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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Book Review & Giveaway: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

PERSONAL DEMONS BY LISA DESROCHERS  
Reading level: Young Adult 
Paperback: 368 pages 
Publisher: Tor Teen; First Edition edition (September 14, 2010)


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.


Book Opening: "If there's a Hell on Earth, it's high school. And if there's anyone distinctly qualified to make that statement, it would be me. I draw a deep breath- mostly out of habit since demons don't breathe—then look up at the threatening sky, hoping it's a good omen, and pull open the heavy security door. –Luc Page 1Personal Demons
Notable Scene: "She needs to know what I am, to have a choice. I kiss her again, one last time, as if my life depended on it—which it pretty much does since, if I take this route, my next stop is the bottom of the Fiery Pit."
Angels and demons are lining up to claim Frannie Cavanaugh's soul.  One will try and save her; the other must try and lead her soul into eternal damnation. With temptation around every corner, the lines between good and evil become blurred for Frannie. But Frannie's no ordinary girl. Little does she know the she holds the fate of both Heaven and Hell in the palm of her hand. Which path will she choose? And will she make the right decision before it's too late?

PERSONAL DEMONS is told through alternating viewpoints of Frannie, the girl causing all sorts of commotion between angels and demons, and Luc, a guy who brings a whole new meaning to the words "bad boy".  This was a book that had a lot of potential for me but one I ended up struggling to connect with. I wish Lisa Desrochers had written PERSONAL DEMONS from the point of view of Gabe (Luc's angelic nemesis) and Luc only. I just couldn't connect with Frannie. I knew going in that this would be a love triangle but I didn't expect for Frannie to fall head-over-heels so quickly for both guys and then to constantly ping-pong back and forth between them at such a record-breaking speed! I admired her spunk, but I think Desrochers should've given this extremely level-headed, serious girl the self-control she deserved.  Most importantly, I think the romantic angle should've heated up more slowly as Frannie got to know both Luc and Gabe. 

As for Luc, he was my favorite character and I was pleasantly surprised by his characterization. I had initially pegged him as the quintessential bad boy who would stop at nothing to corrupt and ruin Frannie. But there was so much more to him—he definitely had a wicked side, but underneath it all I saw real humanity. I was drawn to his character and appreciated the way he evolved as the situation unfolded all around him. The scenes with Luc interacting with his brethren in Hell were some of my favorites; I enjoyed Desrochers world building and her frightening twist on demons. She could've taken the easy way out and made Luc nothing more than a monster in the disguise of hot guy, but she gave him so much more depth than that. Luc was definitely full of surprises and it was a refreshing change. 

Despite some reservations, I thought PERSONAL DEMONS was an interesting start to a new series that many paranormal romance fans will enjoy. The dialogue was snappy and humorous. Luc made the book for me, winning me over time and time again with his vulnerability.  Die-hard fans of paranormal romance will appreciate this series. It's a mixture of light and dark, with a striking plot and a lot of potential.  For fans of Gabe, he will be narrating the follow up, ORIGINAL SIN, due out July 2011.




Original Sin (Personal Demons, #2)



LISA DESROCHERS lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. She can always be found with a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places and then take her by surprise. Growing up all over the country inspired wanderlust, and Desrochers loves to travel, which works out well since she lectures internationally on a variety of health care topics. Lisa Desrochers has a doctorate in physical therapy and maintains a full-time practice. Personal Demons is her first novel. Official Website & Blog





GIVEAWAY  
 Three finished copies of PERSONAL DEMONS courtesy of Tor Teen!

PERSONAL DEMONS
BY LISA DESROCHERS

Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She's spent years keeping everyone at a distance—even her closest friends—and it seems her senior year will 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 works in Acquisitions—for Hell—and she possesses a unique skill set that has the King of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he’s as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance.

Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn’t get what he came for. And it isn't long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul.

But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay…for all of them



Official Rules:
1.You must be 13 year or older to enter.
2. Open to entrants with a valid U.S. mailing address only. 
3. Entries must be received by Midnight EST on December 22nd 2010. 
4. Once contacted, winners have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
5. To enter to win, simply fill out the form below. Good luck!  



7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great contest and review. I just entered.

Tales of Whimsy said...

I don't do demon stories but you made this sound awful good :) great review darling!

Jessica G. said...

I was really wanting to read this book, but I couldn't get to page 30. Every page had atlest one cuss word in it, it was just too much for me :/ which was REALLY dissapointing.

Fantastic Book Review said...

I've had this book on my TBR list so I'm looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the contest!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I LOVE the premise of this! Thanks for the e-mail about it, babe. I've posted this at Win a Book for you.

Casey (The Bookish Type) said...

Yay! I read this book on a tour and have been dying to get my own copy! Thanks for this great giveaway!

Elise said...

Thanks!