Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle, #1)

by Rachel Hawkins

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.

With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg for more.

“As surprising as it is delicious.”—BCCB, starred review 
 
“Fun with a twist of supernatural and Southern charm.” —VOYA

“The romance, coming-of-age aspects, and a well-drawn heroine with a crackling wit will lure in readers.” —Booklist

• ISBN10: 0147514355
• ISBN13: 9780147514356
• Publish Date: 3 March 2015 (first published 8 April 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Speak
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780147514356

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

I went into this a Hex Hall fan, so I was pretty excited. I found Harper to be quite amusing. I loved her dixie sensibilities. There was tons of witty banter, action, fun, and I found the mythology interesting. The plot twist at the end has my eyebrow arched, but it has me eager to read the next book to see where Hawkins goes with this.

[melanchalina]

Очень милая и забавная книга в стиле Рейчел Хокинс. Юмор и атмосфера, присущие автору чувствуются буквально в каждой строчке.

«Мятежная красотка» буквально глоток свежего воздуха, если вам нечего читать или надоели книги с великими спасителями мира, море пафоса и другое, то определенно советую вам эту новую серию Хокинс. Роман успешно сочетает романтику, экшн и юмор. На самом деле книга больше похожа на развлекательную комедию – картинка представляется так ярко, что так и хочется взять попкорн и устроиться поудобнее.

Герои очаровательны. Дэвид и Харпер нетипичные герои YA. Он, не накачанный супермачо, в которого влюблены все девушки (а он весь такой холодный, как айсберг в океааане), а она не серая мышка, которая не осознает своей неземной красоты, невиданного ума и тд. Они обычные ребята, живые и настоящие, со своими проблемами и увлечениями.

Какой-то кошмар. Пять минут назад меня заботило только, подойдет ли блеск к платью. Теперь я на полу в туалете держу за руку умирающего, а какой-то
псих ломится в дверь.

Харпер Прайс – королева школы. Она капитан чирлидерш, глава школьного совета, встречается с самым популярным парнем в школе, организует все школьные мероприятия и никогда не матерится. До того момента, как ни оказывается в центре странного сражения за свою жизнь. Сражения, после которого обнаруживает в себе новые, таинственные способности. Именно с этой переломной точки идеальный мир Харпер начинает рушиться на глазах.



Мне понравилось это. Харпер – была главной причиной, почему я осталась довольна книгой. Возможно, я просто устала от героинь-теней, которые ни во что себя не ставят. Возможно, мне надоело, что все они изначально были рожденными особенными, в то время как на месте Харпер Прайс мог оказаться свершено любой. Она не типичная героиня, она… девушка. Понимаете? Настоящая девушка, которая любит красивые наряды, ходить по магазинам, гулять со своим парнем и весело проводить время. Ей нравится держать все под контролем, лично заниматься всеми мероприятиями в школе.

Автор очень правильно и грамотно описал, как героиня старается свыкнуться со своим новым положением, как она старается удержать две свои жизни, ничего не теряя. Рейчел Хокинс показала, что даже блондка-болельщица может стать сильной героиней, способной надрать зад.




— Мы не умерли, — проговорил он, словно сам себе. — Почему мы не умерли?
Я улыбнулась и сжала его руку:
— Потому что я клевая.

Я согласна с тобой Харпер Прайс, ты действительно клевая. А также забавная.

Но не будем забывать о герое. В конце концов, Дэвид Старк тоже нетипичный герой. Он умник. Умник, который ведет школьную газету и вечно соревнуется с Харпер. А война берет начало чуть ли ни с детского сада. И он – Оракул, тот кого должна защищать Харпер, даже ценой своей жизни.



Не типичный сюжет (все таки оракулы и паладины встречаются в книгах пореже, чем нефилимы, вампиры и прочие твари ночные).

Нож валялся возле двери, пришлось взять ближайшее оружие: степлер. Я занесла его, ну, вроде угрожающе. Да, не очень-то изящно, но почему бы не попробовать? Однако Дэвид отвел мою руку вниз.
— Что такое?
— Неловко как-то, — ответил он.

