The Liberator (Dante Walker, #2)

by Victoria Scott

Dante has a shiny new cuff wrapped around his ankle, and he doesn't like that mess one bit. His new accessory comes straight from Big Guy himself and marks the former demon as a liberator. Despite his gritty past and bad boy ways, Dante Walker has been granted a second chance.

When Dante is given his first mission as a liberator to save the soul of seventeen-year-old Aspen, he knows he's got this. But Aspen reminds him of the rebellious life he used to live and is making it difficult to resist sinful temptations. Though Dante is committed to living clean for his girlfriend Charlie, this dude's been a playboy for far too long...and old demons die hard.

With Charlie becoming the girl she was never able to be pre-makeover and Aspen showing him how delicious it feels to embrace his inner beast, Dante will have to go somewhere he never thought he'd return to in order to accomplish the impossible: save the girl he's been assigned to, and keep the girl he loves.

The Dante Walker series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 The Collector
Book #2 The Liberator
Book #3 The Warrior

• ISBN10: 1622660161
• ISBN13: 9781622660162
• Publish Date: 27 August 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Entangled Publishing, LLC
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kelly]

http://divainpyjamas.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/the-liberator-by-victoria-scott.html
3.5 Stars
Dante Walker is one of the hottest male young adult characters, but in The Liberator, he finally meets his match in Aspen. Aspen isn't a love interest, there is no love triangle, which fans will be thankful for. She's a troubled soul who has allowed herself to become influenced by anyone who crosses her path, in the hopes that they'll stay with her. She's feisty with an attitude that will send most young men running, and isn't the least bit impressed by Dante's killer looks and bad boy smile. She couldn't care less. She just needs a friend, someone who won't ask for anything in return. Aspen has nothing left to give.

Charlie felt like an afterthought in The Liberator. She goes through her own journey while Dante is away, all too similar to Aspen. The distance puts a strain on Charlie and Dante's relationship, but their reunion at the hands of Aspen, is all the sweeter. I loved Annabelle and her attitude towards Kraven, who is clearly rattled by her presence. My only complaint is when Dante ventures into cool mode, which almost comes across as the opposite. He is effortlessly cool, only when he isn't trying to be. It's a bit too sleazy.

The Liberator was actually pretty good. I loved Aspen, she wasn't at all what I had expected. The final few chapters have alluded to an epic finale and I'll be either go hard, or go home... And I can't wait.

[lizarodz]

See my Review here:

[Angie]

Being introduced to Dante Walker earlier this year was one of the most fun moments I’ve had reading. Now he’s back in The Liberator, and even though he’s playing for the angels now rather than the demons, he’s still the same ol’ Dante. While I’m glad that he’s still himself, his old ways definitely do not fit into the Big Guy’s plan. Dante has received his first assignment as a liberator: liberate the soul of one Aspen, who is essentially the female version of himself. Saving her soul is part of the bigger picture involving Charlie and her soul, as well as the impending war between Heaven and Hell. Dante doesn’t feel like he’s the right one for this job and he doesn’t feel comfortable leaving Charlie alone while collectors are still after her. Plus, being around Aspen and her partying ways just brings out those things in Dante…

There is a lot going on plot-wise in The Liberator. We have the overarching war story, Dante’s new assignment, and Dante’s changing relationship with Charlie. At times I felt like not of all these melded well together. One plot thread would be at the front and the others would just disappear for awhile or become less important, and then another would come to the front and the others would fall back. For me, this was especially true for Dante and Aspen’s plot. He goes to Denver for his assignment and things are going well, but then things go back to being about him and Charlie and we don’t see much of Aspen until the very end when her story picks up again. I definitely would have liked a better balance between the different threads, rather than having them overshadowing each other at different points.

The relationship between Dante and Charlie has certainly heated up in The Liberator! The author has written some very sexy scenes between these two without being graphic. I was quite surprised with Charlie, but I’m glad to see her growing and changing. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows in her world anymore, so she’s adapting. She hasn’t gone bad like Dante wanted in The Collector, but she is experience the darker side of life more. This actually puts a strain on their relationship in the beginning, which was interesting to read, since Dante admits that he loves Charlie being just the way she is, while she tries to be a bit more daring for him. I will admit that I was a little annoyed with Charlie, but once we find out what’s really going on, I felt much better about her character changes.

The Liberator also introduces us to Hell, which is a super strange place! It’s not just fire, brimstone, and agony. It’s a total mindtrip! I found the author’s take on Hell to be really imaginative without being too over the top or weird. We get to see several different sections, one more terrifying than the next. There are some very strange elements that I found to be kind of silly, but I still thought they were fun inclusions. Not that Hell is fun, but it kept the place from being too dark. I can’t wait to see more of it though!

In the end, I really enjoyed The Liberator. I didn’t like it quite as much as the first book, but it was still a highly entertaining sequel. I really appreciated that the author kept Dante true to himself, while still having him evolve as a character. He’s not just the vulgar rich kid anymore. He’s softening, but still struggling with his demons. Lots of new pieces were added to the Heaven/Hell war plot and the stakes just got even higher as Dante and his friends learn a very important detail. I’m very excited to see where this all is going!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

3.5 Stars

I have to admit, I was a little nervous going into The Liberator. The synopsis hints at a possible love triangle and I was dreading the thought of The Liberator suffering from "second book love triangle/relationship problems" syndrome. Luckily, that is so not the case! I am beyond delighted to report that The Liberator has absolutely no love triangles!

Aspen turns out to be a kick ass character. If anything, her relationship with Dante is a brother/sister kind of thing. At first, I wasn't totally sure I liked Aspen. She was kind of one of those "Daddy sucks so I'm going to rebel and party and do drugs" kind of girls.. and it sort of annoyed me. She just looked for trouble to drown out her problems. But as the book went on, Aspen really grew and changed and turned into a pretty awesome character! She loses some of her "trying to be a rebel" attitude, but she's also an insanely kick-ass fighter. That girl's got moves!

I do have to say, I don't think The Liberator is very plot-based (at least not until the last quarter of the book). There are long periods where it feels like not much is happening, but I think this is due to the fact that The Liberator is really about Dante's character development. It's about him trying to adjust to life as a liberator and overcoming his past. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just pointing it out. I quite enjoyed watching Dante struggle with himself and his new position!

I do have two gripes though:

#1 - Charlie was ANNOYING at the beginning. She suddenly does a lot of partying and hanging out with sketchy people and isn't all that forthcoming with Dante. I was kind of pissed at her. I thought she was acting stupid. Turns out there was a reason for this, but I thought it was kind of a lame reason.

#2 - The ending. Although I kind of like how it set up for book 3, I thought the ending made so much of The Liberator feel pointless. The book was all about protecting Charlie's soul, then getting her soul back once Dante realized he didn't have it. So he plans this big trip into Hell to get Charlie's soul back and brings Aspen along with him. So after this big intense journey into Hell, Dante gets the soul and has to leave Aspen behind in exchange. Then, it turns out, Dante didn't get Charlie's soul at all.. he got his own soul. So that big huge journey and all that "protecting Charlie's soul" stuff was for nothing. And on top of that, he left behind one of the most important people, according to some prophecy. I just hate it in books when a character goes through a ton of trouble or on some big epic quest, then it all ends up being kind of pointless. And I'm sure that Dante having his soul inside him will count for something in book 3, but I still felt like it was a bit of a let down.

Although I didn't love The Liberator quite as much as The Collector (which I gave 4.5 stars), I still really enjoyed the book! Although there were some slow moments plot-wise, it was full of some great character development for Dante, and I loved Aspen's kick-ass-ness! Turns out, that girl pretty much rocks.