The Collector (Dante Walker #1)

I have some mixed feelings. "The Collector" follows Dante in the first person- he is telling us his story. Dante died two years ago, and since death, he has worked as a collector for the "Boss Man" aka the devil. Dante and 5 others wear cuffs that allow them to stay on Earth in exchange for placing stamps on souls who are doing bad things. Once a soul is covered by stamps (theirs and their counterparts), they can collect it, and that person will immediately go to hell upon death. If a soul is not collected prior to death, then it goes to Judgement Day where it's a toss up, and they are not assured to go to hell.

Alright, so they have certain limitations, meaning they cannot harm a human and cannot just throw stamps around- they have to see something bad, but it can be something small like being rude to someone or something big like crime. They also apparently must mostly live like humans, traveling in airplanes or cars to get around. So, how do 6 people do enough work/create enough volume to be worth it with these limitations? I am not sure- it's not really well explained. It seems all 6 are in the US also, so I guess other countries' souls are safer/get to go to Judgement Day automatically? I feel like that's a pretty small number (or are there others who are not in the flesh? Something else to explain this?). There also do not appear to be term limits and they cannot die, so it's unclear why Dante is the most experienced/oldest of the Collectors, and he's only been dead for 2 years.

Accepting all that, Dante is up for promotion- if he just collects this one soul first. Should be easy-peasy right? Well, he has to give stamps for bad things, and that can take a while (again, surprising that any souls could be collected with 6 Collectors handing out stamps and many stamps needed to seal a soul to be collected). Twist! A contract does exist- previously unbeknownst to the Collectors- where a person can give up their soul in exchange for something.

The soul Dante is sent to collect is Charlie's. She is unattractive, as Dante frequently reminds us. But, you know, she's a good person. So Dante gets her to sign the contract in exchange for beauty. As she becomes more beautiful, Dante becomes more attracted to her and starts liking her and has a change of heart. I could almost see this being an internal struggle not really attached to Charlie, but more of a what-am-I-doing-with-my-afterlife thing, but it was more tied into Charlie and wanting to save her (I think I would have liked it more if it was an internal thing where this tipped the scales). As-is, I could have bought into this more if I really thought he liked her for her, but they only have a couple scenes with some glimpses of more before she becomes more beautiful. Even then, it seemed so sudden, and she trusts easy. The book really latches onto the bad-guy-turned-good-by-girl.

My biggest concerns were about Dante's selfish and jerky personality, mainly things that I didn't think were needed to get the point across. There's the over-the-top denouncement of Charlie and her friends as ugly with plenty of unflattering descriptors which is tough to read (because who among us looks like an air-brushed model?) but you know, he's going to change. Later, after things are "changing," when he takes Charlie and friends to Vegas and Charlie and her female friend are dancing together, he says "I wonder why the slightest bit of booze turns chicks into lesbos." I am not even sure I can explain how offending this sentiment is, and this is supposedly right around the time of his dramatic change. Girls dancing together does not make them sexually attracted to each other, so you aren't "turning" anyone anything. I am pretty sure, at least in this context, lesbos is derogatory and should not be used (Why did that even need to be there? We already know he's just a mean guy all around).

Anyway, beyond those concerns, the book is a fast read with a good pace, and I was interested in The Collector aspect (which seems, to me, to be a new idea even if I still have some questions). Scott is a great writer, and her books always pull me in with the writing. I would have liked some more fleshing out of the job/afterlife and internal struggle with less of the insulting remarks (I think we could have gotten his shallowness without this). Overall, I am left with some mixed feelings.

Please note that I received a copy from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I have seen for a while and all the talk about it, so I knew I had to read it, and I have to say that I am glad I did.
I am all for the “bad boy”, but Dante was one character that I had a hard time with at the beginning, he was cocky, and could throw an insult without even thinking about or have any remorse, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. As I continued to read, I began to see below that sarcastic facade was a sweet guy, it just too a little time to unravel the complexity of his character. Charlie was just a ordinary girl, not the popular type or the girl that all guys want. She nice, and cared for her friends Blue and Annabelle and her family. And she was Dante’s target and his weakness.
I enjoyed the world building, the angels versus demons, and this way of collecting souls was different than most ways than I normally read, with seals and contracts, and I did like that it was different. Soon the course that Dante was one with collecting Charlie’s soul, changed course along the way, but the twists that thrown in made it an interesting change. There was more to Charlie that just “Boss Man” wanting her soul. And along the way we were introduced to Max and Valery, and who they are and what they mean to the story was great, they both have a story that I hope will continue.
Overall, The Collector was fast paced, had witty characters, and an interesting plot, and on the series that I will be continuing. Can’t wait to seen what is going to happen with Dante now that things have changed.

Why I Loved It: It doesn't get much more bad boy than Dante Walker, demon with swag. The boy has more moves, money, and overwhelming ego than most. Seriously, the boy thinks he's hot stuff. The idea is that Satan has "collectors" who go around trying to get Satan souls before Judgement Day. Dante is a said collector. Considering the boy spent the later years of his young life making selfish decisions, there wasn't much of a change later when he landed himself in hell. He managed to get in good with "Boss Man" or Satan. Now the only change is that he has immortality and a black Amex that is pretty much limitless *or it seems that way in the book*. Then enters the girl *there's always a girl* who Dante gets assigned to. Satan wants Charlie's soul. A problem quickly forms. Dante knows Satan wants Charlie, but he has no idea why. Charlie is good and kind, probably the purest person he's met, but that doesn't justify the huge mission to reel her in. Either way, Dante has been sent to claim her soul, and failing has some big consequences.

Victoria Scott has created a fresh twist in the world of angels and demons in YA lit *in my humble opinion* and the plot is refreshingly different. I have to say it's one of those books that you just have to let all reality go. It wouldn't happen, but enjoy the ride.

All in all, I really enjoyed the book. For me, the second half is where it got really good. Let Dante have his ego. Enjoy his bad boy self. And love and adore Charlie. Charlie could just be Dante's undoing.

Who Should Read It: If you really like the Sweet Evil series by Wendy Higgins, Hush, Hush, or have a thing for a bad boy main character, I would give it a spin.