Rebel Belle

Summary: Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper’s destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can’t get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she’s charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper’s least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David’s own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y’all beg for more.

 

Review: 4 stars

This was such entertaining book to read. It is told from the point of you Harper and it’s full of her funny, Southern belle personality. I thought this book would be superficial, and then I wouldn’t like it. But rather than superficial, Harper has a strong type-A personality and is driven by ambition. She is a perfectionist, not a bimbo, which makes for a much more enjoyable character to read about.

The plot was pretty cool. Unlike most books in the fantasy genre, for once the main character was more of a sidekick, which was actually neat dynamic. The pacing was good, a lot of the novel really focused on character development. The characters were not just likable, but lovable. They were really well developed and I grew to love them so much. My favorite relationship is between Bee and Harper. I would love to have a best friend like Bee, she is so loyal and understanding.

The writing was cute and funny. It felt like a Southern novel, with the way the characters acted in some of the things that they did. Rachel Hawkins made the setting feel very authentic with her writing. A lot of times I read historical fiction by young adult authors and they struggle with capturing the time period or setting, but Rachel Hawkins was able to accomplish this feat.

Even though a new relationship was developing while Harper still had a boyfriend, no lines were crossed. This didn’t feel like a cheating book, it felt like Harper was figuring out her emotions. The whole book exceeded my expectations in so many ways. It was such a fun read, I would love to continue the series.