Lady Renegades: A Rebel Belle Novel

This series was so much fun. It as also sad and heart wrenching and exciting, but it was the perfect blend of all of these elements. I loved being with Harper on her journey and watching her grow. This final book was really heavy on the friendship elements of her story, and Bee definitely had the chance to redeem herself after the events of Miss Mayhem. Also, I was so hesitant about the addition of Blythe at first, but in the end, I think the direction she went was absolutely perfect. In Miss Mayhem, there was a small lack of action and I missed it, but this book leveled that all out pretty well. Still not as much action as Rebel Belle, but I am fine with that. These books make me laugh and cry in a way that is just so special to this series. One thing I did miss in this book was DAVID. I love that boy so much and he (the normal David, not the one that is in so much pain and agony in this book!) just almost didn't even exist! I mean, the main plot here is to find and save him, but we didn't get to spend time with him. Or him and Harper together, for that matter. I love their relationship. So I really missed that. But that ending - OMG - after crying my eyes out, I was then rewarded with such an adorable ending! I mean it was just so sweet, and I'm so pleased with it. This series is so awesome, and it is such a quick read. With summer heading this way, I highly recommend this as a fun, southern, summery series to marathon through!

Another series finished! Reading Lady Renegades was a blast! I remembered my love for Rachel Hawkins’ words! This lady knows how to do snark very well indeed! While the book isn’t packed with laughs, there’s a lot of serious things happening, there is still a decent amount of light-hearted moments that were truly funny indeed! David has left town in order to protect Harper. His Oracle powers are getting stronger and he doesn’t want to endanger Harper by having to let her protect him from all the dangers in the world and bad guys that are after him. Harper has been feeling pretty sore about David leaving. She misses him. Then suddenly one summer evening, she is attacked by another Paladin who claims she will kill Harper in order to protect the Oracle. Which obviously, Harper has no intentions of hurting David even if she knew where he was. It’s when battling this new Paladin that Harper’s powers go haywire and fail her in a crucial moment. If it weren’t for Bee’s intervention, she might have been killed indeed! Then Blythe rolls back into town and it’s the last thing Harper and Bee need, but she claims that she wants to find David and help him out, she’s on her own path of redemption for all the chaos she previously caused. And since Harper and Bee want to find David, they decide to take the road trip with Blythe to do just that! While a fairly short read at just over 250 pages, Lady Renegades was still a delightful, action packed, suspenseful kind of read! I was eating up the pages eager to find out what would happen and if Harper and David would be reunited. For as the girls continue to look for different clues on how to help David and find him as well, the growing realization that Harper may have to kill the boy she loves is starting to dawn on them. Since I can’t really remember the first two books well, I can’t say if having brief moments of David’s point of view in this one was new or not! Needless to say, we get to see what David is up to every now and then. It’s sort of heartbreaking too. He never asked for these powers that he suddenly has and they’re just too much for him to handle. And since he’s not sure who he can trust anymore, he’s sort of floundering…and somehow making more Paladins! The plot was a tad simplistic too. Not that that’s a bad thing or anything. Just saying. The road trip is about finding David and ways of helping him. Naturally encounters with these other Paladins delays the girls on their journey. But it does make for intense altercations! Sadly, since Harper and David are separated for the majority of this book, there’s not a lot of romance in this one. Which is kind of heartbreaking after hearing both David and Harper’s thoughts of one another. Though there’s a sort of nice moment towards the end, but the sort of is key there. I won’t get into further details though. But oddly enough, the lack of romance didn’t bother me so much. There was a great bonding time happening with Harper, Bee, and even Blythe. I can’t really remember why I was supposed to be hating her—memory problems again—but I must say I really liked her path of redemption she had going on. Sure, she still had a few Blythe moments, but by the end I can honestly say I didn’t hate her anymore! Lol! The ending! Wow, that ending! This is definitely an ending that will take you by surprise! I don’t think Rachel could’ve done it any better! It was positively the perfect kind of ending for a series finale. While a part of me still has a sore heart over it, I know it’s for the best! There’s a reason why I love Rachel’s books so much, they are truly works of art! They are filled with incredible heroines, a healthy dose of humor, great friendships, overcoming all odds of impossibilities and just overall incredible amazing storytelling skills! I cannot wait to see what she cooks up next! Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this entire series. It was different from any YA fantasy I've read before, and I really connected with the characters. It offered great scenes of action, friendship, and romance. Plus, I always enjoy books set in the south, as it never feels like there are enough of them.

