For fans of star-crossed lovers and doomed relationships, here is a dramatic, thrilling story of love, acceptance, and destruction.
Mina's family have been tasked with cutting the clapper inside the city's five bells every day to prevent them ringing and calling about a trapped fallen saint. For over 1000 years, they have fulfilled their responsibility, until one day, evil forces interfere and bring about the calamity. Only Mina and her family can stand between the city's destruction and the lost of thousands of people, though the cost may be their own lives.
Mina battles her own feelings of worth, loss, responsibility, and love throughout the story, making for a dynamic view of the dichotomy of human feelings. Not a light, fluffy romance, but a good read for exploring what makes us human and what makes us divine.

I deeply appreciate Tesch’s writing style. It's lush with description. The reader can easily imagine the picturesque city, the terrifying Saints, and the terror that the night brings. I can't fathom the imagination that comes with spinning the idea of a sentient city, where the only thing keeping an evil at bay is one family and five bells.

Where the ideas and the words flourished, the depth of the characters and the explanation of the city itself fell short. Mina was frustrating and the payoff at the end felt a bit undeserving. She wasn't a character I connected with, and while she is a new 18 year old, her mindset felt younger.

With that being said, I do believe it's because I’m an older audience who thinks differently than a teenager, and I pieced together the story early on. So being marketed for Teens & YA is perfect. I suspect if I read this when I was younger it would be a favorite. The representation of a deeply flawed Mother/Daughter relationship was refreshing and something I think many readers can relate to.

I would love to know what legend inspired What Wakes the Bells and I will also be keeping my eye out for more books written by Tesch. What Wakes the Bells is a solid debut.

3.5⭐

queer rep, amazing world building, and an immersive world, what more could you ask for??? my only gripe was that i couldn't really connect with the characters which is what lowerer my rating for the book

this was such a wonderful world to be in. so unique. lots of character development. the writing style was so emerson’s and felt so addicting! i couldn’t put this book down. not to mention the cover is stunning!!!

Elle Tesch’s What Wakes the Bells is a gothic fantasy that transports readers to the sentient city of Vaiwyn, where ancient bells act as a barrier against an ominous force. The story follows Mina Strauss, a young bell keeper, whose world is thrown into turmoil when her bell tolls an unnatural thirteen times, triggering eerie events throughout the city. As statues awaken and the city itself begins to turn against its inhabitants, Mina embarks on a dangerous journey to uncover the source of the disturbance and protect her home.

The novel’s premise is unique, blending supernatural elements with themes of duty, legacy, and self-discovery. Vaiwyn is more than just a setting; it feels alive, almost like another character in the story. Tesch’s world-building is richly detailed, immersing readers in an atmospheric and haunting environment. However, the opening chapters are heavy on exposition, which may slow the initial pacing for some readers.

Mina’s character arc is compelling, showcasing her growth from a dedicated daughter to a determined protector. Her relationships, particularly with her mother and the slow-burning romance with Max, add depth to the emotional landscape of the novel. Additionally, the representation of Mina’s demisexuality is handled with care, offering a refreshing and meaningful perspective in the fantasy genre.

While the novel’s pacing fluctuates—moving between lush descriptions and moments of intense action—the immersive writing keeps the story engaging. Some plot twists may be predictable for seasoned fantasy readers, but the novel’s intricate world-building and strong character dynamics help maintain intrigue.

Fans of gothic fantasy and atmospheric storytelling, especially those who appreciate deep lore and richly developed settings, will likely find What Wakes the Bells an enthralling read. The novel’s exploration of family, identity, and responsibility adds further emotional weight to the narrative.

Areas for improvement include a smoother balance between exposition and action to maintain momentum and a deeper exploration of the antagonist’s motivations to add complexity to the conflict. That said, Tesch’s debut novel demonstrates her talent for crafting immersive worlds and emotionally resonant stories, marking her as an author to watch in the fantasy genre.

im so sorry to say in going to dnf this book- i will absolutely think about continuing it, but i currently am not connecting with the storyline at the moment and have tried multiple times to pick up this book without making much progress.

For generations, Mina's family has kept the bells in the city of Vaiwyn. Her family is responsible for maintaining them, protecting them, and most of all, ensuring that they never ring 13 times. But one day, the bell won't stop ringing...and the city comes alive to fight its occupants in ways that Mina never could have anticipated.

