Rebel Belle Hardcover – April 8, 2014

This review originally appeared on herestohappyendings.com.Rebel Belle is one of those books that have been on my "to read" list for a really long time, and no matter how many times I had planned to pick up a copy and read it, something always came up and I never got around to it. Now that I've read it, however, I'm kind of mad at myself for taking so long.Rebel Belle is a light, fun read, filled with fantasy elements, high school drama, and a sweet romance that makes you weak in the knees. There aren't really any deep elements here - Rebel Belle doesn't add any difficult story lines - rather, it stays on track with being a very fluffy read. I see a lot of people were a little put off because of that, but honestly, I think that's what was so amazingly charming about the book - it stayed true to itself and was just downright fun. Since this is what I was actually expecting (and hoping for), I wasn't disappointed in the slightest. To be honest, it was an addicting read that I couldn't put down until I had finished it.Rebel Belle starts off at Harper Price's homecoming dance, where we meet her, her boyfriend Ryan, her best friend, Bee, and Bee's boyfriend, Brandon. The four of them are best friends, and this homecoming dance is where Harper (who pretty much excels at everything she does and is the head of a good number of school clubs and organizations) is a shoo-in for homecoming queen. However, things don't go as planned, when a simple trip to the bathroom to apply some lip gloss turns into an event that will change her life forever.When Harper discovers she has superpowers - powers such as super strength and accuracy - she also discovers what she is supposed to be doing with those powers. The event in the bathroom at homecoming have changed Harper into a Paladin - essentially a protector - and when she finds out who she is destined to protect, she's none too pleased.She's supposed to be protecting David Stark - her enemy since childhood. Harper and David have essentially been at each other's throats for years now - and they can't stand each other long enough to even be in the same room together for five minutes, let alone spend the rest of their lives bound together. But David is an Oracle, and since Harper is his new Paladin, the two of them are going to have to figure out how to get along once and for all.Rebel Belle is pretty predictable as far as the relationship aspect of the book goes - but it isn't something that will ruin the reading experience. I found myself spending the entire book just waiting for it, and I wasn't disappointed, either. It was definitely one of my favorite parts about the book (alongside the magic and the ass-kicking heroine). However, when it comes down to the whole fantasy/magic parts of the book - well, it gets a little crazy, and incredibly fun.Which brings me to the characters in the book: I loved them all. Harper was fantastic - she was definitely bad-ass - from the very first scene in the bathroom where she obtained her powers to the last part of the book, she knows how to take care of business, and I love that about her. She just does what she needs to do, and doesn't wait for someone to come to her rescue. Also, she knows she's a dramatic southern belle type (who has the annoying habit of having to be perfect at everything), so it just adds more fun to the story. Even the supporting characters, like Harper's best friend Bee, are interesting and well written. I love seeing supporting characters who actually have personality, instead of just being your "typical YA best friend" or "typical YA boyfriend" type. They all stood out, which really added a lot more to the novel.If you haven't read the series yet, it's a great time to pick up the first book and give it a go, since the final installment will be releasing soon! If you're in the mood for a light-hearted and fun read, let Rebel Belle be one that you add to your list! I'm so glad I finally bought this one, and I'm incredibly addicted to the series now.

