Review: The Collector

This was just a fun YA novel about a 17 year old boy named Dante who died and is now a soul collector for the devil.  He is a hot teenage bad ass.  The kind of guy every girl loves and he knows it.  The big guy downstairs is ready to give him the ultimate promotion but he has to bring in one last soul, that of Charlie Cooper.  Dante is surprised and confused when he meets her because he can't imagine why the big guy would want someone like her, but he plans to just do the job a be done with it.  However, things don't quite turn out the way they are supposed to.  He slowly finds himself caring about her and wanting to protect her instead of steal her soul... a sure dilemma.

I won't give the story away but if you like YA books that include fantasy, romance, some humor, and a little bit of action thrown in, you'll love this.  I started out loving Dante but couldn't possibly imagine how he could fall in love with the female lead, Charlie.  Once I realized what they were going to do with her in order to make it believable, it began to work.  It actually reminded me a bit of the Ugly Duckling story or even the movie Grease.  My moral self can't decide if the change in this story is a good thing or a bad thing.  I did enjoy it immensely though and plan to read the second one when it comes out this summer.  It is a fairly quick read so it would be great to take to the beach or on any vacation.

On to my next book, The Firebird.  I am really looking forward to it because I have loved every Susanna Kearsley book I've read.  :)