Author: Rachel Hawkins
Published: April 8, 2014
Hardcover, 345 pages
4 Gold Stars
(summary from Goodreads)
Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts.
Just when life can't get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate could very well be to destroy Earth.
Hawkins blew me away with Hex Hall and School Spirits, bringing forth her wit and skill into paranormal contemporaries that made me laugh, swoon and a bit scared. So when I found out she had a new book coming out, about a cotillion girl who ends up in a crazy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer like situation, I thought, hell ya, bring it on! Everything about this book is gorgeous. The cover is perfect an captures the essence of the novel, and Harper is the perfect leading lady. The night of homecoming, where she knows she'll walk away with the crown, Harper ends up in weird situation and a feeling in her gut she's afraid will never disappear. Everything from that night leads her to David, her arch nemesis who seems to have everything she's striving for. When she's told she needs to protect David to death, she's not sure this is how she wants her life to be, especially with cotillion right around the corner.
Harper is just like Hawkins's other main characters. She has the wit and sarcasm of Sophie, but the hard core skills of Izzy. But Harper still stands on her own as a leading character and I love that she has weaknesses and goes through some rough experiences. She loves her lipstick, but when it comes down to it, she knows what needs to be done in order to keep David safe. Her and David are adorable, the banter between them is so real and it made their story so much more swoon-worthy. I love stories where the two lovers start by hating each other and soon realize that there was nothing to hate about the other. David is not your typical love interest with his unique sense of style and uppity attitude. But he soon became the kind of guy everyone dreams of.
The story was unique and played out perfectly. I was hoping for a bit more when it came to the prophecies and how everything ended, but it was minor and I'm sure the sequel will answer any questions I still have. Hawkins creates fantastic characters that stick with you long after you're finished the book, and her plots flow nicely to go with them. I liked the characters more than the plot in this, but it was a lot of fun to read and I can't wait for more.
“Bruce Wayne's parents get killed and he goes to Tibet or whatever, and Superman is an alien, and Spiderman had that radioactive spider. Me? I kissed a janitor in the school bathroom.”
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