Review: Belle Morte by Bella Higgin

I received this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Belle Morte by Bella Higgin
Series: Belle Morte #1
Published by Wattpad Books on 2022-04-05
Length: 380 pages
Reviewing eARC from Netgalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: #NGEW2022, 2022 New Release Challenge, COYER 2022

There’s only one way out

Belle Morte. One of five houses where vampires reside as celebrities and humans are paid to be their living donors. While others came here seeking fortune, I came in search of my sister who walked into Belle Morte five months ago . . . and never walked back out.

Now that I’m here, the secrets about this world have proven to be much bigger than I ever anticipated. And lurking around every corner are shocking insinuations of what happened to my sister.

There’s only one person who might have the answers I need, and the undeniable pull I feel toward him is terrifying: Edmond Dantès—a vampire, and my mortal enemy.

The harder I try to resist him, the further I fall under his spell. And in one instant my life is irrevocably changed. My past becomes prologue and my fate becomes sealed behind these doors.

Belle Morte has spoken. And it may never let me go.

Vampires have been making a come back over the last year, and I’m not about to complain about it! Vampires are one of my favorite paranormals to read about, whether they are the good guys or the villains. Belle Morte by debut author Bella Higgin is the first in a new series about vampires who live like the Hollywood elite. Everyone knows they exist, and everyone wants to be them or as close to them as they can be as willing donors with one exception: Renie.

Renie arrives at Belle Morte, one of the vampire houses in the UK, looking for her sister who went missing a few months earlier. They were really close and agreed on most things, except her obsession with vampires. With her sister no longer appearing in promotional photos or answering any of her mail, Renie does what any good sister would do: applies to be a donor at the same house. I really like her. She’s stubborn, a little on the shy side, and loyal to a fault. The only thing I really disliked about her was her inherent prejudice against the all vampires, even the ones who seem to be protecting her.

Edmond is the second in command at Belle Morte, a vampire several hundred years old. He is clearly smitten with Renie, how she doesn’t immediately fall for the vampires’ charms, and that she doesn’t want to be there. He’s intrigued, and I love that we get a glimpse inside his point of view. It’s needed to truly understand him.

Here’s where the story falls a part for me. It is a very slow start, lots of introducing of characters, not a lot of action, more telling instead of showing. This is a common mistake I see with debut authors. Despite that I kept reading and was rewarded with an awesome, action-packed, fast-paced climax and ending. I won’t lie though, I totally predicted the ending and the big twist within a few chapters of the book so that was a bit of a let down. I did however enjoy the overall world-building, the vampire society, and how humans react to them. It’s interesting and reminds me of a cross between the Southern Vampire Mysteries (Trueblood) and the more classic vampire stories.

Overall, Belle Morte was okay for me. I didn’t enjoy how predictable it was or the cliche tropes. BUT I did enjoy the ending and world-building enough to not only finish the book but be excited for the next. If you are a fan of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and of course all things vampire, I do believe you’ll enjoy this one.

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