Actual rating 3.75 stars. I was really excited to finish up this trilogy – it is just so much fun! I’d pre-ordered a copy of ‘Lady Renegades,’ so the moment I had spare time, I pretty much devoured this book in a weekend. With a darker, more depressing tone for the conclusion, our protagonist, Harper wrestles with her inner demons. Which was a nice break from all the action, and to revel in some character development. Because of this, we never lose Harper in fight scenes, her presence is strong, and you get a real sense of her growth by the conclusion. Blythe was a nice touch to the story, an antagonist you’re never quite sure is an antagonist. Her presence really added another dimension to ‘Lady Renegades.’ There didn’t seem to be as much comradery between the cast as in the previous books; or the comedic moments, or witty banter for that matter. It’s still there, just lightly sprinkled over the story. And so it didn’t quite have the same feel as I got from ‘Rebel Belle’ and ‘Miss Mayhem.’ It didn’t really feel like much happened in this book. It’s only 264 pages long, and I flew through it. A light-hearted after-school special feel to the narrative and fun dialogue. The pacing pics up towards the end, though I did feel there was a lot of repetition of the situation Harper faced near the finale that was unnecessary. The story felt very predictable, but sweet and I never stopped rooting for what I wanted to happen. A satisfying end to a fun trilogy. Though lacked the punch of the debut. I felt like I wanted Harper’s journey to be harder and be more complex… maybe because I was left with the impression that the story came to an end way too quickly. But it’s still something I’d recommend to all my friends.

I have to say, this ending didn't totally make me want to throw the book across the room, which is great! I closed it with a smile and happy tears stinging my eyes because it was just too cute. Book kept me entertained throughout! Loved it!

Review originally posted @ feelyourbooks.com Here we are, finally, with the conclusion to this fun little series. Excuse me while I take a minute to myself before officially saying goodbye to these delightfully sassy and layered characters who I am convinced are my actual best friends. Sigh . . . alright, let's get on with this. Since David's sudden disappearance at the end of Miss Mayhem, Harper has been trying to reclaim a normal lifestyle for herself. She's picked up a summer job as a lifeguard with her bestie, Bee, and just begun to come to terms with her losses when she's attacked by a stranger one night at the end of their shift. This stranger turns out to be yet another girl with Paladin powers who claims she must destroy Harper "for him"--a person we can only assume to be David / the Oracle, because who else could possibly grant powers like that? Bee rushes to Harper's rescue, scaring the girl off. Soon afterward, they resolve to track down David and do whatever is necessary to put a stop to this mess--but they're going to need a little help from an old frenemy to do so. This book frequently exhibits Harper's emotional tug-o-war between her personal feelings for David and her instinctual and sacred need to protect the Oracle. On top of all this, she's constantly being attacked by girls-turned-temporary-Paladins who, with the instruction of the Oracle, are determined to stop her from reaching him at all for fear that she might kill him as his visions have foretold. Worse yet, her powers are only getting weaker with every encounter. I think this one will really work for people who were bigger fans of the first book in the series than the second. The action scenes, back again in full force, are totally vivid and on point. You can so perfectly imagine every scene and are effortlessly swept up in the intense imagery. Even better, this time she's at a huge disadvantage to where these scenes actually keep you on the edge of your seat with suspense. On the other hand, there were a few things that I wish had been touched on just a smidge more. Because the entire series is from Harper's perspective, we never get a full explanation on the origin of the Paladin / Oracle / Mage relationship. There are snippets of background information here and there, but they are really just the bare minimum and exist primarily to explain why David, as the Oracle, is so powerful and can't be allowed to exist. Of course, if you're familiar with Greek myths, you probably have a decent idea of what's going on throughout the series. It just didn't seem like there was enough of a point for these beings to exist at all in a modern setting which made it a bit harder for me to my suspend disbelief at times whenever I thought about it too hard. Overall, I really enjoyed this series. It's a solid 4 stars all around for me, and I would definitely be down for rereading it in the future. You've got some light fantasy elements in there, plenty of kick-butt action, and quirky, highly memorable characters with fantastic senses of humor. Not to mention the entire story also wraps up in this perfectly bittersweet way that successfully managed to pull 3 or 4 tears out of my eyes, so that's always good as well. If you're looking for fun, then look no further than this series.

This entire series keeps you on your toes. Suspense, intrigue, romance and teen angst. you can't go wrong. I only wish it didn't end!

Good book