Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies's Reviews > Rebel Belle
Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle, #1)
by
![](https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1397017072ra/9219399.gif)
This was not a bad book by any means. I absolutely adored the main character, the relationships and the friendships were wonderfully written, the high school kids were just plain cute. But seriously, there was no fucking point to the love triangle, and I wanted to bash my head in every time the WONDERFUL BESTEST BOYFRIEND EVER Ryan clashed with BROODING HIPSTER ASSHOLE (with a heart of gold) David.
Not since Unearthly has a love triangle been so dragged out to agonizing nonresolution until the very fucking end. There was no fucking point to this love triangle. Why did it need a love triangle? Why could she not protect one guy and be his friend while remaining with her current boyfriend?! Why?!
If you don't mind the love triangle, I would recommend this book, because it was seriously sweet, as in the "I just ate a half pound of French chocolate truffles, but who cares, bitches, they're TRUFFLES!" sort of sweet. It was the good kind of sweetness. This book is so lighthearted and cute. But that love triangle, man!
The Summary:
Harper Jane Price, Southern Belle extraordinaire, is perfect. She has a great life (let's not talk about her dead sister), a loving, wonderful boyfriend Ryan, fantastic friends, adoring parents, and a bright future.
Southern Belles are beautiful on the surface, sure, but what you might fail to notice upon first glance is that they have a backbone made of steel. Harper is one of those "I don't know how she does it" type of gal. Great grades, school president, popular, admired. Until the night it all starts to unravel. Until the night she forgot her lipgloss at the homecoming dance. Because then she had to borrow her friend's lip gloss. Because she stepped into the bathroom, only to encounter her school janitor, Mr. Hall, bloody and battered.
So crap, what the fuck is all this?! Before he died, Mr. Hall muttered something about a "Pal," and some vague shit about protection. After Googling this shit, Harper theorizes that the "Pal" means Paladin (Thank you, World of Warcraft, really!). So the only thing Harper has to figure out now is who she's meant to protect.
The Premise: The Paladin thing is just...strange. This is pretty original, in that I've rarely seen the concept of the Paladin used, and to be honest...it doesn't quite work. It's just a protector, nothing more. Someone assigned to protect a person, and the concept was not convincing. The mythology behind it wasn't well-drawn enough to be truly attractive, and overall, I just found the concept rather baffling. This book completely lacks Hex Hall's magic in that sense. It is an urban fantasy that's too light on the fantasy, with almost no relevant action at all.
Harper: She is just a fabulous narrator.
![](https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1397017072ra/9219400.gif)
The quintessential Steel Magnolia. She reminds me a little bit of Mac in the Fever series. Before you go running away, I have to make a case for Harper. She is young, she is 17, and she is so utterly competent. Think of Harper as Mac 4.0. Harper has none of Mac's immaturity, on the contrary, Harper is astoundingly capable. She is cheerleader, class president, Homecoming organizer, she's in the Future Business Leaders of America, she's got great grades, she's got a gentle nature, she holds it all together. Most of it had to do with the fact that she's trying to get over her sister's death. Harper organizes away her grief with perfection. So much that her parents worry about her.
THE MOTHEREFFING LOVE TRIANGLE:![](https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1397017072ra/9219401.gif)
Harper has a boyfriend, Ryan, and he is absolutely perfect. Handsome, smart, he has supported her throughout her family tragedy. He has stood by her while she joins 1000000 school committees, waiting patiently for her to make time for him. She's been in love with Ryan since 3rd grade, and it took her 6 years to get him. They've been dating for a couple of years, and Ryan is an absolute darling. He is an utter gentleman.
And Harper adores him. Until David Stark steps into the picture.
She and David have known each other since they were children, too, it's a small Southern town, y'all. Harper and David have been each others' nemesis their entire lives, since the cradle, almost.
by
![4527753](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p2/4527753.jpg)
Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies's review
bookshelves: action, awesome-guy, high-school, kick-ass-heroine, romance, ya
Mar 12, 2014
bookshelves: action, awesome-guy, high-school, kick-ass-heroine, romance, ya
Once again, my chest tightened, and there was that weird fluttering sensation that was like butterflies. But it couldn’t be butterflies. I did not have butterflies over David Stark.25% of the way in, I was sure I would give this book a 4, but I ended up wanting to fling this book at Harper's head. This book may be really, really cute, but overall, it's just an overextended love triangle without much of a plot. Nothing of importance happens in this book.
