Blog Tour: The Collector (Dante Walker #1) by Victoria Scott

The Collector (Dante Walker #1) 

By:  Victoria Scott 

Published:
April 2nd 2013

From:
Entangled Teen 


Gr’s Summary:

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 deeply buried.

Welcome to our stop on the ‘2013 Belongs to Dante’ blog event hosted by YA Bound.  Click HERE to see the rest of the blog tour schedule!

Lindy's Thoughts: 

The Collector, by Victoria Scott, was an excellent story!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and did not want to put it down!  Before, I began reading, I questioned if it would live up to all of the hype it had received.  I'm excited to say The Collector blew me away, and I will be recommending it to everyone I know!  As soon as The Liberator is available for pre-order, It will be an auto-buy purchase!  There are so many reasons that I enjoyed reading, The Collector.  Among those reasons, I would say that I LOVED all of the characters, the storyline had me hooked, and desperate to figure out all of the mysteries before they unraveled, and the author is a very talented writer who knows how to make the story take on a life of its own!

The Collector had an unforgettable, unique, and colorful cast of characters!  My favorite character, of course, was Dante!  He was dynamic, powerful, sexy, sarcastic, judgmental, had swagger, and an arrogant confidence that drew people to him!  I think a song that would fit Dante perfectly would be, "I'm sexy, and I know it."  What I loved about Dante, other than that he was such a fun character to read about, was the huge amount of growth that he made from the beginning, to the end of the story. He started out so pompous, full of himself, selfish, and judgmental.  He didn't have a conscience at the start, and all that he cared about was getting his promotion as, "Soul Director," so that he could stay on earth for eternity.  It didn't matter to him that he would be sacrificing Charlie, (the girl that he was assigned to collect her soul) for his own gain.  However, as he got to know her, you could see him change little by little.  First, all he saw was her physical appearance.  Such as, her acne- prone skin, frizzy hair, glasses, and a body that lacked curves.  By the middle of the story, he was noticing how her eyes would light up whenever she smiled, how beautiful her laugh was, the graceful curve of her neck, and the goodness and purity that emanated from her soul!

Charlie was sweet, shy, compassionate, loyal, trusting, selfless, innocent, and had a low self-esteem.  I loved the person that she was, and I could tell that she was special right away, and sensed that if anyone could make Dante grow, and change, it would be her.  She had such a positive, and grateful attitude.  Charlie was so admirable, and even though she had watched her parents die in a fire, and was orphaned most of her life, she still had an amazingly positive, and appreciative outlook on her life. Many of us could learn from Charlie.  Just by being herself, she taught others by leading her life with morals, integrity, compassion, and forgiveness.  I also enjoyed reading about the secondary characters in the story, Grandma, Annabelle, Blue, Valerie, and Max.  These characters weren't fully developed, like the main characters Charlie, and Dante were.  However, they each had unique, and distinct personalities, contributed to the story, and were fun to read about!

The plot-line in The Collector had me hooked!  I connected with this story, and enjoyed trying to figure out all of the mysteries.  There were plenty of plot twists, surprises, and the story never got dull!  I devoured, The Collector, and was motivated to keep reading, by the excitement, and uniqueness of the story plot.  This story pulled my heart  in so many directions!  There were two scenes in particular where I cried my eyes out, that had to do with Dante.  I felt such deep emotion in those moments, that I put myself in his shoes, and could empathize with what he was going through.  Ms. Scott is a very talented story-teller.  She tells the story in such a fun, and casual style.  I loved how my reading was effortless, and such a pleasurable experience.  The story was told flawlessly, and in such a way that I was able to visualize all of the characters, including their physical appearances, personalities, quirks, mannerisms, tones of voice, and demeanors.  The story flowed so smoothly, and went off without a hitch!

Pow!  I give, The Collector by Victoria Scott, 5 Exhilarating, Dynamic, Beautiful Soul, and Swagger-Filled Stars!  This book has officially been crowned, and added to my favorite's shelf!  I CAN NOT Recommend this story enough!!!!!  Read It!!!  Any book that has me desperate enough to finish in one sitting, pulls on my heartstrings, brings tears to my eyes, has me texting my book bestie every 5 minutes, and makes me crazy trying to figure out certain plot mysteries, deserves a solid 5 stars!!!   You will love, The Collector, and will not want to put it down!  Now the countdown begins until, The Liberator comes out, and makes me one ecstatic reader!!!!!!

