Belle Morte (Belle Morte #1)

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.)