I really enjoyed the premise of climate refugees stuck in a cave. That is a very scary, very du jour scenario. It was also great framing for the scary story that takes place in the past. It was a little long for my tastes, and the narrator was overly dramatic at some points. I also don't understand why the narrator used a southern accent for the old-timey main character. I thought she was from Boston?

I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Because I really enjoyed this author's previous haunted house story, I was so excited to get this book! However, I had to DNF at 27% because as much as I tried to get into the story, it just couldn't hold my interest. There wasn't anything remotely scary up until that point, and it was more of a historical fiction timeline mixed with a modern dystopian story (with 2 povs switching).

I am genuinely thankful to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to this audiobook. I will definitely check out more of this author's work in the future, but this one just wasn't for me.

I must add that the narrators did a good job, but the storyline couldn't keep my interest.

2⭐️

Kaplan gives you a terrifying walk into the end of days, made incredibly worse by bigotry and an entirely unexpected terror. Climate change has sent the people of the world spinning, Mads and Waynoka are no exception. Riding their motorcycles, they're ever moving, trying to stay ahead of the world's demise, and stay close, while barely surviving. When they stumble upon a cool and dark mine in an abandoned town, they go down to rest, shelter, and hopefully water.

What they find is so much worse. Reading through someone else's terrors, they live Lavina Kane's terror, and discover, they are not alone.

This was a solid read, and I really enjoyed listening!

Although this book wasn’t exactly scary, it was a good read. I felt like the author created very detailed imagery!

The description of this book sounded very interesting so I had to give it a try.

I enjoyed the way the story itself was based on two timescales.

The characters were great. I just felt for them and I was frightened for them. I wanted them to escape the mine and most importantly I longed for them to escape it alive. Honestly it is frightening, you just don't know what is going to happen next for them and it is scary.

The book overall has an eerie feel to it. It captures your attention and imagination and you find that you imagining yourself there and it feels very claustrophobic.

A great read! Would definitely recommend this book.

Mads and Waynoka are the Dust Devils, climate refugees of the near future. They are crossing the country on motorcycles trying to get to the East Coast, where rumors promise clean water and safety. They happen upon a ghost town in a desert, and they are desperate for water and shelter from the relentless sun.

They enter an old mine, hoping the mine was flooded and they would find water. Things get bad in the mine and they find a room with tools and a bed and a diary.

The diary becomes a dual timeline and POV. It is the 1860s and Lavinia Kane and her family are newly arrived to the mining town of Virgil. There is evil and anger and fear in Virgil and Mads and Waynoka learn that what tormented the town may still be in the mines.

I was enthralled by the two timelines. Mads and Waynoka are forced to take risks and make bad decisions because they have no choice. The world as they knew it is gone and they are trying their best to survive. Lavinia also started hopeful but as catastrophes happen and people begin dying all faith and trust is gone and she starts to unravel.

Beautiful and emotional narration, very well-done and Waykona and Lavinia were perfectly fleshed-out and tangible. I was riveted.

A solid 4⭐️ horror story. Dark mines, night visitors, bad men, ancient evil, ignorant fear, paranoia and claustrophobia, a mother’s desperation and gritty survivors’ determination. What choices will you make to survive?

Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Books for this opportunity to listen rage and review this arc which has been available since October 11,2022!

Hold on to your butts because Narrators Rachel Fulginiti and Nicol Zanzerella saved this book from being a mediocre dystopian horror. It’s about 2 women in a mine shaft, climate refugees from a very ravaged world. But something evil lurks with them below. Very claustrophobic read. Tension isn’t ever eased up on. I dug it

The western United States is a wasteland of desert, ravaged by fire and drought. Two women decide to try their luck out east, where there is still talk of rain and greenery. But on their way east, they stumble across an old silver mine while searching for water. Within this mine they uncover a diary dating to the late 1860s and also seem to find evidence of something lurking in the dark. Will they be able to uncover information in the diary that will help them survive? Or will they even want to?

This dystopian/historical fiction story is told from a dual POV in a dual timeline. The primary plot is set in the near future where climate change has turned to apocalyptic levels. The second timeline comes in the form of Lavinia’s diary from the 1860s. While I like the concept of this and often enjoy works that rely on journals/diaries, this one didn’t work for me.

The majority of this read took place as the diary. I didn’t find Lavinia to be a compelling character nor her story to be that engaging. This was partially due to the fact that her story was told in diary format, which meant that the writing was not as descriptive or engaging as it could have been (telling rather than showing). For example, Lavinia would say something like, “she seemed tense and jumpy” and then move on, which didn’t make for an engaging or immersive read. The characters in that timeline were flat and lacking much of the depth they needed to be compelling. This also made it where the tension and suspense that should have been present in this timeline just didn’t come through, majorly detracting from the horror aspect.

I did like the two women of the primary plot and was much more interested in their journey and struggles than I was in Lavinia’s. I wanted more from their stories and lives and would have liked to have seen more of their interactions and development. I wish the diary had been relied upon less and that these characters were able to uncover the information in a different, more engaging way. By the end of the book, spending so much time in the diary became more worth it, but it took a long time to reach that point.

