Lisa Desrochers

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:http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/2010/09/book-review-personal-demons.html because it rocks! So here is my letter:

Dear Lisa,

Your good! Before show more 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 show less

At first, when I was told about Personal Demons, I wasn't so excited. Or I was kind of interested, but by in large I keep away from 'angel'/'demon' battles. There tends to be way too much of the religiosity and too little of the fun. I was however intrigued by the cover tagline 'If you had to choose between Heaven and Hell, which would it be?...Are you sure about that?' Because obviously most people would be like 'Eternal Peace please!' and want to forgo the 'eternal damnation' bit. So show more despite myself I found myself intrigued.

Glad I read that cover tagline because I have to say Personal Demons was a hoot. In a good way! Told from both Frannie and Luc's first person POV, you have Frannie is like 'omg hot guy!!!' when she sees Luc, Luc who is like 'Tag one soul, be on my way...whoa aren't you a cutie?' and then later Gabe who is all serious business...but verging on 'Fallen Angel' territory despite his best intentions.

I found it entertaining that Luc would be cocksure about Frannie's reactions--basing his actions around the typical response he engenders in people--and then feel put out because Frannie decides to be the bigger person. He sulks! I mean not even angsty 'Why won't she pay attention to me?!' sulking, but true sulking because she's not doing what he wants her to do! Gabe, who's head I wish we could have entered at least once just to see what's behind that heavenly smile facade, acted way less Angelic then you'd expect. Smugness, arrogance, temptation of the flesh...I understand that it was fire fighting fire (that is hot guy vs. hot guy) for Frannie's immortal soul, but did no one learn anything in Heaven about sticking a hot guy in a teen girl's path? He had no flaws, at least nothing superficially, though his goody-goody personality irked me to no end.

This is definitely a book aimed at the older end of Young Adult; cursing runs around, violence, a bit of adult content (Luc does try to seduce at least five separate times and beyond even that, Frannie has a vivid imagination) and I'm pretty sure those with strong religious convictions shouldn't read this unless they can handle the sometimes blasphemous talk.

I do have one fairly big complaint, which is really kind of muddled. Its with the romance triangle. Or rather what possibly created the love triangle. There are certain aspects of Frannie's soul that make me a little leery of the romance. Not so much that I doubt the romance, but more the origins of it left me feeling cold. I can't say too much here, since its a decent sized spoiler to say what really bugs me about the romance, but suffice to say that if I didn't enjoy the book for how amusing it turned out to be I would be a very unhappy camper. (If anyone really cares to know what it is, send me an email and I'll tell you).

I can't wait for book 2, which doesn't come out until next year and then we have to wait for book 3, to come out in 2012. In the meanwhile, I need to find me the two cover models for the book that portray Luc and Gabe. I have some questions about religion--sure we'll go with that--I think they can help me with. show less

Personal Demons started out in such a way that reminded me of one of those Christian romances I devoured like potato chips when I was in high school – the ones where a hot date meant getting together to read the Bible. Frannie, the high school girl who is the principal viewpoint character, comes from a large Catholic family and seems, at first, to be intent on remaining true to every bit of her Catholicism. In my own large Catholic family, that would most definitely include allowing no boy show more to touch me between my neck and my knees before my wedding night. So I settled in for what I thought would be a conservative young adult novel that would make its points about morality by having the persuasive swain be, literally, a devil.

Fortunately, Lisa Desrochers completely surprised me by giving Frannie a mind of her own that is all modern teenager. When she first meets Luc Cain (please note the name), her first reaction is that he is hot, especially since he seems somehow dangerous. In fact, he is well nigh irresistible, and there isn’t a girl in the school who doesn’t want to make a play for him But it’s Luc’s job to seduce Frannie, for reasons unknown to him – but he’s seduced high school girls over and over again, thus “tagging” them for Hell. It doesn’t appear that he will have any more trouble getting his job done this time than he has on countless other assignments.

But Frannie is wanted not only by Hell; Heaven also wants to tag her. Gabe – short for Gabriel, naturally – also shows up at Frannie’s school, also seems very interested in her, and is also extraordinarily gorgeous. Frannie’s circle of friends can’t figure out why these two very appealing guys are both so attracted to her; it’s not like she’s a great beauty or an outstanding personality or the most popular girl in school. What’s the attraction?

It turns out that Frannie is special in a frightening way, and that her tagging would give a major advantage to whichever supernatural power she chose to align with. In fact, her power is so strong that it causes real problems for both Luc and Gabe, and interferes with their abilities to do their jobs. And when that happens, both Heaven and Hell unleash their fury, and it’s all Frannie can do to survive. And really, all she wants is to make out with these two fabulous guys.

Personal Demons turned into a much more interesting book than I originally expected. While Frannie is a blushing virgin, she isn’t the pure and innocent creature suggested by that description; she just knows what she wants. Her Catholicism, while a major theme in the book, is very much a modern American Catholicism; conservative Catholics would say she isn’t even close to following her faith, but it’s a realistic depiction of an average teen. High school is depicted in rather more glowing terms than the reality for most of us, but that’s not a problem for a book that focuses on the supernatural’s invasion of reality rather than on reality itself.

Once Frannie realizes that her plight is much more serious than merely choosing between two hot guys, it becomes more like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and less like Sabrina the Teen-Aged Witch. And just as I enjoyed Buffy, I enjoyed this novel. The moral dilemmas posed here are worked out with as much care and interest as they were in that television series, and the supernatural effects are equally well thought-out.

A warning for parents: sex is treated as desirable in this book. Frannie takes her choice of who to sleep with very seriously and with the expectation that it will have lasting consequences, but she is nonetheless making that choice as a high schooler. This is depicted as normal and proper, and not as immoral. This seems like real life to me, but the more conservative among you might object. show less

*Orders next book in the series straight away*

I was so not expecting the book to finish the way that it did and now I want more. I wanna know what happens.

Lexie Banks is on the rebound from her cheating boyfriend and has drunken sex with her step brother. The only way to escape what she has done, is to leave for Rome and continue studying abroad. However it's not as easy as it sounds. She still thinks about him all the time. Enter Alessandro Moretti, a priest in training. The more time they show more spend together the closer they seem to get, despite Alessandro's vow of celibacy. The journey along the way is filled with ups and downs as everyone realizes what and who they want.

I was unsure about reading this book after people were saying that it is just wrong to read about step brothers and step sisters having sex. That's just all the more reason to read; not the sex part but because I've been told not to read it. I don't know what they are complaining about really, it just added more drama to the whole story. The story line is gripping and the characters were a joy. show less