Epic Characters Archives - The Indelible Rambings of a Wadzi

Epic Characters May 5, 2013

The Collector by Victoria Scott

So I heard about this book about a year ago. I read an excerpt and searched through the official website, where there are a few extra stuff, and I was hooked ever since. Now that I’ve finally got my hands on a copy and finished it, here’s my review!

For this one, I’m bringing out the GIFs!!!

The first thing you need to get used to about this book is Dante’s voice. I found like a breath of fresh air. It’s not something I’m used to. It’s a bit like marmalade. You either love it or you hate it. (But seriously? How could you hate it?!) I found myself loving it, even though I knew that of I met this character in real life, I’d hate him. He’s a prick, through and through. He’s selfish and arrogant. He’s hot and he knows it. And yet somehow Victoria Scott gets me to like him. So basically, he’s a bit like Loki. An anti-hero, verging on villainy (yes! I know Loki was painted as the villain, but really he’s just MISUNDERSTOOD!) Besides, like Dante, he’s just sexy.

The Plot:

Dante is dead. He has been for 2 years. He makes a deal with the devil (literally!) and is allowed to walk the earth so long as he collects seals and steals souls. When Boss Man tells him to steal Charlie’ soul in exchange for remaining permanently on earth- as opposed to in hell, where he belongs- it’s a no brainer. Just one job and he’ll be free from hell. Unfortunately he learns that Charlie is practically an angel. How can he get her to sin enough in 10 days to collect her soul? And as he gets to know her, he fears that he may not be able to complete his assignment.

Three things I liked about this book:

No insta-love: The inevitable relationship that grows between the main characters was never an instant attraction. Dante is too arrogant to want to be with someone like Charlie. She’s the goody-goody dork to his cool rich boy stereotype. They get to know each other gradually- over 10 days. Okay, 10 days is pretty short, I know, but hear me out- their love was real! Sure, Dante starts out as a jerk. But things change eventually. Oftentimes I want to do this to him though:

An interesting mythology: Can I call it that? Well, Dante is a Collector. His job is to collect souls and stuff. So basically whenever a person does something bad, he “seals” it a little. That means that it becomes tainted. Once it is fully consumed, he can collect it. It all draws from rather Christian beliefs what with “Big Guy”- AKA God and “Boss Man”- AKA the devil. It’s even hinted that Dante has other abilities he is not aware of. Can’t wait to see those in the second book.

A not so Mary-Sue: Charlie may seem a little ‘meh’ at first. I mean, she seems to pale in comparison to Dante at first, but then that’s because we’re getting everything from his perspective. And clearly, he thinks she’s a dork. But she is interesting. Part of me thinks she’s a little too goody-goody, but then so am I. I got awarded with the title “Teachers Pet” in my High School Yearbook for goodness sake! Charlie is a girl with aspirations, which I commend, but she sometimes has difficulty making them happen, due to low self-esteem. And Dante doesn’t really help with that. You’ll find out what he does later on. I won’t spoil the surprise. But she does gain confidence as the book progresses, and perhaps you will find that you will be able to identity with her, just as I have.

My favourite quotes:

“In this trunk,” she says with a serious face, “is God’s gift to women.”“Chocolate?”“No.”“Midol?”“What? No.”“Tampons?”“Stop guessing,” she says.

“Because I see you. Even though you try so hard to hide, I see you, anyway.”

And my personal fave, on a more lighthearted tone-

“Girl, I got swag for days.”

I rate this book 4/5 stars

Thank you Victoria Scott! You are a fabulous author. What’s more, she’s one of a few authors who’s actually replied to my tweets 😀 I think you deserve a Loki GIF:

But now I must wait for the next book, to come out 🙁

Adventure June 8, 2012

Epic Pets of Novels

#6 Buttercup the cat from The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

For those of you who have read Catching Fire, you will know that this cat can survive anything!

#5 Khufu, the baboon from The Kane Chronicles series by Rick Riordan

Why is the baboon so epic? Because he’s a lot smarter than he may first appear to be and because he could school Carter at a game of basketball any day of the week! He’s also very useful on their frequent missions to save the world.

I DO NOT OWN THIS FAB ARTWORK!

Khufu playing some B-ball!

#4 Philip of Macedonia the albino crocodile from The Kane Chronicles series by Rick Riordan

Though technically not really an animal, this albino croc is extremely loyal and brave. You should read the bit where he helps the Kanes against Sobek’s crocs. Not to mention he’s easy to travel with in his shabti form. Don’t know what that is? Read the series!

#3 Mrs O’Leary the hellhound from The Battle of the Labryinth (Percy Jackson series) by Rick Riordan

Most teenagers have normal dogs but Percy Jackson has a hellhound for a pet. He is not normal. It probably isn’t even in his vocabulary. Mrs O’Leary is sweet for the most part but she’s also amazing and she can be very dangerous, so don’t forget to feed her if it’s your turn to do so!

#2 Bernie Kosar the dog (sort of) from I Am Number Four (The Lorien Legacies) series by Pittacus Lore

I don’t want to give away too much but this dog is so not what it seemed at first. If you’ve seen the movie or read the book, then you know how amazing this dog is.

#1 Grimalkin the faery cat from The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa

Not an actual book. A fan made art cover

Do I have to give a reason for Grimalkin’s awesomeness? If asked himself he simply replies “I am a cat!”