Lindy's Favorite Quotes: 

"I throw my head back and laugh long and hard.  Then I lean in and whisper in her ear, you don't know who you're f***ing with, princess.   Ain't no one do bad like I do." (EARC, 57)

"And for the first time in my life, I wonder if I can be that person-the one who cares about people outside of themselves, the one who picks the right and honorable path." (EARC, 137)

"Inside, Charlie glows-her soul's the most precious thing I've ever seen.  And on the outside, she's even more beautiful.  Not just the way she is now, though she is killing it tonight, enough to take my breath away, but the way she was.  The bounce of her hair when she jumped on the bed, the glow of her skin when she told me about the charity, the curve of her mouth when she said she liked the sound the world made.  And her eyes-I've never seen as much life in anyone's eyes as I do hers." (EARC, 170)

"I love you, Dante.  I've loved you from the start.  But I hear her say it, and that's all I need to crumble.  Almost choking on my words, I manage to ask, why?  I open my eyes and find Charlie smiling.  She runs her hand over my cheek, then leans back against my chest.  Because I see you.  Even though you try so hard to hide, I see you, anyway." (EARC, 173)

The Way Ria Sees It 

Okay...THAT! Was Bad@SS!!  I had the best time reading The Collector!!  I played out like a movie, and I loved every single scene!  Dante OMG!!  I don’t do the spoiler thing because I want every one to fall in love with him for the first time, the exact same way I fell in Love with him!! He was snarky, sexy, swoony, and everything a bad boy could be! Blue...Well, your my Boy Blue, just know that! 

T-iming, is unpredictable, and total desolation can come at a moments notice.
H-eaven, always watching...Always mindful, never weak, never failing.
E-vil, misplaced trust will result in a mother's broken heart, and a son's shattered hopes.


C-ollecting souls was his job, he had no idea she would collect his heart.
O-penminded, Charlie embraces life with a pure soul.
L-iberating-This.  Book. ;)
L-ove, unconditional, and unabashed, these friends show us how it should be done.
E-nduring, ridicule, and judgment, only embracing love, and forgiveness.
C-harlie, an amazing example of what we should be.
T-rust.  Absolute.
O-utright amazing!  Dante will grab you by the hand, and hold it all the way to the end.
R-estitution, for a severe injustice was finally righted.

So.Totally.Not.What.I.Expected!!

I.

Could.

Not.

Be.

Happier.

Happy, happy, happy, I wish I could share exactly why but, *wags finger* no spoilers!  I will say this any time I get to read about ____ I love it!  Yep, there was ____ and, yep I loved the showdown!  So amazing, Kraven...Super sexy! I CANNOT Wait to meet him!!  Come on Dante Walker #2! Eeeep!  I need more like ASAP!!

My Fav’s 

Valery
She is this amazing person, that I want to get to know better.  She is sexy, sassy, and snarky.  Valery is everything any girl who wants to kick a** wants to be.  I want to know how she came to work for the big guy.  Max loves her, and she loves him.  I hope to find out what happened after their deaths that made them go opposite ways.

Dante
Damaged and pained.  Bad boy to the core!  Yummy yummy, yummy!   Lol!  Can you just see this gorgeous guy approaching you?.. I sure as heck can.  I’d be like, "okay do I get to see more of you, and if so what do I need to do?"   If he fell in love with me?!  Well, le sigh!!  Seriously, Dante has an amazing heart, and  he has held on to so much pain without necessity.  His love for his family and his new found love for charlie break my heart.  I love him to the core.

Charlie

She has been so jaded, and has had to face so many horrific things throughout her life.  The only thing I can do is admire, and respect her resiliency.  Charlie has a pure heart, and we can only aspire to be half of what she is.  She may not be superficially beautiful in the beginning, but her soul has glowed from the beginning.   A light that bright cannot be diminished easily.

My Rating 

4.5 Lucky Penny, Unlucky Deer, Chicago BrownStone, Father's Love, Party Mishap, Spun-Bottle, Broken Trust, Unequivocal Love filled stars!!!  This is definitely a new FAV of mine!!  READ.THIS.BOOK.  Yeah, I said it! Now...Do.It!

Guest Post By: Victoria Scott

The 5 Ingredients that Went Into Creating Dante:

 Swagger - In order for Dante to be a soul collector, he had to have some level of swag.  Smooth talking = More Soul Collecting. 

 Confidence - It was so much fun making this guy 100% confidence overload.  Pow! 

 Sexiness - You want my soul?  Uh, pass.  You want my soul and you're sexy?  I mean, the answer is still no, but let's hear your pitch. 

 Dangerous - In real life, most of us want guys who are kind and safe.  But in the fiction world, bring on the danger! 

Tormented - Dante has a past that is somewhat explored in book 1 (and even more so in book 2), but suffice it to say he has a few personal demons that have made him the "monster" he is today.

About The Author 

I'm a YA writer represented by Laurie McLean. Author of THE COLLECTOR (Entangled Teen, April 2013) and THE BRIMSTONE BLEED (Scholastic, 2014). I have a master's degree in marketing, and live in Dallas with my husband. When not writing, I can be found munching cotton candy and snuggling obese cats.

Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Dante's Website

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