A review by mgmaliska
What Wakes the Bells by Elle Tesch

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A city made of sentient stone powered by a spurned god and clocks infused with god magic to keep said god down. The protagonists, a young woman from a legendary family, runs the clock tower her late father oversaw. She has a (honestly, not so secret boyfriend) and a pain in her chest

Long story short: the evil god gets lose, she gets possessed by one of the gods (the “lost” one), and her BF gets possessed by the evil one. Battles, challenges, family issues (fights and make ups with mom; good siblings), library research, stone creatures attacking people. She ends up embodying a god herself, pushing the city into a new era

There are some queer side characters (including aro), plus MC is seemingly a sexual 

Only 4 stars because it kind of dragged on and while interesting I found the complexity to fall flat 

I recommend Time Keeper by Tara Sim and Foundryside series by Robert Jackson Bennett