the "immediate" devotion the main character, Emily, has for another character. It seemed , childish? Naive? or maybe just "unrelatable"? But I have a feeling the author is going to address that further in the sequels, so I'm ok with that. All in all, a great start to a new series!

In this magical world that takes place in Savannah, Georgia, there are many wonderful character dynamics and changes. I especially feel for the main antagonist of this whole story as they also have flaws, but they are reasonable flaws as any person whose concerns could match anything that comes to an end.

Furthermore, the ratio of romance and the fantasy aspect of the world building is a great one, as there is just enough fantasy as there is romance throughout the story. None of these genres in this book overshadows the other, and it flows really nicely as the story is told. Although some romance parts made me, for lack of a better word, cringe at some parts.

But I will thoroughly give this book a solid 3.5 stars! Thanks to NetGalley and Harper for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Southern gothic with witches, werewolves, and romance? Sounds great right? Emily is a sixteen year old girl who's father has recently tragically died and now she is returning to the only family she has left, an aunt and grandmother who live in Savannah, Georgia. Emily then meets the mysterious and attractive Wyn, a boy who is more than he seems... Yet the longer time she spends with her family the more she begins to realize that her family has dark secrets. Wyn also discovers that she comes from a long line of witches and that she is "special" witch... but with her new gifts comes new complications... and things only get worse when she kills a werewolf... and keeps it a secret... This is the first in a trilogy, and unfortunately for me, it missed the mark completely and I will not be continuing with the series. This initially had the promise of being everything I would love in a book, but it just felt so.... not it. Its very YA and its also just so boring. It felt like it was trying to be Beautiful Creatures ( the series) but lackluster and it just never hooked me as much. The romance didn't feel well executed and the actual book felt so slow and padded with extra stuff that you didn't need. Overall, it just wasn't really that much of an interesting read for me. While it isn't for me, I do think maybe younger YA/tweens will enjoy this for the autumnal time.

Release Date: August 5, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Harper 360 | Magpie for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

While I liked portions of this, overall I will not be continuing the series.

Parts of this worked well for me. I really liked the the drama between Emily and her family. Both her Grandmother and Aunt, but Granny seemed far too Big bad right out of the gate. I really loved Ashley and her background was interesting. The cover art was gorgeous and a part of the reason I requested this one.

Emily herself seemed under worked as a character. Some of the big plot reveals didn't seem to have much of an effect on her (family history for example) and her reactions just seemed so blasé.

I Hated (with a capital 'H', thank you very much) the instalove. It was so cringey. I actually wish Wyn was not a part of this story at all, since I feel like he added. nothing to it. Family drama trumps an underdeveloped relationship, easily. I would have appreciated them making eyes at each other and having a supernaturally charged connection, but the speed at which these children started saying they LOVED each other was astounding.

Thank you to Harper 360 for the chance to read and review early.

This book started off great, but I do wish more happened in the plot within the first half of the book. I almost DNF’d, but I’m glad I didn’t because it ended up being entertaining still.

It’s a bit predictable, but this was a good read for anyone interested in a witchy mystery book that gives Halloween town vibes (teen witch who doesn’t know she comes from a line of witches until her grandma, who is a witch, tells her).

The Bell Witches by Lindsey Kelk is an addicting gothic fantasy that mesmerized me on page one! Like what!
This world and these characters were so lush and immersive. The writing is beautiful and engaging, there are no slow parts in this book, I was captivated on every page!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper 360 | Magpie for this ARC.

Lindsey Kelk’s THE BELL WITCHES is a riveting, beautifully written book that raises the stakes with every twist and turn. It’s also set in the South and surprisingly creepy! Two things that made me love it all the more. Read this!