From Goodreads:
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 favourite 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.
I thoroughly enjoyed Rebel Belle – it took me back to the days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, however wasn’t as punchy (pun intended). The subject matter is great, as is the mythology, but the characters felt a little underdeveloped and cheesy for me.
Harper as a bad-ass heroine, is at first, a great premise, being a superficial girly-girl. Her character goes through some development in this novel, but it did not ring true for me. There was something missing. It felt like the reader (and Harper) were being led through the story and didn’t let her organically grow and choose her path through the plot. If you have read Anna Dressed on Blood by Kendare Blake, it is similar, but isn’t executed in a better fashion.
There is some witty dialogue, but wasn’t laugh-out-loud for me, but does keep your interest and drive the story forward. Much of this book is cliché, however it redeems itself on pure unadulterated entertainment. It’s fun, simple and tells an interesting story. The heroine is a little different to the plethora of normal-girl-turned-chosen-one. Harper is a mean girl who lucked into her predicament.
The love interest of David Stark – though annoying at times – he’s such a big nerd – and that worked for me. I lurve geeky, nerdy guys!
There is a great amount of predictability with Rebel Belle, it very much mirrors an after-school special. Thankfully the pace moves quickly and we don’t get bogged down with insignificant or longwinded narration. I will say the style felt a little abrupt and immature, and I would have liked to have seen some information left out for the reader to discover to create more interest.
I’d recommend Rebel Belle for a great, light quick read – perfect for a girls night in…
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Casey Carlisle 