ARC Review: Original Sin

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers
Release Date: July 05, 2011
Published By: Tor Teen
Pages: 398, Paperback
Young Adult
Source: Author (won!) + in exchange for an honest review
Overall: Fabulous!
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Luc Cain was born and raised in Hell, but he isn’t feeling as demonic as usual lately—thanks to Frannie Cavanaugh and the unique power she never realized she had. But you can’t desert Hell without consequences, and suddenly Frannie and Luc find themselves targeted by the same demons who used to be Luc’s allies.
Left with few options, Frannie and Luc accept the protection of Heaven and one of its most powerful angels, Gabe. Unfortunately, Luc isn’t the only one affected by Frannie, and it isn’t long before Gabe realizes that being around her is too…tempting. Rather than risk losing his wings, he leaves Frannie and Luc under the protection of her recently-acquired guardian angel.
Which would be fine, but Gabe is barely out the door before an assortment of demons appears—and they’re not leaving without dragging Luc back to Hell with them. Hell won’t give up and Heaven won’t give in. Frannie’s guardian exercises all the power he has to keep them away, but the demons are willing to hurt anyone close to Frannie in order to get what they want. It will take everything she has and then some to stay out of Hell’s grasp.
And not everyone will get out of it alive.

This review may contain minor spoilers or story line indication for Personal Demons, book number 1 in this trilogy.

My Thoughts:

Told from three points of view we are reintroduced to Frannie, Luc and Gabriel in Original Sin.  Though I must warn you the three points of view are not that of Frannie, Luc and Gabriel.  The main of the plot is still the same but this time, keep Frannie's soul from being tagged for Hell, and it is layered with several layers of emotions, action and obstacles. I knew there had to be some new situations where Frannie, Luc and Gabriel were concerned but I had no clue that it would be in the form of demons coming out in small but extremely strong and persuasive numbers messing with more than just Frannie.  It seems as if none of our characters went untouched this time around.    

Frannie, our main character who is wanted by both Heaven and Hell, is still the kick-ass, strong willed object she was in Personal Demons.  While I love how strong Frannie is and commend her on her ability to literally kick butt and handle situations beyond her wildest dreams, it seems as if Frannie has become more of an object in this book being tossed between Luc and Gaberiel once again.  While Frannie's love did big things for Luc, literally changing him, I wish her heart would choose between Luc and Gabriel...well more than she has already claimed she has.  It is only book two and I'm already tired of her flip flopping.  She's in love with and lusting over Luc when she's with him but the moment she's with Gabriel her heart is pounding for him and she is lusting just the same.  Her emotions are tiring and slightly contradictory when it comes the two guys.  While I think Frannie is a great main character her indecision and what it is doing to others is slowing wearing on me.  We can only hope Lisa Desrochers doesn't leaving us hanging at the end of book three and all of our love-triangle-woes and put to rest.

Luc is still Luc despite his transformation in Original Sin.  I get the excitement and swooning over Luc's new-found salvation and freedom from his previous life, although he truly never is free of his past, but his true colors do end up showing in Original Sin and I'm glad for that.  I understood the situation for what it was and to Luc's defense not everything is at it seems but even I saw through the situation before we were given much detail about it.  It is still up in the air for me about whether Luc's loyalty is something anyone has beyond Luc himself.  I'm not sure where all of my reluctance comes from regarding look but despite it all and his bad boy image and inability to trust him, especially after Original Sin's ending, I still am able to see through to his personal growth and the heart that he does have even if it is slightly tarnished and bent a little.  I guess though, for a demon, or a was-demon, or a gonna-be-demon (again) that he does pretty well protecting Frannie and attempting to put her best interest at heart.

The story isn't complete without Gabriel.  Gabriel takes a back seat during most of Original Sin.  It is all just too much to bear for him which I totally agree with.  Frannie is stringing the guys along and when you have a heart like Gabriel's I can't imagine it is easy to watch the girl you love throw herself into the arms of a demon, let alone a guy that even if he were a mere mortal he would still be considered a demon by most the population.  In my opinion Gabriel is still the same as he was in Personal Demons but slightly more mature and more considerate and level headed than Frannie and Luc put together.  I'm definitely hoping Gabriel is more of a fixture in the upcoming last book.  For some reason I related to Gabriel the most out of the characters and I am not a guy nor an angel.  I think everyone has their one favorite character and so far Gabriel hasn't given me reason to take the title away from him despite not getting much from him this go around.

