Rebel Belle

Title: Rebel Belle | Author: Rachel Hawkins | Genre: Young Adult Fantasy | Rating: 4.5 Stars

Blurb

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.

Review

Rebel Belle has been one of those books on my TBR pile waiting for me to hurry up and choose it and I’m so glad I finally got round to reading it. This wasn’t my first experience with Rachel Hawkin’s work as I had read Hex Hall prior to this and I really enjoyed it therefore I knew I would have little to no problems getting into Rachel Hawkin’s form and writing style.

The only issue I felt which gives the book a 4.5 star rating for me is I found bits rather predictable, I could tell from an early stage that Harper and David would end up having feelings for one another and her relationship with Ryan was doomed. Although it didn’t stop me from rooting for Ryan as I felt him and Harper still had some chemistry together. As a whole I felt so much hate towards Mary Beth as she began to get close to him whilst sharing little looks and moments together, all the while I was mentally shouting ‘no, he’s with Harper back off’.

Whilst I felt hate towards Mary Beth [she’s not even that big a character within the book] I understand that other’s aren’t a fan of Harper’s character however I think she is simply misunderstood. She has all these extra activities because she wants to be successful but she expects so much from herself and her friends & family expect her to act and behave a certain way that there is a lot of pressure dangling on her shoulders. Rebel Belle is ultimately Harper’s journey to finding her true self whilst facing the task of keeping herself and David safe, throughout this she also is acknowledging aspects of her old life she needs to change.

Rebel Belle has been my reintroduction into Young Adult Fantasy Novels and i’m excited to read more from this series to see what happens next, I forgot how much love I felt for YA books. There’s no denying the bucket full of emotions Rebel Belle makes you feel as a reader, from heart stopping action to drama and sadness. Not to mention the emotions you experience from the character’s relationships and the tension between David and Harper.

I particularly loved this story because it shows a Hard Working Grade A student having her life flipped upside down and having to learn to become a protector. Harper must learn how to fight and ultimately kill those who wish to harm her and David. It’s the complete opposite to what she is usually like and of course a strong female heroine is always a plus.

Rebel Belle is a book which offers action, romance, comedy and depth. I mention depth because Rachel Hawkin’s provides such complex characters and situations and she makes sure to offer intimate details of their background and past experiences or she provides a history on the hidden mysteries of the dystopian world in which this is based. The novel is written in first person in the perspective of Harper therefore we experience her thoughts and feelings throughout the crazy events of the book.

Have you read Rebel Belle?

Let me know in the comments what you thought of it, I would love to discuss your reading experiences with it!

Useful Links

Goodreads – Rebel Belle Book Page | Goodreads – Author Page – Rachel Hawkins |  Rebel Belle – Paperback | Rebel Belle – Hardback