S0, full disclosure. I'd loved the Twilight series when they were published (and released as films) and I grew up a huge fan of Anne Rice. Following those, it had been a long time since I'd read a vampire novel that grabbed my attention and held on to it. When I picked up Belle Morte a few years ago, my hopes weren't high....but I took the book on a trip and cracked it on the long car ride to where I was going while my husband drove. I'm SO glad I did - the love story of Renie and Edmond and their fight to save his home from the truly evil Etienne and his cronies sucked me in and held me in place. I shouldn't have enjoyed the writing as much as I did, as it felt fanfiction-y and trope-heavy at times, but the fun won out. So when Revelations came out, I read it in a few days, and I was totally game for Hunted when I got an email inviting me to read it. The story didn't go where I expected it to; I assumed we were getting more from Renie and Edward - so the surprising change in protagonists was initially a bit disappointing. I felt that Ludovic and Roux's story was tropey and predictable at times, but it was still as fun and as much a page-turner as its predecessors. The element of mystery was fun, too., as it was in the earlier books. I'm looking forward to a book four, if one is coming!

This was an amazing read that had me completely hooked. Once you pick up your kindle you will not want to stop.

If you love vampires and slow burns, you’ll love this series! I love ludovic so so much. The writing was amazing, and I felt like I couldn’t put this down.

I did not realize this book was part of a series so I can't give a complete opinion. However, from just this book its decent read.

Hunted by Bella Higgin is the third book in her Belle Morte series. I haven't read the first two books, and this one isn't billed as a standalone, so I made sure to keep that in mind as I read it.

The story follows 18-year-old human donor Roux and centuries-old vampire Ludovic as they work together to hunt rogue vampires and solve mysterious happenings attached to said rogue vampires out in the modern world.

The first half of the book had the same points/thoughts/feelings repeated over and over again, which is a big pet peeve of mine, and it also caused the first half of the book to feel like it was progressing at a snail's pace. Once we got into the last third or so of the story, that stopped happening as much and the pace picked up.

The development of the relationship between Roux and Ludovic also felt like the slowest of slow burns. We did eventually get there, though.

I would have liked more clarity about how Ludovic could exist in the modern world (even though it was mentioned that the vampires don't leave the vampire houses, it was also said that they're celebrities in the modern world, so I'm confused) without even an inkling about modern technologies - what they are or how they work.

I was annoyed by Ludovic's personality traits as he first presented (reticent, unsure), but his character did develop out of that over time. I liked who his character was once the walls came down. I also liked that Roux presented as a strong female character. Her backstory was that she was bullied, which is a valid trauma, but I felt that some of her thoughts/feelings/reactions toward the end of the book were a little overdone, as if she was overcoming some huge psychological hurdles of "no one will ever treat me like that again." She had already stated several times that she'd "blossomed" and overcome all of the insecurities to truly embrace herself, with the exception of the event that happened with her singing.

Overall, it was a decent story. People who read the first two books would probably find more enjoyment in it than I did reading it as a standalone. I'm not interested enough to bump the previous two books up in my TBR, but I'm not a hard "no" on ever reading them.

I give Hunted 3/5 stars and 2/5 spice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for providing an e-ARC of this book. This is my honest review and all opinions are my own.

The Hunted is the third book in a series by Bella Higgin. I read this book as a standalone and I would give it 2.5/5 because of that. The cover is what drew me in, and I normally like stories about vampires. The story follows Roux and Ludovic in their search for some missing vampires and children. Their relationship builds as they look for the missing people and their chemistry was tangible. I enjoyed the contrast of human and vampire worlds coming together, but felt lost at the references to the other novels in this series.

In my opinion this book was a significant improvement from books 1 & 2! I found our main character in this book to be much more likable than the main character from books 1 & 2. Roux felt easier to connect with and much more mature than Renie did. This book was definitely packed with nonstop action which made it easy to just keep reading. Keeping my fingers crossed for Jason and Gideon’s story in book 4? 😁

I loved the next book in this series! This story has spice and a colleague to friends to lovers trope. I enjoyed getting to know new characters from Belle Morte. It was action packed and I couldn’t put it down. Thank you for an Adavnced Readers Vopy Wattpad and NetGalley.

Glittery vampires have nothing to do with this high-tension packed read, where danger lurks behind every corner and the deception is thicker than blood.

The vampire haven, Belle Morte, has survived the attempt revolt but has suffered huge damage on the image vampires had in the human world. Where they were respected and awed before, mistrust and fear are digging their claws into human society. It will take a long time to regain trust, but the vampires are determined to win it back....that's if they can hunt down the last rogues. Although still human, Renie is determined to help her friends and sets off as a liaison between humans and vampires, since the vampires' seclusion from the human world has left them more than a little out-of-touch. But even this position will be more dangerous than any adventure she's faced so far.

While I have read one of the first books in this series, it's been a while back. So, my memory was more than a bit hazy. This didn't prove to be a problem, though, since the author has woven just enough background story in to make it easy to sink into this world. I still recommend reading this as a series.

