I truly did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I am a fan of reality tv and vampires, but together, it sounded like too much. That being said, I could hardly resist. Bella Higgin did not disappoint, creating a world that was believable and intriguing. Every character had a reason for their way of being and I was hungry for information about the world we didn't get to see within the book. I will definitely be excited to read book 2!

In a world where vampires live like celebrities in massive mansions with humans paid to be living donors as they live a life of wealth and comfort, Renie enters Belle Morte looking for the sister who joined and hasn't been heard from again. With secrets and danger everywhere around her, she will have to keep her wits about her, even when everything in her pulls her towards handsome vampire, Edmond Dantès.

The writing is good and the pacing makes it fly by, but it just doesn't offer anything new in an already saturated genre. The plot hits one predictable point after another on everything from character development to the big moments in the story.

Renie was hard to get a handle on because she's either raging and cussing at the vampires or wallowing in despair that somehow always had the same remedy in the form of a certain vampiric individual. I might have liked her more if any of her actions had surprised me. Edmond is a stand-in for every tall, dark, and handsome vampire with a tragic past that ever was. Again, nothing about him felt original.

It's well-written and paced, it's just way too close to books I've been reading for decades to stand out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the read!

This was a book. It had words. The words went together to fork sentences. Those sentences made paragraphs. Eventually it was a story.

This was a pretty unoriginal yet engaging fantasy romance that, while showing its debut roots in pacing and character development, remains an enjoyable read. The novel introduces a fresh take on vampires with its "donor system," blending elements of celebrity culture into the supernatural. Despite similarities to popular vampire series like "Twilight" and "Vampire Academy," the book keeps a fast-paced momentum that makes it hard to put down. The romance, while not strictly enemies-to-lovers, offers a cute dynamic with the "guy falls first" trope that I almost always enjoy. However, the book does suffer from some drawbacks, including instances of insta-love and a predictable ending that feels rushed and overly compacted. The dual point of view, especially with Edmond's perspective, takes away from the story and made it feel disjointed at times.

the plot twists were predictable and the romance was rushed but i really liked the friendship development

felt very predictable at times. Definitely felt like the plot got a little lost in the building of the character' relationships.

Love the vampires, but this was just so so for me. I think this will definitely go out and have appeal for those who like vampires and such, but the story is just okay. I think as sequels come out it will be better as more of the story is added and built.

Belle Morte is one of five vampire houses in the world. The vampires are celebrities in their own right, having gossip columns, paparazzi, and adoring fans. In these vampire houses are donors. People who apply to give blood to the vampires for a certain amount of time, in exchange for money, glamorous parties and clothes, and a certain level of celebrity themselves. June was one such donor, but never left Belle Morte. It's now up to her sister Renie, to go to the vampire mansion herself and find her sister.

I'm a sucker for vampires, so here we are. I do like the premise of the vampire houses and it almost being like a reality show situation. I really enjoyed the found family Renie found with a couple of the other donors. They were one of my favorite parts. Renie herself is kind of bothersome, in the fact that she acts without thinking and seems to have no self preservation. Granted, that is what usually pushed the story along. I also liked Edmond's character, but could have done without the insta love. It didn't bother me unless it was specifically brought up that, "Hey, I've known him for 3 days and I love him." Then I would remember and be like "Girl, stop." I mean. I get it. Vampires. Samsies. But still.

The writing was a little off for me here and there, switching from persepectives, but it wasn't too bad.

Overall, it was an exciting read. I think teens who like vampires/reality tv/friendships would really like it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. The vampires, characters, plot and writing was great. I DEF really enjoyed the flow to the plot and going through the motions. Thanks so much to net gallery and the publisher for this ARC.

You know how with the first book in some series aren’t that great but you have to read it to get to the next book in the series? That’s how I feel here.

This story was so good to read. The conflict between the characters was great and Dantes was such an interesting character to watch throughout the story. Loved it!

“Many vampires have blood-soaked pasts. Our histories are steeped in death and shadows.”

