Review : Personal Demons
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers
Pages : 365
Genre : YA, Paranormal Romance
Series : Personal Demons, book 1
My Rating : 
What it’s about :
Frannie has been raised to be a good catholic girl, yet events of her past make her want not to believe in the existence of God.
When two new guys join her school, Frannie is surprised to have them immediately drawn to her – and to be drawn to them both, too. On one side there is sexy, dark, dangerous Luke; on the other, sexy, beautiful, charming Gabe.
And both have plans for her, plans that will force Frannie to face her path and question her beliefs once more.
My Thoughts :
Okay, so this book was clearly not for me. And I always feel bad giving a somewhat bad review when my disappointment so obviously comes from the fact that the book and I, we are clearly mismatched. I don’t think we could even be friends. Neighbors, maybe. Casual acquaintances. But nothing more.
I have no doubts there are plenty of readers out there who will love this book : it’s hot, sexy, steamy, with a lot of “ooohs” and “aaaahs”, and a love triangle that could rival the best out there. It’s romance in its hottest incarnation.
The plot, in itself, is interesting. Having Heaven and Hell battling for the soul of one girl, for a reason that is still unknown in the beginning, was an idea that had a lot of potential. I imagined an epic story between the forces of good and evil, with Frannie at its center, probably fighting for her own free will. I would have loved that.
But, because I am not a romance reader, this is basically what happened :
As I often mentioned in the past, I am not a romance reader. I love when romantic interactions are a part of the novel : romance, love, relationships, they are all part of life. But when the romance is at the core of the book, it doesn’t work for me. So even though I had a lot of fun at the start of the book, I was quickly annoyed by Frannie’s yo-yo dance between the two guys, and the obviously steamy scenes that followed.
If I think of my personal rating of the book, it would probably be lower; but I had to recognize, the book also had some strong points, hence the “in-the-middle” rating :
- The premise is interesting and keeps developing through the story, sometimes in predictable ways, sometimes in surprising ways.
- The author’s writing is engaging and quickly pulls you in.
- There are a lot of fun scenes, especially in the first half before the real drama begins, that gave me a smile and a giggle.
- The author did a great use of the mythological aspects of the religion, sticking to its core while adapting it for her story in an original way. Not all books are successful in this aspect (yes, I’m looking at you The Goddess Test) but Personal Demons is a success on that front.
Series Reading Order :
- Personal Demons
- Original Sin (coming July 5th 2011)
Even though you weren’t a fan of this book, you did a really good job of pointing out why and what might work for other people. Great review!
heheh, I love the chart. I’ve felt exactly like that before. 😀
(Because list-comments are just easier)
1. That chart is fantastic, and pretty much describes most of the YA I’ve read lately.
2. I totally know what you mean about being mismatched with a book – it’s how I feel about virtually every crime novel out there.
3. The more I read about Personal Demons the less I want to buy it… apparently Original Sin is a lot more, er, graphic.
4. Great review!
Though I don’t really mind paranormal romances, I do mind books that feature a love triangle. I am a little tired of them, actually, and would love to come across a YA title that doesn’t feature one. I am sorry to hear that this book wasn’t what you had been expecting. It sounds like it also wouldn’t be my cup of tea either.
Oh Kay, I adore your reviews! The little doodles are icing on the cake 🙂
This definitely doesn’t look like my cup of tea, but I love your chart! I’ve felt that way while reading so many books.
That ratings chart just basically made my day. 🙂
I’m not big on romance either. I like it to be a part of the book, but I prefer books that have more than just a hot romance at their core. I agree that there is a huge audience that would love this book, but I doubt I would be found to be a member of that group. Still, I really enjoyed your review — especially the drawing!
Oh my gosh, I love that ratings chart. Romances aren’t my thing either, so my response to the book would probably match that graph quite closely.
I think Personal Demons is a mismatch for many books out there. Goodness knows that yoyo-ing between boys annoys the heck out of me too. And the graph? I love it. I’m a fan of your drawings. Honestly, I spent an entire day just reading back. And chuckling.
i’m with ruth–the ratings chart is hilarious and made me smile! i like your review–it’s honest and actually has me interested in the book. have a great weekend. 🙂
Thanks guys! 😀 I had been thinking of including comics and drawings in reviews before but always hesitated. I’m sorry to hear you’ve experienced what I’ve drawn on this chart, too, but glad to see you got what I meant. Yay for charts!