Scott, Victoria (Young adult author)

Dante Walker is awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has made him one of Hell's soul collectors. 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 10 days.

a Dante Walker novel

The collector

Savindi Jinasena

So I tried to use gifs on goodreads, but I might be doing it wrong. So if you'd like to see the review with gifs you can do so here

Cover Gushing Worthiness: Hmmm….I personally don't think this cover screams “pick me up” so I can't say that it does anything for the book. I mean it’s just a supposedly good looking guy standing there. It didn't spark my fancy, but I'm guessing it will work it’s magic for other reads. Yay or Nay you ask? My answer is Nay. Sorry Dante.

Review: This review is going to be a mixture of both formal and informal because there are a few things I want to include.

Hearing about The Collector

Me: Reading  Steph's Review

Me:LOL (Literally laughing out loud) at the Gifs Steph used.

Me: Wow this book sounds really entertaining. I should think about picking it up.

Me: Reading  Sam's Review

Me: Still laughing. I should seriously consider picking this book up.

Me: Reading  Dante Walker's Wall.

Me: OMG this guy is so hilarious. Thank God he’s fictional because I would have deflated his ego so much.

Me: Browsing through Netgalley and finding The Collector.

Me: 
[image error]
Me: MUST REQUEST IT!!! (Presses request button)

Me. Checks email and finds one that says “Thank you for requesting a title from Entangled Publishing. You can now access the title by logging into NetGalley.”

Me: [image error]
Official Review

So that is how I came across The Collector and I wanted to like it a lot. Sadly I came away with problems rather than an entertaining read.

Plot wise I really liked the idea of The Collector because I hadn’t heard or read anything like it. I’m sure there are books out there which have Bad boys who make the ladies’ hearts go bang bang, but I usually don't read books like this so I'm clueless to be honest. Anyways The Collector promised a Bad boy who could flaunt his swagger without making a fool of himself. Who wouldn't want to read about a guy like that? An added bonus being the story was told in Dante’s swoon worthy voice. Yes sign me up please! I can already anticipate the question “So why on earth couldn't this girl enjoy this book with a boy who’s got swagger that surpasses everyone? Well I guess I’m here to tell you why now.

I admit the first half of the book was entertaining, albeit not as funny as some of the reviews written for this book. I have to say that I haven’t met 19 year old boys like Dante Walker nor have I have read about them. It’s a good thing I haven't met anyone like Dante since I might deflate his ego and actually enjoy the process of it too. Halfway through the tone of The Collector changed from ‘entertaining and humorous” to “time to get serious and buckle down. It’s character development time.” I want to say that I normally don't have a problem with this, but this book takes place over ten days so how can you suddenly go to the opposite end of the personality spectrum so soon? It just felt forced and cookie cutter like to me.

My major problem with this book was it’s message to young girls. It was one of the things that bothered me so much. I don't think I’m giving away major spoilers when I say the heroine isn't your typical girl who is “absolutely gorgeous but just doesn't know it yet”. Rather Charlie Cooper is a girl I would considering to be going through the changes one goes through during teenage years complete with bad acne, skin and frizzy hair. Suddenly she goes through a ‘makeover’ and voila Dante notices her. I had a lot of trouble with this message. Charlie without any makeover was a beautiful character and I didn't believe that she needed a physical alternation for Dante to notice her.

As for the characters, I didn't love Dante Walker as much as I wanted to. There were moments me made me laugh out loud, but there were others-especially in the beginning during his interactions with Charlie that made me just want to sucker punch him. Also while I wanted to believe he was a badboy with a lot of swagger, I got tired of him by the end. His lines were cliche and corny to the point where it should have made me laugh, but it just made me think “Wow really? How do you get away with talking like that.”

Charlie on the other hand was an angel. Seriously she was like a female version of Craig and Mark Keilburger (Craig is the founder of the Free the Children Organization). She was so beautiful in her selflessness and I wanted to smack Dante for making her think otherwise. It bothered me that Charlie didn't quite stand up to Dante during some of his demands. While I liked her, there isn't much to say about her as a character. She sort of just existed. Maybe she'll have more of a prominent voice.

Charlie’s friends Annabelle and Blue were great characters as well. I loved the banter between all of them. Dante’s best friend Max too was a great character and I hope he'll be featured on a regular basis in The Liberator.

Overall The Collector was an ‘okay’ read. Honestly the reviews for the book were so much more funnier than the actual book. I feel like this is another overhyped book. There will definitely be people who will enjoy this, I just didn’t.

My rating: 2/5

Would I recommend it? Maybe

The Collector is now available in bookstores and is published by Entangled Publishing. The galley was provided by Netgalley. Thank You Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Victoria Scott

"Witty, and so intriguing. I started reading and didn't want to stop. Victoria Scott is a fabulous new voice in YA.” —C.C. Hunter, author of the New York Times bestselling series SHADOW FALLS Dante Walker is flippin' awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence has 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 10 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 long ago buried. The Dante Walker series is best enjoyed in order. Reading Order: Book #1 The Collector Book #2 The Liberator Book #3 The Warrior

The Collector

JoLee

I have been waiting it seems like for ever for The Collector (Dante Walker #1) and loved it. The cover is eye catching and portrays Dante’s character perfect. 
 
