Hey everyone! I know I've been blogging a little less in the past couple weeks or so, because the final term of Grade 11 is hell, seriously. Anyway, I want to make up for it by sharing the very first excerpt of The Liberator by the amazing Victoria Scott, who sent it to all of us in the V Mafia yesterday. You must have read The Collector already (if not, what are you waiting for?), and this is a hilarious excerpt featuring Dante, Charlie, and Max. Here you go!
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.
Bad boy, meet bad girl.
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.
Excerpt from THE LIBERTOR
By Victoria Scott
When I open my
eyes, the sun is trying to murder me. It’s shining on my face and making my
head pound. Or maybe it’s my hangover that’s giving me the headache, but
nonetheless—me and the sun?—we’re not on friendly terms.
Charlie murmurs beside me. My arms are still wrapped around her
waist, and I suddenly realize I must have crashed out in her bed last night. If
Grams wakes up and finds me here, she’ll run me a bath…and toss in the toaster.
“Morning, babe,” I whisper.
“Morning, hot stuff,” a distinctly male
voice responds.
I whip around, my heart racing, and
find Max sitting in a chair across the room.
“You look so hot when you first wake up,” he says. He raises a hand to
his hair. “Got that whole sexy bed head thing going on.”
Charlie doesn’t even move from her
place, but I feel her laughing against me. “Your friend is kind of creepy,
Dante,” she manages.
“Max, what the hell are you doing in
here?” I ask, pulling the covers farther up even though I’m (regretfully)
fully-clothed.
“Real question is, why did I wait so
long to join you guys?” Max stands from his chair and cocks his head. A
mischievous smile crawls across his face.
“No,” I say, trying to appear serious.
“Don’t even think about it, dude.”
Max starts running in place, his
smile widening farther until he looks deranged. “Ready or not!” Before I can
stop him, Max races toward the bed and dives on top of us. “Oh! Oh it feels
even better than I imagined.” He rolls back and forth across our bodies as
Charlie laughs and I wonder why I’m friends with such a raging idiot.
With all my strength, I grab Max’s
shirt and rotate him toward the edge. He falls off the side, his arms
pin-wheeling. There’s a loud thud, and then nothing.
I wait for several seconds before leaning over to search for him.
Max is lying face down on the floor, his arms and legs curled like a dead
spider. “You’re not really hurt,” I say.
“I think you gave me spinal bifida.
You need to call someone.”
“That’s a genetic disorder,” I
respond with a sigh, collapsing back onto my pillow. A second later, he raises
his head very, very slowly up from
the side of the bed. It’s one of the more unsettling things he’s ever
done. “Max, is there a purpose to this
visit?” I ask. I want so badly to act like he’s annoying me. But he knows, and
I know, that we both love this game: the one where I pretend he’s a pain in my
ass, and he acts like a damn circus clown.
He stands up, crosses the room, and
plops back down in the chair. “Valery sent me.”
I throw an arm across my eyes. “Of
course she did.” Beside me, Charlie moves to get up and I immediately reach for
her. She squeals and wiggles out of my grasp.
I watch as she walks around the bed
and ruffles Max’s hair. The twenty-eight year old pants like a dog. It’s a bit
disturbing considering Charlie’s seventeen. She eyes me with a grin. “I’ll make
waffles.”
My face lights up.
“Yes,” she continues. “And bacon.”
I glance at Max and nod toward Charlie. “That’s my girl.”
“Damn straight,” he says.
“I’m still making breakfast for your birthday,” I call after Charlie.
Then, looking at Max, I add, “My girl’s going to be legal soon.”
Max says, “Boom.”
Well! Didn't you guys love that?? I'm dying here for this book!
Anyway, that's not all. Enter below to win an ecopy of The Collector :)
Giveaway!
About The Collector
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.
About The Liberator
Bad boy, meet bad girl.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.