Buttercup is a cat too you say? Fine. He’s epic because he is a faery cat! He can be rather cryptic and what with him disappearing all the time he is somewhat like the Cheshire cat, I suppose. It’s clear from the beginning that he only stuck around to help Meg out because she was amusing. I wonder if somewhere deep inside if he really cares about her though. One can only wonder…

Epic Characters June 3, 2012

Forbidden Romances

Schuyler Van Alen & Jack Force

From the beginning Sky was intrigued by Jack. It’s been a long time since I’ve read the first book of the Blue Blood series so I can’t really remember how their love blossomed. Some people would critique that it was the typical brooding guy who isn’t interested who is mean to said girl who falls in love with said girl. This can also be said for Meghan and Ash actually! One of the things I loved about these two was the secret notes. Jack gave lot of secret messages and left them in books- usually the Classic types that I wouldn’t read. But it was so romantic! They even met up secretly. This did sometimes make me feel sorry for Oliver, who is Schuyler’s best friend who surprise, surprise, fell in love with her!

By Uzumaki-Akane-sama

Ky Markham & Cassia
In a society where who you love and marry, where you work, and where you live is dictated to you, Cassia never had a choice. But this was never a problem for her until she realised that her perfect Society wasn’t as perfect as she thought it was. So she fell in love with Ky, a boy that was doomed to have a Single status for the rest of his life, and not by choice. Their kind of forbidden love is much like Meg & Ash’s and Sky & Jack’s. Society has dictated that cannot be together. But unlike the other couples, I’m not sure if I liked them as a pair. I loved that their romance blossomed slowly and piece by piece, Cassia began to understand who the real Ky was. It was sweet, I admit. But a big part of me felt sorry for the other guy in this novel, the guy Cassia had been matched with. I don’t want to give it away. And another part of me thinks that the only reason Cassia fell for Ky was because the Society had actually been the one to ALLOW it to happen! And they think that Cassia will then just let it go? Pffh. They manipulated her and expected it to go their way. Despite this, at the end of the day they were really, truly in love. So there. Dumb Society. So am I Team Ky? I’m not sure but I’m willing to follow Cassia’s adventures anyway.

Suze Simon & Jesse de Silva
Although not quite a forbidden romance, it is somewhat difficult to keep up a relationship when one of them is dead, and the other is alive. What is very interesting about their romance is that it didn’t start off like the lovey-dovey Bella and Edward. When Suze first saw Jesse haunting her new bedroom she made it perfectly clear that she wanted him gone. It was her room and just because he was perfectly sexy didn’t mean that she wanted anything to do with him. Good on you. Their relationship started off as friendship, and even that had been a reluctant one to begin with. Of course, the path of true love never did run smoothly and so a strange love triangle was formed when Suze met Paul Slater, the only other mediator (person who can see and communicated with ghosts) that she has know-ahem, her own age. See, I know about Father Dom. I find this love triangle particularly unique because for once, the girl wasn’t actually interested. So he threatened time and time again to do away with the annoying ghost. And he can do that because he’s Paul. So whilst Jesse and Suze don’t quite have a forbidden romance, it is a very difficult one. And did I mention that he’s a hot Spanish speaking ghost? Hubbah, hubbah!

by YukoRabbit

Donia & Keenan
Ok, so their love isn’t technically forbidden either, and I just want an excuse to mention the Wicked Lovely series. Sue me. Their love is however very difficult. Donia is of Winter and Keenan is of Summer. That is not a particularly easy relationship to keep up, especially when Keenan already technically has a queen. There is somewhat of a love triangle between Aislinn, Keenan and Donia, but it is further more complicated by Seth, the human that is in love with Ash. I don’t want to give too much away about the series but the focus here is Don and Keenan. They love each other, and Keenan knows this as she put her life on the line to be with him. She took the test and she failed, which meant that she caught Winter’s chill. I mean how sweet is that? So what does Keenan do? He moves on to the next girl! I have a problem with this and so ultimately I spent the majority of the series hating Keenan but what I do? I feel bad for Donia but the truth of the matter is that Keenan has a Court to look after, and Donia isn’t in it.

by bluestheword

Meghan Chase & Ash

by Kyoumei & kouhii-usagi

These two are the best! I just love them. Meghan was the half blood that Ash wanted to kill from the beginning. She was Summer and he was the Winter prince. Their love was doomed from the start. And that’s what makes it so interesting! Like Jack, Ash had the whole brooding bad boy thing going on, but he took it to the extreme, as he was clearly ready to kill Meg from the beginning. But that’s just how it goes, as he is the Winter prince after all. I understood that. So, go figure, she falls for him anyway! Hadn’t seen that coming. Ash hides behind this exterior, a wall he’s built for himself to avoid getting hurt. When I found out about this later, I completely understood. But in the first book, I was incredibly wary of him and I couldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. Meg should have been the same. So did their love work? I think it did, after some convincing. Needless to say, I was never on his Team to begin with. Yes, Kagawa has indeed used the love triangle in her series, and yes, it is with the girl’s best friend. Nothing new their. Or so you might think. I don’t want to get too into it in this post- I’ll make a separate one- but Ash and the best friend in question are long time rivals. How very interesting indeed. A part of me wished things had been left as they were in The Iron Queen, and yet another part wanted them to have that Happily Ever After. Please let me know what you think. Do you prefer the ending of The Iron Queen, or The Iron Knight? Team Ash? Or Team other guy? Alright, I’ll say it. Team Puck?

So who is your favourite couple and why? Let me know!