The Rebel of Raleigh High: Raleigh Rebels Series, Book 1

Q:It was a boy with a clean record, a winning smile and a glorious halo who broke me. Ironically, it’s the boy with the rap sheet, a body full of ink and the dangerous glint in his eye who’s putting me back together.It’s been a minute since I had the opportunity to read Callie Hart and after The Rebel of Raleigh High, I’m kicking myself. You see, The Rebel of Raleigh High was my favorite Callie Hart book to date. And I can’t deny that in reading this book, I am again completely awed by her superior storytelling talents. Her words own your soul while you read and stick with you long after the story concludes. Without a doubt, Callie Hart deserves at least six stars on a zero to five scale… and I can’t tell you how very much I loved The Rebel of Raleigh High.Q:“You’d let me borrow your bike?”“You’re already holding my ... heart and my soul hostage, Argento. You might as well take everything else.”Prepare to be completely beguiled with Silver Parisi and Alex Moretti and their dark, YA romance. The Rebel of Raleigh High is well written, engrossing and thoroughly entertaining and quite simply should not be missed. I found the story’s pacing to be a little inconsistent, but the very nature of the story dictated such and the story flowed perfectly. The average reader doesn’t notice such thing if they remain engrossed in the story, but as a blogger—and more so, as an avid reader who completes roughly 10 books a week—little issues like this jump out at me. I pride myself in writing honest reviews, and that’s really the only reason I have to bring up the matter. You’ll notice that I still would not hesitate to give the story at least five stars. Also regardless of the pacing, Callie Hart has the ability to write a story that you completely lose yourself in. The Rebel of Raleigh High is a dual POV, dark romance with more twists and turns then I could have ever predicted. I love how she expertly weaves very realistic events into something unquestionably dark, romantic and sexy. Both Alex and Silver are very broken with fissures that run deep. These characters have stayed with me for days since I completed the book and words for this review did not come easy. I truly didn’t know how to convey how superbly entertaining both the story and characters of The Rebel of Raleigh High was.ONE-CLICK. THIS. BOOK IMMEDIATELY!!!Quotes:Alex isn’t safe enough to be right for me, and I’m not whole enough to be right for him...When Alex Moretti looks at you, you feel your soul laid bare, and it’s the most disturbing, thrilling thing I’ve ever experienced.“You’ve only been here one day, so I’m sure they’ll forgive the faux pas. I’m the pariah of Raleigh High. Sitting anywhere with me is the quickest, most efficient way to commit social suicide. I am broken, Alex.”“It’s okay to be broken. You have every right to be. Just don’t let them keep on breaking you. That’s not how you win this particular game.”Without even knowing why or when I made the decision, I’ve realized I’m waiting for something to happen, for a match to strike or a fist to be thrown in her direction… and I’m preparing to raze the whole ... school to ground in her defense.“I also happen to think that you’re the most beautiful ... thing I have ever witnessed with my own two eyes. I am watching you just as much as you’re watching me… and I don’t trust myself to look away.”

