Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Belle Morte follows Renie Mayfield within a prestigious vampire house in search of her sister, June. Set in a world where vampires are public and treated as celebrities, with live human blood donors as their in-house companions.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this novel, it was fun, easy to read and a great take on a vampire story. I enjoyed learning about Renie and the secrets of the vampire house and vampire community, and the modern-day “culture” around vampires being treated like celebrities. This feels like it would be a realistic setting in our actual world as well. I really did enjoy all the characters we got to meet and felt as though they were different enough from each other to make them individuals, and more easily discernible.
I did feel as though the pacing of the novel was somewhat inconsistent and that the growing romance was sudden at the beginning instead of growing at an organic pace. It had the “instant connection” feel to it, which I don’t usually prefer.
The world-building and atmosphere was very limited to the vampire house and grounds, so there wasn’t building to be done there. It felt a little constricting at times, but the story was able to build well within that confine. There was a plot line with June that I don’t completely understand, and I think will hopefully be more fleshed out in the next novel of the series.

I would definitely read the next one in the series, as I certainly enjoyed this one!

I have loved vampires my whole life, they have always seemed so intriguing. But, I had never read any books about them until Belle Morte. Belle Morte did vampires justice!

The vampires were FANTASTIC in this book. They were intriguing, they were beautiful (based on the descriptions in the book, I could definitely picture them), and they had so much depth. I absolutely love how Bella Higgin included the history of the individual vampires, she didn't brush over how the vampires were shaped by their pasts, and she didn't make it so they forgot where they came from. That gave the vampire characters more depth and it gave us, the readers, something more to understand the personalities of these characters.

The humans, while still entertaining, were not as intriguing as the vampires. The main character, Renie, was a great heroine. She had purpose, she had drive, and she loved those around her deeply. The other stand-out human characters were Jason and Roux. They brought the humor, they brought the fun, and they gave Renie someone human she could turn to.

I loved the romance! The tension was great, and the interactions were amazing. I just absolutely loved it. My only complaint… it was comparable to insta-love. The interactions took more time, but the feelings came on too fast for my liking. I would have liked it to be more of a slow burn.

I highly recommend this book! It’s a great book for vampire lovers and it’s an interesting take on how the world interacts with these mythical creatures.

I’ll always be a sucker for a good vampire book (pun absolutely intended) so it’s no surprise I enjoyed this one! It’s definitely trope-y and cheesy, but in a good way! I lowkey hated the main character for a good portion of the book but she grew on me! Overall a solid read

I loved this book. The writing was great and the characters were fantastic. You can't help but fall in love with all of them but the world is impeccable

A vampire book that i loved! It did take me a bit to get into the book, and it did feel a bit instant lovey. However the last half of the book definitely pulled me and that ending??? I need book two NOW!

Beautiful cover. Interesting concept, but execution was not for me. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to an e-arc.

Look, I'm going to be honest here: I should have known better than to pick up this book because 1) I am not the target demographic for this book and 2) it is not a genre/topic I reach for anymore, so reading this left me cringing and groaning. I will admit it was highly entertaining, because how could it not be? It has vampires being treated like celebrities and made me think of some weird reality show the entire time I was reading.
This was entertaining, and I'm sure the target demographic for this book will eat it up, but it is not something I loved reading or see myself ever reaching for again. It read like Wattpad fanfiction, but it also just felt super cringey. Still, I think actual teens will enjoy and love it.

3.5 Stars

As I have said many times that vampires usually aren’t my thing but I thought this one sounded interesting. I will say that the name Edmond turned me off. Not because it was a little too close to Edward who of course was hugely popular. For me it was because it’s my brother’s middle name.

Vampires are out in the open after their reveal ten years earlier. They have not only come out they have become celebrities living in various “vampire houses” around the world. Humans apply to the houses to become well paid donors. In this book we have the Belle Morte house in the UK.

Renie has just been accepted as a blood donor but she is not the typical “Vladdict”–people who are obsessed with vampires. She is undercover looking for her sister June who disappeared. Her only problem is Edmond who has taken an interest in her.

Renie and Edmond have a great slow-burn, sweet sort of romance. This book was good. Let me say that I enjoyed the world building more than the romance in this one. It felt like it had a heavy Twilight influence and I hate those books.

Utterly unique and terrifying. Not just the paparazzi but also with the creatures themselves. Reminiscent of The Lifestyles of Gods and Monsters but more modern. Very open and fun characters!

Finally getting around to reviewing some older ARCs!!

I'll admit that while this feels like a Wattpad story (which is not a bad thing), it was still very much enjoyable! I also think that if I had read this when the vampire craze was at its peak, it would have done well, not just for me but in general. I think the premise was unique enough, and the writing was solid throughout. Honestly, I think that people look down on Wattpad books, but the writing style in this was better than many fiction books I've read recently, clearly written by middle-aged adults. I genuinely don't think the fact that it's a Wattpad story or that it’s vampire-centered should dissuade you from reading it! It was fun, the romance was there, and while things were slightly cliche, it was still a solid read!

Overall, I think this would be a great book for Teens and those who love fantasy YA with some suspense. It does feel a tad bit young for me (I'm 26), but I still found it enjoyable!

