This was one of those books I was mildly interested in when I read the summary. It sounded interesting but not something I was eager to start immediately. I'm not sure why - maybe it had something to do with all the pink on the cover? Kind of a stupid reason, I know. I could tell by the tone of the synopsis that it was going to be somewhat lighthearted, so I wasn't surprised by the way the story was told. 
 I've been in a small reading slump for a while now, but I found Rebel Belle very difficult to put down. I finished half of it in one day, and the other the next, and that's pretty amazing considering the amount of reading I've done lately. The action starts pretty much right off the bat. I don't usually like protagonists like Harper Jane - silly, superficial high school girls whose biggest concern is figuring out what to wear the next day because they're so rich and privileged. They get under my skin. But Harper was very charming - I laughed at a lot of her narration and didn't mind her optimism in the face of deadly circumstances. She's definitely charming; and she likes to be proper. She doesn't swear and she constantly maintains a sweet southern charm (except with the people she's fighting/killing). She feels the need to plan absolutely everything, she gets straight As, and she runs a whole bunch of extracurricular activities. She's basically the town's golden girl. 
 In fact, I was so entertained by the story that the love triangle didn't even really bother me much. Honestly though it didn't feel like much of a competition - it felt like one girl slowly falling out of love with one guy and in love with another. So there wasn't a lot of agonizing going on over who to choose, and that was great. I liked both of the love interests - though Ryan was just a typical guy, with a love of football and video games, he seemed pretty genuine. David was a real creep at first, but it was fun to read the romance slowly blossoming between him and Harper. I enjoy hate-turned-love relationships quite a bit. They had good banter and nice chemistry. They also took the news of sudden paranormal powers in their lives quite well, but not so much that it felt unrealistic. 
 As far as the actual fantasy element, I can't say I've read anything exactly like it before, so points for originality. It must have been super creepy for Harper to suddenly just develop crazy fighting skills and then realize she couldn't hurt the one person she actually wanted to. The story behind the Paladins, the Mages and the Oracle was cool. And it had a sense of suspense going for it in the second half because there's a prophecy of a very Bad Thing happening on the night of Cotillion, and I was very interested in knowing how it was going to unfold. The side characters were just okay - Harper's friends and parents weren't really around long enough to get a sense of their personalities. But I loved her quirky aunts and the way they bickered with each other. Overall, Rebel Belle was just a lot of fun, and I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I would. I look forward to reading the sequel. 
 4 stars