The Collector was all about second chances. When Dante was living he did not have a care in the world. Thought he could do anything he wants. When he died and became A Collector he thought he still can do anything he wants. 

He is your bad boy who is witty and arrogant. He does not know it yet but deep down inside he is good and Charlie is the one who will bring out the good in him. At first Charlie is just a job to him but the more time he spends with her the more he grows attached to her. She is nerdy and had a rough life after her parents died. She knows she is nerdy and accepts it. She holds her head up high, enjoys the little things in life. I enjoyed her character and even shed a few tears during some not so nice scenes with her schoolmates. Loved how Dante who only thinks of himself is the one to protect and be there for her. Kudos to Victoria Scott for writing about that beauty on the outside is not everything. What is inside that counts and makes someone beautiful. I Loved how Dante was able to see Charlie as a beautiful person from the good she has on the inside. 

The Collector is a fresh new YA Paranormal novel in Victoria Scott new Series Dante Walker. I love the idea of a Collector stealing souls and look forward to The Liberator (Dante Walker #2).

Rating: 4 stars - Loved it
 
ARC provided by publisher, Entangled Teen at NetGalley for an honest review

Wickedly Delicious Book Blog

Cindy Lee

More of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words.

Rating: B

So when this book popped up and turned out to be everyone's new favorite, I decided I needed to take the plunge the day it came out. What did I expect? The next Daemon Black (of Obsidian), of course. But, I was a bit disappointed.

The Collector is an angel/demon novel and I actually quite enjoy those ones so I'm all set on that. Dante works for the Boss Man (Satan) and collects bad souls as his job, the Collector. From the synopsis, I could see he was a pretty egoistic guy and I'm down with that. Within the first few pages, I was hooked on his personality. 

Dante as a narrator was a huge plus for me. Having a guy protagonist is pretty rare in YA so I was pretty excited. You almost never get to be inside a hunky guy's mind. Dante was charming, funny and witty and I enjoyed him as a narrator immensely. The author had a distinct voice and it really shined through and made everything better. 

I really loved the nicknames for God and Satan. Big Guy and Boss Man? Fits perfectly :) In this book I don't think we've gotten enough info on the Collectors and the Liberators, so I hope we get to learn more about them and the whole soul collecting thing in the next book. 

Throughout the book, Dante also grew as a person and I really liked seeing him realize some important things in his life.

Even though I enjoyed everything above, there were a few things that kind of ticked me off. The plot wasn't engaging at all times. I find myself bored sometimes just hoping that something interesting would happen. I never really liked Charlie as the love interest either. Not that it's because she was "ugly" or anything but because of her interest to keep on making herself more beautiful and selling her soul in the process. Let me clarify. I'm sure a lot of girls would sell their soul to be perfect and beautiful but I thought that Charlie was a better person than that. She developed her own group/organizations to help people. And I thought she was good and would be content with who she is. But I guess not. Besides that, I couldn't connect fully with the story. Not because it was a male protagonist though (I usually love and adore them).

Even though this book fell beneath my expectations (they were set pretty high), I would love to read the sequel and am waiting on the day I can. This unique take on angels/demons is for sure to shine through and presents a new voice in the YA genre.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

Find this review and others at Lost in Literature!

4.5 stars!

"Oh, yes! Absolutely!" That's what I said to myself when I first saw this book. I definitely love me some bad boys! This was one I was NOT going to pass up.

Dante, the demon soul collector, gets assigned a new task from Boss Man... to collect Charlie. Poor innocent little Charlie. She's niave about boys, dorkier than all getout, and totally out of Dante's comfort zone. For a girl who does charity work on the weekends and seems to have a heart of gold, Dante is completely stumped on why Boss Man wants her. But it's not for him to worry about. She's gaudy, clumsy, and not pretty by any stretch of the imagination. She's still his project. For some reason, she's the one he's forced to collect. He sucks it up and tries to make the best of this situation. He has 10 days to collect her soul. Easy enough, right? He is the best, by his own admission. But the question remains on his mind... why her?

This story is fabulous! I love the connection between Dante and Charlie, who couldn't be more opposite if they tried. Dante is painfully errogant, overly self-absorbed and ridiculously conceited, along with being dropdead gorgeous. Yet Charlie is an awkward outcast, lacking any level of self confidence whatsoever. She has frizzy hair, bad skin, and would rather blend into the walls in school than be noticed by anyone. Dante bounces into her life and quickly starts changing things around... and poor little Charlie is so overcome by the hotness that is Dante, she quickly joins him for his insane ride of craziness... complete with a perma-grin.

This story starts off strong and continues on that way through the end. The story wouldn't be half as good without these amazing characters though. If you're anything like me, you will be overcome with love for Dante. He's the epitomy of bad boys we love to hate. I loved watching the relations between Dante and Charlie change as the story progressed. And oh man, did I loved Dante's dialect! The things he comes out with were seriously laugh-out-loud funny! 

I would most definitely recommend The Collector to basically anyone that has a sense of humor, enjoys handsome bad boys, and doesn't mind endulging in a gilty pleasure book, such as myself, from time to time. ;) If you haven't read yourself some Dante, do it now! What are you waiting for?! Thankfully, there's plenty of Dante to go around! :D

* A copy of this book was received in exchange for an honest review.

The collector a Dante Walker novel

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