#Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen

Series: DC Icons #6Author: Rachael AllenPublisher: Random House Books for Young ReadersReleased: April 26, 2022Received: NetGalley Yes! I’ve been keeping my eye on the DC Icons series (reading them here and there), but I just knew that I had to read this one. Harley Quinn: Reckoning, by Rachael Allen, is precisely what I was hoping to see from this series. Harleen Quinzel has been working hard…

[daniellesreadingnook]

I finally finished “Harley Quinn: Reckoning” by Rachael Allen this past weekend.

It is part of the DC Icons series centering on the villain/anti-hero Harleen Quinzel aka Harley Quinn. This is a first in a trilogy centered on Harley.

The book is about an 18 year old Harley, going by Harleen who is in a science program at Gotham University.

Harley and a few other girls at the university team up and go after people who target and harass girls/others. Well when one girl is poisoned and another dead, Harleen figures out who is behind it so she can stop them while figuring out her future in science.

I liked this book as well as the others. The author includes a lot of science terms but it is written to a point where you can understand what she is saying.

The other underlying plot is showcasing women in science.

The DC Icons series retells heroes and villains in a different light that is amazing.

“Harley Quinn: Reckoning” is a great telling about Harley Quinn and women in science, revenge and, suspense.

I highly recommend!

Go check it out!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

fight on.

[buffyfan145]

Finally finished reading the “Harley Quinn” DC Icons YA novel and really liked it!!! :D Did take me a lot longer to get through it as I was reading so many other things at the same time so it felt a bit too long for me but still was good overall. I do wonder how this will be as it’s the start of a trilogy and how the other books will go, also with it seeming to delay any other DC characters from getting their own novel till at lest 2025. But again still liked it and Harley was great as loved all the Batman and Gotham shoutouts and appearances too of other characters.

[lgbtqreads]

I was wondering if you have any sapphic or queer books about superheroes or villains. I finished reading Super Adjacent by Cestari Crystal which got me into queer superhero’s.

Absolutely! Julie Murphy's got the Faith duology, and CB Lee's Sidekick Squad series is really fun. TJ Klune has one called The Extraordinaries, and actually I have a whole list of them on the site so I can just share that:

Superheroes and Super Villains

Female

Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen – B

Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

The Nemesis Series by April Daniels – T

Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor by Shira Glassman (f/f)

Unsung Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

Not Your Sidekick (Sidekick Squad #1) by CB Lee (f/f) – B

Not Your Backup (Sidekick Squad #3) by CB Lee – A

Faith Herbert Origin Story by Julie Murphy – B

Girl Reporter by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Cute Mutants by S.J. Whitby (Graphic novels)

Shattered by Lee Winter

Male

The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

Superior by Jessica Lack

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by CB Lee – T

You First by J.C. Lillis (m/m)

Hero by Perry Moore (YA) – G

Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera – G, B

Rise of Heroes by Hayden Thorne

Non-Binary

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault – Aro

[maxalotlxl]

My Top 5 Favourite Reads In 2023

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir This seems like my obvious winner, The Locked Tomb is easily my favourite series at the moment and I want to eat up everything Tamsyn Muir releases from now on. I did actually finish Harrow this year too, and I did really enjoy it but I have an easier time reading characters like Gideon and Nona. The characters in Nona was more my speed than Harrow.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner Nona was only the obvious winner because it's part of The Locked Tomb Series as individual books Godkiller and Nona is so hard to pick a preferred favourite. I really only picked this book up first because the cover is stunning and you can't blame me, but these characters had me in a chokehold. This is what I want from a reluctant allies to found family story, they were all so wary of each other at the start but found themselves doing the absolute most to protect each other at the end. I am screaming for Sunbringers release early.

Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen Harley my beloved, I can't even remember when my love for this character started I know it started from a purely aesthetic point, I loved her design. I moved into reading the Suicide Squad comics, because I really dislike Joker and wanted a Harley story without him. Then this book happened, Harley back in college (kind of) and still being the chaotic character while actually showcasing this brilliantly smart person. I loved this! The second wasn't a favourite but was still amazing and I can't wait for the thirds release.

