Series Review: Rebel by Elle Casey

Series: Rebel Trilogy
Author: Elle Casey
# of Books: 3 (Rebel, Hellion, Trouble)
Book Order: Connected
Complete?: Yes
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Humour?, Contemporary
Heat Rating: warm
Point of View: First Person

Thoughts:

PLEASE NOTE: I have not read book 2 (Hellion) or book 3 (Trouble) of this series before publishing this review!

Rebel was a book I bought using my mass amount of coupons from a recent Kobo contest and I was really excited to buy and read it. I’m not sure why looking back because the synopsis is pretty vague and doesn’t sound overly promising. I think it was the “humour” tag that was associated with the book and the high rating it has on Goodreads that  contributed to me wanting to read this book first from the pile I bought.

I fear that I may have lost my funny bone in the last few months because these “funny” books have been doing nothing for me. I find it weird because I am the first person to laugh at something and I really do laugh at everything–from the immature jokes to the witty ones. That isn’t to say that I didn’t chuckle to myself during parts of the book–because I did–but those moments were few and far between.

Part of the problem was Teagan. I really wanted to like her but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t like how immature she seemed to be (I’m the same age as her in the book and I felt like I was reading the mind of a teenager) and some of the things she says are just weird. I get quirky–I get the appeal, honestly–but there is a fine line between being adorkably quirky and just being plain weird and I fear Teagan is on the train to oddball station. She also isn’t the brightest person in the world and I really didn’t see too many other redeemable qualities about her either so I really had a hard time liking her.

Not liking Teagan put me at a big disadvantage too because the first half of the book is her trying to orient her new life and features very little romance or even flirting between her and Rebel. I didn’t feel any of the sexual tension between the two of them for the longest time and when there finally is some contact, I still didn’t really feel it and that really was disappointing to me. I wish part of the book was told from Rebel’s perspective because I would have gotten a better read on his character and simply had a break from being in Teagan’s mind. I also would want to see his perspective about why he even likes Teagan because it is truly beyond me.

As you can see by the warning at the top of this section, I haven’t read the next two books in the series. At the moment, I am undecided. As I was reading, I was looking forward to the next book because I liked the hero. However, once I finished Rebel, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to tolerate the heroine because she is Teagan’s BFF and shares a lot of the same traits. I am curious to learn more about the plot that was left hanging in Rebel regarding Teagan’s dad’s business but I really didn’t like the book enough for me to even care. Trouble looks a little more promising (or at least interesting to me) so I might suck it up and read Hellion one day but at this moment in time, I won’t be going out of my way to read it.

Conclusion:

If you want a book filled with great sexual chemistry–AVOID REBEL. I found Rebel to be more about Teagan learning to find her place in the world and she just happens to stumble along some man who likes her for some bizarre reason. I didn’t find it funny–but based on other reviews it seems like I am in a minority. My recommendation is to get the preview and see if you can tolerate Teagan’s mind before you buy this book.

Rating: 2/5

Similar Reads: Price of a Kiss by Linda Kage (Forbidden Men Series #1);  Better When He’s Bad by Jay Crownover (Welcome to the Point Trilogy #1) and Stardust by Mimi Strong(Peaches Monroe Trilogy #1)

Synopsis for Rebel (from Goodreads):
Teagan Cross, college senior, rebel, and wiseass extraordinaire, goes from princess to pauper in a single phone call. Overnight, her life of privilege becomes one of survival, and no matter where she turns, it seems like the world is out to get her. She’s not going to fall apart, though. She’s a rebel and she’s strong … determined to live life on her own terms … and nothing’s going to stop her from getting things done and making things right. But when a twist of fate brings her to the doorstep of a different kind of Rebel, she’s forced to figure out when something’s worth fighting for and when something’s worth letting go.