Review: Rebel Belle by: Rachel Hawkins

Rebel Belle by: Rachel Hawkins (April 2014)

345 Pages

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy

Source: The Library

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | 

Goodreads 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.

My Review

Rebel Belle and I didn’t always see eye to eye. I was actually really annoyed when I first started reading it. I wouldn’t necessary say it’s the book’s fault that we got off on the wrong foot so much as I was expecting something different than what Rebel Belle ended up delivering. I was expecting a more serious story, I don’t know why I just did, but really Rebel Belle is more of a comedy than anything. Once I became accepting of this oh so very wonderful trait Rebel Belle had to offer I enjoyed the novel a great deal.

The main character, Harper, is always trying to be the best and is always trying to be polite and proper, but when she becomes a Paladin, an awesome ninja type guardian, her life starts becoming just a little more complex and difficult to manage. Although Harper can be annoying with her very high school demeanor and attitude it was hard not to like her, especially with her always hilarious commentary on her Paladin abilities and situations she finds herself in. I did however 100% sincerely enjoy David and his snarky adorableness that he brought to the story and Harper’s life.

As for the overall plot of Rebel Belle, it was unique and very strong. Not to mention that Rebel Belle has a lot of good full blown laughing fight scenes in it and the ending was fast paced and full of little twists. Basically, Rebel Belle may be a comedy, but it’s also full of some awesome action that just added to its quirky weird funny charm.

Don’t pass up Rebel Belle. Pick it up this summer for a book that is just too much fun to ignore. I wasn't a huge fan of Hawkins’ Hex Hall series, (which was good but not great for me), but I’m glad I read Rebel Belle. Therefore, if you had the same feelings as me about Hex Hall don’t let that stop you from giving Rebel Belle a chance. I'm glad I did.