The Faithless by C.L. Clark Yes I picked up The Unbroken because Touraine is hot, and yes Touraine and Luca are infuriating characters that make you question why you have such a loyal need to support them. Didn't stop Magic of the Lost become a favourite pretty much immediately, this sequel tops the first for mainly one singular reason, Sabine. Sabine was my self insert, shamelessly thirsting after both of the main characters while playing the dutiful match maker for them both too.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree L&L is the only 4 star read on this list, and this does make me reconsider my rating for that. Originally my 4 star was because despite knowing this was just a cozy read, I do feel the need for some action/drama happening. But this was exactly what I wanted this to be so it really does deserve the 5 stars. I read this with a friend who I play D&D with and we both do like to imagine the future of our characters after adventuring, and this is what that was. Retirement after a long DnD campaign. I do have Bookshops & Bonedust, and while I have started it this time of year is so busy I haven't had the chance to have the cozy atmosphere necessary for this book.

Honourable Mentions

If You'll Have Me by Eunnie Such a cute, fluffy romance between too very different people that are both wanting a romantic relationship but having a hard time to figure out what that actually means for both them. This was exactly what I needed when I was reading it, just unfortunately doesn't quite make the list.

Kill for Me Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh I read this alongside my mother and older sister (eventually the books getting passed onto so many people at work, I have no idea where my copy is anymore), the three of us love a good mystery. We were raised on murder mystery detective shows. I really enjoyed this book and the twists just kept coming. The only reason this isn't in my top 5 was because the others have been in my head a lot more than this one.

[pedanther]

Further to that conversation a while back about Harley Quinn's origin story:

DC has a series of prose young adult tie-in novels called DC Icons, which tells stories about famous DC heroes and antivillains as young adults. The most recently published one is Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen, set at the beginning of Harleen Quinzel's career as a student at Gotham University.

It's very good. It has room to give us a much more nuanced and engaging version of college-age Harleen than a couple of pages of a comic book. (The author is a neuroscientist in her day job, so she makes an effort to ground Harleen's mental state in real psychology.)

(The author is a neuroscientist in her day job, so she's been a female college student and she has Very Clear Opinions about the whole "everyone says Harleen Quinzel only got through college by seducing her professors" thing.)

I read the first three quarters or so in small nibbles, full of dread because the thing about prequels is that when you know the main character is going to have a Very Bad Day at some point in their future, it can be hard to judge whether the prequel is going to be full of Very Bad Days. This one isn't, though; there are good days and bad days, but the bad days are never as bad as I feared they might be.

It's the first book of a planned trilogy, apparently. The next one's due out this year, and is about Harleen starting work in Arkham. I don't know if the plan is for the third book to take us all the way up to and through Harleen's transformation into Harley Quinn, which seems kind of dark for the conclusion of a young adult trilogy, or just far enough that we can see the rest of the road ourselves. Anyway, this first one is really good.

[crimeloyalty-arch]

Poptarts? I'm afraid I desperately need to hear the story behind this.

Ah! This is a tidbit from Rachael Allen's Harley Quinn: Reckoning. (Spoilers ahead for anyone who's planning on reading this book!) 

Pop-Tarts on the towel rack, box getting emptier. I’m seven years old, and I’m crying, and I’m telling him I’m scared of small spaces and please don’t lock me in the bathroom again. I can take care of myself. I’ll be good, I swear. There’s a box of Pop-Tarts on the towel rack like usual. I try to scramble past him, but he picks me up by the back of my overalls and throws me in the bathtub. I’ll only be gone a few hours, he hollers through the door. Gonna meet some friends. He’s lying. If he was only going to be gone a few hours, he wouldn’t have put the pillow and blanket in the bathtub. That time—he didn’t come back for three days. I was down to half a Pop-Tart. And I couldn’t stop thinking that he had gotten into trouble—worse trouble than usual—and he wasn’t coming home, and I was going to die in that bathroom. I remember banging on the door, crying, screaming, hoping somebody—anybody—would hear me. I think I had a panic attack. It’s hard to say. I was only seven.

It's used as a narrative device throughout the book to represent Harleen's claustrophobia - the 'Pop-Tarts on the towel rack, box getting emptier' line pops up over and over again whenever she feels trapped. We only get the full story behind it when an eighteen-year-old Harleen spots her father being attacked outside their apartment -- this memory plays through her mind as she decides to walk away instead of attempting to rescue him. 