It's almost a cliche to say that a city is its own character, but this book was both incredibly beautiful and incredibly vivid in how it described the city, the caretaking of the bells, the gargoyles. The book is based on a Prague legend, and so I started with an idea of Prague in my mind, but by the time I was about a 1/3 of the way through the book, Vaiwyn had become its own distinctive setting, especially as we travel from the bells to the City Council chambers to the library to the courts, with a glimpse of so many beating hearts of the city. There are several particularly memorable scenes where the statutes in the city come to life to attack the citizens. While the stuff of nightmares, it also felt so strongly visual and really unique. Tesch has a wonderful sense of mise en scène.

I enjoyed that the book really focused on a mother and daughter relationship. As a teenage girl, it's one of the essential relationships that really helps you define and contrast yourself into adulthood, and I think that this book's portrayal of a relationship tinged by expectations and trauma is really, really relevant. I also was pleasantly surprised that the book contained openly demisexual and asexual characters. A lot of YA does include characters who are sexually active, and it's great to have characters portrayed with a different experience and expectation, so more teens can see themselves.

This book feels like a complete story, but I would love to see Tesch continue to play in this beautiful world a bit. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys Ava Reid or Cassandra Clare.

DNF - loved the prose and the main character, but I just couldn't accept too much of the foundational worldbuilding. I couldn't stop myself coming up with alternate solutions to almost all of the problems, and it made it impossible to get into the story.

The strongest part of this book is the world-building, and I absolutely loved it. A sentient city, gargoyle statues coming to life, gods and goddesses interwoven and taking over the bodies of real people in the city. I had mixed feelings about the romance- I could understand the main character's weakness over her best friend who is indwelled by an evil god. However, it also felt a bit forced for me. I could see more of the past than the present in the lovers to enemies part.

Thank you to McMillan Children's Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Clang! Clang! What Wakes the Bells is an atmospheric journey through the city and residents of sentient city of Vaiwyn. What Wakes the Bells is an interesting and original premise with an intricate background of a living city, it's fabled Saints, and a family of bell keepers charged with watching over it. While at times a bit wordy, Tesch builds an absorbing world in the city of Vaiwyn and Mina's drive to not only not been seen as a failure but to protect her loved ones and the city she loves from attacks she never dreamed would happen on her watch feels relatable (if one can relate to such extreme circumstances). I also appreciated that Mina's responses to the attacks on the city were realistic, from running away from gargoyles out of breath to other injuries.

This EVERYTHING I could ask for in a book: LGBTQ+ rep with a demi protagonist, inspired by a beautiful city’s legend, whimsy and gothic vibes, an intricate magic system, and an interesting religious system. What I ended up with was a main character that annoyed and bored me and more questions than answers as to what happened in the ending. 🙁

The story follows Mina, an 18-year-old bell keeper who is trying to prove her worth to not only her city, but her cold mother. I honestly had such a hard time liking Mina because al she really did was push away her family and partner and then complained when they didn’t include her in things or understand her. She reminded me a bit of Danae from Daughter of Chaos who was quick to anger and failed to think things through. The sole redeeming quality to her for me was that she did genuinely care for siblings and Max even though it was so weirdly skewed. 😮‍💨

The other thing that didn’t sit right with me was a minor element that most people might not really care about, but I thought I’d point out. Being inspired by Prague and one of its numerous legends, I was hoping to get some Czech elements in the story here and there, but instead it was reading as German influenced which if anyone knows anything about this region and its history, it just felt like the erasure of parts of a city that melted German, Czech, and Jewish elements beautifully together. 😔

The elements that saved this book from being a bit of a dumpster fire for me was the city setting and magic system. I loved its mix of gothic and whimsy feel. I also really liked that the magic system is mixed into its religious system and how it tied together. 🕯️

But other than that, I sadly didn’t enjoy this. The plot was rather predicable, the ending felt a bit rushed, and I was left with so many questions in regards to Max and his ending role. 🤔

Big thank you goes out to Feiwel & Friends for sending me a copy through NetGalley. I was so excited for this read and wish I could’ve enjoyed it more than I did. 😢

Publication date: March 11

Overall: 2.5/5 ⭐️

When I heard in the blurb that Elle’s writing and world would have similar vibes to Adalyn Grace and V.E. Schwab, I immediately requested this ARC. I love their gothic atmospheric writing. Elle did not disappoint on that front! She did a great job with creating a fantasy version of gothic Prague and I appreciated that about Vaiwyn. The cover is beautiful and I think many will be intrigued by it.