This is a fast-paced, high-tension read and drives forward the entire way through. As an action-girl, I was thrilled and read this in only two sittings (and that because I did need sleep). Well-woven intrigue mixes with mystery and increasing danger to keep the reader guessing until the very end. Every time the intentions seemed clear, it would twist in unexpected ways. The danger raised with every page as did the brutality. But then, vampires aren't exactly pink, puffy creatures.

The unique relationship between the vampires and humans gains depth thanks to the mix of remaining star-struck attitudes (as seen in the books before) with fear and hate. It adds an interesting back and forth as Renie deals with the police, and works in thoughts surrounding societal views, reactions, prejudices, and more. There are also smaller subplots worked in, which take peeks at human nature. Of course, there's the romance, which works well enough and adds more emotion.

This is a grabbing read with tons to enjoy. At times, some aspects didn't click quite as smoothly as they could, but it wasn't enough to break the fun. The romance also hit a little off on the emotional and pacing for me, but I'm pretty sure this is just a personal thing, and many readers will sink right in.

I do recommend this one to vampire fans, who enjoy romance with intrigue, mystery, action, and very high-stakes.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

I was excited to jump back into the world of Belle Morte, but this book felt a little disconnected from the first two.

I enjoyed the budding relationship between Roux and Ludovic (even if it did happen at breakneck speed), there was decent character development and we got a lot of background information to help us get to know our two main characters better. However, I feel like the building of their relationship overshadowed the main overarching plot lines. I feel like there was an imbalance between setting up a new couple and continuing the story.

The ending just felt a little too perfect. Everything just fell too conveniently into place for my tastes.

Overall, I still enjoyed the story, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

I hands down loved this book more than Belle Morte! Learning the main characters stories is what made me fall in love with them even more. It has me hopeful that we will learn backstories of other characters in the best books in the series. The spice was an added bonus.

I received this ARC via NetGalley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group in exchange for an honest review.

Love the story. It was magical and was a favorite Beauty and the Beast retelling for me. Highly highly recommend. You get to learn more about our favorite MCs and their past stories.

What I liked about the book:
🩸 I loved learning more about the histories of our MCs! It felt like we dove so much deeper into them than the previous couple in books 1 and 2, which shows Bella’s development as an author!

My poor, poor Ludovic was such a tortured soul. I loved how Roux was judgement free as he opened up about his past mistakes and didn’t hold them against him.

And Roux, the little badass, showed how she earned her own stripes in history and fought to not let anyone else keep her down in life.

Gosh, how I love them both so much!

🩸 As was the case with the other books, I loved how descriptive the fight scenes were! Higgin really gets into these scenes making them come to life in the readers’ minds, which is not necessarily something we get a lot of in romance/paranormal books. It hearkens more to a romantasy, which I am a big lover of.

🩸 The mystery elements in this book were sooooooo good! I loved trying to solve the interconnected puzzles with them and seeing how everything came together. It was brilliantly executed.

🩸 This installment was spicier than I remember the others being, which I was definitely all for with this particular couple. Loved it!

🩸 Dammit….I kinda liked Walsh haha. As the judgmental human assigned to the case with our MCs, we were not supposed to like him, at least at first. He kept trying to undermine Roux's and Ludovic’s relationship and was constantly throwing jabs at Ludovic. But as the story went on, he definitely grew as a character and I honestly saw him as a bit of a father figure for Roux at times. I really liked him by the end of the book. I hope we get more of him in the next book.

🩸 I cannot tell you how excited I was to learn there will be four books in this series!!! This whole time I thought it was going to be a trilogy, so upon finding this out I fangirled with glee.

🩸 My first person FMC, third person MMC gripe from books 1 and 2 was fixed!! I was pleasantly surprised and so very happy 😊

What could have been better:
🩸 Despite how many times it was mentioned, you CANNOT tell me Roux and Ludovic didn’t have a thing for each other before this book!!! I simply refuse to believe that.

🩸 I’m honestly afraid that there is only one book left. I want another book with Roux and Ludovic as our MCs, but I ALSO want a Jason/Gideon book!!! I’m so much more in love with these couples than Renie and Edmond!!!!

🩸 I’m sad there was no Nikki in this one. That makes me think she will not appear again, which makes me a bit bummed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group, Wattpad Books, and Bella Higgin for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

4.25 stars!

An excellent addition to the Belle Morte series! The slow-burn romance was my favorite aspect of this book. I loved how the reader got to see Ludovic's walls slowly come down around Roux's infectious positivity. The twists and turns of this story always kept me on the edge of my seat, desperate to start the new chapter so I could find out what was going to happen next. Bella Higgin also has such a wonderful way with words, I appreciated how descriptive the book was. I felt I could envision it all in my head perfectly with the way she described everything, making this story very easy to fall into.

An excellent addition to the Belle Morte series! Because of the open door scenes, this did read more adult than YA to me. Hunted had all the characters I loved from the first two books, but focused on Roux and Ludovic. We were also introduced to Detective Walsh, whom I really liked. I hope he will be in some of the future books. This one had a ton of action and was well paced and well written.

