Review: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

Title:  Personal Demons (Personal Demons #1)
Author:  Lisa Desrochers
Pages:  368 pages; 23 chapters
Release Date:  September 14, 2010

Synopsis:
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. 

Review:

Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers has quickly become one of my favorite reads of the year.  It had everything I wanted to read about: a good story, suspense, a little mystery, hot guys, a love triangle, action, real dialogue, first person point of views, hot guys, angels, demons, heaven, hell, hot guys.... I could go on.  From the very first line I was hooked.  I loved the personalities of all the characters and the rolls they played in the story.  Lucifer (demon) is dark, mysterious, and sexy and Gabriel (angel) is bright, beautiful, and angelic.  They represent where they come from perfectly and I can understand Frannie's indecision.

"I'm staring at him. Oh, God. Stop! I shift my gaze to his chest, which turns out to be no less stareworthy."

Luc needs to tag Frannie's soul for Hell and Gabe needs to tag her for Heaven but, unfortunately for them, things aren't that easy.  Lisa did a great job taking us to the depths of Hell and the uncertainty of Limbo.  Not only could I see the world through Frannie and Luc's eyes, but I could smell it as well.  I really liked the idea of scents portraying human emotions.  I really appreciated the history she brought into the story and other works of art incorporated (such as Dante's inferno) not to mention the awesome music the characters were listening to throughout the book.  Did I happen to mention the Shelby Cobra GT?! *drool* That was all I needed to read to officially turn into putty at the thought of Luc.  I'm glad Lisa wrote Frannie as a strong, independent female character.  Frannie kicks ass...literally.  And her grandpa is adorable! 

This book had me laughing, squealing, biting my nails, and feeling sympathy for Frannie... but then I remember that she has two sexy celestial beings vying for her attention and I just feel envious (maybe I'll get a sexy demon to come tag me for envy or my lust for Luc.  I won't hold my breath :/). 

I crack up when I read Lisa's interviews (both from her perspective and that of Luc, Frannie, and Gabe).  She says the story takes place in her mind and she simply takes dictation.  I love her attitude about writing and am very excited for whatever she comes up with next.  I think she may be one of my new favorite writers.  This book definitely makes the list of Favorite Books of 2010.  Congratulations to Lisa Desrochers for a great debut!  You had me from Original Sin (Chapter 1 title).

To give you a non-spoilery taste, I've chosen this little snippet from Luc to share:

"The tires squeal as I take the right turn too fast, and I work to hide my grin as she grips her seat to keep from falling on top of me."

 I'll tell you one thing - I'll never think of ginger the same way again.

Original Sin (Personal Demons #2) will be released July 2011.  I can't wait to read what happens next!