My dad is still taking a beating at the other end of the alley, but I pretend I don’t see him. There’s ice cream waiting down the street.

Of course, this is the day that Nick Quinzel dies, burdening Harleen with a lot more regret. 

“I saw him in the alley with a couple of men. He…often has gambling debts.” I look down at my hands. I could have intervened. I could have stopped this. You didn’t know what was going to happen. Didn’t I? “Did you call anyone?” asks Officer Montoya. “No,” I say, still unable to meet her eyes. “I was angry. About our fight.” “I see.” Officer Montoya doesn’t say it. She doesn’t have to. This is all my fault. His death is on my hands.

[renthemagicalmermaid]

Latest trip to the bookstore left me with these beauties 🥰🥰

[har1een-arch]

Two of the big red letters are burned out in the emergency sign that presides over the ER at Gotham Memorial Hospital. An alleyway filled with run-down tents sits to its right. Memorial is where all the trauma cases go, the really bad ones. Motorcycle accidents and muggings gone bad and street brawls and shootings and knife wounds so grisly that half the doctors and nurses get PTSD while treating patients with PTSD. Across town is Gotham General, renowned, no expense spared, shining white (walls on the outside and people on the inside). The rich want to make sure they never breathe the same air as us, even—especially—if it’s their last.

But the people at Memorial are kind—at least they were when my mom came here so many years ago.

Harley Quinn: Reckoning Rachael Allen

[lgbtqreads]

Do you have a list of superhero novels? I've already read the Sidekick Squad series by CB Lee and the Nemesis trilogy by April Daniels, and I'd love to read something similar!

Sure do! You can find them under Superheroes here: https://lgbtqreads.com/sff/paranormal-sff-by-protags/ Here's what's currently there:

Superheroes and Super Villains

Female

Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen – B

Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

The Nemesis Series by April Daniels – T

Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor by Shira Glassman (f/f)

Unsung Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

Not Your Sidekick (Sidekick Squad #1) by CB Lee (f/f) – B

Not Your Backup (Sidekick Squad #3) by CB Lee – A

Faith Herbert Origin Story by Julie Murphy – B

Girl Reporter by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Cute Mutants by S.J. Whitby (Graphic novels)

Shattered by Lee Winter

Male

The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

Superior by Jessica Lack

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by CB Lee – T

You First by J.C. Lillis (m/m)

Hero by Perry Moore (YA) – G

Junior Hero Blues by J.K. Pendragon

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera – G, B

Rise of Heroes by Hayden Thorne

Non-Binary

Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault – Aro

[lgbtqreads]

Fave Five: Queer YA Superhero Novels, Part II

Fave Five: Queer YA Superhero Novels, Part II

For part I, click here. The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune Faith: Taking Flight by Julie Murphy I am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki (text) and Yoshi Yoshitani (illustration) Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari Cute Mutants by S.J. Whitby Bonus: Can’t have superheroes with super villains… Check out Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen for one of those!

[daniellesreadingnook]

[lgbtqreads]

do you know any series with queer superheros?

Lots - this is def not exhaustive:

Superheroes and Super Villains

Female

Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen - B

Super Adjacent by Crystal Cestari

The Nemesis Series by April Daniels - T

Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor by Shira Glassman (f/f)

Unsung Heroine by Sarah Kuhn

Not Your Sidekick (Sidekick Squad #1) by CB Lee - B

Not Your Backup (Sidekick Squad #3) by CB Lee - A

Faith Herbert Origin Story by Julie Murphy - B

Girl Reporter by Tansy Rayner Roberts

Shattered by Lee Winter

Male

The Extraordinaries by T.J. Klune

Superior by Jessica Lack

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by CB Lee (YA) - T

You First by J.C. Lillis (m/m)

Hero by Perry Moore - G

Junior Hero Blues by J.K.Pendragon

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera - G, B

Rise of Heroes by Hayden Thorne

You can bookmark this page to find them again: https://lgbtqreads.com/sff/paranormal-sff-by-protags/

[crimeloyalty-arch]

𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐊𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆⸻ i stayed up way too late last night reading rachael allen’s harley quinn: reckoning (would recommend!) and am throwing together a few notes about what i’m incorporating into my portrayal!! spoilers for the book ahead of course!

school.

