3.5 stars for The Bell Witches by Lindsey Kelk

I won’t lie, I requested this ARC for the cover alone and definitely should’ve read the description. I went in expecting a Romantasy, but instead got a coming of age tale about a young witch tangled in family secrets, wild revelations, and a dash of heartbreak.

That said, the story was beautifully written, engaging, and kept me flipping pages late into the night.

This is a book that I've had on my TBR for quite some time, as the premise itself is so interesting! A young girl loses her parents and moves far away from home to family she's never met before they showed up on her doorstep the day before. While her new life begins, she meets new friends, uncovers some family secrets, and falls in love.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me around 30%. The writing style was the biggest reason, as it made it hard for me to fully immerse myself in the story. Hopefully some editing will clear it up prior to release. I'm not a fan of the instant relationships that the FMC was making with everyone. It all felt very shallow and quick, and she is way too trusting and forgiving of these complete strangers! It definitely reads very YA, which is not a bad thing when done with a little more depth. I would be open to giving it another chance, so I will pick up a finished copy from the library after publishing to see if it's worth buying.

If you like witches, family intrigue, and found family, you might like this!

Thank you to Harper 360 and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my read and review. Some relatively light spoilers below.

Set in Savannah, the city practically plays a secondary character role, in a really lovely way. Emily finds herself there after her father dies, living with a grandmother and aunt she doesn’t know. She meets a boy and finds out she is a witch. The story explores the family relationship and mystery.

The romance is very closed doored and aside from being fast moving, appropriate for younger teens as well. As an adult reader, the “instant love” story didn’t resonate with me and I wasn’t sold on the strength of their connection. That said, the story development for witchy powers and family relationships were strong and interesting. I’m not the intended audience but I enjoyed the book and I think YA readers will enjoy it even more.

I absolutely loved this one! It hooked me in from the very first chapter, and kept me hooked the entire time. I loved that it was set in one of my very favorite cities — Savannah, GA, and I loved the mystery and intrigue!

I loved this YA paranormal / romance / coming of age book. Gosh, it was so fun. It was everything I want in a witchy book… ancestral magic, “powers” that are needed for the time, plants! The romance was SO stinking cute and sweet and butterfly inducing. The secrets were many and I loved finding everything out with our FMC. Read this - great summer or fall book!

Thanks to netgalley for the free book - all opinions are my own.

The story's concept is intriguing at first but written in such a way that it is too reminiscent of its overdone inspirations.

The protagonist Emily has no real substance or personality. She, other than being the main character, is unremarkable (not in an intentional way) and highly forgettable. She accepts - with no push back typical of the teenager that she is - anything that is told to her. Speaking of typical teenage behavior, the love story aspect is instant and abrupt. There were no convincing elements that bring the reader into that rush with them.

The "twists" in the book were extremely predictable and at times outright obvious.

I did enjoy reading Lydia, but she was never really given enough "air time" to make a dent. Ashley on the other hand, had a very abrupt character journey that would make sense in an outline but not when fleshed out.

The author spent too long explaining minute and unimportant details/events that the last quarter of the book was extremely rushed, though the most interesting part of it. Because it was rushed, the denouement was too close to the climax; the book was wrapped up immediately after the climax event with two short paragraphs.

The reader is told too much, pushed to accept stated changes in the characters but with no evidence, and not shown enough.

This book was great! There is nothing better than a book with witches, werewolves and ghosts! I need the next book to find out what happened to Catherine and hopefully Ashley can live her life the way she wants too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for this ARC!

This was basically a witch “coming of age” story.

The story itself was extremely well written. I always love Lindsey Kelk’s writing, but unfortunately the story just wasn’t entertaining to me. Not to say it’s bad, but it just wasn’t for me. I’m not a fan of the “instant love” trope so that kinda fell flat for me as well.

Thank you again for this arc!

This cover is SOOO pretty! I absolutely love this cover, the crow is an icon.

Somehow, I had no idea that this book took place in Savannah. And Savannah is such a great setting for a spooky and magical story. The old and elaborate architecture and the ghost stories that already exist there really are so perfect for this kind of book.

They also kept mentioning SCAD which was so surreal and kind of funny to me (I went to SCAD). I wonder if the author went to SCAD because most people haven't really heard of that school

This book is about Emily, she moves back to Savannah after a death in the family. In Savannah, she discovers some more information about her family, including a family legacy that is not what it first appears (in a spooky, magical way).

There was definitely always something happening in this book, but I did feel like it was slow or dragging at times. I think it had to do more with the writing style than the actual content of the book (if that makes sense). Something needed to be a bit more engaging and faster I think.

I also did not love the insta-love. That just drives me nuts. There is no way you are going to do all of this for a boy you have only briefly met once.

This is definitely a cozier urban fantasy. And I think a lot of people will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

What happens when your entire life is a lie? It’s hard to trust people that’s for sure. Sixteen year old Emily lost her dad, was moved across the country and shortly after this move she’s told she comes from a line of witches based in Savannah.

Everything Emily thinks is not as it seems as she comes to grasp unexpected power while simultaneously trying to make friends and falling in love with a dreamy boy named Wyn.

The beginning of the book was a little bit too slow for me in pacing but I understand through the necessity of the world building. Things definitely started to heat up in pacing throughout the middle of the book. The ending left me content and I’m wishing NOTHING BUT THE BEST for Ashley.

