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.
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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