Rebel Belle

Rachel Hawkins' Rebel Belle is the first book in the series of the same name.

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.

The Breakdown:
1. Hawkins described this book as Terminator meets Legally Blonde, which is a surprisingly accurate description.  Harper is quite the embodiment of a traditional Southern Belle, who just happens to have amazing fighting skills. I loved the quirky small Southern town stuff, and the bit of mythology thrown into the mix.

2. Harper is an over-achiever who is determined to make her school a better place.  She definitely has some serious insecurities that she tries to hide from the world, most of which stem from her sister's death.  Her sister's death is the elephant in the room that everyone is so desperately trying to ignore.  It will be interesting to see if Hawkins expands more on that in the next books.  Harper, while thrown into the role of Paladin, is determined not to let it ruin her plans, but at the same time do her best at the job.

3. David is an interesting character.  He strangely seems out to get Harper, at the beginning, but at the same time he does some really nice things for her.  I really liked his strange sense of style.  He and Harper have some serious thin line between love and hate chemistry going on.  I cannot wait to see how this all works out for them.

4. I really liked the supporting characters in this book.  Bee, Harper's best friend, is funny and loyal, and always looking out for her friend.  Ryan, Harper's boyfriend, is sweet and cute, and will definitely be playing an important role in the rest of the series.  Saylor, David's aunt, is protective and loving of him, and has some very interesting secrets of her own.

5.  The ending of this book packed quite the punch.  I did not see a lot of that coming.  I interested to see how those events will affect the relationships and progress of the story in the next book.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read