Pros and Cons

I finished this book last night and admittedly spent too much time afterwards trying to decide how I was going to review it. I've finally decided that the best way to do this is a Pros/Cons list because I'm about equally divided in my thoughts right now.

Pro:  Strong start. I roared right through the first 75 pages or so, needing to know what the big secrets were and how Nina fit into it. GREAT beginning.

Con:  And then...and then...the dragging bit happened. Nina, our heroine, must try to rescue her sister, Melanie, from the clutches of the Church, which runs everything in the demonically possessed world. And we hear about this...and hear about this...and hear about this...

Pro:  Nina is determined to do the right thing, no matter the cost. And sometimes the right thing involves doing some really bad stuff, but you know she's only thinking of what's right.

Con:  Nina's not very likable, unfortunately. She is abrasive and single-minded, even while she is determined and focused. 

Pro:  The whole Church twist is great. It's almost a throwback to the Inquisition, and it's truly scary to think that this could happen (minus the demons). Everyone is taken in, and everyone believes, or is forced to believe. Nina is part of the whole until she realizes what's really going on, and then it's almost too late.

Con:  I really hate Devi.  I know I'm not supposed to like her at this point, but I really hate her which makes me not want to read further. In fact, I'm not a big fan of any of the gang with which Nina aligns.

Pro:  I like the Finn twist. Unique and unexpected. I'd like to see how this ends up.

Con:  The whole exorcist thing.  Where does it come from? Without being too spoiler-y, I will say that I understand that it's the focal point of Nina's story, but I don't get where it came from (though I suppose I'll learn this later on).  I just felt like some parts of it were way too conveniently accepted by Nina, a girl who normally rejects everything.

Pro:  It's a great premise and may yet be really interesting.

Con:  Too many people I just do not care about. I doubt I'll read the next one, which is a shame, as I normally love Rachel Vincent.

So...do the math.  I'm giving 3 solid stars for good idea but a sort of messy climax with people I didn't care for. You may come away with more excitement than I did, but I'm just not that enthusiastic.

~taminator40

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers

Original Sin, the second book in the Personal Demons series, picks up just a few weeks after Frannie and Luc (a former demon) have been tagged for Heaven, hopefully putting King Lucifer behind them. Luc in his newly human form has never been happier, and Frannie is delighted with both her boyfriend and her relationship with her dead twin, Matt, who is now her guardian angel. Even though Gabe has left, things seem to be going well until new demons arrive in town, still determined to get Frannie and her Sway, and a mysterious young woman moves into the apartment next to Luc's and begins to infiltrate their lives. Suddenly Frannie's final summer before college is not so easy; Luc must defend Frannie and himself against demons determined to take them both to Hell; and Matt just wants Luc out of the picture.

Original Sin is gut-wrenching and very, very dark; we get first hand looks at Hell and Lucifer, and the demons who come after Frannie will stop at nothing to get to her. Luc's admission for how he feels about Frannie is an absolutely stunning moment, but what comes next is even more heartbreaking. I love that Frannie and Luc are not living in a vacuum; the community at large is reeling from what they've done and how far Lucifer is willing to go to get his hands on Frannie's Sway. Possible spoiler...My one issue is how Frannie falls apart later in the book, though with all she goes through, it's understandable. I just want her to remain strong at all times, unrealistic though it might be. And while I can understand her attraction to both Luc and Gabe, the waffling gets a little irritating, but not enough to distract from the overall storyline.

I am amazed at how well done Original Sin is; I love that Ms. Desrochers is not afraid to go wherever her characters lead, however dark it may be. I'm impressed that much of what she writes seems based in biblical fact, and the depth of feeling she evokes with her writing is astounding. I wasn't expecting what happened, but I'm totally on board with it. This is a young adult paranormal series that is head and shoulders above most of what's out there right now. I'm just ill that I have to wait so long for the third installment!

~taminator40

Not That The Demon's Surrender is Bad...

...Not that The Demon's Surrender is bad, or poorly written, or even boring. It's just that, as the final book in the trilogy that had focused on the Ryves brothers, it would have been nice to have somehow felt more of what those two were experiencing, rather than having the decidedly overwhelmed Sin as a narrator. Which also doesn't mean that I disliked Sin, or even that I didn't like her narration. It just seemed an unnecessary perspective for a finale that had Sin as a peripheral character in the previous two books.

The basic plot remains the same: the Goblin Market is in danger from the magicians, and the Ryves brothers are still struggling with the fact that Nick is actually a demon seemingly incapable of human emotion. Given that Sin is narrating, we learn a lot about her responsibilities and her abilities, and the fact that she feels entitled to run the Market after Merris leaves. But there is the stumbling block of Mae, a "tourist" who has shown herself equally capable of running the Market, and Jamie, Mae's brother who is a magician. Both sides know the ultimate showdown is coming between them and the one who captures the Pearl necklace will be the one in charge of the Market. But will new romances also survive? What will happen to Sin's younger brother and sister? Will Nick ever escape his demon past?

Like I said, I liked this novel but felt that it was padded out with Sin's dramas. I loved Nick's sense of humor and the bond between the brothers, and I felt what happened to Alan was a good twist. I've never been a Mae fan but I did enjoy how she stepped up to the plate and actually made things happen; I also appreciated the action sequences, particularly the one with Sin on the magician's boat. I would just have liked there to have been more focus on the brothers since that was how the series began. It's not bad by any means...it just left me feeling like the heart of the story was missing.

