REVIEW: The Collector (Dante Walker #1)

The Collector (Dante Walker #1), by Victoria Scott
Published March 25, 2013
Publisher:  Entangled Teen
Format: paperback - I own
Genre:  YA, PNR
To Buy:  Amazon * Barnes & Noble

 Rating:  4.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) 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 have a new book boyfriend. His name is Dante Walker. 

There are so many things that I loved about The Collector. First and foremost was the main character. Dante Walker is such an ass. Really - he is a big jerk. He is beyond arrogant. He's a mean SOB. And, he's a male slut. I guess it's only fitting, since he's a demon from Hell sent to Earth to stain the souls of the pure enough so that they can be claimed by Hell when they die. 

The best part about this book is watching Dante change. Of course, the catalyst is a girl. But, unlike in most books, the change isn't immediate. It takes a good long while. Dante's thoughts about this girl are less than pleasant when he meets her. In fact, I believe he mentions that she "got hit with the ugly stick." But, somewhere along the way, his opinion of her starts to change - very reluctantly, I might add. 

So many times, especially in YA books, there's insta-love or insta-change, and it's frustrating, because that just doesn't happen in real life. Life is hard and inconsistent and tiring. Typically, people don't just fall in love the second they lay eyes on someone. And people doesn't just change their outlook on life after one encounter with someone else. It's a nice thought, which is why, presumably, these themes are prolific in YA fiction. There was no insta-love or insta-change in The Collector. And, that was AWESOME. 

Did I mention yet that this is written entirely from Dante's POV? Another score for the win column. Male POVs are my favorite, and something tells me that Dante's thoughts and actions were a lot more interesting and titillating than Charlie's anyway. 

The lines are constantly being blurred in The Collector. The "bad guys" are not always bad. The "good guys" are not always good. What seems to be the right move is most definitely not. I was kept guessing, which plowed me through this book very quickly. 

If you want a new twist on the typical angels/demons book, you definitely must read The Collector. I admit, angel books are not really my thing. But, The Collector was definitely my thing.