To touch on the plot of Original Sin, while it was action packed and at times would make your heart skip a beat, or two, it was slightly predictable where the biblical references came in.  Despite the predictability it didn't seem to deflate the impact that the twists and turns of the story had on me.  I was still clutching the pages tight, reluctant to look up from the book and definitely not wanting to put it down until the end.  

Biblical based or not, Lisa Desrochers' has an ability to make a story her own and with Original Sin, like Personal Demons, she did just that.  Lots of times when I read a story with an angel named Gabriel they all seem to morph into one character that hops from book to book but in the case of the Lisa Desrochers' books that just isn't the case.  The pace, although fast, was pretty consistent as well was the writing.

There is one thing about series books that I really do not enjoy and that comes in the form of cliffhangers.  Sometimes I wish that a book would tie up nicely leaving me satisfied yet wanting more.  Unfortunately with Original Sin that is not the case.  We aren't just faced with any cliff hanger, we are faced with a story changing cliff hanger of the biggest sort, twice over, which deserves several reads while you attempt to digest and understand what you just read.  There was absolutely no way after leaving me hanging the way Lisa Desrochers did that I am letting her off of the hook.  I am expecting full on fabulousness from the next book.  With or without the the cliffhanger there really is no way of expecting anything less though after Original Sin.  

Overall, Original Sin is sinfully fabulous making the Personal Demons series one I think just about everyone would enjoy.  It definitely has a little bit of everything for everyone and it has me anxiously anticipating book number three, the last book in the trilogy.  Fast paced and writing that accurately captures the teen voice (especially that of the ever wavering emotions,) and action packed, Original Sin is a great follow up to Personal Demons, one that is a definite must read.

Purchase:
Personal Demons | Amazon |
Original Sin | Amazon |

Review: Eternity

Eternity by Heather Terrell

Released: June 28, 2011
Published By: Harper Collins
Pages: 304, Paperback
Young Adult
Source: The {Teen} Book Scene
Overall: Fabulous!
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Purchase: Amazon 

The end . . . or a new beginning?
As Ellie comes to grips with her destiny as the Elect One, her relationship with Michael grows tense. When she meets a mys­terious boy named Rafe, things get even more complicated.
Yet the time has come for the Elect One to stand against the group of evil fallen angels who are bent on destroying the world. In order to face the immeasurable malevolence heading her way, Ellie tries to put her personal life aside. But she soon learns that whoever holds her heart also holds the key to mankind’s salvation—or destruction. As the end days approach, Ellie is faced with an epic decision. Who does her heart really belong to? And is her love strong enough to save the world?

My Thoughts:

With Eternity, Heather Terrell pulled us into a world of Angels and all that it entails.  Good Angels, Fallen Angles, prophecies, biblical references, and of course the insta-love.  I will say despite this being a sequel book that I chose not to read Fallen Angel before reviewing this book.  I wasn't sure at the time if that would be a good thing or a bad thing but by the end of the book I was sound with my decision.

I found Ellie to be a pretty danged strong protagonist for being put in the situation she was.  Her attitude, her hope, her loyalty it all emitted off of her so strongly it was hard to watch when things didn't always go in her favor.  The same could be said about Michael who shared the same strength and loyalty that Ellie possessed.   So much about their attitude and their life force together was appealing to me but they seemed so easily distracted when other opportunities presented themselves and their case of insta-love I didn't initially find all that convincing or attractive.  Perhaps it was coming into the story when I did but I don't think I could have handled much more of their supposed love for each other if the book would have dragged on at any one point. I liked them both as individuals but together everything seemed a little thick.  I was rolling my eyes at how cliche the whole thing really felt despite how well the two worked together, the way their mind (most of the time) seemed to work together and their trust in each other was unwavering.

I found myself preferring Rafe in Eternity.  He seemed to be the most real of the bunch alongside Ellie's very strong, understanding, and loyal best friend Ruth.  I thought Ruth's strength and ability to stay calm and help Ellie and Michael how she did brilliant.  Lots of times we see best friends who possess loyalty that wavers when the other b.f.f. gets all the attention, gets the guys, and gets the limelight.  With Ruth it truly wasn't like that.  She offered a breath of fresh air and acted a bumper between the insta-love just how Rafe did.  Though Rafe had a purpose in Ellie and Michael's story I found myself more intrigued by his own journey, his own feelings, and his own despair even though we truly were only included in on a fraction of it.