You look at the cover of this book and you assume it’s going to be a smut fest but this book pleasantly surprised me by being much more than that.Be warned this book is loaded with triggers. It has very heavy topics including rape, bullying, suicide, the foster care system, family dynamics, being a social outcast, and so much more. While there’s some top quality smut scenes they do not overload the story but compliment it. It comes up naturally and with great emotional build up between the two main characters.Alessandro Moretti is basically my perfect book boyfriend. He’s edgy, but not in a poser kind of way. His edge was honed from being forced to live a hard life, from a young age having to deal with things that most adults haven’t experienced in their privileged lives. He is the stereotypical bad boy on the outside, teddy bear on the inside, and it’s my favorite. He closes himself off to almost everyone in the world but the people he loves he loves with his whole heart and soul. I love him so much.Silver is a bad ass. She’s been through hell but she keeps her head held high, refusing to break, just like Alex, and that’s why they are perfect for each other. They understand each other on a soul level even though their traumas are so different from each other’s and it’s beautiful to read about. I love seeing Silver let go of her fear once she lets Alex into her heart and let’s him share her burden. Seeing her allow herself to trust in someone again and feel safe being intimate with someone after what happened to her is empowering.Random but I wish Silver’s dad was my dad. He’s hilarious and adorable. His witty banter with Silver makes me smile so hard.Without giving away too much personal information I really connected with this story. In ways I can relate to both Alex and Silver. Particularly relating to Alex because Im the eldest sibling and had to go through foster care with my younger sister, and I’ve always tried to set a good example for her and my other younger siblings and be a sort of secondary mother figure. Like Alex I had to grow up fast and from the trauma I’ve been through I had some anger issues and I have a very low tolerance for bullshit now. I’m a nice person but if someone tries messing with me or someone I love I can flip my switch in a second. I understand Alex’s impulsive, reckless nature. Also, my husband is a lot like Alex and has experienced similar circumstances in his life, and our relationship started a lot like Alex and Silver’s did. My husband and I both have trauma like Alex and Silver so I totally get their chemistry. It’s not at all unrealistic to me.There’s just so many parts of this story that were almost triggering because I could relate so much to it but I ended up loving it. The romance is so sweet and it’s really fast paced with plenty of drama and action, with just the right amount of comedic relief. I’m really excited to continue the series. I need to know what happens to Alex and Silver.SPOILERS!!!! DON’T READ PAST THIS POINT!!!!..........- I don’t understand why the school shooting had to happen, and I wish it didn’t. It wasn’t the direction I saw the story heading at all. I didn’t hate it but it felt out of place to me. The lead up I was waiting for was the revenge towards Silver’s rapists. Maybe in a way the school shooting did make sense because it was the same people the hurt Silver that got under Leon’s skin to the point where he wanted to start shooting people but I had a lot of hope for Leon’s character after his conversation with Alex at the party. I had hoped he would help Alex take down the sumbeaches. I feel like a totally amazing character arc went to waste by making him a killer.- I need more backstory on what Silver’s family life was like before her mom cheated on her dad, and what lead her to cheat. Because if there’s no reason besides it being a dumb, lustful mistake I’m going to be annoyed. I don’t like dramatic things happening in stories for no reason. I hope everything ties together and makes sense by the end of the trilogy.

The saying don't judge a book by its cover has never been more true. I went into this not at all expecting this deep level of writing. I thought it would be your average bully high school romance. I was wrong. This book has a deep, sad story. Reminding us that things are not always how they seem, not to judge books (and people) by their cover and to hug our loved ones a little bit closer. This had me in tears more than once. A beautiful, sad story. Well done Callie Hart.

Ich kann es wirklich empfehlen. Es hat Spaß gemacht zu lesen und war gute Unterhaltung. Schwierige Themen wurden sehr gut beschrieben und ich bin gespannt, wie es weitergeht.

I don’t even know how to start this. I haven’t read such a great book in so long. I connected really quick with Alex and Silver. I loved it! Loved from the beginning till the end! Can’t wait to read the sequel!

I thought the book would be similar to other "highschool bully romance" kind, i actually tried 3 times to get into it and quitted for 3 times after the first 10 pages.Then i thought "one more try" and well it totally was worth it. It is not the usual bully romance kind of book, it touch sensible matters, i won't get more into the subject. I will just leave it here: it is not exactly what you would think by watching the cover (i like it), or think at first, it is way more!Enjoy the read.(I might have suggested some way to write sentences in Italian, as i'm from there, and it felt wrong reading them..well..in wrong order ;) - meanwhile, i apologise for my english disorder :D )Z.

This book is confronting, intense, all-consuming. It's a dark romance so keep that in mind when purchasing it.I don't give many 5 stars reviews as I tend to be quite a harsh critic.Ohmygosh, Alex and Silver... what a couple they make. Wow, I love them. The author did an amazing job with these characters, they're young but it doesn't matter as this union is a once in a lifetime thing making their story all that more powerful. I LOVE books like these as they stick with me. Both Alex and Silver are battling dark pasts and dark issues which is why they were drawn to each other because they recognize another broken soul. And the beauty of this tale is that they heal each other. I WANT more of Alex and Silver and I'm more than excited to read that the author is penning another book, I CAN'T wait!