![](https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1397017072ra/9219399.gif)
This was not a bad book by any means. I absolutely adored the main character, the relationships and the friendships were wonderfully written, the high school kids were just plain cute. But seriously, there was no fucking point to the love triangle, and I wanted to bash my head in every time the WONDERFUL BESTEST BOYFRIEND EVER Ryan clashed with BROODING HIPSTER ASSHOLE (with a heart of gold) David.
Not since Unearthly has a love triangle been so dragged out to agonizing nonresolution until the very fucking end. There was no fucking point to this love triangle. Why did it need a love triangle? Why could she not protect one guy and be his friend while remaining with her current boyfriend?! Why?!
If you don't mind the love triangle, I would recommend this book, because it was seriously sweet, as in the "I just ate a half pound of French chocolate truffles, but who cares, bitches, they're TRUFFLES!" sort of sweet. It was the good kind of sweetness. This book is so lighthearted and cute. But that love triangle, man!
The Summary:
“So, Harper Jane Price. Are you ready to accept your destiny?”It's silly, but if Harper hadn't forgotten her lip gloss, this never would have happened.
Harper Jane Price, Southern Belle extraordinaire, is perfect. She has a great life (let's not talk about her dead sister), a loving, wonderful boyfriend Ryan, fantastic friends, adoring parents, and a bright future.
Southern Belles are beautiful on the surface, sure, but what you might fail to notice upon first glance is that they have a backbone made of steel. Harper is one of those "I don't know how she does it" type of gal. Great grades, school president, popular, admired. Until the night it all starts to unravel. Until the night she forgot her lipgloss at the homecoming dance. Because then she had to borrow her friend's lip gloss. Because she stepped into the bathroom, only to encounter her school janitor, Mr. Hall, bloody and battered.
His breath was coming out in short gasps, and there was a dark red stain spreading across his expansive belly. There was no doubt in my mind that he was dying.Before dying, Mr. Hall breathes an ice-cold breath of air into Harper's lungs (ew), and whispers to her...
“Look after him, okay?” he said, his eyes looking glazed again. “Make sure he’s...he’s safe.”WTF?! So there's Harper, in her Homecoming outfit (which cost over $1k), hovering over a dead man. SHIT. And to make it worse, at that moment, her history teacher barges in. Not only does he insult her...
“I really can’t think of a worse choice,” he said, still smiling, “than the bimbo who wrote a paper on the history of shoes for my class.”But he tries to kill her!! He doesn't exactly succeed, because somehow Harper finds the strength in herself to kick his ass.
The sword was still poised in the air when I came to an abrupt stop and sunk the heel into his throat, right under his jaw.He really shouldn't have called her a bimbo.
So crap, what the fuck is all this?! Before he died, Mr. Hall muttered something about a "Pal," and some vague shit about protection. After Googling this shit, Harper theorizes that the "Pal" means Paladin (Thank you, World of Warcraft, really!). So the only thing Harper has to figure out now is who she's meant to protect.
Mr. Hall hadn’t been a superhero. He’d been a Paladin, and that was . . . different, right? And what—or who—had been his noble cause?She'll figure it out eventually. Meanwhile, there's school to deal with. Not to mention asshole hipster extraordinaire David Stark. Everyone has a thorn in their life, and David Stark is Harper's pain in the ass. He's the only skinny-jean wearing hipster in the entire school, and ever since childhood, David's mission has been to take Harper down. Currently, he's on the school paper, writing vicious articles about her, and this latest one is the last fucking straw.
What was mine?
Under the picture of me and Bee, there was a smaller caption: Homecoming Queen misses crowning under mysterious circumstances. My eyes darted over the rest of the article as my heart started pounding. “...hiding in the boys’ room...violently ill...tension between the ‘Queen Bee’ and her underling, Bee Franklin...this reporter...”Harper Price is PISSED, and she's going to murder that asshole. Except she can't.
