Inspired by an ominous Prague legend, What Wakes the Bells is a lavish gothic fantasy by debut author Elle Tesch that is perfect for fans of Adalyn Grace, Margaret Rogerson, and V.E. Schwab.
Built by long-gone Saints, the city of Vaiwyn lives and breathes and bleeds. As a Keeper, Mina knows better than most what her care of Vaiwynโs bells means for the sentient city. Itโs the Strauss familyโs thousand-year legacyโprevent the Vespers from ringing, or they will awake a slumbering evil.
One afternoon, to Mina's horror, her bell peals thirteen times, shattering the cityโs tenuous peace. With so much of the city's history and lore lost in a long-ago disaster, no one knows the danger that has been unleashedโuntil the city begins to fight back. As the sun sets, stone gargoyles and bronze statues tear away from their buildings and plinths to hunt people through the streets. Trapped in Minaโs bell, the soul of a twisted and power-hungry Saint festered. Now free of his prison, he hides behind the face of one of Vaiwynโs citizens, corrupting the city and turning it on itself.
As the death toll rises, the only chance Mina has to stop the destruction and horrific killings is finding and destroying the Saintโs host. Everyone is a suspect, including Mina's closest loved ones. She will have to decide how far sheโll go to save her cityโand who sheโs willing to kill to do it.