Thank you, Netgalley, for the chance to read and review this title!

Rennie enters Belle Morte, which is one out five houses
where the vampires reside. Rennie's hope with entering Belle Morte as a living donor is to find out what happened to her sister June and to find out where June is. This is told between the point of views of Rennie and Edmond.

I really do like that vampire books are coming back since I was obsessed with anything vampire related in middle school and high school. Thank you Twilight! Speaking of Twilight there were times where I felt like this book wanted to be like Twilight, but in a more modern way with a different spin. Plus,
why does the male vampire have to have a name that starts with an E? The writing in this book was not great and during some of the serious events, I would start laughing due to how it was written. Additionally, I felt like this focused on more insta love between Rennie and Edmond who really know nothing about one another. This did not really focus on the sisters and their relationship and not much time on Rennie wanting to rescue June.

Vampires ✔️ Celebrity culture ✔️ Dangerous secrets ✔️ OTT dramatic insta-love ✔️ And I loved every second. This book met my expectations and was a quick and engaging read. Yes it probably wouldn’t stand up to a literary analysis (ok, definitely wouldn’t). But that’s not what this book is about. It’s like the perfect quick fix. I liked the sound of the blurb but went into reading knowing that I was most likely about to be underwhelmed. I was pleasantly surprised. Yes it was pretty predictable but plenty happened, the big reveal happened early on and then was built on. It’s much better than similar reads. Honestly I just enjoyed immersing myself in this fun read!

This book ended up being a DNF. Rating is based solely on the content I did read. I ultimately found the pacing and development of the story and/or characters not engaging enough to continue on and finish the complete book.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get into this one. I love vampire stories, but I am pickier about them in recent years and this one just felt like another of the same. It's a shame

An enjoyable YA fantasy about vampires...what more could you want?!?!
I love the author's take on vampires being reality show stars with their own crazy fans and their Houses where human donors are provided with fashionable clothes and a place under the spotlight in exchange for a few bites here and there. This part did give me a few True Blood vibes, but I liked that so, I was happy.
I love a vengeful MC...even if they do irritate me a little bit, I appreciate the effort. I have to remind myself that this is YA and these characters are young and will make decisions that will drive me, an adult, crazy.
I also really liked the mystery surrounding June's disappearance in the first half of the book and all the tales about Edmond's past.

ARC requested on and provided by NetGalley in exchange for a review

WELL I READ THIS IN ONE SITTING AND IT WAS REALLY FUN

Are you a Twilight fan?? Yes?? Read this NOOOOW

It was very tropey and predictable and ridiculous, but in the best vampire way. The romance was insta-lovey but still gave me some heart eyes. The main character was also pretty darn reasonable - she starts off scared of vampires (valid) and learns more about their world and history in a cool way.

Overall - this really surprised me and I will be picking up book 2!

DNF at 10%

I tried to read more of this but sadly i just couldn't get into it at all! You could tell that it was a debut through the writing. It really didn't flow nicely. While it wasn't for me I'm sure other people who love vampire stores will really enjoy this and have a good time with it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review!

I had a hard time getting into this book but i see the elements of a fantasy romance that would really pull in readers and keep them hooked!

I am giving this one 3 stars. I did struggle with this a bit and it was predictable. I also fine the end was rushed. I do recommend if you don’t mind a book that is predictable.

3.5 stars

This has a house vibe, a trapped cat-and-mouse vibe, AND a vampire romance. Say no more. I definitely read the heck out of this and had a fun time.

Concept: ★★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★ 1/2
Enjoyment: ★★★

It's current-day. Vampires have replaced the world of human celebrities and rich people with their emergence unto the world stage in their unworldly beauty. With a global fanbase, reality TV shows, and world news turned toward them, the five official vampire houses exist at the very top of society.

Naturally, humans are a part of this capitalist/celebrity food chain—literally.

To accommodate the vampires' need for blood and to satisfy the masses of humans obsessed with their allure, the five vampire houses have a system in place for blood donors. You can submit to become a blood donor, get paid for your time, and spend a set amount of time inside the vampire house. The catch? You sign a contract, you can't leave until they let you, and sometimes people don't come back out...

Renie Mayfield has just been accepted as a blood donor for the house of Belle Morte. But she's not the typical groupie looking for a blood fix and some dangerous sex. She's looking for her missing sister, June. June disappeared in Belle Morte's house several months ago. And Renie is going to find her.

The only problem is, one of the vampires has a special interest in Renie. And Renie can't help but notice him back...

Cue the angst, the forbidden romance, and the drama of a locked-house atmosphere...

Belle Morte is something you need to have on your radar if you're a fan of the late 2000s and early 2010s vampire teen romance fiction. This book is clearly a love letter to that type of story, and it definitely attracted the right audience—I was a sucker for those then, and I had a nostalgically good time with this one too.

Was this amazingly written? Not really. Was this an original plot? Almost no. But did this give vampire fans something fun to read in the current era where vampire romances are harder to come by? Oh heck yes.

Come for the fun, not the literary value. Belle Morte is waiting.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.