I think that a lot of the pacing and pov switches in this story made it hard for me to fully connect with the story and the characters, because of this I noticed that instead of being immersed in the story, it felt almost as though I was simply being told what was happening. I also had a hard time fully connecting with the love story element of this book. I do however think that the story and premise itself was promising, it was just the delivery that fell a bit flat for me. I also did really enjoy some of the friendships formed throughout this book. As a whole I definitely liked this book, but also hoped for more.

This was a wonderful story written by author Bella Higgin. I really enjoyed the world building and the character development within Belle Morte. Thank you to all for allowing me to read this eARC!

The concept of this book was something new and I had high hopes after I read the blurb.
The plot is initially driven by the mystery surrounding what happened to Renie Mayfield’s sister, June, who disappeared into the same House months before and dropped all contact. Later, it evolves into an exploration of the world’s vampire lore and biology, accompanied by some vamp politicking. The final act is pure chaos, mostly in a good way, and positions the story for an intriguing sequel. The romance, though predictable, is still earned throughout their time together. (If you’re wondering whether the love interest does that suddenly-appearing-next-to-human-girl-without-warning thing……yes he does)
I mostly scanned all through the book because most part of it felt boring. I am not so sure ill be coming back for any future books in this series.

I found this book pretty interesting. The plot was great and for a first book in the series I thought the plot was really interesting
It definitely gave me twilight vibes but better and I do appreciate the author giving individual information about each character and also having character growth throughout the book

Back at it with more vampires, i must have been in a vampire mood. This has been one of the better vampire themed books i have read. I liked the characters. I liked the plot. I also liked this book's version it took on vampires. i liked that they basically took over Hollywood. I whole part of the Belle Morte where people basically sign a waiver/contract to get bit was a little distasteful for me. I also didn't like when vampires were visiting and where not so nice to the humans at the establishment and they had no one there to save them. some of that stuff made me a little uncomfortable but other than that i liked it.

Overall I thought it was pretty good and you should pick it up around the spooky season.

I kinda liked the book, but it also felt too much like it was written by a Wattpad author. The story was fun, the idea of some sort of house full of vampires and it gave me some sort of Love Island kinda idea. You know, a house full of celebs and everybody wants to watch/ join. Renie wasn't my favorite but she had her bits and pieces that I enjoyed. I did understand why she joined the house.

Over all the book was okay. It was just a bit too much Wattpad still for me. I don't really like those stories anymore.

I'll admit, for a Wattpad book, Belle Morte was..okay! The concept of having influencer vampires was certainly unique, and something I rather enjoyed. However, I was not really a big fan of the romance (not to be cliche, but I did pick up a dash of Twilight-esque vibes!) and the ending maybe felt a little bit rushed?

Overall, Belle Morte is definitely a perfect read for YA vampire fans, and something I'd easily recommend to anyone still craving more vampire books after the brief-yet-powerful surge that was the Twilight YA era. However, it wasn't for me, and is probably not something I'd pick up again in the future.

Impressive attempt and especially as a wattpad book. I love the concept of influencer vampires and the tale of sisterhood but U could have done without the vapid romance, the huge infodumps and names I'm required to remember and the rushed ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bella Higgin and Wattpad Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

This is one of those cases of know what you’re getting and expect that. Vampires, check. Angry girl who doesn’t want to fall in love, check. Sexy vampire she can’t resist, check. Trope filled story, check. Problems with the writing, check. Fun read, check!

So even with the obvious threads to every other vampire story out there, I still enjoyed it. Vampires have come out to the modern world and are now the new celebrities. There are five houses where you can volunteer to become a living blood donor. Renie wants to find her sister who became a living donor and has now disappeared. The only way to get in is to become a living donor herself. Oh yeah and she hates vampires.

It is a interesting take to have the vampires out in the real world and become our culture’s new focus for adoring fans. The mystery to what happened to June was also interesting. There is Edmond’s story and some vampire history which is always expected and appreciated. (But really, does every vampire have to be named Ed-something??)

There are two different POVs, Renie and Edmond. I know some people found it problematic or not enjoyable, but I didn’t mind it. Yes, the first person/third person writing was weird. This is a Wattpad story turned novel but really, was I picking up a vampire romance for its literary value, no. Like I said, know what you’re getting and don’t complain when you get it. The ending was very predictable. I agree with most of the review out - there were some issues, but I still enjoyed it and will be picking up the next one in the series.