~taminator40

Not Just Another Angel Story

Unearthly *could* have been just another entry in the rampant paranormal young adult genre...good angels (blah, blah, blah)...bad angels (blah, blah, blah)...impossible love story (yada yada yada). But almost from the get-go, I felt something was different; it felt more, well, real, than in a lot of the books similar in description. Though we know almost immediately that Clara is of angel blood, that she's pretty and fast, etc., we also learn that she's insecure, worried about her "purpose", and feels left out in her new school. Still, she's determined to follow the vision of her purpose and somehow rescue super hunky Christian...though from what or even how, she doesn't have a clue.

For much of the novel, Unearthly follows Clara as she slowly learns more about being of angel blood, though not from her mother (which becomes a source of irritation), and her quest to find out what she's supposed to do. The fact that she ends up with orange hair adds to her ordinariness; the fact that she's often tongue-tied and even a bit clumsy makes her endearing. And yes, I admit I loved that she had good banter with her best friend's brother, and I hoped that somehow, those two would find their way to one another.


While there really aren't major surprises in Unearthly, I found myself quickly turning the pages and reading past my bedtime in order to get through so I could satisfy my curiosity. I really wish I could pinpoint precisely what it is that had me so intrigued about this story; I think it's mostly that Clara, despite her unearthliness, is very real and easy to relate to. It's a thoroughly engaging story that manages to mix the paranormal with the everyday with neither going off the deep end. I'm hooked.
 
~taminator40

Personal Demons

"Even magic can't banish her personal demons. She's got to face them down on her own." This quote from Luc, a real demon sent to earth to tag Frannie Cavanaugh's soul for Hell, gives a bit of a glimpse into the layers of this wonderful debut novel by Lisa Desrochers. Sure, it's a paranormal aimed at teenage girls, but it's also a tension-filled, romantic, scary struggle between the forces of Good and Evil battling over a soul that is already conflicted and filled with remorse and guilt. The fact that said forces themselves often blur the lines makes this story so much more than just a fun romp filled with otherworldly creatures. In fact, it's often so dark in tone that I found myself worried about the final outcome.

Frannie should be excited to be graduating high school, yet there's a dark cloud hanging over her life: her brother Matt died tragically ten years earlier and Frannie is convinced it was her fault. While her family is religious, Frannie has forsaken God because He allowed Matt's death, which makes her all the more susceptible to the charms of newcomer Luc, a boy whose dark personna and sexy overtures makes Frannie's heart race. What she doesn't know is that Luc has been sent by Satan to get Frannie to sin in order to tag her soul, and even Luc doesn't know why Satan wants her so badly. Luc thinks this is going to be easy...until angelic Gabe arrives, ready to steal Frannie's attentions away from the devil. But why on earth is there all this fuss over a teenaged girl's soul?

The sexual tension in Personal Demons literally pulsates off the page, and while there are scenes of actual encounters, it's more about the longing and the wanting Frannie experiences as she is pulled between Heaven and Hell. But lest it seem trite, this book is really about so much more...what makes a person turn from God in such a religious household? Can a person be "saved" against her will? And what happens when a demon falls in love? Can a demon be "saved"?

There's a lot of back and forth between Frannie and Gabe and Luc, which is probably the only issue I have in this story. I understand the attractions of the two guys but I wanted her to make a choice and stick with it. But the process of Luc realizing he might not be able to complete his mission is well developed, and Frannie's struggles with her own guilt are authentic. This is so much more than just a fun young adult book: it's one that's going to have me thinking about it for a long time to come. I admit it: Personal Demons captured me. Recommended.
 
~taminator40

"Not Really a Party Until Someone Brings the Surprise Zombies"

Great line, huh? Nick may be a demon who doesn't experience human emotions, but he can deliver one liners that will crack you up throughout The Demon's Covenant. It's just one of the many reasons that this book is more than a worthy sequel to The Demon's Lexicon.

The story picks up not too long after The Demon's Lexicon leaves off; Mae becomes worried about her brother Jamie being targeted by magicians from the Obsidian Circle, so she contacts magician fighting brothers Alan and Nick to come help her pull him away from the evil influence. Along the way, we discover that Nick wants to learn about human emotions and he enlists Mae to help him; Alan, frightened of what his brother is capable of, decides the wiser course might be to betray him; the Goblin Market becomes the scene of many confrontations; and Mae finds herself torn between Alan and Seb, a boy at school. There are no easy choices in The Demon's Covenant.

Rant time: What is up with that cover? Besides the fact that it features a minor character, it's just plain ugly. It makes Sin look like she's in her forties, not to mention those big feet. Whoever okayed that one needs to be pummeled repeatedly.

The rant aside, I was pleasantly surprised that a sequel could maintain the intrigue and depth of the first book. With its devastating wit and action, its relationship issues and the magic, The Demon's Covenant works on so many levels. I loved seeing the relationship between Jamie and Mae, and I loved that Jamie knows who he is and doesn't shy away from it. The world Brennan has created is intricate and compelling, and I'm already on board for book number three. Dark and disturbing at times, there's gore and menacing situations that put everyone in peril but will keep you turning the pages quickly. This one garners a solid 4.75 stars, kept from the full 5 by a couple of chapters that meandered just a bit. Excellent reading!

~taminator40