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.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it's very predictable and generic. On the other hand, everything going on with June is very interesting. I enjoyed the end the most. It was enough to make me want to read the next one.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.***

This book was a charming YA vampire fantasy romance. It brought me back a decade or two and brings nostalgia while also bringing something new to the vampire story.

This book was a bit slow, but other than that, a delightful read.

This book was… interesting but lacked the wow factor for me. I didn’t love it, but didn’t not like it either.

When you say vampires, I sprint to get in line to read it. You know I can’t resist a vampire book.

Scattered around the world are vampire houses, where vampires coexist alongside their donors. That’s right, vampires no longer need to hunt since they’ve come out of the coffin ten years ago. And why would they when they’ve become larger than life celebrities who have attracted a cult like following from people calling themselves Vladdicts.

Side note: I would TOTALLY be a Vladdict. Sign me up to be a donor! 🩸

Renie’s sister, June, entered Belle Morte five months ago, and never came back out. Now Renie has signed up to be a donor with the intent of finding out what happened to her sister.

What she doesn’t expect to find is Edmond and she can’t deny her immediate attraction to him. Unlike her sister, Renie doesn’t like vampires and the thought of allowing them to feed off of her is repulsive.

This book was like a little snack that you can just sink your teeth into. I really enjoyed the romance between Renie and Edmond. I would even say it’s a mild enemies to lovers romance.

I loved the details of the mansion; the balls, gowns and glamour. I found myself absorbed with the entire story and characters. And I really wanted to find out what happened to June.

If you’re looking for something quick to read or are a fan of Twilight, I’d say give this one a go. I really enjoyed it!

There’s only one way out
✨
Ooo this was fun! I love vampires! Vampires are celebrities now and they live in manor houses with their paid living donors. Being a donor is a coveted position.

Renie has applied to be a donor to find out what happened to her sister who was living there and stopped writing letters.

A very handsome vampire Edmond starts to get close to her as she's been asking questions. Things seem suspicious and they won't tell her what happened or she thinks they are lying.

This was fun! It feels like an academy type book they are all living there, 30 donors for 22 vampires. They have a set time to be there and if they become addicted they have to leave.

The chemistry between Renie and Edmond is intense. But there are so many obstacles in their way and rules against it.

This had great pacing and kept me intrigued. I wanted to figure out the mystery and if she could solve the problem that happened.

Thank you wattpadbooks for the gifted copy and the box.

A vampire story that has dual pov. The author did a great job introducing this story. This felt more like the guy falls in love first trope. I read half but didn't finished because I wasn't into fantasy during the time. I recommend it those who want to start reading fantasy.

Received a e arc copy via the publisher.

Going to start off with I am beyond thrilled and proud of publishers and authors going through netgalley and finding these gems. There are so many voices shouting into the abyss of whatever platform and readers are finding them and finally publishers are listening and seeing them as well.
Sometimes people don’t have the confidence to put a manuscript into the hands of another and see if that hard work is worth it. So they write for themselves, put it on wattpad and it blossoms before their eyes and they have followers who chant on the internet over these stories and more and more see them. It’s amazing!

But to the review.
I didn’t quite love this one? Didn’t hate it either it just sorta stay this stagnant flow within where I was engaged and reading it, but it never did a wallop in my face.
Belle morte is this celebrity vampire sorta lestat from Anne rice vibe. There’s a mystery throughout the story and I felt that was the only thing clinging to me to see to the end. Had we not had the closed wing, or mysteriously where’s my sister aspect I’m not even sure I’d have finished. The romance of there was a romance was this long drawn out tension of never ending and one thing I don’t like is insta love but jeez give me something. There’s room to grow in the authors writing style and development debut and all that jazz, so I’m hoping moving into a sequel we the reader can go wow there’s that growth and maturity I needed from the previous, I want to see the characters actually be “adult” vs there adult young selves that is giving this sorta annoying feeling of I’m reading something far below the age group it’s projected at.

Belle Morte by Bella Higgin is a modern-day vampire fantasy in which Renie ventures into a vampire mansion to be a “donor” in order to find out what happened to her sister, and she is drawn into their plotting and intrigue. I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, as it was easy to read, short, and fun. The writing and storyline weren’t super complex (especially since I worked out the grand reveal at the end of the book about a quarter of the way through), but they did their job and delivered a good vampire novel that did not have much dubious content in terms of consent. I wouldn’t call this book a masterpiece by any means and I’m not sure whether I will read the next book if there is one, but it was entertaining and I loved how friendships were portrayed in it.

Thanks Netgalley and to the publisher for an arc. All thoughts are my own.

When I saw this description, I was so excited. I love vampires and this whole idea of a donor/vampire house was intriguing. I enjoyed the first half of the book, which is why I am rating this 3 stars. The main character was a bit annoying at first, but I came around to her. Halfway through the book everything kind of shifts, and I was extremely bored. Nothing was happening, and the story wasn't progressing. Then all of a sudden in the last 8% crazy things happened and it felt very rushed.

I enjoyed this for what it was, but I will not be continuing the series. The writing tense threw me off with switching from first person to third person. I was expecting this to be more NA or adult romance, and it was very YA. There's talks of sex, but nothing more than kissing happens. That was a bit of a let down.

I’m not going to lie, I absolutely ate this book up! I’m very easy to please when it comes to reading. If someone puts vampires and love in the book I’m sold. It was a very quick read and I really enjoyed reading it. It was a fun and interesting take on what would happen if vampires were really around now! I did find that Renie had a bit of the “I’m not like other girls” energy but I still enjoyed reading about her and Edmond nonetheless.