The action in Eternity I found pretty impressive thought it was spotty.  I found myself wishing the last action scenes would have held a little more weight and emotion it seemed to breeze by so quickly almost leaving the feeling of the story of being anti-climatic when it was truly the opposite.  So much happened that it seemed slightly rushed.

Overall, I really enjoyed Eternity.  I love Angel stories and I accept that there are going to be similarities between them, like the biblical references.  The characters all complimented each other, balancing each other out. There was a good amount of action and romance, and Ellie and Michael seemed to serve their purpose (even when it didn't always result in a happily ever after.)

The {Teen} Book Scene: Eternity: Character Interview

Today, here at Flippin' Fabulous - A Reader's Record we have Heather Terrell and Rafe stopping by to mark my stop on their Eternity Blog Tour with THE {TEEN} BOOK SCENE.

Eternal by Heather Terrell
Fallen Angel #2
Harper Collins Publishers
June 28, 2011

The end . . . or a new beginning?
As Ellie comes to grips with her destiny as the Elect One, her relationship with Michael grows tense. When she meets a mys­terious boy named Rafe, things get even more complicated.
Yet the time has come for the Elect One to stand against the group of evil fallen angels who are bent on destroying the world. In order to face the immeasurable malevolence heading her way, Ellie tries to put her personal life aside. But she soon learns that whoever holds her heart also holds the key to mankind’s salvation—or destruction. As the end days approach, Ellie is faced with an epic decision. Who does her heart really belong to? And is her love strong enough to save the world?

Lets Welcome Heather! 

I just wanted to take a second to say thank you so much for your interest in Eternity, the second book in the Fallen Angel series!!  I really appreciate it, and am looking forward to blogging with you today.  If you or your readers want to chat further, you can always check out my website www.heatherterrell.com or friend me on Facebook.
Thanks again!

Heather Terrell      

Now Lets welcome Rafe! 

[1] So, who are you Rafe?  What can you tell us about yourself?

I am reluctant to reveal too much about myself, unless I must.  The knowledge of my exact nature is possessed by very, very few beings, by His command.  There are certain pieces of information that I can share safely with you.  I am new to Tillinghast, Maine, and am a senior at a local high school.  I have only recently met Ellie Faneuil in person, although I’ve known about her for a long time.  I find Ellie to be unusually compelling and beautiful for her kind, and I find myself wanting to break the rules that guide my existence to spend more time with her.  I hope that her destiny and the laws governing my life do not keep us from being together.  

[2] Do you mind telling us what you are, if anything beyond normal like the rest of us?  Or are we going to be forced to figure that one out for ourselves?

It seems as though I must share the secret of my nature with you.  I suppose that, if you read Eternity, you will learn the truth anyway.  I am an angel.  Not a fallen angel like so many Ellie has encountered, and not a half-angel half-human like Ellie herself.  I am an angel of His presence, one of the few, full angels permitted to stand before Him.  I am supposed to merely watch Ellie from above.  But I found it impossible to stay away.  To help her – and be close to her – I descended from Heaven and walked the ground for the first time since the age of Noah.      

  

[3] Do you care to share your thoughts on destiny, Rafe?

Destiny guides all of our lives, whether they’re human or otherworldly.  Or both, like Ellie’s.  But destiny does not mean that we must follow our fate blindly.  We are given the free will to make decisions, and those choices can change our destiny.  I exercised my free will when I came to earth, and now I must see how it will shape my destiny.

    

[4] What do you like to do when you have free time?  Any hobbies or interests?

I’m afraid that my existence has allowed me very little free time.  I will confess that I have really come to enjoy studying the ways of humankind – how they act, how they speak, what they think, how they dress, what they do.  So, if that qualifies as a hobby, I suppose that’s mine.    

  

[5] Now my favorite question.  If you were a shape, you'd be?  If you were a color, you'd be? If you were a season, you'd be?  If you were an instrument you'd be?

You pose some very interesting questions.  As for shapes, I guess that I would choose a circle because it has no beginning and no end.  Although I like all colors, I would pick white because of its purity and its ability to capture other colors.  Finally, spring is the season I’d select because it holds so much promise, and as for instruments, I’d choose anything but a harp.  For obvious reasons.      

Wow!  Thank You Heather and Rafe for taking the time to stop by!  And thank you to THE {TEEN} BOOK SCENE for making this tour possible!

Make sure to nab Eternity and Fallen Angel, if you already have not!  Watch for my Eternity Review coming up soon!