412 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Mira
Source: The Library
Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
Goodreads Summary: Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison...
About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear...
My Very Mini Review: I liked it. I liked it a lot. Yelena's story captured me from the beginning, but my favorite person was the very complex, very skilled, Valek. Both of these characters are worth meeting. This is a well written fantasy novel, it may not be as good as Throne of Glass, but it was good. It had its unique moments and I do plan on reading the next book.
The Collector by: Victoria Scott (Dante Walker #1) (2013)
352 pages
Genre: Romance/Supernatural/New Adult
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Source: The Library
Goodreads 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.
My Very Mini Review: The way Dante talks, his word choices, just wasn't my thing. It did grow on me a tiny bit, but for some reason it made it hard for me to take him seriously. I did find the book quirky and it had its moments. I just felt very hot and then cold toward the whole book. It just wasn't for me, but I can see why many others enjoy Dante and Charlie's story. I don't think I will be reading any more of these books, but I will continue to love and read Scott's Fire & Flood series.
