Thursday, April 18, 2013

Bookanistas: The Collector

It's been a tremendously long time since I've passed on a book recommendation, and that's a problem that must be solved. Okay, it's probably not that urgent, but we all know how much I like to exaggerate. Anyway, welcome to Bookanista Thursday! We've got new blood in the Bookanista circle, so make sure to check it out. We're chatting up books you might not have heard of. You can add them to your TBR pile and then blame US. We don't mind.

Today, I'm talking about THE COLLECTOR by Victoria Scott. Have a blurb! You know you want one.

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. (Summary and cover courtesy of Goodreads.)


I think this summary says it all--I expected one of those bad boy narrators that you love to hate or hate to love or some combination of confused emotions, and that's exactly what I got. Dante is just such a rhymes-with-crass, but he does it with the kind of humor and swagger that makes you root for him anyway. I couldn't decide if I wanted the good girl to redeem him or him to bring her over to the dark-and-charming side. This was a fun, entertaining read that would absolutely appeal to people who liked Lisa Desrochers's PERSONAL DEMONS. I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.

Luckily, I have these other recommended reads to tide me over...

FIRST…Jessica Love welcomes our FIVE NEW BOOKANISTAS!
Corrine Jackson adores CONFESSIONS OF AN ANGRY GIRL by Louise Rozett
Shelli Johannes-Wells hails HYSTERIA by Megan Miranda
Stasia Ward Kehoe celebrates YALSA’s TEEN LIT DAY
Nikki Katz raves about ROOTLESS by Chris Howard
Gretchen McNeil adores UNREMEMBERED by Jessica Brody
Rebecca Behrens andTracey Neithercott share why they’re excited to be newbie Bookanistas

6 comments:

Natalie Aguirre said...

I've been seeing this around and have been curious about it. Thanks for reviewing it. It's on my very big TBR list.

Corrine Jackson said...

Adding to my GR shelf. I love heroes like this.

Tracey Neithercott said...

I LOVED this book. I was worried at first because it's pretty much the exact same plot as PERSONAL DEMONS, but Dante totally won me over. I love that he's a bad boy who's actually bad. (That is, he does more than wear black clothes and scowl.) His was such a fun POV to be in for the entire novel.

Carrie Harris said...

Thanks, guys! And yeah, Tracey, I get exactly what you mean about PERSONAL DEMONS. I think that's what impressed the most--that the basic plots were so similar but the books weren't at all. This is definitely it's own thing, and Dante's such a delightful badass. :)

LinWash said...

I also have seen this book on a number of blogs. The zingy premise and the yowza cover are wearing over my resistance. Will add to the list.

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