Series: Rebel Belle

I had a noble cause, all right. But it wasn’t Grove Academy. It was David Stark.

Well….this was quite exceptional! I was merely perusing my feed last week and then all of a sudden came multiple positive reviews for this book. I have been seeing nothing but good things about this story so I figured I’d see what all the fuss was about-and I was more than pleasantly surprised. So many books these days take themselves too seriously and come across as pompous or as if they are trying too hard. It was refreshing to read a book that had both humor and spunk but didn’t portray an heir of cheesiness….I do so loathe cheesiness.

I’d been found guilty of Unladylike Behavior, Nephew Endangerment, and, if the look she shot my boots was any indication, Improper Footwear.

I think my favorite thing about this story was most assuredly Harper’s narrative. She was witty, sarcastic, and fun. I loved how light the story felt even as everything came crashing down on her-she is the picture of perfection with her 4.0 GPA, popular and perfect boyfriend, acting as student body president, and….well…that’s just to name a few things she is involved in. One of the issues many people have when they are reading a book is how vain the main character is-but not once did I feel that Harper was annoying or overly into herself. She was aware of her social status and what she had to lose, but her inner monologue showed that she never took it for granted.

David’s grin slowly faded and his fingers fiddled with the edge of his T-shirt, pulling it up over his bicep a little. Since when did David Stark have biceps? How did you get any muscle tone when all you did was type and be annoying?

I really liked this about her and could identify with her when her life started to change into something she couldn’t recognize-After that one fateful night at the homecoming dance she’s been waiting so long to attend, nothing is ever the same when her school janitor passes his powers onto her. She and her boyfriend are spending even less time together, her grades are starting to slip and for once, things aren’t so cut and dry-All of a sudden she has to spend time with her sworn enemy-the ever annoying David Stark. Even worse?? Her new destiny is devoting her life to protect him…when all she has ever wanted to do was stab him because of the ridiculous articles he continuously writes about her.

“Don’t get me wrong, Mary Beth is…well, she’s not objectionable or anything, but she’s not…”
My hands were tight around the teacup, the heat radiating on my palms. “She’s not what?”
David tugged at his lapels again before leaning back in his chair. “You.”

This is where the ‘love triangle’ came in. Harper has the guy she’s always wanted. They are perfect together and he is both sweet and kind to her. But what happens when she starts to get even busier and has even less time to spend with him? And how will she explain her new-found appreciation and excessive amount of time spent with David Stark? And what’s worse-what will she do when she realizes that spending time with David isn’t so bad, but in fact fun and like they should have always been friends? She starts to feel butterflies when they are in close proximity whereas her boyfriend doesn’t stir up the emotions he once used to. Maybe they really didn’t ever have that much in common…whereas David and she have been circling each other since Kindergarten through vicious articles, snarky attitudes, and a nasty rivalry that everyone else sees as an underlying attraction. I never really cared for her current boyfriend-it was obvious the author was leading up to something between David and Harper, and I found myself continuously rooting against her guy. He wasn’t mean per se, and he wasn’t whiny, but he definitely was annoying and I could never connect with him. In the end, I did feel bad for him because he does truly love Harper. I wish these authors didn’t feel the need for love triangles so often, but I know life isn’t always perfect and we don’t always get to choose our paths-life throws you unexpected curve balls at every turn and Harper was handling it the best she could.

The letter opener was near the door, so I picked up the nearest weapon I could lay hands on: a stapler.
I lifted it, going for “menacing.” I admit it lacked a certain elegance, but hey. It was worth a shot.
David placed his hand on my arm and pushed it back down.
“What?”
“Just…that’s embarrassing for all of us,” he replied.

I don’t think there was anything wrong with this story except that maybe I would be sitting there reading, and I’d get excited about what could possibly happen in the current scene and then it just wouldn’t happen….sure, that’s part of the surprise, but I still had a level of excitement I was wanting to reach and when the scene didn’t quite reach that far, I did feel a tiny pang of disappointment.

“I was bringing this by to say sorry for yesterday. To both of you,” I added as Saylor moved forward. “You know, for the…the car driving and the recklessness, and the-the grabbing…”
With my free hand I started making this clutching gesture. I was talking about grabbing David’s shirt, but it looked like I was milking a cow.
Or worse.

Overall a really fun, quirky, and action-packed debutante read. I loved the southern drawl and the feeling of a tight-knit community with zaney aunts and an underhanded sense of danger. I enjoyed almost every bit of this story and can’t wait for book two!

Synopsis:

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:

This book was just what I needed! It seems like the last few books I’ve read are overly emotional or had me holding my breath because I was scared for what was going to come next. I was in need of an easy read that was going to make me giggle and smile and that’s exactly what Rebel Belle gave me! While I definitely didn’t feel everything the main character felt – such as being nervous during times of danger – it didn’t bother me. Usually that is a huge sign implying I’m not a fan of the book because I’m not connecting with the main character but that was not the case in this book. Rebel Belle was so entertaining, constantly had me smirking, Harper and David were great characters and I liked how the story progressed, so the fact that I didn’t connect with Harper didn’t bother me in the least!

All superheroes have origin stories, like how Bruce Wayne’s parents get killed and he goes to Tibet or whatever, and Superman is an alien, and Spider-Man had that radioactive spider. Me? I kissed a janitor in the school bathroom.

I adored Harper Jane Prince. Watching the events unfold through Harper’s eyes is a blast and amusing. She reminded me so much of Cher from Clueless and that made me like her that much more. Harper is a little obsessed with her image – making sure she looks super cute each day, getting great grades, dating the hottest guy in school and being the head of almost every organization known to man. Then when the bathroom scene from the above quote happens all of her plans for her life get thrown up in the air and she is left struggling with how to proceed from there. She gets stuck spending more and more time with David Stark and that in and of itself is hilarious!

David scowled at me over the rims of his ridiculous hipster glasses – the kind with the thick black rims. I hate those. I mean, it’s the twenty-first century. There are fashionable options for eyewear.

David Stark is the nerdy but kinda hot guy. His attire was entertaining to visualize and he is so sweet, innocent and a tad bit bratty that you don’t know if you want to pinch his cheeks or kick him upside the head. He is insanely smart and he’s constantly giving Harper a run for her money to become Valedictorian. Those aren’t the only strikes he has against him. He seems to know how to get under Harper’s skin and it doesn’t help that the two of them have been bickering since Kindergarten. They had this innate way to make me feel like a High Schooler all over again and that I was knee-deep in the middle of their drama.

I didn’t knee him in the groin, although I didn’t rule that move out. Instead I…ugh, this is so embarrassing. I head-butted him. I know, like a soccer hooligan or something.

The other characters in the book either created a meh, like or hate emotion from me. MB was one of those girls that you just love to hate. That girl drove me crazy and unfortunately we’ll probably be seeing more of her in the future books. Overall, I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. It was such a cute, sweet, easy read and I enjoyed being in Harper’s life.  While I originally thought I’d continue the series, not connecting with Harper has made me second guess that decision.  I think I’ll pass on finishing the remaining books on Rebel Belle but I hope you enjoy them if you continue on!