Pub Date August 5 2025

ARC provided by Harper360, Magpie and NetGalley. Thank you.

review posted to NetGalley & Goodreads

Witches. Yes. Savannah,, GA. Yes. Insta-love, No. I loved everything else about this book. Everything. Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

When I started this book I was mildly excited; it seemed like maybe it was going to have Vampire Diaries vibes with a girl whose parents had died moving to a small town and discovering she was a witch. It was enough of a set up to keep me invested… for about 30%. Unfortunately there’s just not much of anything happening in this book. There’s not much of a mystery, no multilayered plot, no complex characters. Every relationship whether friendships or romantic were insta love, absolutely no build up. It read much younger than the characters’ ages. I wouldn’t read the sequel.

entertaining, highly funny, and quite interesting romantic dark fantasy with some awesomely done setting and some very well-done plotting. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

A fast-paced, gothic adventure set in the hauntingly beautiful city of Savannah—packed with, secrets, witches and ghosts! I couldn’t put it down, and I think teens will be hooked! I will buy this title for my school library.

After her father dies, Emily moves to Savannah to live with her grandmother and aunt. Finding out she descends from powerful witches is a startling discovery that complicates making friends and settling into her new life. While she desperately wants to develop a relationship with her grandmother, Emily believes secrets are being kept from her. Emily finds herself drawn to a young man, Wyn, who is hiding family secrets of his own.

I recommend this book for fantasy and young adult readers. Emily is turning seventeen, her whole life has been upended by her father’s death. While discovering her family’s secrets, she undergoes changes that are terrifying and powerful. The pacing keeps you reading, and the descriptions of Savannah and the Bell family mansion are beautifully written and invoke a gothic magical vibe.

Thank you Harper 360, Netgalley, and Lindsey Kelk for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

First of all, the atmospheric setting of this book was incredibly well done and made me want to book a trip to Savannah immediately. Vibes were 10/10 and it felt like a perfect witchy setting.

I found the magic system here really intriguing and well thought out. I wasn’t reading with a fine-toothed comb to try and find flaws or anything, but even if I had been, I thought it was explained well and wove the story in such an interesting and dramatic way.

As for the romance plot, it was a little too insta-love for me, but given that Emily and Wyn are teenagers, that is a little easier to believe. I didn’t know going into this that it was YA, but I like that it will give the characters room to grow over the course of the planned trilogy.

This one held my interest and attention from start to finish and I look forward to continuing the series. Thank you to Harper 360/Magpie for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Additional thanks for the physical ARC provided to Love Y’all Book Fest attendees.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advance copy of The Bell Witches in exchange for my honest review.

The Bell Witches is an imaginative YA "coming of age" story about a modern day 16 year old girl who has recently lost her father and is forced to move in with her long lost grandmother, whom she previously believed to be dead. As if that isn't shock enough for our FMC, the trauma just keeps coming with mysterious happenings, ghost encounters, near death experiences and the realization that she is, in fact, the latest iteration of witch in a long standing family line of magical "southern royalty." Um.. yes please. This book surprised and impressed me. There were twists that kept me turning pages, lies that had me clutching my pearls, and deceit that left me infuriated. There were beautiful found family moments and and endearing lessons about friendship, perseverance and determination. There was a sweet PG love story that while some would say is very fast paced, to me, fit the narrative of her family's past romantic history perfectly. I also felt like the romance fell in line with what I would expect for a younger YA novel. There's nothing wrong with a little "love at first site" moment for our hopeless romantics. I loved the Savannah, GA setting as Kelk's writing does atmospheric impeccably well. As a frequent Savannah visitor, I thought the incorporation of the history, the descriptions of the city and location easter eggs were spot on without feeling too cumbersome or uninteresting. You really get a good feel of the locale which, I think can be hard to achieve. It also added something special to the story itself giving an ethereal southern spooky vibe that is perfect considering the book's October release date. All in all, I really enjoyed the read and as it's definitely set up for additional books, would not hesitate to continue the series.

This was labeled as gothic fantasy, but I really didn't get those vibes at all reading this. I even thought to myself, "maybe if I were a teenager reading this, I would like it." But, I honestly don't think I would've liked this even then.

The writing felt flat and disconnected. Things were just kind of... Happening? If that makes sense? There wasn't really any depth, in my opinion. I also didn't find any connections to any of the characters. I wasn't a fan of the FMC or the MMC. Btw, it's insta-love 🫣 I won't knock it if you love it, but I'm not a fan. But it also makes sense because we're talking about teenagers here (FMC is 16, turning 17).

Overall, this wasn't a great read for me. The description and cover had me enticed, but the story and writing itself, fell short for me. Low-key felt like a chore for me to read and it's only 300 something pages.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

This book is full of magic, friendship, age-appropriate romance, and learning to believe in yourself. The characters are compelling, and I'm hoping for a second book in the future.

The Bell Witches had a strong start with Emily finding long-lost family in Savannah, Georgia after her father meets an unexpected end. With no other family in her life, she travels from Wales to Savannah to begin a new life with her new-found family, but not everything is as it seems, and Emily finds out there is a family legacy that she is expected to uphold.

After this initial start, the story focused on Emily's growing relationships between her grandmother and her insta-love Wyn. The instant romance between Emily and Wyn threw me off, as a lot of the story is taken up with them desiring to be with each other all the time amid Emily's grandmother's strict rules.

The revelation of who Wyn actually is and what he becomes wasn't exactly expected but did not throw me for a loop either. While the end 20% started revealing revelations and became more fast-paced, the majority of the book hyper-fixated on Wyn and Emily's budding romance and left the important bits of the plot to slowly chug along in the background.

What I Enjoyed:
- the manifestation of Emily's witch abilities
- flower identification and meanings (albeit a very, very small bit of the book)
- the complicated relationships between Emily, her aunt, and her grandmother

What Could Be Improved Upon:
- the instant romance between Emily and Wyn, a literal "love at first sight" relationship
- more adventure or action to liven up the middle 60% of the book
- very much teenager-oriented with Emily's thoughts and feelings as well as references to current pop culture (Taylor Swift and some choice vocabulary slang used)


Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ebook to review!