The Collector
Dante Walker Series, #1
by Victoria Scott
Publisher: Entangled Teen (April, 2 2013)
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Format: eBook (400 pages)
Source: Author for Blog Tour
Purchase: Amazon Print | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: ★★★½☆ ( 3.5 stars)
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.
At A Glance
I loved the characters bunches and bunches but aspects of the story were just okay.
The Good
It seems like almost everyone starts out their The Collector review with, “You will not like Dante at first.” What!!!!??? I loved that MoFo. Dante was awesome from beginning to end. He wasn’t just an anti-hero in the beginning, he was also mean, funny mean, but mean all the same. He was (and still is) conceded. Life revolves around him. He’s got swag and he knows it. He’s a smooth talker who knows how to get his way. And though some of this sounds bad, it so worked for this book. It was perfect, it was different. What’s better than reading about a main character who is sooooo not a hero? Maybe it’s just me but I sometimes need this kind of change in my books. I don’t want to always read about the perfect couple, or perfect character. So sure, prepare yourself for Dante. He’s manipulative, he’s full of himself, and he’s full of awesomesauce. He’s the shiz! He’s Dante Effing Walker.
But Dante also has his sweet side. His feelings for Charlie are like the sweetest ever. He’s kind in an messed up way. And his heart is so big but he never realizes it. His evolution as a character was fascinating. I just can’t see how anybody couldn’t love this guy, even with all his faults.
The other characters are just as amazing. Charlie was literally so caring, sweet, and endearingly geeky it was ridiculous. Her innocence is almost unbelievable, but you believe it in Charlie. And I loved that she wasn’t pretty, or that she was ugly if you want to be harsh. It was nice to see someone so focused on helping other people and caring for her friends instead of focusing on herself. Her friends were also great characters. Annabelle was amazing with comedic relief. She is a popular/sexy/conceded girl at heart even if she is an outcast like Charlie. But even with her wanting to be more than what she is, she cares for her friends just as much as Charlie does. Then Blue. My poor, sweet, brooding Blue. I never really knew what to think of him. His obvious love for Charlie leaves him between a rock and a hard place with Dante’s pursuit of her and Charlie’s attraction to Dante. It’s Blue who surprises me the most in this book. He ends up being an accidental badass…and hero. Then there was Dante’s best friend, Max, who was just down right hilarious.
I really had fun reading this book. Every character had a great sense of humor. Of course nothing could beat Dante’s one-liners. The Collector really is a great book that will see you laughing often. The mystery was pretty good. The emotion was often intense. I felt it as Dante’s heart broke. I felt it as Charlie thought Dante cared nothing for her besides changing her looks. The concept was also very interesting. I am excited to see where this all goes. There is still so much for this series to get to.
OMG, I just realized what this book reminds me of. It’s like a YA Bad Santa. If you saw that movie, then you would totally get it. Of course this book has more of an endearing romance.
The Bad
It’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what I didn’t like. I think the story building lacked a great deal. Certain things aren’t explained well or at all. And some things are just unbelievable. Like having 6 Collectors for the entire world but they stick close to each other. How does that work when they are suppose to be collecting bad souls everywhere?
The ending was meh. So generic and predictable. And nothing is really resolved. We are left with more things needing to be explained than anything.
The Snuggly
Though I feel like Dante doesn’t deserve Charlie, I really liked them together. Their relationship was rocky at first, obviously. Dante spends the majority of the book trying to make Charlie change herself, make herself into someone “pretty” instead of ugly. Yeah, yeah, we all know Dante is kind of a douche in that respect. Making Charlie feel ugly. It was his job, give the boy some slack. But as they grew on each other, their relationship really bloomed. I loved Dante’s inner struggle with falling for Charlie. And that damn trusting Charlie was so puppy dog eyed over Dante, it was hard to watch. It all worked for some reason. It was like a beautiful disaster you couldn’t look away from.