I had really high hopes for this book, and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it. It might just be a ‘me’ thing, but I wish there was more information included on Vaiwyn, the saints, their magic system, and how they came to be. I also wish we had more backstory on what led the villain to change drastically and become so dark hearted.

This book had high potential, but unfortunately instead of being a book I absolutely devoured, it took me almost three weeks to finish.

I have to say, the ending tied everything up nicely and I think that will be something that readers will enjoy and appreciate. I also think readers will enjoy the character growth of Mina and how she finds herself and her place in Vaiwyn.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What Wakes the Bells is a gothic YA fantasy, and I love a good gothic read. Get ready for a sentient city, interesting family dynamics, romance, and magic. The world building in this book is top tier crafting a richly illustrated world. This was actually my favorite aspect of this entire book. Something I found a little different yet interesting was that this featured an already established couple rather than following along on their journey to become significant others. I’m also a sucker for interesting family dynamics and that was on full display in this book from a truly awful mother to an amazing brother. In terms of the plot itself, I felt the pacing stumbled a little bit at times but was good overall. I also found some of the plot twists to be predictable, although still enjoyable. Additionally, I found the ending to be very satisfying. Some parts of it were holy unexpected making it even better for me. Overall, I enjoyed this story.

The direction that the plot went to was a bit predictable for me, however the world was interesting enough that I didn't mind the slight predictability in the slightest. The magic system was also very unique I don't think I've ever read a book where a whole entire city is alive and can reconstruct itself on its own. As well as the walls absorbing letters and reappearing for the person they were sent to. Overall I think this was a fun fast passed story, I was left with a bit of questions at the end but nothing that made the story fall short.

While I enjoyed the writing in What Wakes the Bells, I found the world just wasn’t for me. It could be because of my comprehension skills, but it took a lot for me to push through this book. The storyline was compelling, the prose enchanting, but something in it fell flat for me and I am still mulling over what that could be.
That said, in no way did I hate this book. I found Mina’s courage and her determination to protect those she loves deeply inspiring, and the twists in this book while predictable, were very intriguing.

Overall it was a fun read, I just didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I definitely would recommend this if you’re someone who enjoys magic, dark romance (sort of) and mystery.

Absolutely loved this. The writing was so poetic and vivid and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Going to be doing a reread sooner rather than later.

This book had so much potential but fell flat for me. I enjoyed the idea of the sentient city and the magic aspect of the city but the flowery writing took away from the story. I would have enjoyed more depth to the characters because I did not feel invested in them at all while reading. I DNF'd this book at 68.5% in. I wanted to like this book so much, but it was not for me. Hopefully others can connect with this book more than I.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this arc!

Some books pull you in with breakneck plots. What Wakes the Bells takes a different approach, drawing you into its world like a slow, creeping fog. Elle Tesch’s debut is gothic urban fantasy at its most atmospheric, turning the city of Vaiwyn into something that feels less like a backdrop and more like a restless, sentient thing.

Mina, the Keeper of Bells, knows the city’s rhythms, the way it breathes. But when her bell tolls an impossible thirteen times, everything starts to unravel. Statues stalk the streets, architecture seems to hold grudges, and old Saints stir where they shouldn’t.

The premise is intriguing, and Tesch leans into it with rich, layered worldbuilding. Vaiwyn feels immersive, detailed, and quietly menacing—though at times, the sheer density of description slows the pacing more than it needs to.

What stands out most is how the book handles its themes of preservation and corruption. The conflict isn’t just about stopping a supernatural force; it’s about questioning what we protect, and whether safeguarding something is the same as keeping it unchanged. It’s a fascinating undercurrent and one that feels strikingly parallel with the world we're navigating right now.

The pacing mirrors the bells themselves—measured and deliberate, then suddenly, brutally fast. Some of the action sequences hit hard (the gargoyles are a highlight), but others feel muted, including the final confrontation, showcasing a thoughtful see-saw.

What Wakes the Bells isn’t without its rough edges. But it’s compelling, thematically rich, and full of ideas that linger long after the last page. Elle Tesch is a writer to watch, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for what she does next.

Very confusing history, didn't love it. thought Mina and Max were very cute but that's about all I enjoyed. DNF @35%.

Very atmospheric. World building was very well done-- it had to be, for a gothic fantasy. I love the idea of a sentient city. Very much appreciate the ace representation. We need books to have this more.