The Collector (Dante Walker #1) by Victoria Scott
He makes good girls...bad.
Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.
Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:
Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.
Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.
Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.
Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:
Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.
Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.
Val and I are both super excited to have an e-copy of this book to give away. We both love Dante something fierce, so it's awesome that we get to spread the love! To refresh your memory on just how much we adore our smoking hot bad boy, we're going to re-post our reviews here as a little reminder ;)
It is no secret that I have been drooling over this book since the moment I laid eyes on the cover. And then after that, I read the description and I wanted it a bit more. THEN I read a teaser, and wanted it more. And more and more and more things just kept adding up to make me want this book SO. BAD. I seriously wanted to read this book more than any other book before. Possibly even more than Obsidian. If not, then they're tied. I'm not sure. Either way, I've been dying for this book. But then, I got put on the blog tour. And on March 1st, my pretty little eARC appeared in my inbox and I think I lost all sanity for a few minutes. Um, yeah. I freaked OUT. It was awesome.
Both my freak out AND the book, that is. (Smooth transition, eh?)
The Collector is the kind of book that is 100% worth everything it's getting. It's worth my freak out, it's worth the hype, and it's worth the love. Victoria Scott has written a PHENOMINAL story that is the literal definition of "unputdownable." I'm telling you right now, if you've been anticipating this book since...goodness, FOREVER AGO, then your expectations will be met, if not exceeded. I was blown away by this book. Seriously.
THIS is the book that messed up my sleep schedule for TWO. WHOLE. WEEKS. Because I was up until 6 AM reading. I kid you not, I was THAT unwilling to stop reading this book, for any reason at all. Stuff was going down! And it was epic! Victoria Scott's writing is fabulous. She builds her world quickly and effectively, not info-dumping or boring me in any way, shape, or form. I'm still a bit stunned about this, honestly. I finished this book in the beginning of March, and it's now the beginning of April and I'm writing this review...it took me all that time to think of something decent to say that explained more than "WOW" or "READ THIS FREAKING BOOK". Even now, I don't feel like I'm actually doing this book justice.
Character Rundown:
Dante: Dante. Flipping. Walker. The guy we've all been talking about. The guy I claimed as mine before I even officially met him. (And he IS mine, by the way, we should all be clear on that here and now.) The kind of guy who has swag for days and can make me laugh in LITERALLY any situation. He is a extremely well-rounded character, not boring at all--HA! He is the exact OPPOSITE of boring. Using the word "boring" and his name in the same sentence should be illegal. He's funny, and he has a kind heart. He may have been a bit conceited, but he was always awesome, and he grew to become...possibly my new favorite male character. I'm seriously unsure of everything right now. I guess we'll have to wait until after Origin to see how Daemon makes out on my book boyfriend list, yes?
Charlie: Charlie is the opposite of every other female character in practically every book I've ever read. She's not gorgeous. She's not popular. She's not wanted by every guy who breathes the same air as her. She's sweet, caring, and kind. She has a limp, acne, and wears glasses. NOT the kind of person anyone would pair with the badass Dante Walker. I really liked Charlie's character. She was so INNOCENT and that was fun to read, especially compared to Dante and his demon ways.
Plot. I guessed exactly ONE thing that was going to happen in this book. I mean, like, big-shocker-wise. Not obvious things. Everyone guesses those. I mean secretive things that we aren't supposed to know until we're either told or something happens to let the cat out of the bag. And I only guessed ONE of those. Um, yeah, Victoria Scott has obviously written a compelling story that is--YAY!--not predictable like so many other books. There are plot twists, my friends. They happen. You will be surprised. Have fun!
Dante + Charlie. As I said, these two are not the people anyone would imagine ending up together. But as a couple, they are so completely compatible, I'm smiling right now as I write this. She helps Dante be a better person, even when he doesn't realize it, or even want it to happen. And he makes her a more daring person. They bring out different things in each other and they are just so cute and, together, they are completely kickass, I'm not gonna lie. This is a couple that..just...AHH! Happiness and smiles right now. That's all I've got. Happiness and smiles.
