This book should have been an easy read but I really couldn't get into the story. The premise sounded a bit different: vampires living openly in "houses" where they pay donors to feed them and provide the donors with a fancy lifestyle and all the amenities they could wish for. Renie Mayfield (Renfield?!) was just trying to find out what happened to her sister, June, who entered Belle Morte as a donor and stopped communicating a few weeks into her stay. She certainly got a lot more than she bargained for and the book ended pretty much how I anticipated it to end. I'm sure there will be a sequel. I don't know if I'll read it.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for an ARC of this novel.*

Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy of Belle Morte in exchange for an honest review!

I've been so excited to read this one however, I unfortunately wasn't able to read the ebook copy I was provided due to a formatting issue which made the copy very difficult to read. Because of this, I will not be able to provide an accurate review at this time.
I look forward to getting my hands on a copy once it has been released and I will post my review via Goodread's at that time.

I am a long time fan of paranormal romances, especially ones featuring vampires. The main conceit is interesting. Vampires have revealed themselves to the world, and now enjoy celebrity status. Each region of the world has established vampire houses wherein humans vie to become the food supply in exchange for being well compensated. Renie has different motivations as her sister came to Belle Morte, and has now vanished. Looking to discover her sister's whereabouts, Renie offers herself up to the vampires of the house. There's allegedly a romance with Edmond -- though it is not well fleshed out, and is completely devoid of chemistry. I am uniquely disappointed as I was hoping for an old school vampire romance with all the angst, and drama. Instead I got basically half a story with no chemistry or real action.

If your looking for a easy read look no further. If you enjoy vampires and forbidden love give this a try. Do be aware it is a wattapad book so it feels like one. Not necessarily a bad thing but keep it in mind.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC of Belle Morte in replacement for an honest review!

Vampires have come out to the world, making known their existence, and in doing so, established lavish mansions for their protection and permanent residence. All around the world these mansions exist, including Belle Morte located in London. Humans can apply and be accepted to live within these mansions as well, being known as Donors. Donors are provided for in every way; clothing, room and board, a library, and many other extracurricular activities all while being given a stipend for their stay. The only exceptions, they can’t refuse a vampire to feed from them and they can’t fall in love with a vampire.

Enter the heroine, Renie, who now finds herself at Belle Morte after her sister mysteriously stopped writing and disappeared, while being a donor herself. Renie knows something is amiss and is determined to get to the bottom of what happened. While on her quest, she catches the eye of the mysterious, handsome, and off-limits vampire, Edmond. Over time, this forbidden love continues to get nourished, exciting plot twists keep you interested and a serious cliff hanger ending leaves you craving the sequel!

I personally think no vampire book could get it wrong and Belle Morte has so many things working for it. I found it very easy to read, there aren’t too many characters to get confused by, the plot doesn’t get stale, the forbidden romance kept me wanting more, just the right amount of “humor” characters to balance out the “uptight” one’s, and the whole concept of Belle Morte was fresh and new.

As far as any sort of critique, I do have a select few items. First, this is a Wattpad book and therefor reader, it feels like a Wattpad, so don’t be surprised. Also, the depth of love felt by Edmond came on a little to quickly for my taste (but I still ate it up), some more development would have been nice.

So, who should read this? Anyone who is a fan of vampire FanFic, vampires, forbidden romance and sisterly love. I will definitely be recommending this to other readers and personally can’t wait for a sequel!

Final Rating: 3.5 Stars

⭐️1,25

I really wanted to like this one, but frankly, I didn't.
I heard about vampires, high societies, mysterious appearances and I was instantly intrigued, but I was met with a predictable plot that ran into circles for the most part, an annoying MC and I'm so sorry to say some juvenile writing.
I could picture my 15 year old self enjoying it for sure, as it shared many elements of the series I grew up loving such as; Twilight and Vampire Academy, however as I don't have that mindset anymore I wasn't able to appreciate it on the same level.

