This review is spoiler-free!
Lady Renegades by Rachel Hawkins
Series: Rebel Belle #3
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Release Date: Published April 5th 2016 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 264 pages
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Find it here: Goodreads || Book Depository
So, I enjoyed this series, to start. Rachel Hawkins is the author of one of my favorite series, Hex Hall, and I adore the way she can write female characters that are, in my opinion, hilarious as hell and also not wholly cringeworthy like many other female protags of the era tend to be. Harper, I loved so much. David? Very high on the list.
However, I gave this final book three stars, but it wasn’t what I was hoping it would be. Again Hawkins wrote one of my favorite series out there, so I might even be softening my blow a little with that three star rating, but I really did hope for more at the end of it all. And, when I say the end, I really do mean the end.
It wasn’t the action — that was great. It wasn’t the main characters — love them, too, like I said before. No, it was actually how a certain romance was handled, along with the handling of the powers in the end, that really made me think, “Hm. Yeah. Not the best ending for a series that had a very sub-par second book.” Not to mention, the way that end went? Was there a time crunch or something? It really felt rushed to me, and, after all we went through with Harper to get here, why couldn’t there have been a little more give to wrap-up? I don’t know, maybe I’m being a little harsh. I was just very excited and it just… fell flat. Not horribly! But not any higher than what you might expect from a three-star read. Just kind of, you know. Meh.
There were definitely some parts in the middle, especially concerning Blythe and Bee, that I really didn’t like. Also, Ryan. Just. Causing problems, boy. I was not a fan of any of that, if I’m being honest.
Oddly enough, I actually went through the story wishing David had been more like the David we had at the start of the series. Snarky, sassy with Harper, wouldn’t admit he was falling in love with her because we love a hate-to-love trope. Kind of obtuse in that holier-than-thou way. You know it’s not going well when you wish a character was back to square one. Alas!
(It also probably had something to do with the fact Harper would not chill while David was off being his Oracle self, which was highly annoying. I know it’s basically your job, Harper, but come on!)
All in all, I guess I just wasn’t a huge fan of either the second or the third books in this series. First one? Great! Second two, not so much, sadly. But, hey, at least I’m done now!
Thanks for reading!
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