The Bell Witch #1-3

The Bell Witch #1-3

by Sara Clancy

The Bell Witch is real. And her terrifying game has begun…In Black River, Tennessee, there is a legend hiding in the shadowy trees. The Bell Witch, a vile, vindictive spirit, is said to haunt the dark woods. Driven by rage, she stalks the descendants of four ancient families—cursed bloodlines, doomed to play out her sadistic game for eternity.Until four young survivors take a stand, and vow to end the witch’s curse once and for all. Their journey will pit them against death, madness, and demonic forces. But if they fail, the witch’s curse will claim a new generation of souls…This volume contains books 1 - 3 of The Bell Witch The Harvest (Book 1): When a member of each family stumbles upon the witch’s cursed music box, they are forced to journey into the dark and twisted woods in search of the keys to their salvation.Sacrificial Grounds (Book 2): A bloody confrontation with the witch’s cult forces the group to flee into her decrepit old house, where they must each confront their darkest fears…The Witch Cave (Book 3): Vowing to destroy the Bell Witch once and for all, the four survivors venture into a network of flooded tunnels, where demonic spirits torment them with nightmares of the past. And the only way out requires one of them to make the ultimate sacrifice…

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Witches, Paranormal, Ghosts

649 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2019

Reviews

[Sara Jane Korczak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always leave a star rating but rarely write a review because I’m lazy. That said I felt compelled to write a review to tell everyone how much I loved this series. It’s my first read from this author so I was a little leery, I’ve had a run of bad indie books lately so anything not written but a huge name, like Stephen King, made me a little antsy.

I am so glad I took on chance on this. Intriguing plot, well developed characters, no plot holes, and not predictable. Plus I loved the dog. Yay dogs!
The second book did NOT suffer from second book slump like so many trilogies i have read. I highly recommend this series to horror or urban legend fans.

[BookLoversLife · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the first book wasn't as strong as the other two, this 3 book set was sooo good!!

The plot centres around four families that bare a curse. Every year one member of each family stumbles upon an unlocked music box. They then have to travel to their home town and enter the witch's woods to find the key. If they don't lock it in time they will be possessed by the demon inside the box. But the woods hides untold horrors as well and those few who survive are irrevocably changed. This time Basheba, Cadwyn, Mina and Osgood are chosen.

I have to say that Basheba was such an awesome character. She's crash, to the point but she was a breathe of fresh air too. It also helps that she's bad a$$. Also, her dog, Buck, is amazing. I also loved Cadwyn. He's simply a nice guy!! In fairness though, all the characters were well written and developed. They came into their own in book 2 and it was awesome.

I loved how unique the book was too. Demons in a box, Monsters of every kind, the witch being able to feed your fears and the overall feel of the plot. The first book sets the scene and the rest up the ante!! I was a bit meh about it while reading book 1 but the rest had me hooked!!

John Pirhalla was actually amazing. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed his narration. He had different tones for the characters and even did the accents really well. His cadences and inflections added to the overall tone and made the narrative so much better.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a well described storyline, very intriguing with believable and interesting characters. You are on the edge of your seat in this suspenseful storyline and now you add a dog. I just have to say I don't want to give away too much so you have to read this series, you won't be disappointed. I recommend this series. The narration was great and kept you wanting more.

[Bret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I liked all 3 of these books. They stay moving and barely slow for info dumps. You can certainly see where the author finds horror, because those parts would get overly descriptive. Not a negative by any means, just something that stood out to me, especially in the first book.

I read a couple reviews stating that the second book didn't suffer from the sophomore slump, but I'm forced to disagree. While other authors have a glaringly worse second effort, this one wasn't. To me, it felt like it was a struggle to get to the end, like the author knew the basic plot, and knew the ending, but then didn't know how to get there. That said, it was still enjoyable and I looked forward to the third installment.

Which brings me to my final thought. The third book is definitely the best of the 3. The author truly understood her characters (working through the last kinks at the very beginning of the second book), and knew how to use their motivations to drive the story. Where the first 2 books were a story containing characters, the third is characters creating a story.

The 3 as a combined book really bolsters the overall tale and I feel like it made me hungrier for the next bit, and the next, and the next. I will be continuing to read more books by this author in the future.

[Slate R. Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a terrific series, and two more books to go to finish it off. Glad I took a chance on this box set! Well worth the effort! Getting ready to dive into book 4! Characters complement each other, and are well developed. I think Buck is my favorite though. It’s probably just because I knew someone just like him.

[Charmer (+ Vibes Only) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became of fan of hers when I read Black Bayou. That book scared me good. I bought these because I thought they would too, but they did not. All the books were good. The little one with the dog was alil to much with her remarks. She was tough, got it. I will read more of her work.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad giving this one two stars because it wasn't poorly written, I just think this series heavily targets the Supernatural demographic. I found banter didn't really do much to advance character development or the plot and action scenes that seemed to come out of nowhere.

[Lynn Coffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh not bad. I think in this case a movie would be better than the book.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bell Witch

I really liked the book. I have enjoyed the entire series. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this type of fiction. Once you start, you want to keep on reading.

[Katherine Wales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary in all the right ways

Wow this was good. Scary in the best way. The characters are well written and very easy to engage with .

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating of 2.5

[Rose Haskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I've read this series a while ago and it was still awesome to read again. The Bell Witch series is a great read.

[Chris Yerkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall entertaining, though not really scary.

[Kelly Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the charecters and actually a little scary at times

[Debbie Mcnally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to have gotten a free audio book code from Scare street. I am volunteering to leave this review. Awesome book plenty of twist and turns.

[Jni Rowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addictive, bone-shilled and I spent more time holding my break while sat on the edge of my seat than I care to admit to. Brilliant read

[Shannon Winburn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNF these books not that I thought they would be. Storyline was very slow!

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

June 2023 - Reread for the 17th time because I am a maniac.