This was only ok. The plot was pretty basic and I honestly skimmed through bits because I just didn't care about the characters. It was a good read to pass the time, but not something I'd pick up again.

ARC requested and provided by NetGalley in exchange for a review

3.75 Stars

Duel Perspectives ✔️
Vampire/Forbidden Romance ✔️
Love Language (French) ✔️
Mystery Component ✔️

Belle Morte is the name of a house of Vampires - where donors volunteer to give their blood and remain until the vampire releases them. After Renie's sister June stops writing letters from one of the Vampire houses, she goes out to find answers herself.

Renie our 18-year-old protagonist. She's willing to do anything to find answers to what happened to June, is definitely stubborn, and acts before she thinks. June has always loved vampires, but Renie is not of the same mind. Never thinking she would ever feel different about vampires.

Edmond our French-speaking handsome Vampire. He's lived long enough to know to keep people at arm's length and to build walls around his heart. When Renie moves in, things change. He wants to protect her, wants her, but it's forbidden for vampires and humans to have a relationship.

The romance between a Mortal and a Vampire is my catnip! Would have loved some added **Spice**, but overall I enjoyed their relationship. I do feel it was a little too "insta-love" at the beginning, but their relationship grew and I look forward to seeing where this all goes. It was written for the YA audience

Overall, I enjoyed Belle Morte. I loved that it was written in dual perspectives, but I wish Edmonds' POV was in 1st person instead of 3rd person. I really loved all the supporting characters! I recommend this if you enjoy YA romance, vampires, and fantasy.

Having read a lot of vampire books I was pleasantly surprised with this one.

Now that vampires have shown themselves to the world they are treated like celebrities. Belle Morte is one of the houses where they live along with human donors who live a life of luxury while there.

Most of the donors are vladdicts but not Renie she's going into the house to find out what's happened to her sister June. She didn't anticipate that she would also make friends while there too.

The characters are all well written there's a nice mix of personalities and the book is descriptive but not overly so. I found it a quick but enjoyable read.

I look forward to reading the next book in the series and it would be good to find out more about the lives of the other key vampires in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for the ARC.

4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Why is it we are so attracted to that which can kill us? What is it about vampires that seduces us into their grasp, willing them to bite us?

I can’t answer that, but what I can tell you is that Bella Higgin has succeeded in creating a tantalising and totally gripping vampire story. Even without the mystery, I would love to wander through the rooms of Belle Morte, wondering who I would donate blood to first. The mystery element of Renie searching for her missing sister, completely engaged the reader and provided the story with more depth.

I literally could not look away from the page!

This book had everything!

Super HOT vampires - Check
Opulent gothic manor - Check
LGBT themes - Check
WOC - Check

Sign me up to become a donor because Bella Higgin has officially turned me into a Vladdict!

I want to go to Belle Morte! It has an interesting premiss: volunteer blood donors and vampires living together in a large mansion/estate. What could go wrong?

Renie doesn’t like vampires but needs to find her missing sister, June. She is thwarted by everyone in her investigation. She makes some great friends and gets friendly with the hot grumpy sunshine-like vampire. Enemies to lovers (well, she doesn’t like him and vamps vs humans… You get the idea) and slow burn. Love them!!

When she finds her sister, it is like reading a whodunnit book. I could not put this book down! I had to know what was going to happen. While I guessed the ending kind of, there were still surprises. Great read and I can’t wait for the next book.

I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Thank you to Wattpad Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Belle Morte by Bella Higgin is a wonderful, original YA fantasy novel that reminded me of Twilight meets Hype House. The story revolves around Renie, whose sister disappeared in a "vampire house" a few months ago. In her world, vampires live as celebrities, and humans want to become their blood donors. Renie goes undercover to find out what happened to her sister and meets the stunning Edmond, a high-ranking vampire in Belle Morte. What secrets will she find out?
.
Here is a lovely excerpt from Chapter 1, which is from Renie's point of view:

"My first glimpse of Belle Morte came as the limousine crested the hill of a sloping road. The vampire mansion was at the far end of the city of Winchester, where historic timber-framed buildings gave way to the green sprawl of the South Downs National Park.
The gated wall winging the mansion was mostly blocked from view by a crowd of paparazzi. They clamored for a glimpse of the creatures that had become the world's most dazzling celebrities - alongside any people associated with them. As of two weeks ago, I had become one of those people, when my application to become a blood donor had been accepted."

Overall, Belle Morte is an amazing and well-written YA fantasy that will have you clamoring for more! One highlight of this book is the original premise. I had never read a book before where the vampires are treated as celebrities. I found this very interesting, and I wanted to learn more about this world. Another highlight of this book is the main character, Renie. I was very sympathetic to her plight and loved how she fought to find out what happened to her sister. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy in general, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in April!

The premise of Belle Morte drew me in. I thought this was an interesting and fast read, but overall just didn’t stick with me.

In a modern era where vampires are basically celebrities and Vampire Houses are spread throughout the world, with humans vying to be selected to live at these houses and volunteer as their blood donors, we are introduced to Renie Mayfield - a young woman who has been accepted as a donor to House Belle Morte. But Renie's real motivation isn't to be a blood bag for vamps; she wants to search for clues relating to her older sisters' disappearance from the same House months earlier.

Unfortunately, the writing left a lot to be desired- lots of oft-repeated phrases and descriptions - but it was very easy to read if you can force yourself past that aspect. The characters were slightly one dimensional and I didn't connect to any of them. I DID want to understand what happened to Renie's sister, June. However, that fell flat because of the predictable plot, and the 'ending' felt rushed. It really just ends abruptly... I wasn't thrilled to realize this wasn't a standalone and don't believe I'll continue on.

Gorgeous cover, though!