Belle Morte

by Bella Higgin, Stewart Crank (Read by), Allie Rose (Read by)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

In a world where vampires are treated like celebrities, people vie for coveted spots as live-in blood donors at one of five vampire houses. This contemporary paranormal story fraught with secrets, mystery and, of course, vampires is a fresh spin on a classic trope.

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 prove to be much bigger than I ever anticipated. And lurking around every corner are shocking insinuations regarding 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798874861872
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	08/27/2024
Series:	Belle Morte , #1
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Bella Higgin fell in love with vampire fiction after reading an illustrated copy of Dracula as a kid, so it was inevitable that her debut novel would be about vampires. She currently lives in a small English town not far from the sea, where she writes full-time. Her works on Wattpad have amassed more than twelve million reads. One day she hopes to have enough money to build a TARDIS in her garden.

Bella Higgin fell in love with vampire fiction after reading an illustrated copy of Dracula as a kid, so it was inevitable that her debut novel would be about vampires. She currently lives in a small English town not far from the sea, where she writes full-time. Her works on Wattpad have amassed more than twelve million reads. One day she hopes to have enough money to build a TARDIS in her garden.

Editorial Reviews

08/08/2022

Eighteen-year-old Renie Mayfield is determined to save her older sister, June, from vampires, following June’s sudden disappearance in Higgin’s beguiling debut, a series opener. After getting accepted as a blood donor at one of London’s premiere vampire houses, where the immortal beings live and are treated like A-list celebrities, June is offered fame and more money than she and Renie have ever had. But when June goes missing, Renie, resolved to find out what happened, applies and is accepted as a donor at the same house. No one will answer her about June’s whereabouts, including the other donors, and several of the vampires-in-residence appear haunted by secrets—particularly enigmatic, centuries-old Edmund. Acting on their mutual attraction would violate Renie’s contract, but she finds him impossible to resist. Renie and Edmund’s centuries-wide age gap and the resulting unbalanced power dynamics are only moderately explored. Though a shallow plot sometimes dampens this otherwise grandiose, popcorn-like read, Higgin’s lush prose and lavish setting recalls the dreamy glitz and glamour of high-profile vampire novels, such as Interview with a Vampire and Twilight. Characters read as white. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"This fresh, suspenseful take on the genre, with its intricately crafted characters and gorgeous settings, will have readers eager to get to the end of the trail." – Booklist

From the Publisher

04/01/2022

Gr 10 Up—In a world where vampires are A-List celebrities, everyone is clamoring to be chosen to serve as a donor (a willing blood source). When Renie's sister June, a recent donor in the Belle Morte house, abruptly stops writing home, Renie applies and is chosen as a donor in hopes of finding out what happened to her. As Renie falls deeper into the complexities of the vampire lifestyle, she feels an undeniable pull toward Edmond Dantès, whose status as a vampire makes him off-limits for anything but blood donations. But Renie didn't bargain for the depth of the secrets she'd encounter, or for the danger that might lurk in uncovering the truth, and Edmond may be the only one who can help her find her sister and save herself. Lush descriptions of the setting and characters (especially their clothing) and detailed worldbuilding create an atmospheric place in readers' mind. After a somewhat circular and repetitious start, a comfortably predictable resolution to June's whereabouts leads to a more quickly paced second half of the book. Although Edmond and Renie's insta-love would have been served well by a more slowly developed relationship, he hits all the high points of a brooding, handsome, darkly magnetic vampire love interest. Questions of consent and power differential between an actual teenager and a centuries-old vampire "teenager" notwithstanding, the intimacy between Renie and Edmond is heated and emotional. An open bar being available to the donors and many adult side characters make this a better choice for older readers. VERDICT Recommended for libraries with voracious vampire aficionados and those where Twilight and Vampire Academy are still popular.—Allie Stevens

School Library Journal