I loved the cover...but fell in love with the book! I had no expectations when I began reading Belle Morte and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

The story begins when Renie (Irene) enters a Vampire House to search for her missing sister, but what she discovers is anything but what she expected. Along the way, she makes friends in the House and builds a relationship with the dashing Edmond, who can't stay away.

I can't wait to see where this series goes and will be patiently awaiting this book to release next year along with others in the series.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I want to thank the author, Bella Higgin, the publisher, and Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for sending me a copy of this my way in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect for readers of the Coldest Girl in Cold Town. Belle Morte tells the story of a girl named Renie ( Irene) Mayfield as she volunteers to be a donor at Belle Morte to find her sister June who entered Belle Morte just seven months earlier before she stopped writing letters entirely.

I had a hard time focusing on this story as i was reading to me it felt pretty bland in the world building and its characters who i just didn't care about. To me this story felt like it a lot more could be done with it such as character development and a more well developed plot.

Renie is accepted as a blood donor to the prestigious vampire house of Belle Morte. As she arrives and meets her masters, she is assessing each one. “Where is my sister, June, and which one of you is involved?” she thinks to herself. Renie is not a “vladdict” like the rest of the donors; she’s come to find out what really happened to her sister, who has been MIA for months after entering Belle Morte as a donor herself. But as she delves deeper into the secrets of the house and it’s inhabitants, Renie finds herself falling for the one vampire she should be staying away from.

I *devoured* this book in just a few days. The idea of the story was fresh and new; it’s definitely not one I’ve seen done before. With a cast of likable characters and a dash of suspense, I recommend adding this fun read to your TBR list!

I normally love a good vampire book but this one fell a little flat for me.

I thought the characters seemed very surface level and were hard to connect to. I honestly didn’t love the characters but thought the story concept was really interesting as a whole. I think I was just looking for something different from this book but think there is definitely an audience that will still love this even though it wasn’t my personal cup of tea.

Initial Thoughts
This was a total cover apply for me on NetGalley. That cover is gorgeous. And, it doesn't hurt that it's a vampire book and I am always complaining that I don't read enough of those.

Despite being an April 2022 release, I decided to read it in October 2021 (right in time for Halloween).

Some Things I Liked
World building. I really enjoyed the setting of this book. I thought the vampires in these houses was a cool concept and I liked that the rest of the world we know is relatively unchanged.
Reference to The Count of Monte Cristo. That book is literally my favorite classic. I loved the way the reference was woven into the story.
All the vampire tropes. This book is riddled with tropes that we'd all seen before in vampire stories but I still enjoyed them nonetheless.

Some Things I Wasn't Crazy About
The pacing of the story wasn't great. Renie has a mission, she spends a large chunk of the story investigating the disappearance of her sister and when she does make some traction, the rest of the story zooms into high gear. I think the beginning was too slow and the end was too fast.
The title. I love the title. HOWEVER, I wanted the translation to be "beautiful death" not "beautiful dead". This might be a me thing, but "beautiful dead" sounds clunky in comparison.

Series Value
I would love to read a sequel to this book. I think there's a lot of potential for more here and the ending definitely sets the reader up for subsequent books.

Final Thoughts
This book was a perfect pre-Halloween read and is perfect for fans of all the YA vampire tropes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sadly, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I could’ve. It felt like another vampire book with the same tropes, and the same characters. Honestly at one point I was wondering if it was a Twilight fanfiction. The love interests name is Edmond, and the main character is Renie. Both of those names can be seen as references to the Twilight books and film.

The main character is stupidly brave in the face of vampires who could potentially kill her. She makes demands of them, despite the fact that she should be at least a tad bit scared. She reminded me of a Mary Sue character. As for the quest for her sister, I felt like it was a little bit predictable.

I felt like the chemistry between Edmond and Renie was almost non-existent. I just wasn’t feeling the connection between the two of them. And the story almost felt repetitive at times. I did like the references to Beauty and the Beast.

However, for younger readers (13-16), this will be a story that they will most likely enjoy. It has vampires, romance and a mystery. I wish I would’ve enjoyed it more than I did. It can be compared to The Chosen by L.J. Smith and Twilight by Stephanie Meyers. If you enjoyed either of those books, then you will probably like this story.

*****5 stars!

"If you fall apart, I will help put you back together."

First I would like to thank Wattpad Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an arc of this book. I am honored to be given a chance to read it and give an honest review.

Belle Morte is one of the five vampire houses, places where vampires reside as celebrities and willing humans are paid to be their living donors. Humans are eager to offer themselves up for a taste of luxury and the promise of fortune, many idolizing the vampires that have become a huge part of the human world. This is a story of a donor who did not come to Belle Morte for the luxury, fame and fortune. She came to find her sister who walked into Belle Morte five months ago and never walked back out, Renie soon realizes the secrets revolving around this odd world are much bigger than she ever anticipated but she will stop at nothing to uncover the truth of her sister.

There is one person in Belle Morte who might have the answers Renie seeks; the last thing she expected was the undeniable pull she feels towards him: Edmond Dantes--a vampire and someone she considers her mortal enemy. The harder she tries to resist him the further she falls under his spell, terrified and entranced by him. In one instant her life is irrevocably changed.

