Personal Demons
Summary: What's so special about Frannie? There must be something good because heaven and hell is doing everything they can to tag her soul. They both sent in the big guns. Luc (short for Lucifer) has been tagging souls for a long time. He has been the only one that has been able to find Frannie, and his pride (his sin, of course) has definitely been inflated by this one. The problem is he finds himself drawn to her. After being paired with her in English, he starts spending more time with her. He gets to know her, and finds that he might be falling for her. Then Gabriel shows up. Gabriel is the poster boy for good. He is all about protection and making Frannie feel safe. Frannie, of course, falls in love with both of them (they are both very hot). The problem is that the tables are turning. Something is happening to Luc that seems to be changing his very being, he may be turning human. This is very bad because hell is sending reinforcements and they are not being as sweet as Luc was. How can Luc and Gabriel save Frannie and keep her untagged when everyone wants her so badly?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this novel, but it was cliché and generally the characterization was terrible. This is definitely an on the surface only novel. Enjoy it like a beach read. My high school students that don't particularly enjoy reading have said this was a good book, but the ones that read a lot have no enjoyed it. This just tells me that if you are used to digging into books, inferring about character motivation, or just plain paying attention to detail, you won't be really into this book. Frannie is unbelievable. She is described one way but acts a different way. I think that it was because she was going for the "typical teenage girl hormones" thing, but basically went too far. If Frannie is supposed to be really smart, smart enough to get a full ride into UCLA (or any college), then she is not going to be as helpless, controlled easily by her hormones, or confused by simple outlines in English. She would be able to sense things about the people around her (as all teenagers do), and not fall prey to the stupidest little things just so she can be rescued by boy 1 or boy 2. Second, the author attempts to make references to major literary works that fall short. It's one thing to make a reference and allow your audience to draw conclusions about things like Dante's Inferno, but to spell everything out and to tell us exactly what you are doing just insults me as a reader. I'm well aware of allusions. I would say that a high school student, the target audience, has had exposure to Dante at one point in time in school. Are you expecting us to believe that hell is like Dante explained it, but also like a major corporation, and like the artist impressions of hell from the Renaissance? Lastly, this book has not gotten mashed together with several other angel/demon books that I have read this summer. It has gotten to the point where I can't really tell who the main characters are because they all sound/seem the same. The girl is being fought over by two hot guys, one demon (or fallen angel) and one angel. The girl does stupid stuff and the boys fall over themselves to rescue her. There are occasional pissing contests and jealousies, but it's all a humdrum of the same. I'm in need of something original.

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Personal Demons was a book that was more than I expected. I expected a pat paranormal-theme-of-the-moment love triangle story, and a few hours of guilty pleasure holiday reading. What I got was a surprisingly mature exploration of faith, forgiveness and grief executed with humor and great, sarcastic character dialogue. Is there a love triangle and the appropriate amount of accompanying teen angst? Well, yes. But it's also deceptively spicy, dark and thought-provoking.

Personal Demons hits the ground running without much introduction -- we meet Luc, a hot (literally), demonic agent charged with tagging souls for Hell. His current quarry is Frannie, a conflicted Catholic girl who is tormented by questions of faith and past personal sins she can't forget, or forgive. Frannie is special -- Luc doesn't know why -- but he knows that completing his assignment is very important to some very important demons in Hell. And personally, his interest in Frannie is more than casual. Luc's sin of origin is pride, not lust, but Frannie seems to make him forget that fact.

As Frannie finds herself more and more attracted to dark and dangerous Luc, she also finds herself drawn to Gabe, another new boy at school. Gabe is blond and beautiful, and makes Frannie feel peaceful and even loved -- something she doesn't even really believe in. As Luc and Gabe repeatedly butt heads over Frannie, it becomes clear that their interest in her is more than social. Because Gabe is a Dominion, an angel of the highest order who has been sent to Earth to protect Frannie from Luc, and tag her soul for Heaven.

Frannie must discover why Heaven and Hell are at war over her, and the power at the source of her importance to both sides. And she must decide whether to give in to the temptations of a bad-boy demon or to give in to the good guy -- and put an angel at risk of losing his wings.

I loved the threads of theology in this book -- it really added depth to a story that could have been very generic and formulaic. The characters were another part of what makes Personal Demons special, though. Luc is delicious -- there's no other way to put it. Frankly, Gabe is, too. And Frannie is complex, conflicted and provides a very, very realistic picture of a slightly damaged but still determined teenage girl. I love that she makes mistakes and has to deal with the consequences, and that she has parents who are in tune with what is going on in her life. (This was never something I appreciated in a book until I was a parent myself, as a side note.) I also love that she is a nontraditional female character -- she works on cars with her Grandpa after Mass every Sunday. She finds an outlet for her anger and guilt through martial arts. She's a cool chick that's dealing with some weighty issues -- even without bringing Heaven and Hell into it. The fact that the book works on a basic coming-of-age level as well as its imaginative fantasy level is what really makes Personal Demons special. There's so much going on, you have to take a step back to appreciate it all. It would be an oversimplification to call it a love story, although that is one of the most engaging parts of the book. The story is contemporary and engaging and won't disappoint fans of books like Twilight and Hush, Hush.

Just a final note: I was really happy with what I thought was the conclusion of Personal Demons -- until the unexpected, 11th-hour twist at the very end of the book. Now, I am chomping at the bit to read Original Sin, the follow-up.

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I stopped reading Personal Demons twice. In the beginning, it was full of your typical teenage drama- new hot guy, jealous best friend, newer hot guy, love triangle, raging hormones, etc. Even when you add in the part that the new hot guy is a demon, the newer hot guy is an angel and the potential love triangle has epic implications; I found the story boring. Because of my boredom with the book, I put it down twice and had no desire to continue to read it.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago. I was encouraged to continue with the book by another reviewers high review and praise of the book. I always trusted her reviews so I thought I would not stop now. Therefore, I gave the book another chance.

I LOVED IT. There is some magic barrier; it is around the 100-page mark. You pass that page and the book transforms into a fascinating story about redemption, forgiveness, and love. I do not know why it takes 100 pages or so for the story to develop into a great book, but it does. I found myself cheering for Luc, the demon, in the story even though I thought he was a jerk and selfish in the beginning. Frannie, a character who seemed over the top and unbelievable at the beginning, turned into a girl full of love but living a life of guilt. Gabe was the character that left the book, the same way he came into the book. I thought he was bland, but I could see how he was necessary to the story.

Overall- a great book. 2 stars- first 25% of the book/ 5 stars- last 75% of the book- overall- 4 stars.

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