Book Review of Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

Title: Personal Demons

Author: Lisa Desrochers

Release Date: September 13, 2010

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.

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: I am going to write this review a little differently, I was inspired by the letter format the ladies over at the Mundie Moms did.  They wrote a letter to Luc and I thought it was awesome!   So I am also going to write in letter format too but, I am going to write to Lisa instead   Be sure to check out the Letter to Luc over at the Mundie Moms’ blog here, because it rocks!  So here is my letter:

Dear Lisa,

Your good!  Before reading the book I read the quote on the front cover that says “If you had to choose between Heaven and Hell, which would it be?….Are you sure about that?”  I thought (naively) I did know, but after reading your book my answer is a resounding, NO!  I have no idea how you managed to make me fall for the demon in this book, but you have and then some.  Luc is just crazy hot, literally and figuratively, you have created one sweet character there.  I am also loving the fact that even though he is the demon it is Gabe, the angel, who I think cheats a little at trying to win over Frannie or maybe I am just a little bias now.  Gabe is not so innocent though, is he?  I think he is using a little too much of his power to try and sway her and Luc is the one fighting a little more fairly.  How ironic is it that the demon is trying to play fair and the angel is fighting a little dirty?  Nice touch.

I also really appreciated how you switched perspectives from Frannie to Luc and it was done at just the right moments.  You managed to paint a very complete picture of the story that made me appreciate the book more.  Leaving Gabe’s perspective out of it was also a great move.  I mean, he is an angel, I bet all his thoughts are all boring and pure, who wants to hear that?  Luc’s were much more interesting!

I should also mention the steaminess of your book.  It has been a while since I have read a YA that played up the romance without it being forced or just bad.  The tension between your characters could have been cut with a knife and watching Frannie try to decipher her own emotions through it all was classic.  Watching the boys fight over her was pretty fun too, there is no potential for a love triangle here, it is there!  Frannie is struggling between the ultimate bad boy and the ultimate good guy, and who wouldn’t want to be in that position?

There were also moments where you book made me laugh out loud because of things that had nothing to do with the plot, but were just great quotes such as “there is no crying in baseball.”  Totally awesome!  I have seen A League of Their Own multiple times and that is my favorite quote from it, seeing it in your book just cracked me up, plus Luc said it so that was just a bonus.  A couple of my favorite bands also got a quick mention like Paramore…love them!!  So thank you for adding in those fun references that helped me personally relate.  I know you were not aiming just for me, but you definitely got me now.

Overall Lisa, your book was amazing.  I started and finished it all in the same day, I did not want to walk away from Luc….umm…Luc…ahem….sorry, got distracted, I meant the story.  Personal Demons was a thrilling ride in a world where classic preconceptions are called into question.  Does being a demon automatically make you evil?  Does being an angel automatically make you good? I think after reading your book I would have to rethink those questions and that is what makes your book so impressive!

I cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out so I can see what is going to happen next.  Thank you for an amazing book!

Your fan (and Luc’s),

Meaghan