Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

This is the ARC cover version :) 

September 2010, Tor 

368 pages, Paperback (proof copy)

Review copy received as part of a tour on UK Book Tours 

Young Adult 

Moderate teen relations, some innuendo, occasional strong language, high school life, angels and demons, friendships, family relationships, 

Summary from MacMillan 

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.

Nayuleska's thoughts

For the first 114 pages (precisely) I felt this was an ok book. There was nothing in particular that blew my mind away, both good and evil forces wanted Frannie for their side. Now, Lynsey of UK Book Tours loved it, so I asked her if it got more exciting. She said yes, so I read on. I'm really glad I did, because the revelation why Frannie is desirable to both sides was pretty cool. At the moment I became more interested in the story. It still wasn't a book what made me go WOW, but it is a fun read. Initially I wasn't keen on having the other point of view be from Luc's side (he's evil!) but, as time went on and the story unravelled it made sense to see his view of everything more than Gabe's. I liked the rivalry between the two of them - it was clear that neither liked the other, but both ended up being ready to sacrifice themselves for Frannie. I felt that the deal with Frannie's family was still a bit of a muddle at the end, I didn't quite understand exactly why family acted as they did with Luc, but I was cheering at certain points when they got him out the house. Frannie is definitely a little rebel, with an awful lot weighing down on her shoulders. I've found out it is part of a series, which explains why it feels that Frannie's adventures aren't over, and there's a lot more to explore in the concepts.  

Final conclusion 

When in contact with good, evil can change sides. 

Check out Angel by L.A. Weatherly