I had read this book when it first appeared on Wattpad, I was so entranced by the fascinating world and intriguing characters Bella Higgin created and I was quick to fall under the spell of Belle Morte. I remember reading this story late into the night and waiting for chapter updates with bated breath, it was a story that stuck with me over the years and never quite strayed too far from my mind. Reading it again in its entirety years later has left me feeling the same as I had before. The moment I started this book I couldn't quite put it down, I was left with no choice but to consume chapter after chapter late into the night as I had done years earlier.

This book is so unique to all the other vampire stories I've read; I absolutely loved how the world was painted for the readers. A world where vampires no longer hide and proudly show their faces to the world only for humans to fall prey to the beauty and the sheer mystery that is their lives. Then there are the human donors who are all very eager to sign themselves away to the vampire houses, gladly giving up their blood to these mysterious and deadly creatures without an ounce of fear, desperate to see them up close and to live a life as similar as they could get to them. It is a very compelling and interesting world the author has created.

I also loved the slow burn romance between Renie and Edmond; it was all so wonderfully paced out. As you read on you can feel the tension slowly building, it's one of the many pulls that hooks you into the book. I also really enjoyed the richness of Edmond's history and it is something I felt we only scratched the surface of and I look forward to uncovering more in later books, along with various other characters in this story. Another thing that I really enjoyed in this book was the depth of Edmond's emotions, I felt it was very well explained how lonely and hard it was for him to be ever constant and never fading, which allowed the readers to better understand him.

This is a book that will easily be one of my favorites and one I would highly recommend! I've always been very fond of vampire romances and I feel this was a perfect mixture of everything. I am so looking forward to continuing this series, I can't wait to see where the characters find themselves next!

4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The premise of this book hooked me from the very beginning! Imagine a mysterious mansion (called Belle Morte) filled with centuries-old vampires, where human donors can sign up to live in riches and glamour with them. The donors live like royalty, but are required to let vampires feed off them at anytime. The story is about Renie, who signs up to be a donor, not because she’s like the other starstruck, vampire-loving donors, but because her sister went into the house months before and wasn’t heard from again. The mystery and characters are reminiscent of twilight meets royalty. Although the story line is slightly predictable, I loved the unique vampire personalities and the friends Renie makes inside the house. I love that Renie is strong and outspoken, and not the damsel in distress. There’s no doubt I would live in the Belle Morte house, it sounds like a dream (minus a select few vampires)! If you’re looking for a fun vampire read, look no further!

@littleknownreads

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I didn't have very high expectations going in, thinking that it would just be another basic vampire book (no shame in admitting that I consider these a guilty pleasure), but I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. The writing was great- detailed but not annoyingly so. All parts were engaging (no skip reading was needed on my part). The pace of events was natural, and I liked the characters- they were realistic and sensible. I would definitely recommend to any vampire book fans, but don't go in expecting explicit scenes. This book does have romance, but more of a slow burn and relationship building (which I very much liked).

Thank You Wattpad Books, NetGalley and author for this eARC!

Belle Morte by Bella Higgin is such a beautiful, gripping, wonderful fantasy romance story!
Vampire books have intrigued me since the Twilight Series!

Our characters here are very interesting.
Renie the main character is fierce, strong and hell bent on finding out what happened to her sister while staying at Belle Morte a house full of Vampires
Writing was done very well and kept me interested and that reading the pages well into the night!
The romance I really enjoyed and thought it was a great addition to this read!
A wonderful vampire book I believe alot of young adult readers will enjoy.
I look forward to reading more from Bella!
⭐⭐⭐⭐

I will post to my platforms closer to pub date!

Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad Books for allowing me to read and review this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Belle Morte is about vampires who are not in hiding anymore. Vampires are the new celebrities and they hire volunteer "donors" to drink blood from while giving the donors housing, comfortable living, and money. Becca volunteers as a donor to see her older sister who became a donor a year back. When Becca stops receiving messages from her sister June, Becca becomes a donor to find out why her sister seems to have disappeared from existence. As Becca tries to find the truth amongst the deceitful she also starts to crush on her enemy Edmond who is a vampire.

My review:
Never judge a book by its cover.

This cover is undeniably gorgeous and catches the eye right off the bat. It instantly tells me this book will be a fun and entertaining YA Fantasy/Supernatural read with romance and maybe mystery.

With that being said, I am disappointed by this book. I want to love it so much but my eyes were hurting from the amount of eye rolling I did. The story and its characters are built on stereotypes and not much depth. Becca wasn't a great MC and Edmond was a copy of a copy of many book boyfriends. The other vampires weren't much better. The villain was just missing a mustache. The side characters were 2D cardboard cut outs with not much going on.

There is an insta-crush/love and I'm normally okay with that and can tolerate it for the most part in some books but this was sooo fast and ridiculous.

I think this book wanted to be like the Crave series by Tracy Wolff or take from Twilight by Stephenie Meyer but just fell short. The writing wasn't bad and I can see many people enjoying this book, or being slightly fooled by the cover, but this was just not for me.

2.5 stars for the beautiful cover.