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Book Review: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

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GoodReads Summary:

Harper Price, and peerless Southern belle, order was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, information pills 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.

My Review:

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up this book except that I knew I really wanted to read it. Rachel Hawkins was both at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and WonderCon and I kept spotting the cover, and people kept reading it, and I knew I had to get my hands on it. I bought it just a few days ago, and ripped through it. I am still not sure what I expected from this book but I it wasn’t what I was handed. What I was given from this book was much more and I absolutely loved it.

Harper Price seems like one of those characters that you’re not sure you’re going to love or you’re going to hate. When I first started reading the book, I felt myself rolling my eyes and I thought, this is not going to happen. But as soon as Harper gains her Paladin powers and shoves her heel the neck of an adversary, I knew that I wanted to be her best friend.

The thing that really gets me about this novel is that it brings together the theme of a contemporary novel mixed in with the fantasy elements. Its not too heavy on each side, and its a perfect balance. We have Harper trying to balance out her boyfriend, her friends, her social life and her new life as Paladin, protecting David. It makes for an amazing, compelling and absolutely addicting story.

And its so funny! That, I think, was my favorite part of the entire novel. I love the fantasy of it, and the mythology that you learn as Harper delves into this Paladin thing but I love that Rachel Hawkins keeps the realness of the book. Its fantasy, but its approachable fantasy. Its fantasy lite, for those who want to read fantasy but get overwhelmed by the world building and that sort of thing. Harper is kicking butt and dealing with Mages and Oracles and such things like that, but she is doing it while trying to keep her boyfriend and dropping for dresses for Cotillion. Its hilarious. Harper is absolutely hilarious and she has little quips that would just make me burst out laughing. I loved that while she would be beating someone up, she would also having you smiling and laughing. It makes for a really fun book.

Plus, in the end, I ended up with a new fictional crush in David…he strangely reminds me of my boyfriend and you can never go wrong with that.

This book is a DEFINITE must-read.

Rating:

4 out of 5 Stars

Fire and Flood Book Review

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Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

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You Can Find the Book At:

GoodReads

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Author Website

GoodReads Summary:

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, more about and when a dozen doctors can’t determine what’s wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She’s lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she’s helpless to change anything.
Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It’s an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother’s illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there’s no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can’t trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

My Review:

I am going to be completely honest here: I didn’t know who Victoria Scott was until about a week ago. Jessica Brody was having an online video chat launch party…thing for her new release, Unforgotten. She did it with Victoria Scott, who had the first of a series, Fire and Flood, release the same day as Unforgotten. It was a really fun chat, I had a great time with it, and I figured I should check Victoria Scott out. Fire and Flood sounded amazing and I won a swag pack thing for answering a “trivia” question correctly so I got a couple signed bookmarks and such. Last Thursday was my birthday so I decided to go book shopping because, well, duh, and I picked up Fire and Flood.

I didn’t get to it until Tuesday and then I stayed up all night reading it. I read it from about midnight to about 4 am. I CONSUMED this book.

When we were all chatting online, someone had compared it to The Hunger Games and there are a lot of comparisons to it on the back of the book. I can definitely see those comparisons and if you like THG, I definitely think you’ll like this book.

However, I do think Victoria Scott sort of stands on her own with this. While there’s a similarity of survival, and being part of a “game”, and a winner at the end, there’s so much about it that is unique and frankly, insanely exciting.

Tella is part of a game to the finish where you will receive a cure, a cure she desperately wants for her brother. She receives a mysterious message and she goes with it. Its sort of an underground game, not like THG where its broadcast all over the place. There’s a choice in the matter. I like that there’s stages, and with each stage, there’s a winner. It makes it even more exciting. There are stages that they have to survive in order to reach the ultimate goal. I also like that the game was hidden from Tella so when goes to it, she’s unprepared but she’s determined and she learns along the way.

Plus, no one is killing anyone. Well, they’re not required to, anyway. That’s all I’ll say about that haha!

I’m also incredibly attached to the characters. I loved Tella from page one, even as a kind of whining girl stuck in the middle of nowhere, missing the city of Boston and her friends. Because I could feel for her. And I felt her desire for her excitement and her immediate desire to go on this adventure to help her brother. I love that she is resilient and determined but she also struggles, and she has to learn. I like that she doubts herself but pushes herself onward anyway.

I also definitely love the other characters as well: Guy, Harper, Ransom, Levi, Caroline, and the rest. They all have their purpose to the story and I love all of them. I think that Guy brings some mystery to the story, especially hinting at what is to come. Harper and Ransom and Levi provide humor and provide a sense of normalcy when trying to survive in a jungle or desert. They also sort of build mystery to this game.

The fact that the game takes place in our world, kind of under the radar is something that I really enjoyed too. I’m not sure how to classify this book because of that. Its not really dystopian because its OUR world, but with this underground game going on. I love that it feels so real. Everything about it feels so authentic that its not hard to accept any of it. The transition from the normal, everyday world to the world of the games just felt so easy. I loved it. I was easily wrapped up into the world.

Lastly, I think my favorite part was the Pandoras. I can’t handle how much I love the Pandoras. Each contestant had to choose an egg, of varying sizes, that contained a Pandora, an animal that hatches during the game to provide assistance for you, to help you in any way possible. I don’t want to reveal much more than that because there’s more revealed in the story, as it goes along, and I really enjoyed that aspect and I’ve decided I most definitely want a Pandora. I think there’s going to be more to the Pandoras as the books continue too, so I’m excited for it.

Bottom line, read this book. It will grip you from page one, to the last page. I was addicted right off the bat and now, I’m not going to be patient enough to wait until the next one is released. Victoria Scott, hear my plea! I’m ready for the next book :)

Rating:

5 out of 5 Stars