REVIEW: The Liberator by Victoria Scott

The Liberator by Victoria Scott (Dante Walker #2)
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: August 27, 2013
Rating: 4/5 stars
Get it: Amazon | B&N

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.

My Review

Victoria Scott brings bad boy Dante Walker back in The Liberator along with the rest of the crew we’ve all come to love. There’s a splash of new characters here and there, romance for sure and lots of action to keep you on your toes.

I have to say that while Dante has changed from the person he was in The Collector, he hasn’t completely become a new person. For that I was thankful to Scott because she still made Dante, well..Dante. In The Liberator, Dante was still that sarcastic, super funny, cocky, bacon and red color loving guy. But he was different in the sense that he struggled to come to terms with being a Liberator instead of a Collector. He continued to believe he was a demon, bad to the bone, and that he was never going to be good enough for Charlie. I really liked how Scott kept Dante the way he was, but gradually changed him on his own terms. Charlie makes him a better man, but it was ultimately he himself who discovered that he wasn’t all bad and that his love for her was proof of that.


This book definitely showed a more softer, vulnerable side to Dante. We see him doubt himself when it comes to his relationship with Charlie and with his assignment towards Aspen. We see what really haunted Dante, what his true inner demons were. He really learns to let go and care for not just Charlie, but for Aspen and other characters. 

There was appearance of some old characters that we get to further know and love and Scott even throws in a returning characters I never thought I would see again. And of course, she takes away as well and that in of itself was a heartbreak for sure and probably the most vulnerable I have ever seen Dante to be. It was so well written and touching. Anyway, Aspen was the new addition and she was misunderstood for sure. Don’t let her rebellious, free spirit nature fool you because Aspen can kick ass with her big attitude to match. I liked that she was like the female version of Dante in almost every sense, emotion and inner demon wise. And like Dante, Aspen learns a lot about herself, about Charlie, about her purpose. I do wish that there was just a tad bit more of Aspen and Dante in the story. It was mostly in the beginning and especially in the end, but she sort of faded into the background around the middle. However, the sister-brother relationship that formed between Dante and Aspen was my favorite of the whole novel.

Like I said, there was plenty of action and adventure in The Liberator. So if you’re looking for some Liberator vs. Collector fist fights, you won’t be disappointed. It wasn’t just collectors anymore, but Sirens as well that are after Charlie and Dante. Secrets start coming out, especially the ones pertaining to Charlie and Aspen’s purpose. There was mention of scrolls and training at the Hive that adds great twists to the book. Questions do get answered along with why everything is the way it is and what may come. The witty banter rivals all of this, but it no means does it overtake. It just adds the perfect amount of humor and entertainment to keep the novel going. 

All in all, The Liberator was a fantastic follow up to The Collector. Dante grows up a lot and it really shows and I’m sure readers will be surprised by how much. I can’t wait to wrap this series up in the next book!