Final Thoughts
Though the plot and story as a whole could have been better, I still had a lot of fun with The Collector. These were the best band of characters I have seen in a long time. I had some great laughs and held back a few tears. I would really like to read the next book in the series to see what is going to happen next. A recommended read.
“In this trunk,” she says with a serious face, “is God’s gift to women.”
“Chocolate?”
“No.”
“Midol?”
“What? No.”
“Tampons?”
“Stop guessing,” she says.”
“I’ll never understand the friendships Charlie has. Friendships where it doesn’t take cash or hookups, or saying the right things to stay in the circle. No, Charlie’s friendships are different. She tries to protect her people, and they in turn protect her. They accept each other’s imperfections and support one another. My friends weren’t like her friends, which makes me wonder if I ever had any at all.”
Annabelle laughs. “Oh, so you think you’re hot, do you?”
“Girl, I got swag for days.”
Author Bio
I’m a YA writer represented by Laurie McLean. Author of THE COLLECTOR (Entangled Teen, April 2013) and THE BRIMSTONE BLEED (Scholastic, 2014). I have a master’s degree in marketing, and live in Dallas with my husband. When not writing, I can be found munching cotton candy and snuggling obese cats.
Jaclyn Canada
So glad you reviewed this 😀 I’m very excited about this one! I think Dante sounds like a lot of fun. I read the interview of Dante and Daemon on Jennifer Armentrout’s site and it was fantastic. The characters seem like some I could grow pretty attached to. I definitely think this is one for me! Jaclyn @ JC’s Book Haven.
Jennifer Bielman
A lot of people are comparing Dante with Daemon but I don’t think they are the same at all. But yes, Dante is amazing. Hope you love the book.
Jaclyn Canada
The interview was funny because Dante and Daemon weren’t getting along at all. Dante was being a jerk…Daemon launched himself at him at one point like he was going to hit him. It was a hilarious read, but it gave me a glimpse into Dante’s character which seems full of swag and cockiness.
Alicia Batista
Great giveaway! THE COLLECTOR SOUNDS so good, i CAN’T WAIT TO READ IT! 🙂
Jennifer Bielman
Thanks for stopping by.
Sarah Elizabeth
Glad you liked Dante, even if the rest of the story wasn’t amazing. How strange that the author is giving away her nook?! not quite sure what that is about 😕 Not even sure it would work this side of the atlantic?!
Jennifer Bielman
LOL, I am not sure either. I hope you get a chance to read this one. I would be interested to see what you think.
Kahlolily
I love your reviews!! I would like to read this book solely based on your descriptions of the characterization alone 🙂
Jennifer Bielman
LOL, the characters are all so awesome. They made this book.
kimbacaffeinate
This is on my nook, and I am going into expected a fun, snarky read, dang world-building issues..LOL
Jennifer Bielman
Yes, exactly. Don’t take it too seriously. It’s just good ol’ fun and snarkiness.
Jamie31
Awesome giveaway and thanks for the chance**
Elisa
This sounds like a great character read and a YA, paranormal Bad Santa sounds up my alley 🙂
Jennifer Bielman
Yaay, so happy someone knows what I mean with Bad Santa.
Evanlea Author
I’ve had this one on my TBR for awhile. Looking forward to reading it.
Jennifer Bielman
I really hope you like it.
Melissa (My World...in words and pages)
Hmm, thanks! Sounds interesting. 🙂
Midu Hadi
Thanks for the giveaway!
Ashley
LMAO at your first paragraph! I’m glad you loved Dante! He was freaking hilarious. His arrogance was so over the top that it just made me LOL! I’m sorry you were kind of iffy about the story building though. I guess your complaints totally make sense though! But I think it’s mostly me realizing that in hindsight then when I was actuallyr eading the book.
Awesome review! 😀
Jennifer Bielman
Yeah, but even with the iffy story building, Dante saves this book. I want more of his arrogance. I wnat more of him period.