Series: Dante Walker #1
Author: Victoria Scott
Author Info: Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook
Pub Date: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
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Summary:
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.
Review:
Have you been a good little boy or girl? The Soul Collectors know and you might think that harmless indiscretion isn’t going to make a difference but think again. You just might have a new mark on your soul, one that can earn you a place on the express train to hell. This is the concept behind The Collector: A Dante Walker Novel by Victoria Scott. That new hot guy at school, he might be coming for you but not in the way that you think.
So let’s talk about Dante Walker. I found myself laughing at things Dante would say in the first part of the book. I was reading lines out loud to my husband and would be like, can you believe he said that. Dante is that guy that puts a lot on for show, I’m not saying he doesn’t actually think he is awesome. Which he is awesome, but I think he’s got a good heart underneath which is what Charlie sees. I love Dante because he is what he is, even when he is sort of turning over a new leaf. He doesn’t lose his snarky attitude even when he is doing the “right” thing.
Charlie was a really interesting character. She is not your typical, I’m so beautiful but I just don’t know it type of girl. Dante flat out describes her as ugly but it’s her beautiful soul that shines through to him. There were times when I liked Charlie and times when I was like eh, I don’t know how I feel. Charlie has a different kind of confidence that allows her to be who she is. It’s not until given the opportunity, I mean really given it to make some improvements on her looks does she start to change and become more self-conscience.
Dante and Charlie’s romance does not instantly bloom, it’s a gradual process. He doesn’t understand her ability to be content in life when she has, what he considers, so little. While Dante is driven by always wanting more. He has the rule of the bigger and flashier it is, the better. Somehow these two opposites begin to attract and it’s kind of when Charlie starts to change that he realizes he really liked her the way she was. She sneaks her away into his heart. I like the way it flowed, it wouldn’t make sense for some bad ass Soul Collector to suddenly be enamored with a girl who can barely chew gum and walk at the same time. So the fact that there romance starts off a little slow makes a whole lot more sense.
I liked the side characters for the most part. Especially Max, Dante’s best friend, I loved him
What a great idea for a story, I loved it. Soul Collectors that go out and put marks on souls so that they skip over judgment day and end up where either Boss Man or Big Guy want them. It’s the common idea of the war between angels and demons with a unique twist. I also really like the way the seals worked. It’s not one thing you do that gets you that ticket to either the pearly white gates or the raging fires, but a collection of things. You have an opportunity to redeem yourself. If all else fails there are still the good old traditional soul contract.
I love Victoria’s writing style, I was so excited for this book. Even though Four Houses is a short story, I felt like it was hypnotic and figured only good could come from her. She does an awesome job writing from a male pov. Dante never seemed too sappy or girly to me and I loved the wittiness that she has injected into the story. The story moved quickly and I didn’t feel like I had any lag time. There were some parts where I was curious about how they were going to get out of a situation, especially when there was an agreement going on. I also felt like there was more to what is going on with Charlie’s soul. Which makes me have to read the next book of course.