harley takes a gap year after graduating high school to participate in the gotham university bridge scholars program - “wherein high school graduates who are outstanding in STEM, especially ones who aren’t from the best neighborhoods or backgrounds, get paid to intern in labs across campus” 

the lab she works in studies the SV1 gene - trying to figure out if there’s a genetic marker that predisposes someone to being a supervillain.  she suggests an epigenetic component - “what if every time a person experiences trauma, it causes a posttranslational modification to the gene, and if a person accumulates enough life trauma, it increases their chances of becoming a super-villain? . . . not everyone has a dangerous version of the SV1 gene . . . what if it’s a combination of a bad SV1 gene and traumatic life experiences?” she co-authors a paper on the subject (though her skeevy professor does not list her as lead author despite his promises.) 

harleen manages to secure a blood sample from the joker and his epigenetic markers are off the charts ⸻ but harleen’s levels are twice his. she is a little bit panicked about this. 

she receives the gotham u presidential scholarship, which allows her to attend the school - but there’s a part of her that is always uncertain of whether or not she actually earned it 

life.

her mom died when she was about ~7 & she is a little bit touchy around hospitals as a result,  though she’s working to get over it

she’s very claustrophobic in her youth ( and pop-tarts are a fairly big trigger for her),  though she’s trying self-conducted exposure therapy to address this 

speaking of - her dad gets murdered by a group of thugs when she’s 18.  she sees them beginning to shake him down for money he owes and turns the other way - so she lives with the knowledge that she could have possibly stopped his death. 

she’s had a weird fascination with the joker since she was 18 - she’s more than a little bit inspired by his persona; that’s what gives her the courage to stand up to her dad the day he dies. 

she has adhd (but has figured out how to work with it by the time she’s in college) 

she still competes in gymnastics during her gap year - and she teaches younger kids in order to be able to afford her own lessons.  

very skilled at picking locks!! definitely a result of childhood trauma!! 

love.

she’s dating a girl named bernice who is also in her lab - she’s very much in love.  full ‘i’m gonna marry this girl.’ 

this is where she gets the infamous stuffed beaver - bernice found the beaver at some flea market and hid her journal in it. 

when bernice ends up in arkham,  harley gets custody of the beaver.  she has it to this day. 

the reckoning. 

she’s part of a vigilante group called the reckoning,  a group of four gotham u students fighting against the rampant misogyny present on campus. 

they expose several professors + apprehend a truly terrible man ( though the circumstances leading up to his arrest result in bernice being sent to arkham. ) harley makes the active choice not to kill. 

her vigilante activity ceases once she actually starts as a student - she is afraid of jeopardizing her scholarship and.... 

harley meets renee montoya for the first time in connection with this group ( and is in fact arrested by her. ) montoya agrees to drop the investigation into the group if they disband,  and harley agrees. 

things i may / may not be keeping. 

i’m still figuring out what origin i want to keep for the harley quinn nickname... j’s harlequin -> h’s ‘harley quinn’?  maybe?  harleen (2019)’s slut-shamey origin (and harley reclaiming it)?  mm....... i don’t know.  i’ll get back to y’all. 

still figuring out exactly how much harleen changes when she becomes harley in terms of personality - but i def don’t see her as the ‘omg rainbow sparkles unicorns’,  always yelling,  full of energy girlie that’s presented in this book.  we shall see how this shakes out. i think it’s a fair take but i just don’t think it’s my take!! 

she maaayyy or may not volunteer at arkham while she’s an undergraduate student. if she does it’s def only to try and see bernice. 

also not entirely positive she has any face to face contact w/ joker while she’s this young (vs. the brief meeting they have in the book) . . . i think i prefer their first encounter being him almost murdering her on the street after she’s out of med school. i just.. like.. she’s eighteen 😵‍💫 and we all know how it ends up ... and i don’t ...... 🙃

i’m just like so curious to see what the next book does with harley joining a sorority ( she’s considering at the end of this book ) & how that impacts her sense of belonging ( especially ‘cause the book’s author seems to have had a really positive experience with her sorority and so i don’t think she’s going to want to portray it in a negative / exclusionary way ).  i’m also not 100% sure which way i’m gonna go with this - because again i’m not 100% sure how that unravels and leads harley to the super lonely place she is when she meets joker?? i really have no interest in the ‘blonde bitches are mean to harley ‘cause she’s poor’ plot so i .... will think about this.