Cover Image: Belle Morte

Belle Morte

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Member Reviews

In this story, Vampires are the hottest celebrities in the world and people apply to be blood donors for them. Renie, our main girl, applies for one of the vampire houses in hopes of finding out what happened to her sister who cut off all contact a few weeks prior. Along the way we meet Edmond, a vampire who can’t seem to stay away, and the few human friends Renie makes. Together they all try to figure out the secrets this house holds and the future of vampires cohabitating with humans.


This is a dual point of view book between the female and male main characters. Throughout the book, some parts felt a bit slow. The ending was a knockout though. The book ended on a cliffhanger so I’m hoping there will be another one.

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Thank you so much to NetGalley & Wattpad books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bella Higgin is a brand new author to me, and the premise of Bella Morte sounded very cool. I love the cover, and I was excited to dive in.

I wanted to love this a lot more than I did. I liked the characters and universe, but I think this book could have been better suited for a New Adult setting instead of YA. It reminded me a little bit of Zodiac Academy and Vampire Academy but it was different enough.

This book wasn't bad, but it didn't bring anything new or different to the YA genre.

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In fair warning, Belle Morte definitely reads like a debut (in terms of pacing, characterization, writing style, the love triangle, the twists and the scenes very reminiscent of other popular books), but it was still a really easy to read and fun fantasy romance. The premise reminded me of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, which I loved. The plot was quite enjoyable and easy to follow. The romance, although not the enemies to lovers it was advertised to be, was pretty cute (the guys falls first/guy loves her more trope is always really cute, regardless of execution). I've been getting back into fantasy after reading a ton of contemporary romances recently, and this was a really good transition book. I'd recommend it to anyone just getting into or getting back into fantasy. If the author continues the story with more books, I'm not sure if I'll pick them up, but I'm glad I read this when I did. It's not perfect, but pretty damn fun.

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Belle Morte by Bella Higgin, 336 pages. Wattpad Books, 2022. $19. LGBTQIA
Language: R (81 swears, 20 “f” + French swears); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Vampires have been made into celebrities, thanks to the mysterious and ethereal image they keep up with the media. If it wasn’t for her sister, June, Renie (18yo) would continue enjoying her life far away from vampires. But June went into one of the vampire houses and hasn’t been heard from in months. Renie is determined to figure out what happened, and she isn’t going to let anyone – not even a houseful of vampires – keep her from finding her sister.
Since this book was originally a Wattpad story, it has a more soap-opera-y feel than a typical novel. Each chapter is like an episode that has its own conflict, which makes for an odd flow, inconsistencies, and lots of eye rolling from this reader. I like Higgin’s take on vampires, and Renie’s story can still be entertaining as long as its Wattpad weaknesses don’t bother you.
Renie is implied White, and most of the vampires are French – and, of course, have pale skin. At least one side character is of a non-white race. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, innuendo, nudity, discussions of sex, groping, and sexual harassment. The violence rating is for blood and vampires feeding, mention of suicide, battle gore, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

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This was very Wattpad, with less smut/spice. That's not a bad thing - if you're someone who really likes the Fanfiction voice in writing, this is similar to that. It is more constructed and cohesive, though - the story has semi-decent pacing and makes a lot of sense.

Frankly, I might be a bit too old for this book. The MC is 18 and they talk a bit too much about the main love interest (Edmond's) shrapnel from World War II. World. War. II. She's 18 - I'm good with old vampires and whatnot (comes with the territory) but the shrapnel was mentioned really frequently, which I think emphasized maybe the wrong thing.

This reminded me somewhat of the Zodiac Academy series, but for a YA (or younger) audience.

Overall, a fun time! I'm V proud of Wattpad for honoring the labor of veteran fanfic writers.

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Hmm… not sure what my feelings are exactly. I mean I didn’t exactly hate it, but I also am so far away from loving it. The premise itself is super intriguing - I mean celebrity vampires with volunteer donors?! But unfortunately the execution fell flat. The plot was very predictable; like to the point I guessed everything before hitting 30%. I also skimmed the majority of this. The dialogue became redundant and I lost interest. The ending was set up for this to continue as a series… but I’m not sure if I will follow.

