*Disclaimer: I received this book through Star Book Tours.
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers is another one of those books that is enjoyable while you are reading it, and you think it's great... Until you start talking about it with friends, or thinking about it later. Then, it sorta, kinda, maybe falls apart a little bit.
I don't mean to make it sound like I didn't enjoy this book, because I did. It's just that it tried to be too many things. I don't want to completely spoil the book, so I won't go into too many details but I'll list a few of the things I thought a little... much. So, we have main character Frannie, whose real name is (no lie) Mary Francis. There are 5 girls in her family, and all five of them share the first name Mary. Then, enter the demon boy — Luc Cain. Except, that his name is really Lucifer. Lucifer Cain. Seriously?! But wait! The angel shows up next. And his name is Gabriel. Each are sent by their respective bosses to make sure that Frannie comes to bat for their team. But, Frannie is so awesome that both boys fall in love with her, and seem willing to risk eternal damnation to be with her.
The book is a split narration between Frannie and Luc. We get to hear different parts of the story from each of them, and I loved it! I thought it was a great way to tell the story and I loved listening to Luc! Their voices were different enough that I was usually able to tell which character was speaking, even without the names at the top of each narrative shift. Mostly I was able to tell because I really liked Luc. His narrative was hilarious. There's just something really funny about a 5,000 year old spawn of Satan born in seething fire and brimstone figuring out that he cares about what happens to a person. He's pretty snarky sometimes too, which I thought was great. (ie:(I'm paraphrasing here, because I don't have the book with me but:) Something bad happens, and a character says "Oh my God!" Luc's response? "Ya, like he had anything to do with it.")
One thing I loved about this book is that Frannie is kind of hard core. She is a 6th degree Judo blackbelt, and has no qualms about using that to defend/protect herself. But, like everything else, it kind of gets repetitive and cliché. Every time she uses her Judo training, it's either a breathing exercise to calm herself down, or it's to flip a male over her head. But, I have to say, I totally wish I could do that!:)
I love reading books with characters that show a genuine, marked improvement or growth. It's so rewarding to be there as this 'person' grows and learns about life. There is growth in each of the main characters, but it felt forced. I didn't feel like any of the changes the characters went through was a result of internal maturation and development. Each change the characters went through felt like the result of circumstance, or someone else sitting there, walking them through everything and saying This is who/how you are supposed to be, so maybe you should get there, like... Now. It's not how people are supposed to learn, and when you learn like that, very little of it actually changes who you are. Instead, it just alters how you act around that person.
I also must say, that I fervently wish that this book was not the beginning of yet another YA series. Although it's clear where the characters can go in future books, I don't feel like any of it is necessary. Each character is given a 'resting point', where we are comfortable with their ending. We don't know everything about their futures, but we know enough to be easy about letting these characters go. And, honestly, some of the questions or ideas that will come up in future books I would prefer be left alone, left to the reader to decide. I haven't decided yet if I'll be reading the sequels or not. I don't feel like it's necessary, and I really feel like it's okay to leave these characters alone, and just let them rest where I have them in my mind.
This is definitely a book that will easily be someone's favorite. It just wasn't mine.