The ending. Pfft. As if I'm actually going to tell you. I shall give nothing away except this: "Bad to the bone." ;)
Overall, The Collector is everything I expected it to be and more. Victoria Scott has written a compelling novel that is definitely worth losing a little sleep and slacking on a little blogging. This book is worth it all. It's books like this that make me both proud and GLAD to be V's super fan. <3
5 smokin' hot stars!
5 stars : What a wild ride - totally love Dante Walker!
How does one explain the brilliance that is this book? I totally loved it. I love the bad boy Dante Walker. I loved reading from his POV. I loved the premise of the book, demon collectors sealing souls for the boss man. I loved the fresh writing style that was funny, unpredictable, and captivating. I loved Charlie in all her sweetness. I loved the relationship between Dante and Charlie from the very first moment down to the last word. I loved the secondary characters, Max and Valery were the best. I loved the ending and cannot wait for the next one! If you think April is too long to wait, book 2 doesn't come out till September!
Dante Walker is the the ultimate bad boy. But there is sooooo much more to him than his bad boy image. He may not want to admit that there is something good in him but it's so there. Charlie can see it. She sees the real Dante. And Dante learns to see the real Charlie. I truly loved the messages that are so easily communicated without a direct word in this fabulous read.
Charlie is perfect. I cannot say too much without giving things away so I'll just say I was proud of her. Her loving, giving and devoted personality was so refreshing. She had suffered so much and didn't let it make her bitter. But more than that, she was real. She still understood how others saw her and it did affect her. Her choices were real. Her decisions were real. I enjoyed her so much.
I started this book during a particularly difficult week for me. It was my refuge. I could have read it straight through but needed to savor it over a few days. I will reread this one for sure. I'm pre-ordering my copy to put in my classroom. This book will need to be shared for sure.
If you love YA, then you should read this one as soon as you can get your hands on it!
How does one explain the brilliance that is this book? I totally loved it. I love the bad boy Dante Walker. I loved reading from his POV. I loved the premise of the book, demon collectors sealing souls for the boss man. I loved the fresh writing style that was funny, unpredictable, and captivating. I loved Charlie in all her sweetness. I loved the relationship between Dante and Charlie from the very first moment down to the last word. I loved the secondary characters, Max and Valery were the best. I loved the ending and cannot wait for the next one! If you think April is too long to wait, book 2 doesn't come out till September!
Dante Walker is the the ultimate bad boy. But there is sooooo much more to him than his bad boy image. He may not want to admit that there is something good in him but it's so there. Charlie can see it. She sees the real Dante. And Dante learns to see the real Charlie. I truly loved the messages that are so easily communicated without a direct word in this fabulous read.
Charlie is perfect. I cannot say too much without giving things away so I'll just say I was proud of her. Her loving, giving and devoted personality was so refreshing. She had suffered so much and didn't let it make her bitter. But more than that, she was real. She still understood how others saw her and it did affect her. Her choices were real. Her decisions were real. I enjoyed her so much.
I started this book during a particularly difficult week for me. It was my refuge. I could have read it straight through but needed to savor it over a few days. I will reread this one for sure. I'm pre-ordering my copy to put in my classroom. This book will need to be shared for sure.
If you love YA, then you should read this one as soon as you can get your hands on it!
**About the Author**
Victoria Scott is a teen fiction writer represented by Sara Crowe of the Harvey-Klinger Literary Agency. She’s the author of the FIRE & FLOOD series published by Scholastic, and the DANTE WALKER trilogy published by Entangled Teen. Her first stand-alone young adult title, TITANS, will be published by Scholastic in spring 2016.Victoria’s books have been bought and translated in eleven foreign markets including the UK, Turkey, China, Poland, Israel, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Taiwan, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. She currently lives in Dallas, and hearts cotton candy something fierce.
Author Links:
**Giveaway**
We have one e-copy of The Collector to give to one lucky winner! Just check out the terms and conditions in the Rafflecopter below (you can click at the bottom of the Rafflecopter to see those) and then enter!
So glad you both loved this!
ReplyDeleteI like the bad boy but I love the good boy.
ReplyDeleteI like the bad boy who's really a good boy deep down inside. Lol Thank you for the giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this book too, but I think that you knew that! Great reviews ladies!!
ReplyDeleteNaomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace
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