PERSONAL DEMONS (Personal Demons #1)
by Lisa Desrochers
PUBLISHER: TOR Teen
RELEASE DATE: September 2010
FORMAT: Paperback, 365 Pages
GENRE: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
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. (Goodreads)
REVIEWER: Laura
What if your soul was ‘tagged’ by heaven or hell before you even died? Based on a series of decisions you make, even quite early on in your life and once you’re tagged it’s almost impossible to reverse? This is the concept in the world created in PERSONAL DEMONS. Each side have recruiters, demons and angels, who each have the responsibility of recruiting souls for heaven and hell.
But catholic girl Frannie, is a bit different, there is something special about her that both sides will do anything to have her tagged for their side. So demon Luc and angel Gabriel are both sent to tag her before it’s too late.
I really enjoyed PERSONAL DEMONS it’s a classic tale of good versus evil as they fight for possession of Frannie’s soul. At the heart of this book was a love triangle, of course the resolution of that triangle has more consequences for Frannie than she can possibly realise. As the reader you would have thought you’d want Frannie to make the obvious choice, but it is well written and the both sides are equally appealing choices. For once I did not find myself routing for one guy over the other. I was just content to sit back and see how the story unfolded.
The story has some great twists, particularly towards the end. It is told from Frannie and Luc’s point of views, I would have liked to have had Gabriel’s point of view added into the mix to have understood more about him. But the alternating views does make the book more fascinating. I liked Gabriel from the offset, but with Luc I vacillated between liking him and wanting him to leave Frannie be, but be warned he is sneaky and seduces you just as he does Frannie as the pages turn.
PERSONAL DEMONS is the beginning of a series, and I want to find out more about Frannie’s family as it is hinted that there is more to them than meets the eye, and where Frannie’s destiny will take her. There are some exciting possibilities ahead.
This is a young adult book, with the story played out in high school, but is on the older side of young adult and includes some smoking scenes and I’m not talking just about the brimstone!
VERDICT:
An easy to read, page turner with a classic love triangle and a battle between good and evil. I very much enjoyed and would recommend PERSONAL DEMONS and look forward to picking up Original Sin.
RATING: 
LISA DESROCHERS ONLINE
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
BOOKS IN SERIES ORDER
- Personal Demons
- Original Sin
- Last Rite
BUY THE BOOK
4 Comments
I wonder, I have heard such different things about this book. Some did not like it at all, some did
Reply
I enjoyed this one more than the sequel. And Luc is a great hottie!
Reply
@Blodeuedd I've seen some mixed reviews on this too, but I enjoyed it. Are you thinking of picking it up?
@Alyssa from reviews a lot of people seem to like the second book better. I have it on my bookshelves so will be picking it up soon
Reply
For all the good things I've read about this book, it kind of bothers me that a teen is pre-determined for hell. I mean, unless she's killed someone or caused someone to kill themselves, I can't imagine what sin would send a teen to hell.
Smiles!
Lori
Reply