Book Review: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

 
Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

Publisher: Tor Teen

Publish Date: September 14, 2010

Paperback, 368 pages
Young Adult

My Review:
Why I read this:  The cover, the blurb, availability through a tour site - made it a winner to me.


How is the novel driven:  Character mainly - Frannie, Luc and Gabe are the stars of this book.  Yes there are dark forces at work and mayhem to be found, but the true story is in the characters and whether it really is good versus evil and whether evil can change.

My thoughts: Okay I try to stay objective in my reviews and not sound like a raving fan girl or someone younger than myself, but I have to say that this book is "hawt"!  I can't help it,  you'll just have to forgive  me this time, but I don't know how else to describe it.  The tension and attraction between Frannie and Luc and Frannie and Gabe is just too amazing to describe.  And the plot, the plot starts fast and continues that way to the end.  I felt so involved with the characters that I hated for the book to end.

So what else can I say - it's a great story of good versus evil and making choices.  Everyone has choices even demons.  Loved the angel and demon aspect with Frannie right there in the middle.  Frannie is part of a devout Catholic family but she has questions about her religion.  Luc is the bad boy and Gabe is the good boy, so which one should she choose.  It all makes it a fascinating book.  Gabe and Luc are at war for Frannie's soul, but things can change and people can too, so how will Frannie decide and can she come to terms with her own demons as well.

See - I mean how can that not be a fascinating story.  There is so much going on and the interactions are amazing.   Another thing I really liked - Frannie's parents were involved in her life and watching out for her.  They didn't like Luc which would be normal reactions for parents.  They were in her life just enough to make them good parents, they did let her make some of her own decisions though and were there for her when she needed them.


Great love triangle, great romance, good versus evil, angels, demons, high school angst, muscle cars and so much more.  Personal Demons is full of great things, great characters and great plot.  I look forward to more of Lisa's books in the future!

And I just went to her website and saw that she will have two more books coming out - Original Sin in July 2011 and Hellbent in May 2012 - I can't wait!

My Rating: 4.75/5.0

About the Book:
If you had to choose between Heaven and Hell, which would it be?

Are you sure about that...?

Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a wicked streak. She's spent years keeping everyone at a distance--even her closest friends--and it seems her senior year will be more of the same...until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can't seem to stay away from him. What she doesn't know is that Luc works in Acquisitions--for Hell--and she possesses a unique skill set that has the king of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he's as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn't stand a chance.

Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn't get what he came for. And it isn't long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul.

But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay...for all of them.

About the Author:
LISA DESROCHERS lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. She can always be found with a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places and then take her by surprise. Growing up all over the country inspired wanderlust, and Desrochers loves to travel, which works out well since she lectures internationally on a variety of health care topics. Lisa Desrochers has a doctorate in physical therapy and maintains a full-time practice. Personal Demons is her first novel.


Her Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads


FTC Information: I received this book through Book It Forward Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Welcoming the Fall Giveaway

 

Welcome to my Welcoming the Fall Giveaway!  Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year so when Good Choice Reading decided to offer up a special giveaway to celebrate the fall, I wanted to participate.  Besides I really need to clear out some books from my house.  Make sure to check out the other blogs participating that are listed at the end of this post.  Lots of great giveaways going on.  I know I will be hopping my way through right along with you.

Now onto my specifics.  I have five giveaways up, something for everyone, see below.  The rules are simple, US and Canada only (money shortage, sorry international), fill out the form.  You can enter 1, 2, 3, 4 or all 5 of the giveaways.  You do not have to be a follower, but there are extra entries for followers.  Your email address will only be used to contact you if you are the winner, it will be disposed of after this contest.  Simply fill out the form below.  I love comments so give some comment love if you want.  Tell me what your favorite thing about fall is.  Ends 9/29.

Thanks for visiting and entering! Make sure you visit all the other blogs involved listed below the form as well.

The Giveaways:

David Baldacci/Audiobook Lovers - both of these are unabridged audiobooks, listened to once and in good shape:

 

Historical Romance - brand new, never been read

 

Paranormal Romance - brand new, never read 

   

General Fiction - My Name is Memory is an ARC, The Swan Thieves is an unabridged audiobook on CD

Young Adult - read lightly, both are ARCs

   

Fall-Catch-Up-Read-a-Thon: Mini Challenge - Banned Books

I'm participating in the Fall Catch-Up-Read-a-Thon hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict.  It goes through Sunday and has no particular rules - it's just to help us get caught up on our reading.  Today Michelle offered a mini-challenge and it's one I gladly accept.  To see the challenge and read others' posts go here.

