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Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers Publisher: Tor Teen (September 14th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 364 pages
Source: Purchased Series: Personal Demons, book #1
Rating: 5 of 5 stars 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: I'll admit that I am a sucker for the love triangle and this brought that concept to amazing heights. In this story Frannie is stuck between Heaven and Hell, literally, and as much as this refers to her soul, it also refers to her heart. Luc is sent to tag her soul for Hell but he has a few problems along the way. First, Frannie takes him by surprise and he is suddenly drawn to her. Second, Gabe shows up.
Luc knows Gabe and he wonders why there seems to be such a struggle to tag Frannie's soul. As he discovers more surrounding the mystery of Frannie's ability, he begins questioning his own intentions towards Frannie. Personal Demons switches from Luc and Frannie's perspective. Sometimes I am not a fan of various points-of-view but it worked in this story. I enjoyed getting to know Luc on a new level and without that chance, I don't think his feelings could have been as easily understood. This is as much Frannie's story as it was Luc's.
I do wish I could have learned a little more about Gabe. He remains a bit of a mystery for me but I do think he has a heavier focus in the sequel, Original Sin.
A big part of this book isn't simply the external struggle for Frannie; it's her own internal struggle as well. Frannie has a lot of guilt regarding her brother's death. Even though she is from a Catholic family she questions her own faith. I honestly felt for this character and what she had been through. I could understand her reasoning and see how difficult her situation would be.
Although Personal Demons could be seen as mainly that dark internal struggle, Lisa provided so many opportunities for humor. I found myself laughing out loud often! One of my favorite characters was Frannie's grandfather. He was a no-nonsense type of guy and brought some very loving conversations to the mix. I enjoyed his strong connection with Frannie and his hopes for her.
But c'mon this book immediately gained my interest because of the concept (choosing between Heaven and Hell) and the characters (Hot guys!) Luc is hot, sexy, mysterious, hot, funny, and did I mention hot? What I found interesting was that he could have been the one who remained a mystery but through his perspective we are able to learn a lot about his character. To me even now, Gabe is the mystery. I truly look forward to learning more about him. Personal Demons is a roller-coaster of emotions for Frannie and the reader! One choice and two amazing guys makes for one hot read!
*My apologies for using"Hot" so often in this review; however, no other word would suffice. Thank you.
Original Sin, book #2, will be released July 2011. Cover art is not available right now.
Find Lisa Desrochers Lisa Desrochers / Blog / Twitter / Goodreads
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Book Trailer:

By: Lisa Desrochers

The premise of my novel, Personal Demons, is that angels and demons are moving among mortals looking for reasons to “tag” our souls to be either Heaven or Hell bound after death. At a recent signing I was asked how I knew what my characters looked like. I answered that I picked the most cliché appearances for a demon and angel I could think of. My thought was, if there truly were angels and demons walking the earth, would we ever allow ourselves to believe that’s what we were seeing, even if they looked and acted exactly how we would think an angel or a demon would? My main character, Frannie, is more jaded than most her age. A loss in her life has caused her to question her belief in anything she can’t touch. So, when “bad boy” Luc and the angelic Gabe show up to fight for her soul, it takes her a while to put the pieces together.
This concept is something I’ve tossed around in my mind for a long time, since an encounter several years ago, in my reckless youth, left me wondering.
Have you ever had the feeling you were being watched? You know, that skin-crawly feeling you get when you’re sure someone is following you? Yeah. Me too. So, as best as I can remember through the creepiness, here’s what happened.
I was probably 14ish at the time and I was at our family cabin, which in a very quiet, secluded area in the Sierras. There are lots of peaceful hiking trails that meander through the thick woods. I’d spent my whole life wandering those woods. So, this day, I was out for a walk and had just picked my way across a stream, deeper into the woods, when I got that crawly feeling. There’s lots of wild life up there, so my first thought was that it was just some animal watching me. As the feeling got stronger, I started to worry it might me something like a bear or mountain lion, which would be a problem. Several times I stopped and listened, but heard nothing. Eventually, I creeped myself out enough that I decided, instead of making the whole loop of the trail, I’d turn around and head back the way I’d come. I hadn’t made it five feet back up the trail when I saw the girl. She was sitting on a boulder in the shadows a little off the path, and there seemed to be something dark and misty around her. Except, when I really focused my eyes on where she was, there was no one there. Just a shadow where the sun was filtering through the trees.
In my defense, you have to remember that I’d spent the previous ten minutes creeping myself out, and my heart was racing, so I took off running. I slowed down a little crossing the stream (not as much as I did on my way out) and picked my way quickly across the stones. When I looked up, the girl was standing in the path in front of me. She was less foggy and I remember she had very light skin and dark hair. She was standing there, staring at me, so, of course, I stumbled back and fell on my butt in the water.
And this is where I don’t really remember what happened very well. I remember my butt hitting the rocks (I had a huge bruise later) and the REALLY COLD water. Maybe it was the combination of the pain and the cold, but everything went foggy. I don’t remember pulling myself out of the stream or how I got home, but the next thing I do remember is sitting on the stairs of the cabin, sure I’d been having a conversation with someone, but unable to remember with who or what we said. I’d think I dreamed the whole thing, but my clothes were still damp—and my butt was sore.
It was so easy to convince myself the girl had just been a figment of my over-active imagination. I didn’t say anything to my family, because I didn’t know what to say, but I never went walking alone after that. Thinking back on it now, though, I can’t help but wonder if the girl was really there. Was she a ghost? An angel? A demon? But, see, those things don’t exist… do they?

Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers Publisher: Tor Teen (September 14th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 364 pages Series: Personal Demons, book #1 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.

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive a signed copy of Personal Demons and swag (bookmarks, and Team Luc and Team Gabe tattoos).

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US ONLY and ends November 12th.
• Once contacted the winner will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

- Thanks so much Lisa for the amazing story and book/swag donation. Go Team Luc.just sayin'; )

Find Lisa Desrochers Lisa Desrochers / Blog / Twitter / Goodreads
Purchase Personal Demons Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Book Trailer: (And since I AM Team Luc, guess which trailer I picked.ha!)

* Check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post.

*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers
Publisher: Tor Teen (July 5th, 2011)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 400 pages
Source: Publisher
Series: Personal Demons #2
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Luc Cain was born and raised in Hell, but he isn’t feeling as demonic as usual lately—thanks to Frannie Cavanaugh and the unique power she never realized she had. But you can’t desert Hell without consequences, and suddenly Frannie and Luc find themselves targeted by the same demons who used to be Luc’s allies.

Left with few options, Frannie and Luc accept the protection of Heaven and one of its most powerful angels, Gabe. Unfortunately, Luc isn’t the only one affected by Frannie, and it isn’t long before Gabe realizes that being around her is too… tempting. Rather than risk losing his wings, he leaves Frannie and Luc under the protection of her recently-acquired guardian angel.

Which would be fine, but Gabe is barely out the door before an assortment of demons appears—and they’re not leaving without dragging Luc back to Hell with them. Hell won’t give up and Heaven won’t give in. Frannie’s guardian exercises all the power he has to keep them away, but the demons are willing to hurt anyone close to Frannie in order to get what they want. It will take everything she has and then some to stay out of Hell’s grasp.

And not everyone will get out of it alive.
Review: Personal Demons was such a fabulous book and I couldn't wait to get my hands on Original Sin. While I didn't love it as much as Personal Demons, it was still an incredible read!

May Contain Spoilers!

Original Sin started out with something I wasn't fond of --- Gabe leaves *gasp!* Gabe, you anger me! Not that Luc isn't hot and sexy enough on his own for this book, but I just missed Gabe being there to bring him down a notch. The interactions between Frannie, Gabe, and Luc can be hilarious!

But Original Sin seemed to have a darker turn and Frannie is finally able to test out her potential. She brings a lot of fight to this book and that was very nice to see. Luc is still a character I just can't help but love. His struggles with good and evil could really be felt all throughout this book. In addition, his love and passion for Frannie could not be denied. Could.not! And, although we don't get much of Gabe, when he is there, wow! I really want him to stick around.

We do get a chance to really get to know a new character here but I won't mention the name in case people haven't read book 1 because it is a BIG part of this book. I enjoyed him, but he infuriated me at the same time. He seemed to be a tad bit selfish and it made me question Gabe's thoughts in putting him in that position.

One thing that tended to bug me in this book was the fact that Frannie seemed so worried about her friend, but not very worried about Luc when he needed help. That confused me a bit and made me angry at her because she seemed too caught up in herself to see what Luc was going through. And, in traditional Frannie fashion, she seemed completely confused on what she wanted by the end of the book but it did make her seem a bit hypocritical.

But although it didn't grab me as strongly as Personal Demons, I highly enjoyed the plot in this one. It is dark, twisted, and much heavier in my opinion. I am really excited to see what happens next in book 3.

Find Lisa Desrochers Lisa Desrochers | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads
Purchase Personal Demons Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

Yes, it's true! Lisa Desrochers is coming out with a new book and this one is NEW ADULT, EEK!! Be sure to check out the giveaway below!
A LITTLE TOO FAR Coming September 17th, 2013 from HarperCollins

SYNOPSIS: Have you ever gone just a little too far?
Lexie Banks has. Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother.In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for better part of the last few years… and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to Confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt… and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy on the eyes deacon… only eight months away from becoming a priest. As Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

—"More than a ridiculously sexy, HOT read, Desrochers takes you on a wild ride of self-discovery and bittersweet romance." — Janenifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn) , New York Times bestselling author of Wait for You

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