Whatever the reason, my right hand shot up to slap David Stark across the face.Well, fuck. It turns out that Harper is a Paladin chosen to protect David. And as much as she hates him, she can't hurt him. In fact, she has to protect him with her life. What will become of Harper's life? Her relationship with her friends, her wonderful boyfriend? Is she prepared to give it all up to protect David?
Half an inch from David’s cheek, my hand stopped in midair. And it wasn’t because I had some crisis of conscience, either. It was like my hand hit an invisible wall right by his head.
I withdrew my hand. “No, thank you.”Well, we all know that it's not that simple. But Harper already has so much on her plate. How is she going to deal with David...while trying to maintain her relationship with Ryan?!
Saylor and David both stared.
“I appreciate your offer very much,” I continued. “But I’m afraid I have to refuse.”
“But you’re always arguing with him. Or talking about him. Or competing with him. And sometimes I wonder how you can be so obsessed with someone you supposedly hate.”And Ryan is so understanding. He's trying to understand WHY she's spending so much time away from him. Harper is so busy sneaking around with David talking about being a Paladin that she just doesn't have any time for the perfect Ryan anymore. And Ryan really is perfect.
“I love you,” he said at last. “You know that. But it’s...it’s like we’re speaking two different languages most of the time. Harper.” He tugged on my hand. “If there’s something going on with you, you can tell me, okay?”Even as he suspects something's going on between David and his girlfriend...
“You guys seemed pretty...intense yesterday,” Ryan said, dropping my hand.THAT'S THE ENTIRE FUCKING BOOK.
“Yeah, we were intensely arguing over him writing that stupid article,” I said even as I had a sudden vision of me and David, laughing in his car. Hugging. God, we had hugged.
The Premise: The Paladin thing is just...strange. This is pretty original, in that I've rarely seen the concept of the Paladin used, and to be honest...it doesn't quite work. It's just a protector, nothing more. Someone assigned to protect a person, and the concept was not convincing. The mythology behind it wasn't well-drawn enough to be truly attractive, and overall, I just found the concept rather baffling. This book completely lacks Hex Hall's magic in that sense. It is an urban fantasy that's too light on the fantasy, with almost no relevant action at all.
Harper: She is just a fabulous narrator.
![](https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1397017072ra/9219400.gif)
The quintessential Steel Magnolia. She reminds me a little bit of Mac in the Fever series. Before you go running away, I have to make a case for Harper. She is young, she is 17, and she is so utterly competent. Think of Harper as Mac 4.0. Harper has none of Mac's immaturity, on the contrary, Harper is astoundingly capable. She is cheerleader, class president, Homecoming organizer, she's in the Future Business Leaders of America, she's got great grades, she's got a gentle nature, she holds it all together. Most of it had to do with the fact that she's trying to get over her sister's death. Harper organizes away her grief with perfection. So much that her parents worry about her.
And the next time I did school stuff in the middle of the night, I just did it in my closet with the door locked. Honestly, what is wrong with this country when striving for excellence means you need antidepressants?I absolutely loved Harper. She is never judgmental, she is a Southern Belle with none of the annoying characteristics, and honestly, I hate to generalize, but if you've got an Y chromosome, you're probably not going to like this book because Harper is so adorably girly.
THE MOTHEREFFING LOVE TRIANGLE:
Ryan was a good guy. He always had been.
![](https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1397017072ra/9219401.gif)
Harper has a boyfriend, Ryan, and he is absolutely perfect. Handsome, smart, he has supported her throughout her family tragedy. He has stood by her while she joins 1000000 school committees, waiting patiently for her to make time for him. She's been in love with Ryan since 3rd grade, and it took her 6 years to get him. They've been dating for a couple of years, and Ryan is an absolute darling. He is an utter gentleman.
He lowered his head and kissed me, albeit pretty chastely. PDA is vile, and Ryan, being my Perfect Boyfriend, knows how I feel about it.He gets along with her friends.
“Ladies,” Ryan said, nodding at Amanda, Abigail, and Mary Beth. “Let me guess. Y’all are...plotting world domination?”Her parents adore him. He truly is a wonderful guy. He's concerned about her, about all the pressures Harper places on herself.
“No,” Amanda told him, deadly serious. “We’re talking about Cotillion.”
“Ah, world domination, Cotillion. Same difference,” Ryan replied with an easy grin, and this time, all three girls giggled, even Amanda.