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This one was a bit of a letdown. I am usually an absolute sucker for a vampire book, pun intended, so when I read the premise on this one, I absolutely had to read it. Plus, the cover is gorgeous. Well, you know what they say about judging a book by it's cover. I feel like I went in with my expectations too high. This is a fine example of the genre, but it didn't feel like anything new or fresh and that was where my letdown mostly stemmed from. I will likely still continue the series, I am interested in what comes next, but I will mange my expectations better going forward.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I am reviewing of my own free will and all opinions in my review are my own.

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Vampires have revealed themselves and are followed by the public and the paparazzi like the Kardashians. They live in 5 communities or "houses" throughout the world and people vie for the prestigious job to become their blood donors. Renie was happy to make the cut but not for the money or fame that most donors enjoyed. Her sister entered house Belle Morte as a donor five months earlier and hasn't been heard from since. So Renie is on a mission to find out what the bloodsuckers did to her. Interesting premise but predictable in the end.

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I had hoped for an entertaining, gothic, vampire mystery when I requested this book, but instead I got what amounted to a YA vampire novel that seemed like a distillation of a whole bunch of other YA vampire novels. It was unimaginative, juvenile, and speckled with prose that toed the line with turning purple. I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Thanks to Wattpad Books and NetGalley for allowing me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. As per personal policy, this review will not show up on any social media or bookseller website due to the 3 star or lower rating.

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This is my kind of book really, it's got vampires, a missing person, an angsty teen and some romance. A very easy read, whizzed through in about two days. I enjoyed the premise, the protagonist's sister has gone missing at a vampire house and she's gone to find out whats happened by becoming a donor herself. I'm not going to say this book is groundbreaking in any way, but it's a fun easy read for those who love a bit of fantasy romance. I will say I found it quite easy to predict what was going to happen, I would have enjoyed it if the 'twists' had been a little less obvious.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy!

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Thank you publisher's for allowing me to read this book in advance.

Themes:
Vampires
Missing sister plot
Edward level aloof love interest
Slow Paced okit
murder mystery~


We;ve all read the synopsis, loved the cover but i had to give this book a bad review. Only the author could have written the MC like this and the character could get away with what she did throughout the first 30% of the book. She was so bull headed and not sly at all in her intentions of finding her sister. It be more believable if she had never been selected or kicked out immediately for being a nosey brat. The themes were great! But the main character and Edmond were a big turn off. So much happens in the first 30% but we were only 30% through?! I could not stand the characters and skipped to the last 10% of the book and couldn't believe how none of the mysteries were solved until then. So it felt like i just went off the part i actually fully read but over half the book was cut off. The mystery killer included and it was obvious to me in the first feeding.


May i suggest next time a more covert, different style sister have gone through this, a older one that actually keeps her head down and secretive with a personality instead of a bull in a porcelain shop as far as investigations go.

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A special thanks to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really well-written book and I enjoyed reading it quite a lot. It was fast-paced and had a good twist. The only issue I had with it was that I wasn't totally sold on the romance since it varied quite a lot between feeling like a young adult romance and an adult romance. I also did not love the ending, but that's a personal preference.

Overall, it was a quick and enjoyable read and I will definitely read the next book if given the chance.

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Wow!! This one took me by surprise.

Who doesn’t love a little vampire action??? I do. The writing was fantastic also. I could not tell this was a debut novel. I completely binged this one and I can not wait for book 2. I’ll be buying this as soon as I can.