You might not know this about me, but I’m actually not a huge girly girl. I don’t really like pink, I don’t wear makeup, I wouldn’t dream of casually wearing heels, and I think beauty pageants are just ridiculous. Instead, I usually rock jeans and a nerdy t-shirt, spend my time reading fantasy books or gaming with my guy friends, and I swear worse than my sixteen year old brother. So just looking at this cover had me a little hesitant, and when I read the summary, I was ready to chuck this book in the fire. But, through the sheer power of will and the overwhelming fear of being murdered by my reader friends if I didn’t finish this book, I started the first page. And didn’t put the book down once. Yeah, you heard me. I busted this book in a few hours, finishing at about one in the morning, very alarmed to see it was that late because I hadn’t even noticed the time passing. I liked this book. I liked this book with it’s pink cover and perky heroine and silly dresses and lighthearted magic stuff. It was actually kind of… cute.In Rebel Belle, we meet Harper, the sort of girl that I probably would have avoided in high school. She’s head of practically every club or leadership related thing in the school, she says cutesy little things instead of swear words, she spent over a thousand dollars on her Homecoming dress and she keeps her lips perfectly glossed at all times. Right off, I did not like Harper one bit. But as the pages flew by, she started to grow on me. Under that perfect, perky exterior, Harper had a tough, loyal, fun side to her that I adored. She ends up getting super Paladin powers from her janitor, and suddenly she can kick ass. Like, really kick ass. Like, she stabbed someone in the throat with her heel. Suddenly, girly shoes became a lot more interesting to me. She was fierce and strong and confident, and I love how self sufficient she was. This girl doesn’t need anyone, and I loved it. Harper actually had more layers than I expected, an unending arsenal of witty comebacks, and a whole lot of spunk.Then we meet David, the boy that Harper is supposed to protect with her new-found powers. Because he may or may not be very very special. The only problem is, they absolutely despise each other. I mean, they hate each other with a fiery passion. David is the hipster guy that wears corduroy pants and writes stories for the school newspaper, occasionally pointing out bad things about Harper, which is unacceptable. But when they are forced to work together, she realizes that David might not be so bad after all. I adored David. Let’s just say that it takes a special kind of guy to deal with Harper. And he is such a cutie, I almost couldn’t handle it. Did I mention that he likes Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings and probably a plethora of other adorable nerdy things? Cue the wistful sighing. Anyways, David has some secrets of his own, but most importantly, under those layers of v-necks and striped sweaters, he has a big heart of gold.One of the only problems I had with this book was the big fat love-triangle that was determined to drag itself out through the whole book. Harper of course, starts to deal with some questionable feelings about David, all while she is dating the most perfect boyfriend possible, Ryan. And Ryan is a good guy and a pretty awesome boyfriend, I’ll give him that. The things is, as far as love triangles go, this is probably the type that I find to be the most acceptable. Where the girl has a steady boyfriend then meets the new guy and starts to like him. That’s an okay thing to happen and a lot less annoying then two guys suddenly taking an interest in a girl and fighting to the death over her. No thanks. The problem in this book though was that it just went on and on. And I get that Harper has this weird thing with having to be the best and keeping things perfect, so possibly not liking her perfect boyfriend is scary and all, but she should have dropped him from like page one. Watching her run back and forth between the two of them got frustrating after like the first ten times it happened.As far as the plot goes, it was really cutesy and fun. Rachel Hawkins really has a way of making her books just an enjoyable, lighthearted read while still making you care about the characters and I love it. Since I adored the characters and their interactions, it made the book a million times better. The only problem was that not a whole lot really happens. The beginning took right off with Harper getting her powers and killing a guy, then finding out what all she could do and a few things including a car chase. I mean, it was a great start and it really draws you in. But then, things start to slow down. Now I obviously loved this book and raced through it, but once I was done, there was kind of that moment where I looked back and realized not a whole lot actually happened. Most of the book is just character interaction and trying to solve a few mysteries and a few bad guys trying to do bad stuff, but not a whole lot besides that.Also, the whole Paladin, while original, was a little lacking. I enjoyed it just because it was a new thing I’d never read about, but there just wasn’t really anything about it to make it unique or memorable. Basically, Harper being a Paladin just meant that she has super fighting skills now and a strong urge to protect David from harm. So while I did like the magic elements in this book, everything seemed kind of mashed together with no clear connection. We are given some back-story to the whole Paladin thing, but it wasn’t really a strong mythology and seemed a little discombobulated. But by the end of this book, it feels like there are still lots of things that Harper and David don’t know yet, so maybe we will get more explanations in the next book, and hopefully it can bring the mythology together a bit better.The thing about this book though is that despite the few things that I didn’t like, I still had a great time reading this book. I was giggling and cheering and covering my eyes at the embarrassing parts. I loved Harper and David and their friends and the little Southern town they live in and all the people in it. This book is definitely a cutesy book, but it still won me over purely because it is so cute and fun. Honestly, if you have any girly bone in your body, something about this book will probably appeal to you, as long as you can deal with the few technical issues.