And Harper adores him. Until David Stark steps into the picture.
She and David have known each other since they were children, too, it's a small Southern town, y'all. Harper and David have been each others' nemesis their entire lives, since the cradle, almost.
He and I had loathed each other since kindergarten. Heck, even before that. Mom says he’s the only baby I ever bit in daycare.It followed through to middle school.
“I’m sure you’d hate to miss everyone’s felicitations.”He's taken to writing vicious articles attacking her leadership in school, and implying that she was pregnant. But the instant Harper gets "assigned" to protect him...suddenly, something fucking changes!
David had beaten me in the final round of our sixth-grade spelling bee with that word and now, all these years later, he still tried to drop it into conversation whenever he could.
For one horrifying second, I thought he was going to kiss me. I wasn’t really sure how I’d react if he did.AND SO THE APOCALYPSE BEGINS. Who will it be? Will it be Ryan, lovely boyfriend Ryan who's waiting patiently on the side while Harper gets all her school shit and secret Paladin shit together? Or will it be David?!
But it was only a hug. And if I maybe spent a second or two thinking that he actually smelled really nice, or that he was much more solid than he appeared, so what?
Still, I had to admit, yellow was a good color on him. It brought out the gold in his hair, and—SO WHO WILL SHE MOTHERFUCKING CHOOSE?! Wonderful, neglected Ryan, or asshole-with-a-heart David? And will she ever stop being a motherfucking terrible girlfriend?!
I stopped myself. The gold in his hair? Since when did I care about David.
“But, God, Harper, sometimes I feel like your whole life is a checklist, and I am way down at the bottom. And, you know, every once in awhile, you throw me a bone to keep me happy.”
I flinched at that, hard. Not only because it was insulting, but because it was way too close to the truth.
![](https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1397017072ra/9219402.gif)
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Reading Progress
March 12, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
March 12, 2014
– Shelved
April 8, 2014
–
Started Reading
April 8, 2014
–
0.29%
"Looking back, none of this would have happened if I’d brought lip gloss the night of the Homecoming Dance."
page
1
April 8, 2014
–
1.45%
"“I really hope your tastes get cheaper if we get married.”
Holy crap, a high school guy just brought up marriage in a joking manner without sounding like a girl."
page
5
Holy crap, a high school guy just brought up marriage in a joking manner without sounding like a girl."
April 8, 2014
–
1.74%
"“I just mean . . . Mary Beth, Cotillion is a lot more than just wearing a white dress and dancing with your dad. It’s tradition. It’s when we make the transition from girls to women. It’s . . . important.”
Ok, I'm pretty sure that if you're a guy, you're not going to like this book. But so far for me, this is pretty freaking adorable."
page
6
Ok, I'm pretty sure that if you're a guy, you're not going to like this book. But so far for me, this is pretty freaking adorable."
April 8, 2014
– Shelved as:
action
April 8, 2014
– Shelved as:
awesome-guy
April 8, 2014
– Shelved as:
high-school
April 8, 2014
– Shelved as:
kick-ass-heroine
April 8, 2014
– Shelved as:
romance
April 8, 2014
– Shelved as:
ya
April 8, 2014
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 76 (76 new)
message 1:
by
Evin
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Apr 08, 2014 08:09PM
![Evin](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1625519422p1/4679622.jpg)
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![Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p1/4527753.jpg)
Danielle: I swear I've hardly read a triangle this bad.
![Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p1/4527753.jpg)
Both. There was no reason for a love triangle. She had a truly wonderful boyfriend.
![Natalia](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1376311442p1/4559407.jpg)
P.S. I'm all for nice guys in real life, but I love me some *asshole-with-a-heart* in fantasy ;)
![Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p1/4527753.jpg)
P.S. I'm all for nice guys in real life, but I love me some *asshole-with-a-heart* in fantasy ;)"
Oh, even worse than Falco/Luca. Luca was barely in the picture in book 1. Ryan was constantly there from the beginning in this book.
![E. Mellyberry](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1571970885p1/7558779.jpg)
Cool review btw ;)
![Danielle (Love at First Page)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1578285312p1/1312450.jpg)
I ask this about nearly every love triangle - or some variation. smh.
So she doesn't make a choice at the end?