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This is a 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘆 novel with a splash of 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 and a twist of mystery.
In a world obsessed with Vampires, Renie could care less. That is until her sister June volunteers to be a blood donor for a vampire house and suddenly ceases all communication. Now the only way Renie can fine out what happened to her sister is to go into the house as well… and let the vampires of Belle Morte feed off her.
I loved the 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 and pacing of this story. You are introduced to a brand new world where vampires came out of the closet a decade before. Now, Vampires live in houses throughout the world and mostly keep themselves separate from humans but allow the press and media to see the parts of them that they want. The pacing was steady throughout.
The 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 and hush hush surrounding June’s disappearance was intriguing and had me hooked throughout the story as Renie tried to unravel the secret.
The budding 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 between Renie and Edmond was tantalizing and seductive. Not only was it prohibited by vampires, as no vampires and donors could form a relationship, it was also taboo in both of their hearts. Renie hates vampires and everything they are, especially with her sister missing. Edmond has trusted a human with his heart before and it didn’t end well.
This story was amazing. It ended on a cliffhanger which I won’t spoil for you, but I’m already dying to read the next one. There better be a next one!

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I've tried picking up this book a few times now and it's just not working for me. The pacing is weird and the story and characters aren't keeping my interest. I may I may try to pick it up again at later time but I'm dnfing for now.

Thank you for the review opportunity.

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I love a good vampire book, especially one that is atmospheric like this one is! The mystery is also incredibly intriguing, and the characters helped to pull me into the story. Highly recommended, especially for all the vampire lovers out there!

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There was absolutely nothing in this book that wasn't expected and there was a lot of page space given to a lot of nothing at all. You can seriously skim most of this book and not miss much of the "story".

The characters were fairly one dimensional and not very easy to love; they were all just kind of silly.

The writing style itself was okay and not terribly difficult to read. I did think it odd that Renie's POV was first person and Edwards's POV was third person.

It is a very quick and easy read which is the only reason I finished it.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for this advanced copy to review! Sigh. I love vampires. So when I heard another YA vampire love story was coming out, I grabbed it at the first chance. Sure, the plot premise reminded me a little of Holly Black's "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" but I didn't mind because I loved that book! "Coldest Girl in Coldtown" this is not. I found the book to be not paced well and the premise was just ok. Too many tropes and it didn't live up to the hope I had for it in my head. The change in character voices in the middle of chapters was confusing as well.

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Belle Morte is a vampire house. In this story, vampires are public knowledge (out in the open) and anyone can apply to a house for the privilege of becoming a donor. Life as a donor - living in the lap of luxury and all you have to do is allow the vampires in the house to drink blood from your wrist or neck and your contract says that you cannot say no. The people that do this are referred to as vladdicts - people obsessed with everything vampire. The main character, Renie, applies and is accepted as a donor. She is not a vladdict and dislikes pretty much anything having to do with vampires, but she is searching for her sister, June, who she has not heard from in weeks. While in Belle Morte you online line of communication is by letter since they abhor technology and the last letter arrived weeks ago.
Interesting elements included: the concept of the blood donor system (which was new to me), the mystery surrounding June’s disappearance, the politics surrounding the world of vampires (this was not heavily explored, but there was a sense of power struggles and there will be more to come - the book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, I’d be surprised if there isn’t a follow up).
Areas lacking: At first, the love story did not feel very natural. There is a pretty much an instant connection between Edmond and Renie with an “enemies to lovers” from Renie’s point of view. Any potential relationship is also forbidden between humans and vampires - so you can imagine what might happen later in the story… As the story progressed the connection between the two of them did feel more natural and I did find myself rooting for them a little bit.
I found some of the side characters could have been better developed and the pursuit of June took away from it, especially once you know what happened to her and where the story goes from there - I don’t want to spoil the story should you choose to pick it up.
I enjoyed the read, it was easy and interesting enough and I do want to know what happens next, so I will probably pick up the sequel.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the eBook in exchange for an honest review.

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Belle Morte by Bella Higgin is a new take on vampires living among humanity. In this paranormal romance novel, vampires are celebrities and humans apply to serve as temporary donors. Irene Mayfield has been accepted as a donor to the vampire House of Belle Morte, but for reasons unlike the other donors. Her sister, June, left to be a donor af Belle Morte, and then disappeared. She will do whatever it takes to find out what happened to her sister, regardless of the danger or the attraction she shares with one of the vampires.

While the premise is intriguing, the story itself was predictable. I chose this book because the cover is stunning, but despite an ending that indicates a sequel, I have no desire to read more. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

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