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Miss Mayhem
by Rachel Hawkins
Oh Rachel Hawkins. What happened with Miss Mayhem? I loved [b:Rebel Belle|8475505|Rebel Belle (Rebel Belle, #1)|Rachel Hawkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1371650817s/8475505.jpg|13340323] but with the sequel, it really felt like that spark that made me fall in love with Harper and her burgeoning relationship with David Stark mysteriously disappeared in this book.
But first, let me mention the things that I did like about this book:
1. The friendship between Bee and Harper
Bee is Harper's best friend was caught in the crossfire of the events of Rebel Belle. In this book, she serves as Harper's back-up Paladin and I loved how much Harper cared about Bee and what Bee has had to go through because of the secrets that she was hiding.
2. The story was easy to catch up on
Even though it's been a while since I'd last read Rebel Belle, Rachel Hawkins includes enough reminders of what happened in the previous book that made it easy for me to follow what was happening now, in the aftermath of the Cotillion and now that Ryan, Harper and David's fate are all entangled with each other.
3. More Ryan
Ryan's character is fleshed out in this book and we get to see something real about the boy who just appeared as Harper's Perfect Boyfriend in the first book. I liked that his characterisation is more three-dimensional in this book and that his imperfections start to come through:
4. There are still some sweet and funny moments, even if they are few and far between
Even though I had my share of problems with this book (see later), I have to admit that there were some sweet moments that were thrown in the book that genuinely made me smile. But these moments were just too few to weigh out the flaws in the book.
What I didn't enjoy about the book
1. There were major pacing issues
It felt like for the better half of the book, we were still milling around waiting for the plot to be kicked into the high gear. Although the plot is ostensibly about Harper having to go through the Peiramos to become a full-fledged Paladin, these trials didn't seem to have any sense of urgency and I rarely felt like Harper was being put in any danger. Instead, romantic and existential angst took up the greater part of the novel, with David struggling with his knowledge of his abilities and how he has endangered Harper, who had no choice but to become a Paladin to protect him.
And it's only in the last quarter of the novel that involves any action at all.
2. What happened to Harper man?
Right from the start, we knew all along that Harper was a bit of a type A personality with her need to control everything around her, which could've originated from her sister's death and how her family's reputation was affected by that. But Harper really takes it to a whole other level in this book.
But the thing is, it just seemed like a very convenient plot point to me. Rachel Hawkins doesn't really explain or show to us why Harper found it so important to hide this from David. And she was given so many chances by the other character to fess up but chose wrong every single time.
3. The relationship between David and Harper is ANGSTY
The amount of angst in their relationship hits a record rate in this sequel. All they ever talk about is David's guilt and angst at how Harper's life now has to take a backseat, because she needs to plan her life around his now to protect his life. You know how in that CW series, Arrow, the main character Oliver Queen keeps going on about how "he has failed his city"? It felt a bit like this in Miss Mayhem and trust me, it's not fun to read about.
So now what?
Even though I'm sorely disappointed by Miss Mayhem, I still have a lot of faith in Rachel Hawkins to be able to pull everything together in time for [b:Lady Renegades|25518205|Lady Renegades (Rebel Belle, #3)|Rachel Hawkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438699770s/25518205.jpg|45301289]. In fact, there are some bonus chapters of this next instalment included in my edition of Miss Mayhem and it seemed way more action-packed and less mopey. Here's looking to Lady Renegades to rescue us from this mess!
But first, let me mention the things that I did like about this book:
1. The friendship between Bee and Harper
Bee is Harper's best friend was caught in the crossfire of the events of Rebel Belle. In this book, she serves as Harper's back-up Paladin and I loved how much Harper cared about Bee and what Bee has had to go through because of the secrets that she was hiding.
That was it, then. It's not like I'd ever had much of a choice in this thing β "do this or die" is not a choice, let's be real β but seeing the relief on Bee's face was enough to make feel a little better about all of this. Go through these trials, get even more powerful, don't get killed, and Bee gets to be happy? That seemed worthwhile to me.
Spoiler
I also appreciated the fact that when Harper got angry that Ryan and Bee were dating, it wasn't because of some insane jealousy issue but because she was hurt that Bee never mentioned it to her. And that felt authentic to Harper's characterisation and their friendship.2. The story was easy to catch up on
Even though it's been a while since I'd last read Rebel Belle, Rachel Hawkins includes enough reminders of what happened in the previous book that made it easy for me to follow what was happening now, in the aftermath of the Cotillion and now that Ryan, Harper and David's fate are all entangled with each other.
3. More Ryan
Ryan's character is fleshed out in this book and we get to see something real about the boy who just appeared as Harper's Perfect Boyfriend in the first book. I liked that his characterisation is more three-dimensional in this book and that his imperfections start to come through:
Ryan leaned closer. "Look, I didn't say it was a freaking cakewalk for y'all, but at least you have each other. When you get your weird"βhe waved his hands in the air around me β "Paladin feelings or David gets one of his visions, you can tell each other. David knows exactly what's going on with you, and you know exactly what's going on with him. You don't have to lie, either of you."
4. There are still some sweet and funny moments, even if they are few and far between
Even though I had my share of problems with this book (see later), I have to admit that there were some sweet moments that were thrown in the book that genuinely made me smile. But these moments were just too few to weigh out the flaws in the book.
What I didn't enjoy about the book
1. There were major pacing issues
It felt like for the better half of the book, we were still milling around waiting for the plot to be kicked into the high gear. Although the plot is ostensibly about Harper having to go through the Peiramos to become a full-fledged Paladin, these trials didn't seem to have any sense of urgency and I rarely felt like Harper was being put in any danger. Instead, romantic and existential angst took up the greater part of the novel, with David struggling with his knowledge of his abilities and how he has endangered Harper, who had no choice but to become a Paladin to protect him.
And it's only in the last quarter of the novel that involves any action at all.
Spoiler
And that's when David makes a break from their town, to avoid putting Harper's future in any more danger because of him. And what a half-assed plan that was because it involved Bee and Ryan being stupid enough to go along with him for the plan.2. What happened to Harper man?
Right from the start, we knew all along that Harper was a bit of a type A personality with her need to control everything around her, which could've originated from her sister's death and how her family's reputation was affected by that. But Harper really takes it to a whole other level in this book.
Spoiler
Her decision not to tell David that Ryan and her had bound his powers was a Bad Life Decision right from the beginning. It's the kind of plot point that you know is going to majorly backfire on her later on. And true enough, when David finds out, the shit really hits the fan.But the thing is, it just seemed like a very convenient plot point to me. Rachel Hawkins doesn't really explain or show to us why Harper found it so important to hide this from David. And she was given so many chances by the other character to fess up but chose wrong every single time.
3. The relationship between David and Harper is ANGSTY
The amount of angst in their relationship hits a record rate in this sequel. All they ever talk about is David's guilt and angst at how Harper's life now has to take a backseat, because she needs to plan her life around his now to protect his life. You know how in that CW series, Arrow, the main character Oliver Queen keeps going on about how "he has failed his city"? It felt a bit like this in Miss Mayhem and trust me, it's not fun to read about.
So now what?
Even though I'm sorely disappointed by Miss Mayhem, I still have a lot of faith in Rachel Hawkins to be able to pull everything together in time for [b:Lady Renegades|25518205|Lady Renegades (Rebel Belle, #3)|Rachel Hawkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438699770s/25518205.jpg|45301289]. In fact, there are some bonus chapters of this next instalment included in my edition of Miss Mayhem and it seemed way more action-packed and less mopey. Here's looking to Lady Renegades to rescue us from this mess!