I loved that we got Roux and Ludovic’s story. Roux and Jason have been my favorite characters since book 1. I hope Bella Higgin is planning a book four and that this time we will get Jason’s story. I can’t wait for it.

I highly recommend the entire Belle Morte series to everyone who loves a good vampire novel. Vampire vs Vampire, Humans vs Vampires, action, romance, steam, friendship, found family. It has everything I love in my guilty pleasure vampire reads.

Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group, Wattpad Books for this digital arc which is not affiliated with any brand.

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

Hunted by Bella Higgin is the third book in this new vampire romance series. The story revolves around Roux and Ludovic, who are struggling with the aftermath of the events of the second book. To track down some bad vampires who escaped, the pair decide to venture out on their own. Along the way, the relationship between the two grows stronger. Will they be able to stop the vampires they are looking for? Will they find something else?

Here is a gripping excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Standing in the doorway of the dining hall, Roux Hayes couldn't get over how quiet Belle Morte was now. Just a few days ago this room had been where the mansion's thirty blood donors had eaten meals and filled the huge space with the sound of talking and laughing. It felt like forever ago.
"Do you think it will ever get back to normal?" Renie asked from behind her, and Roux jumped.
Renie hadn't yet mastered the liquid, catlike grace of the older vampires, but she could around a lot more quietly than when she'd been human. Roux was still getting used to it."

Overall, Hunted is a great new addition to the newest vampire series to hit the block. One highlight of this book is the dual third-person POV between Roux and Ludovic. One of my pet peeves is dual first-person POV, so I was happy to see that this one was dual third-person. Another highlight of this book and series is how it is a new take on the vampire love story. This isn't just a vampire family, but a vampire network.

I did take off 1 star because the first half of the book was not as interesting as the second half. I felt myself losing interest at first. However, I loved that the plot kept picking up steam until the explosive finale. One final highlight is how there were plenty of action-packed fight scenes. This is definitely not your typical romance. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA fantasy in general, I recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in April!

Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad Books for this ARC.

Bella Higgins picks up the Belle Morta saga with another installment that blends elements of romance, paranormal suspense, and mystery. This novel focuses on two characters: Roux, a human donor, and Ludovic, a reclusive vampire. From the one-bed debacle to the grumpy meets sunshine trope, this book certainly had me enthralled. Plus, did you see this gorgeous cover?

The slow-burn romance was my favorite aspect of this book. I loved how the reader got to see Ludovic's walls slowly come down around Roux's infectious positivity and badassery. Plus, the mystery surrounding the missing children and vampires on the run kept me glued to my seat.

That being said, I highly recommend reading the first two books. While you could read this as a stand-alone since Roux and Ludovic are not featured much (if at all) in the first two books, the context provided from the previous novels will make you much more invested in this story's conclusion.

Overall, Bella Higgin has a way with words that truly immerses you in this world. Plus, the dynamics between vampires and humans create undeniable tension where one misstep could be the spark that ignites a war. It certainly gives me Underworld vibes. 😝

This series started out great and has really fallen off for me. I think there are more planned, but I don't think I'll continue reading - the first two books were quite enjoyable, but I don't like where the story has gone.

That you NetGalley and Bella for the Earc in exchange for my honest opinion!
This book was so GOOD! Slow burn and one bed trope, my fave! I did read the whole series but this one was told for two other characters point of views and you could almost read it by itself. I enjoyed this one more than the first two, ir was more of a mystery vibe I guess? Definitely had me jaw dropping and gasping. Roux and Ludovic are sent in a mission to capture the escaped vampires as well as some mystery ones. Along the way a bigger problem unravels that they need to get to the bottom of. The vampire world is still very uncertain and there is a lot let to figure out. I’m hoping there will be another one!

Hunted by Bella Higgin is a thrilling conclusion to the Belle Morte series, filled with action, romance, and unexpected twists. The book picks up where the previous one left off, with Renie, Edmond, and their allies celebrating their victory against the evil vampire, Belle Morte. However, their celebration is short-lived as they soon realize that some of their enemies have escaped and are wreaking havoc in the city.
One of the standout characters in this book is Ludovic de Vauban, a reclusive vampire who has been living in Belle Morte for years. He is forced to confront his fears and step out of his comfort zone when he teams up with the human donor, Roux Hayes. Roux is a quick thinker and street smart, and her skills prove to be invaluable as they navigate the dangerous world outside Belle Morte.
The chemistry between Ludovic and Roux is electric, and their love story is a beautiful addition to the fast-paced plot. Their relationship develops naturally and is not rushed, making it all the more believable and heartwarming. As they fight side by side to protect their loved ones and the future of vampirekind, they also discover a love that they never thought possible.
Bella Higgin does an excellent job of balancing the action and romance in this book. The fight scenes are intense and well-written, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. At the same time, the tender moments between Ludovic and Roux add depth to the story and make the characters more relatable.
It is a satisfying and captivating conclusion that ties up all loose ends and leaves you feeling fulfilled. I think Bella Higgin created a unique and exciting world filled with memorable characters.