Book Review: The Collector - Victoria Scott

 Title: The Collector (Dante Walker #1)

Author: Victoria Scott

Release Date: March 25th 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen

Source: NetGalley

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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.

I know I said in a recent post that when I read a book, I try not to expect anything—but that's very hard to do when a book's receiving so much hype, as is the case with The Collector. Thankfully, this book didn't disappoint.

For me, the best thing about this book was Dante Walker himself, in whose POV this book was written in. It was so much fun being inside his head, and unsurprisingly enough, his abounding self-confidence entertained instead of irritated. I also loved how, for the first time ever—for me, at least—the heroine wasn't physically appealing, particularly in the hero's eyes.

At first glance, Charlie Cooper was the stereotypical nerdy girl, complete with hideous hair, uneven teeth, and bad skin, and I had a hard time imagining how self-absorbed Dante could fall for her. But sure enough, he did. How could he have not? Beneath the unpleasant facade, Charlie was smart, sweet, and so unusually kind. Their relationship was one I really loved, because it didn't sprout—it grew, changing both of them along the way.

The Collector's strength was clearly the characters, because I felt like the plot could have progressed faster. Still, that gave me time to relish these new friends, whose variety added so much more color to the story. It also enhanced the suspense; the whole time I was reading this, I kept suspecting everyone as the bad guy who would stab Dante and Charlie in the back.

The twist at the end was great, but it made me even more worried for Dante and Charlie. Also, I wish what would happen to Charlie's soul had gotten explained, but I'm sure it will be in the next book which I am looking forward to!

MY FAVORITE PART was Dante trying to get close to Charlie. 

RATING:

 

(cover and blurb from Goodreads.com)