Review: The Warrior by Victoria Scott

THE WARRIOR

Dante Walker Series #3

by Victoria Scott

Publisher: Entangled Teen (May 6, 2014)
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: eARC (352 pages)
Source: Free book from author for honest review
Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 stars)

Summary
War between heaven and hell is coming, but Dante Walker makes it look damn good. Dante’s girlfriend, Charlie, is fated to save the world. And Aspen, the girl who feels like a sister, is an ordained soldier. In order to help both fulfill their destiny and win the war, Dante must complete liberator training at the Hive, rescue Aspen from hell, and uncover a message hidden on an ancient scroll.

Dante is built for battle, but even he can’t handle the nightmares where spiders crawl from Aspen’s eyes, or the look on Charlie’s face that foretells of devastation. To make matters worse, the enemy seizes every opportunity to break inside the Hive and cripple the liberators. But the day of reckoning is fast approaching, and to stand victorious, Dante will have to embrace something inside himself he never has before—faith.

At A Glance
Boring and full of petty games but can't deny the amazing characters.

The Good
I will always love each and every character in The Warrior. That is Scott's strong point, characterization. Dante is the best male character ever. He is so cocky, rude, and snarky. But he is also a nice guy, though don't tell him I said that. Don't want him thinking I'm ruining his street cred. Really, there is no other character in the history of fiction who has as many amazing quotes to choose from as Dante.

The rest of the characters were just as great. Charlie really grew in this book. She goes through so much change, some bad, some good, but I think all of her experiences have made her a stronger person. She now may be able to keep Dante on his toes. A few characters are going to surprise you by their actions. I was dumbfounded by how far some people went for love, prophecies, and/or power.

The ending and all it's actiony goodness was pretty awesome. Hard to put down the book at that point.

The Bad
Even though the ending was jammed packed with action and fighting, which is my favy, the rest was so boring. There was so much waiting, that I just couldn't stand it. Each page was a countdown to the big war and it seemed like no one was really prepared. Then they had to translate these prophecy riddles that were so convenient and unnecessary. Having something fated to happen kind of ruins the surprise for me. Like, what's the point if you don't have much of a choice? The structure of the storyline and plot felt very novice writer to me. We are pretty much informed that this is going to happen, then this, then this...in that order. Like someone was saying, "this is the sequence of events so...yeah...enjoy the plot by numbers."

My even bigger issue was the petty games God seemed to be playing in this book. I am not religious, but I never had a problem with the God talk in these books. It always took second fiddle and He didn't really control too much of the story. But this time around God decided that if certain people didn't make certain decisions, then the bad guys would win the war. Why? Because. It seemed like if Dante didn't bow down to God and ask for help, pretty much acknowledging that he is useless unless God intervenes, then, oh well, demons win. But as long as Dante subjugates himself, then fine, angels can win. It was all a f*cking game! Why? I just didn't feel uncomfortable with the whole concept of Dante begging for help. Shouldn't God be on the good side no matter what? I hope no one takes offence, I am just saying that the God in The Warrior was not my cup of tea.

The Snuggly
Dante and Charlie had some unnecessary relationship issue in the beginning, but they ended on a great note. I love how much Dante loves Charlie. It always brightens and breaks my heart at the same time.

Some sex but still appropriate for a YA audience.

Final Thoughts
I am very much in the minority in my disappointment in The Warrior. It just didn't sit well with me from the beginning, so it was hard to get into it after that. I do think most people who have loved this series so far will love this book too. So yes, I still recommend it, but I had to be honest with how this book made me feel. And it straight up pissed me off.

Quotes
“Look, cat, you and I are never going to be friends. She’s going to call you Max, but I’m going to call you Shit Head. And if you think for one second—” The cat lies down in a tight little ball of nastiness and falls asleep. “Oh, please. Make yourself at home by sleeping on my scrotum.” I peek out into the sitting room area that connects to the four bedrooms, and then glance back at the kitten. Releasing a sigh of discontent, I pet Shit Head with one finger. He purrs extra hard, and I find myself wondering if I could train him to do things. Every hero needs a sidekick, and I’m nothing if not a Grade-A Hero.

“Dante Walker, you're about as gangster as Will Smith.”  


“For all my talk of being amazing, down deep, in a place I never venture, I know the truth. I am despicable. I wasn’t a good human. So why would Big Guy ever want me as a liberator after this war is over? The answer: he won’t.”


"You really don't have to treat me like I'm some supreme bring. But you can call me Jesus if you want."


Charlie inspects her palms, and I inspect her purple skirt. Nothing gets me going like a skirt. Or bacon. Or any sliver of skin on any part of Charlie's body. Jaysus, she's just so innocent. Makes me want to ravage her with my darkness, and I know just how disturbing that sounds.


“What’s your name?”
“Frank,” he says.
I slap his back. “Oh, man. That’s incredible. It’s so close to fart.”
“It’s not really that—”
“It is, Frank,” I say. “If you think about it, it really is close.”

Dante Walker Series:

Book #1: The Collector

Book #2: The Liberator

Book #3: The Warrior