В общем и кратко, читать было одно удовольствие, книгу буквально проглотила, даже тайком читала на работе. В романе отсутствует накал страстей, страшная драма и тд, но полна юмора, добра и вообще всего самого светлого. С удовольствием почитаю вторую.

Моя оценка: 8/10

[paperbackjedi]

Southern Belle debutantes, an annoyingly cute school newspaper reporter, and a giant magical destiny surround Harper Price. Poised as her high school’s fearless leader/It Girl, she so did not sign up for inheriting magical powers and taking on a dangerous mission to protect a guy she doesn’t even like– one that has made her life miserable since they were little. But this is what fate has in store for her and Harper’s not one take things lying down. She sets about trying to understand her new powers and her role in this totally bizarre prophecy that could end up endangering the entire world.

I enjoyed this book. I didn’t love it, but I had fun reading it. Harper is a very cool, very determined main character and she has a plan for everything… almost. Desperately trying to make up for the events of the past, she forces herself to aim for perfection in all things, from school to her romantic life to Cotillion. I liked her drive and her genuine struggle with being everything to everyone and the need to be perfect. I understood her and commiserated with her as she tried to juggle everything life threw at her without missing a beat. Sometimes she can come across as a little judgmental and superficial, which made me dislike her at different points in the novel, but overall, I could tell she really meant well. I wish she had a more thoughtful view about the world and the people around her living in it as opposed to being centered on her corner, but she was funny and hard working and had a lot of great character quirks (her penchant for not cursing being one of them). I appreciated and adored David Stark and his bafflement over Harper. I really liked how he was willing to take her for who she was and how he always worked to help and challenge her throughout the story. He was definitely a great counter balance character and I ended up falling a little in love with him because of it.

The story was engaging, I was psyched that she became a PALADIN because HOW COOL IS THAT? I played a Paladin in World of Warcraft and I hardly ever seen books about them so it was a different take on the who magical superpowers aspect and I appreciated how unique it was. I also like how, for the most part, she just went with it. At times, it did seem a little too easy for her, though, and while I think it’s awesome that she embraced her destiny, I would have liked to see her struggle with the actual physical aspects of it just a little because no one is just born a badass. I do like how she considered her future before anyone else’s when it came down to what she was going to do with her destiny; that was refreshing. There were also some very cute parts that made me smile and it was an overall lighthearted atmosphere the entire read.

The writing was very simple and sometimes it worked for me and sometimes it didn’t. It was an easy and quick read and while overall I had a good time, I was a little bored in a few places. Not with the main storyline though, with the side plots and some of the character development. Hawkins targets a general young adult audience, and sometimes it feels a little lazy with regard to dialogue and sentence structure and I even got a bit of a preachy vibe here and there which bothered me. But this could be because I’m used to reading books where the main characters feel a lot older than they are and Harper definitely feels young to me and while she’s not frivolous by any means, she is a bit short sighted in my opinion. The only characters we really spend a lot of time with are Harper, David, and Harper’s best friend Bee (who I loved so much because she seemed to really care about Harper and have a good handle on who she is and what she needs) and out of those characters, Harper was my least favorite.

It could just be that this book wasn’t really my jam because most of the people I know that have read it, loved it. All in all, I think it was good. Not great, not okay, just good. It’s light and fun and while I didn’t really adore it, I think it’s enjoyable for the most part and plan to read the rest of the series.

[Joséphine]

Initial thoughts: When I first started reading Rebel Belle, I couldn't decide if it was meant to be a book of parody. Things were funny and ridiculously over the top with a rather witty character. The more I read though, the more I became inclined to believe that this wasn't meant to be a work of parody — just a fantasy book in good jest. Bonus points for the down-to-earth nature of the characters and the presence of adults who actually enforced curfew. Somehow though, I didn't really see the point of the plot and despite the cliffhanger, I have no interest in continuing with the sequel. Read this if you're looking for humorous fantasy. There aren't enough of those.

[sarahjay]

I ADORED THIS SO MUCH. SEQUEL(S) PLEASE.

[catiebug]

Rachel Hawkins has done it again. Absolutely loved this book. Can't wait to get my hands on the next one.