The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns - Elizabeth Leiknes

Lucy Burns wants a normal life: friends, love, and a family of her own. And she could have it all if only she could break free from the job she hates.
That job? Facilitator to hell.
And her boss is a real devil.
At the age of eleven, to save her sister’s life, Lucy writes a desperate letter to “To Whom It May Concern,” but when He writes back, Lucy is bound for life. There are perks, sure—she’s ageless, she’s beautiful, and she can eat as much chocolate as she wants and never get fat—but there are also consequences.
She can never see her family again.
She can never have a boyfriend.
She must spend her life leading sinners to their demise.
After nineteen years of doing the Devil’s dirty work, Lucy wants out, but it all seems hopeless until Teddy Nightingale, her easy listening music idol, gives her the answer: a little-known loophole.
If she succeeds, Lucy gets love, happiness, and everything she ever really wanted. But the consequences? They’re considerably worse than death. To make it through, Lucy must decide what is evil and what is good, what is right and what is wrong, and if, in the end, there’s ever any way to truly know.

I had no idea what was in store for me when I was offered a copy of this book. A story about a girl who makes a pact with the devil seemed a bit odd but I decided to give it a shot. And I am very glad I did because I actually had a lot of fun reading it.

Lucy made a vow when she was 10 years old that in exchange for her sister's life she would do anything. Unfortunately someone was listening on the other side and since her sister was almost killed when she refused to fulfil that vow, Lucy has been a facilitator, someone who leads the targeted victim's to the devil's furnace.

I actually found Lucy a fun character, tired of being beautiful, perfect and sexually attractive without being able to commit and find a boyfriend to keep her company. She is ready to change her designer clothes and her wealthy life style for something more meaning. Unfortunately she is stuck with helping the dark side and leading people to their demise in her basement. Her need for friendship and family is fulfilled by her neighbour Maggie’s family as she feels she must stay away from her own family to protect them.

When Lucy meets Luke Marshall, a blind university teacher she really wishes her life could be different. As Luke, who being blind is unable to see the perfect and gorgeous Lucy, falls in love with her (even after their first meeting involved a drunken Lucy peeing in her closet), Lucy starts to feel much trapped by her odd circumstances.

But then, she and Maggie attend the concert of her favourite singer, Teddy Nightingale, and he reveals to Lucy that there's a way to break the contract and be free again. I thought Lucy's idea to use the bad guys to make the number she needed to free herself quite fun, she was a girl who did some really bad things but she always seemed to have a good motive to do them, usually saving someone's life. Unfortunately Finn, her young neighbour, is on her hit list too and soon she finds herself needing to choose between her life and his.

The book has a chick-litish feel that appealed to me, had this been a serious book I don't think it would have worked so well. But as it is it made for a very pleasant read.

Grade: 4/5

Thank you Harrison for sending it to me!