I really wanted to love this read, but I didn’t find it remotely scary, atmospheric, or even tense. If you enjoy books that rely heavily on diary entries with a light smattering of monsters, then you might enjoy this read. My thanks to NetGalley and CamCat Books for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really struggled with this audiobook. The storyline could not keep my attention due to the slow pacing of the story. I also did not care for the dual time lines and neither timeline had very much happening. I did not feel like there was any suspense being built up throughout the story. I really expected to get to the end and have the ending be “jk, we were just imagining things”.

Maybe reading the book would be better for me personally than the audio book was, but I don’t think I could give this book any more of my time and attention than I already have. This was definitely heavy on the historical fiction and light on the horror.

I enjoyed when the night bell tolls more than I expected.
Told from two time periods, a future ravaged by a climate catastrophe and through Lavinia’s diary from 1860.
This historical horror was very eerie and atmospheric.
I was more drawn to Lavinia’s story from the past more so than reading about the ‘dust devils’ Mads and Waynoka who find themselves trapped in an old silver mine.
The narrator for this audiobook was great, she was expressive and the book was well paced.

This is definitely heavier on the historical fiction than on the horror, once Mads and Waynoka make it into the mine they mostly just read the diary entries of Lavinia, and both stories are very slow paced. The horror fell flat for me, this was once again a story were some interesting elements were added and then thebook ended, even though it could have gone on a little bit longer. It's more of a social critique where the horror elements are used to reinforce the point that is being made, and while I enjoyed my time with the book, this might have been better for someone who hasn't read many horror novels yet.
The audiobook was definitely a good way to experience the story, since there are two narrators, one for the present day events and one for Lavinia's diary.

Very different than anything I’ve read . I do like HEA and to me this didn’t have one . Good book to read at Halloween .

A historical horror set over dual timelines, the not so distant future and 1869.

The dust devils, Mads and Winoka are in a dystopian future, where climate change has lead to more and more wildfires making the majority of people unhomed and leading to a huge scarcity of water. Taking motorbikes they head into the desert to look for untapped water sources or deserted towns when they come across the mining town of Virgil. Heading down a mineshaft to look for water Winoka finds a historical diary written in 1869 by a woman called Lavinia and documenting a ‘curse’ in the mine and a series of frightening events that took over the town.

Overall it did seem a bit of a slog in places, I feel like the pacing was off, the first half could have been cut down a bit and the ending should have been more detailed and with more interactions within the mineshafts to build suspense. Overall I wanted more action and horror than there was.

The narrators were good.

4.5 stars. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Um, I’m buying a copy to own. Told in dual timelines, it starts with the world being a wasteland. People suck and have destroyed the planet, no shock there. 2 women are making their way across the dessert to reach potential salvation. They encounter an old abandoned town and this the adventure begins.

I was hooked right from the start. I loved the dual time lines. Only 4.5 because I wanted a bit more from the ending

When The Night Bells Ring is well written, easy to digest and still very interesting. As a seasoned Historical Horror reader, I didn't find anything too difficult to understand. Kaplan has seamlessly woven traditional horror and sci fi elements together to create the spine tingling story of survival, told in two timelines. It moves along smoothly, keeping the suspense high until the extra horrifying ending. The narration is smooth and emotive, helping keep the theme of the book.

This one is perfect for fans of Grady Hendrix and Camilla Sten. Thank you to NetGalley, CamCat Books and Jo Kaplan for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. When The Night Bells Ring is available now.

Honestly, I think it has a slow start that I wonder where the horror is. The narration for Madz and Waynoka was clear but for me it didn't give the feeling of suspense, it's calm or flat for a telling of how they got stuck in what looks like a cursed old mine. What got my interest back is Lavinia's story. That's where the creepy parts come in. I think it fits mystery thriller more than horror. Overall, I was intrigued, it still got me hooked to listening until the end.

This started out really solidly but I found myself losing interest at about the halfway point and the ending was way too abrupt for me.

“When the Night Bells Ring” is a eerie, gothic read with horror elements weaved throughout.

There are two POVs coming from a main character living in a dystopian era and from a woman’s diary from the 1800s.

I found myself drawn into the narrative, particularly through the use of the diary entries.

The location of much of the story revolves around a mine in a small town. This mine is filled with secrets and a danger that lurks within.

Thank you NetGalley, Jo Kaplan, and CamCat books for the ALC. I enjoyed listening to it all in one sitting.

I thought this was fine. It was intriguing and had an interesting plot. But I felt kind of anti-climatic. It was more unsettling than scary.

I really did want to know what was going on and what happened in the town and the mine. But when the big reveal happened it kind of just felt meh.

I did like the characters in the more modern-day time, but felt their part could have been stronger than it was. It also felt like there wasn't really anything at stake.

3.5 stars!
I enjoyed this book, definitely leaned more dystopian thriller w/ some overall creepy & eerie tones. I was expecting more horror though. It did move quite slow in my opinion, but the dual timelines kept me interested.