Lisa Desrochers

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 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.… (plus d'informations)

Although I love science fiction and fantasy movies, I have never been a fan of the books. Besides the plot and the characters, I also have to make myself familiar with a whole new world, society, creatures, mores, etc. so it was with great surprise when I had the strong desire to read Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers. It had been on my to-read list since September, but it moved to the top of my list when I met the author at Book Expo America 2011. She autographed a free copy of the novel to me, and explained that she wrote the book for her daughter, who was really into the Twilight series. To be fair to Lisa, Personal Demons is a much better book.

Frannie has a special power that could be a benefit to Heaven and Hell, so each dominion has sent their best to tag her soul. From Hell, is Luc a.k.a. Lucifer. He is seven millennia old demon whose mere presence makes Frannie want to give in to her baser instincts. Gabriel is one of the best angels from Heaven, who makes Frannie feel safe and secure. She is in constant battle with herself on who she is going to choose.

Frannie is one of the most realistic teenage girls I’ve read in a long time in a Young Adult novel. She’s smart, reckless, impulsive, and angst-ridden. She’s also very good at judo. She’s like a more realistic Buffy the Vampire Slayer! She is definitely one of my favorite girl characters. Empowered!

Personal Demons is a sexy, witty, taut, and highly readable YA novel that constantly leaves me breathless. In the words of Luc, Unholy Satan because plot twists come fast at a fast rate. Plus there’s an intense love triangle. There's also a certain amount of camp involved. The book runs about 30 pages too long. Once all the major plot points are revealed, the story sort of sputters to an end. However, it is still a great book and I can’t wait to dive into the sequel out in August.
… (plus d'informations)

L’inizio di questo romanzo fa venire la voglia di chiudere il libro e passare al prossimo, soprattutto a causa del solito triangolo amoroso angelo-umana-demone. Il lettore, però, si sforza di leggere e andare oltre, di non farsi sconfiggere dalla noia, riuscendo a dimenticare tutti i romanzi precedentemente letti sull’argomento. Una volta fatto ciò, è allora che diventa piacevole. Perché sì, è un romanzo che non spicca certo in originalità, ma ha anche i suoi momenti di splendore e piccole particolarità che fanno sorridere il lettore, come ad esempio il nome della scuola “Haden” definita da tutti gli studenti come “Ade”.

Ma veniamo alla storia ed ai personaggi principali. Il bel tenebroso Lucifer, che altro non è che un demone dell’Inferno venuto a reclamare l’anima di Frannie, e anche la persona intorno cui gira tutto il romanzo. E’ in grado di percepire sensazioni e umori degli umani grazie alla sua capacità di tradurre gli odori sprigionati dalle loro anime e, ovviamente, è dotato di un sarcasmo perfettamente compatibile con la sua aura da cattivo ragazzo. A condividere questa leadership è proprio Frannie, protagonista femminile, per una volta, davvero interessante anche se troppo manovrabile e con un caratterino davvero niente male. È un tipo davvero particolare, capace di mettere al tappeto anche uomini più grossi di lei ma con un grande problema con sé stessa e con il suo passato. Terzo personaggio della triade è Gabriel, detto anche Gabe, un arcangelo venuto anche lui a reclamare l’anima della ragazza tanto che viene da domandarsi cos’abbia di tanto speciale Frannie da far scomodare due pezzi grossi come loro.

La trama coinvolge due punti di vista importarti, ovvero Frannie e Luc, che si alternano mostrandoci le cose sotto i due profili fondamentali: la ragazza confusa e lusingata dalle attenzioni dei due baldi giovani e la confusione e redenzione di Luc.

Dopo una prima parte decisamente scontata e noiosetta le cose sembrano evolversi nella seconda parte del romanzo, ovvero non appena abbandoniamo i corridoi – in prefetto stile Twilight – della scuola e ci avventuriamo nel mondo esterno, con tanto di Demoni – cattivi! – alle calcagna.

A fine lettura il libro, nel giro di 50 pagine, riesce ad acquistare moltissimi punti, tant’è che risulta davvero difficile dargli una votazione coerente visto l’incredibile dislivello fra la prima e la seconda parte. Non che nel complesso sia un caso letterario ma mantiene le promesse e lo stile, regalandoci dei bei colpi di scena e sorprese. Senza contare il finale che, per quanto primo romanzo di una trilogia, ci permette comunque di avere una quadro abbastanza compatto della situazione senza lasciarci a boccheggiare in attesa di informazioni, un bel finale in definitiva.… (plus d'informations)