Miss Mayhem Review: Harper

Book: Miss Mayhem
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Series: Rebel Belle
Standing: Book 2
POV: 1st person by Harper, past tense
Genre: YA paranormal

Source: Physical copy
Pages: 273
Release: April 7th, 2015
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Blurb (Goodreads)
Life is almost back to normal for Harper Price. The Ephors have been silent after their deadly attack at Cotillion months ago, and her best friend, Bee, has returned after a mysterious disappearance. Now Harper can focus on the important things in life: school, canoodling with David (her nemesis-turned-ward-slash-boyfie), and even competing in the Miss Pine Grove pageant.

Unfortunately, supernatural chores are never done. The Ephors have decided they’d rather train David than kill him. The catch: Harper has to come along for the ride, but she can’t stay David’s Paladin unless she undergoes an ancient trial that will either kill her . . . or make her more powerful than ever.

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Miss Mayhem picks off roughly four months after the epic climax of Rebel Belle. Life has sort of gone back to normal, minus the fact that Harper's best friend is MIA, and she's working with her ex to protect her new boyfriend. Not awkward at all.

Though I loved the writing and Harper's character, I thought the plot fell a little flat. Harper must go through three trials in order to strengthen/prove herself as a Paladin, which to me echoes a bit of the whole "three objects you must collect before doomsday," and if she fails, she dies. But...those trials felt a little off, and they didn't strike me as being extremely dangerous or life-threatening. I didn't get the sense of relief I wanted from Harper, nor was there as much action in the book as I had hoped for.

Relationships take a bigger role in this book than it did in the last book. It's constantly nagging Harper, trying to reassess her relationship to David as Oracle/Paladin verses Boyfriend/Girlfriend. Though it makes it realistic, I would have preferred a little less drama and a bit more action.

The people I sympathized for were Bee and Ryan. Bee, because after she returns, she finds out that no one actually missed her (comes with the whole "everyone-thinks-you're-at-cheerleading-camp" spell as a means to cover up a sudden disappearance), and also that some people (like her boyfriend) don't even remember her. It's sad, but Bee remains strong and pulls through it. Then we have Ryan. I liked Ryan a lot in this book for the most part. He was suddenly through into the world, and is forced to work with his ex-girlfriend to help protect her new boyfriend. Harsh. And while Harper and David are in on the same thing and are ultimately on the same page, Ryan has to juggle having a new girlfriend who isn't in on the whole thing. Which makes it difficult, as he's hiding things from his girlfriend, whereas Harper and David don't need to worry. He has it the hardest, you know?

The ending was a little disappointing to me. I expected Harper to be a little tougher, a little more stubborn after everything that happens. Instead, she just accepts everything, just like that. What happened to her fighting spirit? It was just...gone. I don't know, but if I were in Harper's shoes, I would have fought harder to retain what I knew was the right thing to do. And with everything done and gone...exactly what was the point of the three trials then? I don't know. All I can hope is that this is setting the stage up for an epic third book, one that is even better than the first.

Don't get me wrong, this book was good, it just wasn't as great as the first book. It was full of humour and wit, and I would still definitely recommend this series to anyone. It's a fun read, and if you're looking for a bit of lightheartedness, you should pick this series up!