For the challenge we are to go to the ALA site and in honor of Banned Books Week, pick a book we have read, and talk about it.  So I did that - I chose the ones by decade and chose this past decade and came up with several I have read, but found the one I wanted to talk about.

By the way - I absolutely love that logo and the sentiment.  With all the craziness going on about Speak right now, I think we need to remember that we each know how to think and make our choices and we don't need others to make them for us!  My thoughts on Speak are this - I haven't read it - but I will make a point to read it and form my own opinions, I have read some of Laurie Halse-Anderson's other books and loved them and expect to do the same with Speak.  I hope others will do the same and form their own opinions as well. 

On to my choice:

   

Pick a book - any book  - it's the Gossip Girl series.  I will quickly admit that this series is one of  my guilty pleasures. I will admit I am definitely not in the target age group for this series but I love it.  I have never been to New York, did not grow up rich, did not party like this crowd or cut class or drink as much, but I love the series.

Do I understand why it is on the ALA list?  Sure - the books are full of drinking, drug use, sex and general habits we don't want our teenagers (thinking as a parent) to have.  Do I want it banned.  No way - I believe in freedom of speech and expression and don't believe these books hurt anyone.  I think most teenagers will get how over-the-top this crowd is.  It's just meant for a pleasure reading, what I call brain candy.  It's definitely not "soft porn" either, since those seem to be the words for the day with the young adult books.  The sex happens, but there are no real details.  Does this make it morally right - no, but it's called Gossip Girl and the back blurbs make it obvious what goes on in the books, there are no surprises when you read them.

I believe all parents should be involved in what their kids read and should be aware of the content.  Do I think they should censor everything.  No - I actually think books like these make great jumping off places for conversations with kids.  What is wrong about what the kids do in this book? What makes the kids like everyday kids even though they are rich and live a different lifestyle?  These make great conversation starters with teenagers.  And finally it just goes back to the fact that this is fiction - it's not telling kids how to act - it's there for enjoyment.  The shows on tv are much worse than this book and most adults don't censor those, so why censor the books - at least the kids are reading and that is what I think is most important.  Reading gets you thinking and thinking is a great thing to do.

Have you read any of the Gossip Girl books?  Do you think they should be banned?

My Gossip Girl book reviews (I have read all but the prequel in this series but somehow fell behind on the reviews):

Gossip Girl

All I Want is Everything

Because I'm Worth It

Nobody Does It Better

Nothing Can Keep Us Together

Would I Lie to You

Book Review: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

 
The Replacement

Publisher: Razorbill

Publish Date: September 21, 2010

Hardcover, 352 pages
Young Adult Paranormal

My Review:
Why I read this:  The cover, the blurb, the talk around the blogs, all made me want to read this, did I mention the cover?


How is the novel driven:  Since I started doing this as a part of my review, I've realized some books are really hard to decide.  This was plot-driven, yet character-driven as well since it's about Mackie learning about himself and his world.  So I would say a great balance of both.




My thoughts: Unfortunately this one did not live up to the hype for me.  I really really wanted to love it, but I come out only liking it.  I expected it to enthrall me from the beginning, but it really didn't pick up until about 100 pages in for me, then it was great for about 100 pages then it was just back to so-so.  I don't want to feel this way about the book at all - I feel it should be outstanding, but it really just fell flat for me.  And I am probably the only person out there that feels this way.

I think part of the problem for me is this was trying to be a deep book with messages, too many messages for me.  I think from the cover I just wanted a suspenseful, horror-type book.  Re-reading the back copy I see what the book was going for and the cover deceived me.  I am not faulting anyone for this - this was my own fault.

I did enjoy the book, just not as much as I expected.  Mackie was an interesting character and I enjoyed the storyline.  It's worth a try if it sounds like a good book for you, just read the cover copy and make sure  you understand what the book will be about.  I don't want to turn readers off to it at all, because I honestly think it was just me.  Others I believe will really get this book and love it.


Truthfully the story was just flat, it seemed a little bit unfinished.  It seemed like the author was trying to go somewhere with it and got there, but just didn't get there in a complete way.  I'm not really sure how to explain it.  I believe the author has great potential, the writing is well-done, there was just something lacking for me personally.

My Rating: 3.0/5.0


Have you read it?  Feel differently?  Feel the same?  Please let me know.

Here are some additional reviews:
Alexia's Books and Such
Pure Imagination
YA Highway
Reading Angel
The Bibliophilic Book Blog
Squeaky Books
Reading Teen
Bookyurt

About the Book:
Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.


Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.


Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.