I picked this up because I thought it was going to be a romantic vampire read so when I found out it wasn’t as romantic as I would have liked, I was disappointed because I think it would have made the book infinitely times better.

The plot was extremely predictable, the characters were uninteresting and the main character spent the whole book whining and complaining. The writing was alright but there was no intrigue because everything was so predictable.

The idea for this book is unique and interesting and it’s a shame that the plot and characters weren’t able to do this book justice.

I have 0 interest in continuing this series and am only giving it 2 stars because I think the concept is unique

I haven’t read a vampire novel in a long time, but Belle Morte ticked all the boxes! This story has dual POVs, which is always a win for me. I think this story incorporated these perspectives well because it aided in character development and built the angst on both sides. I liked that the romance wasn’t overly spicy; it worked, considering the characters still have a lot to learn about one another. Bella Higgin painted a beautiful picture of what Belle Morte would be like. It was almost like I could see it myself. Although I do not know French, I liked the little snippets included in the story. It further stresses that Renie and Edmond are from completely different worlds, and it’s endearing to see someone who could appear to be very stoic show a soft side.

I will admit, I found Renie to be a little annoying and reckless! I understand she wanted to find out what happened to her sister, but she went in guns blazing! She grew on me towards the end of the story, but I would love to hear more about Edmond and his background. The history of vampires and how they fit into society before they were public was compelling. This book built a great intro to this world, and it would be interesting to get some POVs from the other characters as well!

I liked the touch of mystery, even if I found it predictable. Overall, the ending definitely left me wanting more, and I’m looking forward to the next installment of this series!

Thank you to Net Galley and Wattpad Books for the ARC!

A clever and bright new take on the vampire craze.
Firstly, a BIG thank you to NetGalley, Wattpad Books publishing, & Bella Higgin for this eARC copy! I greatly appreciate this opportunity and your trust to review books before release.

Without aging myself, I can say I have been reading and enjoying fantasy novels long enough to have been part of the vampire craze. I talking, I read Rice's, "Interview with the Vampire" and Stokers, "Dracula" as an introduction to the vampire world. Although, I read "Interview..." some 20+ years after its original publishing and "Dracula" some 100+ years after its original publishing so don't think me THAT old. BUT I can honestly say I've a thorough understanding and appreciation of vampires in novels before they got all sparkly and romantic.

That said, the vampires in this novel ARE OUT and celebrated (mostly)! At large, humans know they exist and line-up to be donors for the prestige and perks. I can also honestly say I enjoyed this honest approach Higgin's takes in her debut. Considering the author also began as a Stoker fan, I expected nothing less than what she provided. Are her vampires in this novel a bit droll?...Yes. They are a broody bunch. They have rules and prefer to segregate themselves away into houses for safety (both for theirs and their "donors", and for the humans at large). As such, there wasn't much to work with in the way of landscape and scenery. That also said, Higgin's does a fantastic job of providing images and description that more than makes up for an entire book written from the limited landscape of a dark vampire mansion. There is a decadence to fashion, manners, and living that I have come to know and expect as key elements to vampire fiction to which Higgin's delivers. So, I didn't feel that this took away from the overall story at all.
There wasn't one character that I found to be overly annoying. Although, there were plenty of times that I grumbled at the main character Renie. She was at times so confrontational and overly trite. BUT, i may have found myself acting of a fashion in her position if my only sister mysteriously vanished after having entered a vampire house, only to find that something worse than death happened to her.
There is also an element of romance that most YA readers will LOVE. Edmond is the quintessential vampire love interest with a rough history that makes him slow to acknowledge and reveal his affections while also being unable to stop himself as he's drawn to Renie. All while she struggles with her loathing of vampires and what they have done to her sister and the donor process as a whole. I did find her loathing of them a bit overly done and overly mentioned.
I had my suspicions from the start as to the vampire responsible for what happened to June, but until the reveal at the end there was times I thought maybe not...or rather hoped not. Still, I like the set-up for the next book, which I will definitely read when it comes out.
If you, or anyone you know, it a fan of vampire fiction, then I highly recommend this novel as a purchase. I have a feeling this may rekindle a bit of that vampire craze from years ago.
Go forth & enjoy!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at 11%. I know. I shouldn’t reached to at least 50%. I rarely DNF books, much less ARCs because I am inclined to give my feedback, but I knew I just couldn’t get through this book. The premise of vampires is always very intriguing, I LOVE IT, considering this is set in a dark and futuristic era where they are elites, looking for human blood donors to live with them for as long as they wish to. Truth be told, vampires are interesting YA characters that never go out of style. They are beautiful yet creepy creatures of fiction. However, this book fell very flat for me from the beginning, despite the medium-paced storytelling and dual pov writing style. The characters also didn’t leave much of an impression for me. I really didn’t like this.

