by Lisa Desrochers
Amazon paperback £8.09
Book Description
Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She has spent years keeping everyone at a distance---even her closest friends---and it seems as if her senior year is going to be more of the same . . . until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can’t seem to stay away from him.
What she doesn’t know is that Luc is on a mission. He’s been sent from Hell itself to claim Frannie’s soul. It should be easy---all he has to do is get her to sin, and Luc is as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance. But he has to work fast, because if the infernals are after her, the celestials can’t be far behind. And sure enough, it’s not long before the angel Gabriel shows up, willing to do anything to keep Luc from getting what he came for. It isn’t long before they find themselves fighting for more than just Frannie’s soul.
But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay . . . for all of them.
My Review
*****Awesome Read
Oh my spluttering God. Who is this Lisa Desrochers and where did she come from? And why oh why did everyone else know about her genius before I did? You’d quite rightly assume that I am absolutely in love with Personal Demons. Not only was the old skool ‘demon and angel on your shoulders’ concept absolutely, perfectly executed, but the main characters were utterly captivating.
Written in easy, modern prose with healthy helpings of vivid and beautiful imagery throughout, Personal Demons drew me in from the first sentence. The story is told from two perspectives – Luc and Frannie’s. The plot itself builds in an entertaining crescendo as Luc and Gabe fight over Frannie’s soul, finding themselves pulled deeper into her world than they ever expected to be; swimming murky and emotional waters because of her. From there the story arc grows more complicated as the mystery of Frannie unfolds and we’re introduced to more of Heaven and Hell’s minions (does Heaven have ‘minions’?) and the grander plot.
As for the characterisation, Desrochers characters have made their way on to my top shelf with the likes of Rose and Dimka (VA), Katniss and Peeta (HG), Claire and Shane (MV), Clary and Jace (MI). First let’s take a look at Luc since the story opens with his narrative. Ah I’m in love. Luc is brilliantly three dimensional; he’s cocky, arrogant, too sexy for his own good, hilarious, idiotic, and a demon with a bad case of the humanity flu - I can’t help but love the bad boy with a vulnerable side.
Although we don’t get a chance to be inside Gabe’s head, I still found myself crushing on him. He’s an angel with a sense of humour, and he’s got the protective hot best-friend-who-could-be-more thing down pat.
And then there is Frannie. How can you not love Frannie? She’s mighty complex but that’s what I found so brilliant. A tragic past, a guarded heart, a no-nonsense attitude, untapped supernatural powers and a Black belt in Judo make for a compelling heroine. Best of all… the chemistry between the characters is sizzling (in Luc’s case quite literally).
Suffice to say I devoured this book with the ferociousness of a hell hound. Personal Demons is edgy (this YA is aimed at more mature teens), action-packed, suspenseful and chock full of sinfully delicious romance.
Cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel Original Sin!
Five Massive Massive Stars!
Sam x
It's funny, I bought two books yesterday. One was Slumber (by you, of course!) and the other was Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers. When I got on Amazon today to check delivery dates, it made me curious to see if you had a webpage, and then there was the other book I ordered in your post. Maybe I am too easily amused ;p
ReplyDeleteLol, no, little coincidences like that amuse me too :-p
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll enjoy Personal Demons, it's on my favourites shelf now. Oh and I hope you enjoy Slumber :-)