About the Author:
Brenna Yovanoff is a debut author who has published in various journals. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Her Website
Her Blog


FTC Information: I received this book through 1-ARC Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Book Review: Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

 
Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publish Date: September 1, 2010

Hardcover, 320 pages
Young Adult

My Review:
Why I read this:  I like this type of book - three sisters who have to own up to a secret that one of them has done to hurt their grandmother just so they can continue to live the type of life they are use to.  I seem to like books that include scandal amongst the life of the rich.


How is the novel driven:  Character - this is all about the three sisters and what each of them considers to be the reason they have made their grandmother want to dis-inherit them.




My thoughts: This book fully lived up to my expectations - it wasn't as catty as I expected it to be, in fact it was rather light-hearted and fun.  But still my expectations were met.  It was a quick easy read and I loved reading about each of the girls and what they felt they had done wrong.  No, not one of them was perfect, but I think each girl learned a lot about herself through having to do this exercise and that is what made the book enjoyable.  There were some truly laughable moments and the book as a whole was just completely enjoyable. 

It was divided up into three main sections, one for each of the sisters, Norrie, Sassy and Jane, written as a confession to the Almighty, their grandmother.  The fact they referred to their grandmother as the Almighty is one of the things that made this book - the humor is subtle at times and a lot of fun.

One thing I really enjoyed was the closeness of the family.  The parents were slightly out there, but the brothers and sisters do know how to band together even though two of the brothers are away at school.  I liked their camaraderie.  Sure they fought as well, but they clung to each other and it was an endearing aspect to the book.


A great quick young adult read that will leave you smiling at the end.



My Rating: 4.25/5.0

About the Book:
The Sullivan sisters have a big problem. On Christmas Day their rich and imperious grandmother gathers the family and announces that she will soon die . . .and has cut the entire family out of her will. Since she is the source of almost all their income, this means they will soon be penniless.


Someone in the family has offended her deeply. If that person comes forward with a confession of her (or his) crime, submitted in writing to her lawyer by New Year's Day, she will reinstate the family in her will. Or at least consider it.


And so the confessions begin....

About the Author:
Natalie Standiford is originally from Maryland, the setting of her two Scholastic Press novels. She now lives in New York City.

Her Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads Profile

FTC Information: I received this book through 1 ARC Tours for review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Fall Catch-Up Read-a-Thon: Starting Line

I'm participating in the Fall Catch-Up-Read-a-Thon hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict.  It goes from today through Sunday and has no particular rules - it's just to help us get caught up on our reading.  Like that will ever happen with me, but I'm a true sucker for read-a-thons and any excuse to read more :)

Stop by The True Book Addict and see who else is participating and sign up yourself!

What I hope to read:

Finish:
Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Read:
Bitter Frost by Kailin Gow
The Ivy by Lauren Kunze
Deliver Us From Evil by David Baldacci
The Starlet by Mary McNamara
Poison by Sara Poole
The Veil of Night by Linda Howard

Okay - that is really ambitious, so if I get 5 books read I will be happy - if I make it through all of those I will be ecstatic!  At least it's an easy week - no teachers meetings or other activities that I know of, so it's just getting supper fixed and homework done after my 8-hour workday.  I see nice evenings spent reading on my porch swing and a relaxing Saturday reading away the day.

What are you Reading Monday - September 20

Come post weekly and see what others are reading too just so you can add to your tbr - I always do! For more information see Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books and join in!

Books Completed Last Week 

• Finny by Justin Kramon
• Tough Customer by Sandra Brown
• Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales
• Terminal Care by Christopher Stookey 
• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff 
• Three Quarters Dead by Richard Peck 

Reading Now:

• Definitely Dead (audible on my Kindle)
• Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich (audio in my car)
• 
  
• 
  

Next:

• She's Gone Country by Jane Porter
• Re-read of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins to prepare for:
• Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Reviews completed this week (books read before this week):

• The Candidates: Delacroix Academy by Inara Scott

Other books still need to review:

• Wings by Aprilynne Pike (library) 
• The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (mine)  
• The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz
• Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook)
• Matched by Ally Condie (review)
• Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs (audiobook) 
• Evermore by Alyson Noel (library)  
• Spells by Aprylynne Pike (library) 
• Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford (review)
• Nightshade by Andrea Cremer  (review)
• Manifest by Artist Arthur (review) 
• Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler (review)
• Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers (review)
• The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff (review)
• God is in the Pancakes by Robin Epstein (review)
• Candor by Pam Bachorz
• Crusade by  Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie  
• The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan 
•  

Summary -

Busy week, but great reading, the temps are cooling off and things are settling down with school, so I hope to get more back in the swing this week with blogging.

Best of the week:  Terminal Care by Christopher Stookey