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
The heroine sounds like someone I might have liked!
![Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p1/4527753.jpg)
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
I dated two different asshole-Mikes. I can still read Mikes, but I think of them as assholes before I even "meet" them, so they have to work hard to make me like them.
![Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p1/4527753.jpg)
"Joe."
MEEEEEEEEEEEH. XP
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
Mine ended up being Jeremy though, which I liked, so that was cool enough.
I once saw a guy at a Walmart that had the Edward-Cullen-Bella-Swan effect on me. Like, time slowed down, a gentle breeze appeared out of nowhere, somewhere angels were strumming invisible harps, and I was struck stupid by how attractive he was. Only time in my life it ever happened, and of course I never saw him again, but it was memorable all the same! And since I never saw him again, I could imagine any name I wanted belonged to him. :D
![Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1656046803p1/2190064.jpg)
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
Hahahahaha, oh man. That sounds awesome. I would have had a crush on him from the accent alone. There are never any people with cool accents around here.
![Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1656046803p1/2190064.jpg)
@Sam: Haha. I meet tons of cool people with fun accents. One of my best friends is from Germany and she has such a cute accent. She knows a lot about Norse mythology too. :D
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
That's so much fun. I love accents. I was always so jealous of people on TV who had cool accents. Hell, I still get excited over characters with accents. Glee had an Irish guy on it a season or two ago and every time he spoke, I broke into this huge grin.
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
People who write really atrocious books should all hire Irish accented readers for the audiobooks, it would help everyone involved tremendously.
message 31:
by
Mairéad (is roaming the Undying Lands)
(last edited Apr 09, 2014 07:30AM)
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![Mairéad (is roaming the Undying Lands)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1472748159p1/9184362.jpg)
Also, funny story, I knew a Ryan and a David back in grade 3 (then David moved away and Ryan stayed), only Ryan was the jerk and David was the good guy rofl. Shame...David was a really good friend to me and Ryan just lied constantly. EVEN jealous, when he realized that I liked David rofl. (he tried telling me that David was in love with my friend Sarah) Oh the stories I could tell... =_="
![Savina M.](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1389340668p1/27535698.jpg)
That last quote, however, describes me all too well.
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
Same! Actually, Ryans* are probably out for me, too, since that's my brother-in-law's name. This book and I have so many obstacles in our relationship, lol.
*with the probably obvious exception of Ryan Gosling. But I tend to only think of celebrities by their full name, so that's never an issue.
![Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p1/4527753.jpg)
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
I think it would also bum me out that Ryan was otherwise perfect until David appeared on the scene. I mean, I get it, that happens, but... I think I would have preferred for her to realize she wasn't feeling it with Ryan before a new guy appeared, so that it would seem less like new guy is the only reason she doesn't want to be with her otherwise perfect boyfriend.
![Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p1/4527753.jpg)
![Sam](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1442953278p1/9111390.jpg)
I mean, I don't even really consider it a love triangle if it's super half-ass though, and there's obviously no way she isn't picking a certain guy, but there's just a boyfriend she hasn't gotten around to dumping yet. Those don't count to me, there's no real competition. I need a little male rivalry to make a love triangle a love triangle in my book. In real life, I've never seen a love triangle without it, so that's my personal prerequisite. :)
![Tessa](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1464901004p1/8012677.jpg)
![Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1500999223p1/4527753.jpg)
Tess: I actually preferred Hex Hall to this, because at least there was no pointless love triangle to start with. The last book in HHS was just bad though but I still loved the first 2 ;)
Shelby: Thank you! You know I love my themed gifs :D
![Tessa](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1464901004p1/8012677.jpg)
I hated the second book in HHS, everything looked so forced and Sophie was such a weak unpleasant character :( .
![Jasmine](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1548531522p1/12113097.jpg)
![Dee](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_25x33-d79c46f9428d2aea1444d67c091766a6.png)
![Mike](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1470679918p1/7022024.jpg)
I think, depending on how it is presented, there is potential for a great premise but it doesn't sound like that happened.
Not another love triangle. I know it can be done, but I feel like almost every one I read is displeasing...especially when it's the whole plot of the story :/
![Joanette](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1396963818p1/6888660.jpg)
Ugh, sorry it didn't worked out for you :/