Review--Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

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.

Lisa Desrochers's Personal Demons was far better than I expected! I don't even know where to begin! 

But truly I think it was Frannie's character that made it so incredible! I loved her! She's pretty different from most teen heroines. She's snarky, tough and can totally kick ass! Seriously.

The books is told from Frannie and Luc's points of view. Luc, short for Lucifer, we learn is a demon from hell sent to tag Frannie's soul. Meaning, when she dies she'd go to hell. Hell wants her for some reason, but Luc hasn't figured it out yet. He just knows that Heaven wants her too for the same reason which is why he has to get to her first.

His plan works out nicely too in the beginning, but Frannie is different than most teen girls or humans he's dealt with. While most can't always keep a lid on their emotions, Frannie can. Luc is able to "smell" the emotions radiating off a person. They cone in flavors too, so when he smells the "attraction" from Frannie, he thinks this will be easy, he just has to get her to sin--and it has to be in a big way, the little sins of everyday life don't count. And what better way to go about that than to make her jealous?

His plan backfires. Frannie, like I said, can keep a lid on her emotions and doesn't seem bothered by Luc suddenly showing interest in other girls. Partly because there is yet another new boy at school--and this is all going on during the last month or so of senior year! Talk about weird, what with having so many new transfers. Gabe or Gabriel, comes from Heaven. He isn't sent so much as to tag Frannie's soul, but to protect her. 

But in order for her to be tagged by Heaven, Frannie must forgive herself for a past misdeed that has haunted her for years. We get hints of it throughout the beginning of the book and in the last 1/4 we learn what it was that she can't forgive herself for.

However, there are more pressing issues at hand. Like the real reason Heaven and Hell want Frannie. She is gifted, to say the least. Also, since Luc is getting a little distracted with all that is Frannie, the big boss, King Lucifer has sent reinforcements to take care of the job that Luc is failing to do. And Luc will do everything in his power to stop that, since he's starting to truly fall for Frannie.

So like I said, this book surprised me. I thought it was going to be a basic demon vs angel over the girl kind of read, but it wasn't really. For Gabe, truly is an angel and won't steer from his angelic duties. But Luc on the other hand, well, you get the picture. (Maybe, if not, I won't spoil it for you!)

I was surprised by Luc's character the most. He comes off as the big bad ass who always gets his mark and then he meets Frannie and she totally turns his world upside down, which is saying something since he is a demon.

As for plot development, the book didn't have much going on. But since it is the first in a trilogy I won't be too judging, besides I have the next two already lined up! That being said, the pacing was a little slow, just because I had no idea where the story was going. Frannie wants to finish her senior year and then go to college at UCLA. She has goals and ambitions, yet if demons and angels are going to be on her tail, living the life she wants to lead is going to be a lot tougher than she imagined.

I really can't stress enough my love of Frannie! She truly was remarkable! She sometimes came off as a little...self-involved, maybe? But not in a way where you hated her. Although, her struggling with Luc and Gabe annoyed me. I am not a fan of love triangles where the heroine can't seem to choose who she loves more. It's just unrealistic to me, but I digress. Frannie does make a choice, at least for now. There seemed to be other things brewing on the horizon so I don't know where that will take Frannie and her love life.

Overall though, this was a really fun read! And because I took off work today (part time job, my schedule, my rules) I was able to finish this rather quick, having only started it yesterday! Ahh, the old days!

Personal Demons was a fun filled read and I am looking forward to continuing Frannie's journey! Heaven and Hell both want her, but she has plans of her own for her life and really, I don't see them having much of a chance! Frannie can be stubborn and no one can deter her from what she wants in life!

Overall rating 4.5/5 stars