This book was super easy and fun! Imagine if Twilight had a spin-off set 10 years in the future...this is that book. Vampires are out in the world and have garnered celebrity status, wealth and power. Our main heroine Reine sees through all the smoke and mirrors and, of course, doesn't feed into their fame. She is there to find her sister who went missing from the vampire house of Belle Morte after being a "donor".

It was very cliche vampire YA fantasy romance but you know what, I love cliche vampire YA fantasy romance so it worked for me! I didn't dislike our main heroine and hero (Edmond) but I also feel like they were not developed well so I didn't really feel connected to them. The writing wasn't bad either but definitely read like a debut novel. Also, the pacing felt very off to me. It moved so fast but yet, nothing really happened either?

I think this book will be lovable for many. If I had read this in high school, I have no doubt I would write, "I <3 Edmond" in my book but I think I'm a little too old for this one.

Thanks NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the eARC.

⭐⭐⭐⭐Plot: For me this was a fun, fast read. This story wasn’t anything dramatically new for this genre, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. The premise laid out in the first chapters hooked me into the mystery of it all. The pacing of the story’s events and revelations kept me turning the pages, even if it was generally predictable. I liked seeing the story happen from the two points-of-view and would love to see even more from Edmond’s perspective in the future. Although, I do wish his parts were in first person as well, the shifting into third is awkward. The ending sets up really well for the next book in the series and I will definitely be anxiously awaiting to see how the cliffhanger plays out.

⭐⭐⭐⭐Characters: Were they cliché, yes. Did it make me excited about them any less because of it, definitely not. I found Renie’s rebellious, outcast nature to be super relatable. And how could I not love the stereotypical bad boy with a good heart? Edmond is alluring and seductive. The romance between them is sweet and spicy. Even the side characters, Renie’s friends, are endearing in their own ways. I liked the characters enough to want to see more of their development.

⭐⭐World-building: One thing about this story that I found unique and very interesting to read about was Edmond’s backstory. I haven’t read many vampire stories that delved as deeply into the historical aspects of the vampire’s life experiences. The retelling of his life over the hundreds of years was captivating to me as much as it was to Renie and I would love to hear more about it. I enjoyed the lore built around the vampires, as well as learning the political and societal aspects and rules needed for them to fit in. Although I understand the story itself only takes place in one location, I would’ve like more than just the three or four rooms it seemed stuck in. It lacked an atmosphere to draw me in.

Overall I think this book is an exciting, light read. It’s exactly as I expected it to be and didn’t disappoint. If you are looking for something new and profound, this isn’t it. But if the vampire sub-genre and all its typical tropes are your guilty pleasure, than this is one you will enjoy as much as I did.

I think this book will appeal to younger/teen readers (which, I know, is the intended audience anyway), but I could not really get into it. The premise sounded intriguing, but the writing style and characters felt flat to me. My attention was drifting a lot as I read, which diminished my enjoyment. Overall I don’t think it’s a bad book, just not a good fit for me.

Notwithstanding the above, thank you to Wattpad for providing an ARC for review!

Let me begin by saying, I liked the premise of the story... BUT it is a little rough around the edges. It reads like a wattpad novel would and has potential to be much more. There were a lot of mistakes as well so the line editing is rough and needs a better looking at. I loved the adventure and the whole future vampire vibe. Very Blade. But it needs a little help. All things considered, it wasn't a disappointment!

Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the Digital Review Copy of this title.

Irene "Renie" Mayfield enters Belle Morte, a highly regarded vampire house, under false pretenses. She thinks she is going to be a human donor for the luxurious vampires that live there, but she just wants to find out what happened to her sister, June. Renie quickly finds out that not all vampires are what she expected, but some very much are. She's determined to uncover the secrets of Belle Morte, even if it costs her the donor position, or worse...her life.

Wow, just wow. I loved everything about this book. Higgin has a way of writing that transports you into her atmosphere. He descriptions remain concise, while still managing to be vivid. She has a way with words that perfectly captures the deepest of human emotions: sadness, anger, love, and fear.

Though Bella Higgin has amassed thousands of fans through her wattpad stories, this is her debut novel.

**This is a vampire novel, so be advised of content warnings for blood and gore. Also, be aware of some sexual harassment and assault.

My favorite books fall under YA Fantasy Romance and I will pretty much like anything that falls under that category. This book was just okay to me but still enjoyable enough to finish.

Thank you to Wattpad Books and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Vampires are real and considered A-list celebrities in modern society. There are five vampire houses in Britain where the vampires live and humans are paid to be living blood donors. Renie is one such donor but she has an ulterior motive for coming to Belle Morte, one of the vampire houses. June came to Belle Morte to be a donor but abruptly ceased correspondence with her family. Renie has come to see what happened to her. Amongst the beauty of the vampires, their home, and the highly fashionable clothes the donors have been given, all is not as it seems. Relations between donors and vampires is forbidden but despite everything, Renie is attracted to Edmond and the feeling is mutual. But Renie is trying to solve the mystery of what happened to June and she’s not getting any answers from the vampires. Not one to give up easily, Renie pushes for answers but where they lead is very dangerous.
Disclaimer – I have not read nor seen Twilight but am familiar with the general plot. That being said, I did enjoy this book right up until the last chapter which ended so abruptly I had to reread it to see if I missed something. Maybe setting up for a sequel? I don’t know but there didn’t seem to be a final resolution. I would still recommend this YA fantasy for those who enjoy this genre. My rating is 3.5 stars but rounded to 4 because there are no half stars.
#BelleMorte #NetGalley

Belle Morte was ok for me. I was in the mood for a YA vampire book so grabbed this one. I thought the characters were interesting but I didn't really connect with any of them and they all came off as a little shallow. This was a quick read but in the end I'm on the fence on whether I'll pick up the next book.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I was intrigued by the premise but I wasn't expecting so much tension and surprises!

Renie was a great main character. She was so strong and proactive but she was still human and relateable with her grief and anger. She was so easy to like and I fully supported her and was rooting for her from the get go.

Edmond was an amazing male lead! He was sexy, mysterious, and the right level of protective that made me want to swoon.

The character development was great. I sometimes got a little confused with the vampires of the house as they were just background characters and I forgot their names easily. There were a few that stuck out because of their larger roles, but the others were totally forgettable.

The pacing of the book was great. It was tense enough that I found it so hard to put down, I was literally cooking and reading at the same time.

I'm already eagerly anticipating a sequel as I feel like this story is just starting with everything that happened at the end of the book. There's so much more to this world that we've not seen yet.

Overall, if you're a fan of vampires and strong female leads, this is a book for you.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you, NetGalley for a copy of this book for an honest opinion.

Belle Morte. How I wanted to like you, how I wanted to love you. The premise sounded promising. Celebrity vampire housing, human pledges, stipends for households of said pledges. Mystery when one of the pledges goes missing and her sister comes to find her. But when I find myself skimming entire chapters and nothing progresses and not only am I not lost in the storyline but 150ish pages have gone past and nothing remotely interesting has happened? I'm sorry. But that's a major no for me.

I DNF'ed this on page 110. (The original page I started skipping pages)