Belle Morte by Bella Higgin
Publisher: Wattpad Books
Special thanks to Raincoast Books for sending a copy for review.
Summary:
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.
Thoughts:
Belle Morte, Beautiful Death.
This book isn’t the type of book I usually gravitate towards, but if you like romance and a bit of horror, you will certainly be attracted to this book!
The story focuses on an event that occurred between humans and vampires. To find her missing sister, Renie, the protagonist, decides to go to the mysterious place, Belle Morte. It is a place full of vampires and donors (humans who are paid to feed their blood to these vampires). When a person dies, the vampire drinks from their blood and then feeds that person with its own blood; this turns the person into a vampire who can live to more than thousands of years old. There are many similarities to Twilight. Edmond, the vampire protagonist, wants to protect Renie from harm. Even though love between humans and vampires is nearly impossible, as shown in both movie and book, Edmond is determined to save and protect the ones he loves.
I really admire Roux, Renie’s best friend. She is a loving, caring and optimistic friend. She is helpful because Renie couldn’t have found any clue without Roux’s help. She is empathetic and willing to risk and sacrifice herself to help Renie find her sister. She is the perfect compassionate friend to Renie who will also be at her side when she needs it.
I like how the author uses a first person perspective most of the time, but changes to Edmond’s perspective sometimes. This allows the reader to understand more background information. For example, in Edmond’s perspective, he talks about his life when he wasn’t a vampire and how he became a vampire. The author also used French throughout the story, and this sets the scene where the place is romantic and foreign to Renie.
I rated this book 3/5 because the story introduces more than ten characters at the beginning. As a result, the first few chapters were puzzling and made it really difficult for me to identify which of the characters are vampires or humans. Sometimes in conversations, characters who haven’t been given any details just appear; therefore, I couldn’t enjoy the first few chapters because there was no focus. The author should also give each chapter a name so that readers can anticipate what is going to happen. Additionally, the characters swear a lot and that makes it difficult to enjoy. The swear words are harsh and distracting. Other than that, this book would still appeal to teenagers who love fantasy.
Finally, I would like to say that I don’t feel this book is right for me, but many people might LOVE it. So why not try it? This could turn out to be your favourite book!
Reviewed by Isabella Z.