Title: The Collector
Author: Victoria Scott
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2013
Publisher: EntangledTeen
Source: Bought it
Where to find: Goodreads / Amazon / Book Depository
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.
“How can someone be cruel to this chick? It’s like picking a fight with a chipmunk.”
I have some conflicting thoughts about this book, and as such the high rating might be confusing, but I have to rate this book based on my overall thoughts not based on the single thing that irked me. This book is ridiculous, but it is ridiculous in a great, entertaining way. Victoria Scott has written one of those rare YA novels where our POV is a male. These are extremely rare in single POV YA books and she did a great job in The Collector.
In terms of what my issue with this book was, it has to do with this theme of changing yourself to fit into society's notion of beauty. Charlie is depicted an an average, if not below average beauty, who proceeds to change the way she looks to be happier. To me this is very dangerous territory in today's society where people are constantly judged based on how they look. While this theme really bothered me and affected my enjoyment, I do think Victoria Scott took steps to show us that this was not how Dante felt.
I choose to believe that based on Dante's character growth in this book, he would still protect Charlie regardless of her appearance. I also think Victoria Scott hinted at Dante not agreeing with all the changes she was making. As for other plot elements, I found it to be slightly predictable, but nothing too cliche. The predictability did not bother me in this case because it is a paranormal romance there is a certain level of predictability that is expected.
So for me this book was well done with only one major issue. It was also about demons which is one of my favorite character types so that increased my enjoyment of this book. I own the other two books in the trilogy so I will be finishing it eventually, it just is not currently on the top of my list of books to read.
In terms of what my issue with this book was, it has to do with this theme of changing yourself to fit into society's notion of beauty. Charlie is depicted an an average, if not below average beauty, who proceeds to change the way she looks to be happier. To me this is very dangerous territory in today's society where people are constantly judged based on how they look. While this theme really bothered me and affected my enjoyment, I do think Victoria Scott took steps to show us that this was not how Dante felt.
I choose to believe that based on Dante's character growth in this book, he would still protect Charlie regardless of her appearance. I also think Victoria Scott hinted at Dante not agreeing with all the changes she was making. As for other plot elements, I found it to be slightly predictable, but nothing too cliche. The predictability did not bother me in this case because it is a paranormal romance there is a certain level of predictability that is expected.
So for me this book was well done with only one major issue. It was also about demons which is one of my favorite character types so that increased my enjoyment of this book. I own the other two books in the trilogy so I will be finishing it eventually, it just is not currently on the top of my list of books to read.
What other books with demon characters have you read and enjoyed? Let me know in the comments!
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