Review: Original Sin

ORIGINAL SIN
(Personal Demons #2)
Lisa Desrochers
Paranormal Young Adult
400 pages
Tor Teen
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

Warning: Synopsis contains spoilers from Personal Demons, but no spoilers for Original Sin.

THE STORY
For Frannie Cavanaugh, things should be pretty ideal. Her former-demon boyfriend Luc has been made mortal thanks to her unusual gift of Sway, and her twin brother Matt who passed away years ago has been sent back to her as a guardian angel. Then she has gorgeous angel Gabe keeping an eye on her as well. Life is supposed to be good.

Except those in Hell aren't as enthusiastic about Luc's transformation and defection from their ranks as Frannie is, and they decide to come after him in force to figure out just how his mortality is possible. With Luc in constant danger and Gabe having to leave her in the hands of only Matt as a guardian, Frannie struggles to get control of her life and protect those she loves by attempting to learn more about her Sway.

The demons are extremely intent on reversing the heavenly tag on Luc's soul though, and their methods of achieving their goal threaten everything in Frannie's life: her boyfriend, her family, and her friends. She quickly realizes a tag on her soul for Heaven doesn't protect her from pain, and Hell and King Lucifer will stop at nothing to claim they feel is rightfully theirs.

MY THOUGHTS
Original Sin is a story that beautifully escapes the snare second books in a series sometimes fall prey to, increasing the emotional intensity and physical action while also answering some of our lingering questions from book one before forcing us to ask new ones. While Personal Demons had a bit of a lighter feel and some rather spectacular romantic waffling on Frannie's part, this second installment shows us some significant character growth while introducing new elements that never let us forget we're reading a story that deals with demons. There are darker and more serious undertones this time around, trapping us in a bubble of tension and unease as every character's most minute action proves to have a serious ripple effect on those around them. We devour the pages as the divide between good and evil becomes not so clearly delineated, and decisions are made that cause fissures to form in our hearts, waiting for the slightest of provocations to crack them wide open and send us reeling.

Frannie, a difficult young woman to like in the first book due to her constant indecision with regard to Luc and Gabe, is remarkably more mature in majority of Original Sin. Content with her relationship with Luc, we are spared her incessant pining for Gabe and her frustrating habit of shedding clothes whenever in the presence of either one of them. She attempts to better understand her Sway while also coping with the difficulties and dangers of her new celestial and demon-tainted existence. Toward the end some of her newfound growth does begin to dissolve under the emotional onslaught of certain events, and though she resorts to some familiarly bothersome behavior, we are able to take comfort in the thoughts and actions we've witnessed throughout most of the book, hoping we'll only see more of them in the future.

Ms. Desrochers spares us no drama in this story, spending the beginning hundred or so pages getting us reacquainted with the characters and allowing us to bask in the warmth emanating from Luc and Frannie, their incandescence spreading from the pages to our tingling fingertips before those crackling sparks are doused with a deliciously painful turn of events. Their relationship in Personal Demons was superficially enjoyable and full of angst, but Ms. Desrochers manages to draw us under the surface in Original Sin, ensuring we have a vested interest in their happiness before unleashing a barrage of tests that threaten everything we've just come to hold dear. This unpredictability is welcome despite the pain it causes, and we find ourselves appreciating the new darkness as it obscures our vision and keeps us on edge wondering what torment might come next.

One small drawback in this installment is the addition of Matt's point of view to both Luc and Frannie's, his selfishness and disregard for his sister's wishes slightly off-putting until we reach the end and better understand the role he is to play, but up to that point we read his scenes quickly in the hope of returning to Luc and Frannie as soon as possible. In spite of that drawback as well as some continuing issues with Frannie, Original Sin is a highly entertaining read and one full of interesting twists that have us looking to the future with guts clenched and muscles held rigid as we wait to see what Heaven and Hell hold in store for those of us on the mortal coil.

Rating: 4/5