Book Review: “Lady Renegades” (Rebel Belle #3) by Rachel Hawkins
“Lady Renegades” (Rebel Belle #3) by Rachel Hawkins (2016)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction
Page Length: 254 pages (hardcover edition)
Synopsis:
Just as Harper Price starts coming to terms with her role as David Stark’s battle-ready Paladin, protector, and girlfriend—her world goes crazy all over again.
Overwhelmed by his Oracle powers, David flees Pine Grove and starts turning teenage girls into Paladins—and these young ladies seem to think that Harper is the enemy David needs protecting from. Ordinarily, Harper would be able to fight off any Paladin who comes her way, but her powers have been dwindling since David left town…which means her life is on the line yet again.
New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins brings the fun once again in the finale of this pitch-perfect romantic paranormal comedy series. (description from Goodreads)
*To see my review of the first book (Rebel Belle) in the series click here. For my review of the second book (Miss Mayhem) in the series click here.
Review:
The final installment in the Rebel Belle series wastes no time jumping back the action-packed world of Harper Price. This time around we have the addition of a new Paladin (Blythe), David is missing and has gone rogue, and there are even more secrets to be uncovered.
Lady Renegades is just as fast paced as the other two previous books and was entertaining, but it comes off as a little lackluster. It still has the likable characters that we know and love, lots of action, magic, and puzzles that have to be unraveled, but it feels as if something is missing to give it that extra spark. I felt like I had less interest in this series from when I first started it and I was less invested in the story (not the book, maybe it’s me?).
I did enjoy the addition of new characters that became a part of the story line. Blythe is sassy, and likes to constantly be in charge (like Harper) and is a kick-ass fighter. Through her road-trip with Bee & Harper we get to see her background and how she didn’t get as much balance in her life and how magic was a priority over everything else. The biggest difference is that Bee, Harper, and Ryan didn’t get a choice to a mage/paladin while Blythe was raised that way.
I think other readers can agree that one of the key elements of this series (which I mentioned before) is that it’s very humorous and light-hearted despite all of the action, danger, and dark fantasy elements. Hawkins makes her readers laugh while traveling with Harper on her various journeys even though there is constant trouble on the horizon.
In the end, the book was just too predictable and the ending fell flat for me.
Final Verdict:
I often feel this way about YA series as the installments stack up, but I notice that my step daughter never feels the same way; I think she actually really likes the very elements that I often begin to find a little over-worked or obvious. *shrug* She’d probably love this one! Heheh
It’s a good series, but you’re definitely right. Some series loose their “steam” over the course of the book and its harder to connect with the story like you did with the first book in the series.