Review: Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard

by Jewels E 12/06/2012 2 comments

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all well and enjoying the Christmas countdown. I'm almost all my shopping! Onto to gift wrapping next for me. But for now, here's a review of a book I really loved.

Summary from Goodreads

Paperback, 545 pages

Published April 4th 2011

         by Omnific Publishing

more details...

ISBN

1936305623 (ISBN13: 9781936305629)

Enigmatic and sexy, Professor Gabriel Emerson is a well respected Dante specialist by day, but by night he devotes himself to an uninhibited life of pleasure. He uses his notorious good looks and sophisticated charm to gratify his every whim, but is secretly tortured by his dark past and consumed by the profound belief that he is beyond all hope of redemption. When the sweet and innocent Julia Mitchell enrolls as his graduate student, his attraction and mysterious connection to her not only jeopardizes his career, but sends him on a journey in which his past and his present collide. An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love and redemption, "Gabriel's Inferno" is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible...forgiveness and love.

Review

All I can say is ...WOW. Nothing could have prepared me for this romance. Rich in literary allusions, with characters both passionate and romantic, this story was a love story that just blew me away with it's beauty.

I think I'll start off with Julia. I know some readers might find Julia too weak and insecure, but I think that's is an injustice to her character. She has never known love, not even from her parents, the first people in our lives to love us, to offer us unconditional love. She was horribly used by Simon and made to feel demeaned by both his actions and words. I think it's makes perfect sense that she continues to doubt that she is in fact, lovable. I also admired her strength in seeking out love, even though she feared Gabriel's love would destroy her.So I personally, did not see her as weak at all.

And to offer love to such a man as Gabriel. To love Gabriel, who was so nasty and rude in the beginning. But then, I figured out why she loved him so much. Gabriel believes himself to be worse than a sinner. He believes that he is evil. He thinks he's irredeemable and unlovable. He feels things so deeply that he is, as Julia notices, a Bronte like hero. His passion and feelings are of the Gothic proportion. And luckily, also sweet. The more Julia is around Gabriel, the more we see of his sweet, kind nature. And this deeply passionate,sweet, kind Gabriel is the Gabriel that Julia remembers from her past, who she loves. Perhaps it is not healthy to love as deeply as Gabriel and Julia do, but it is beautiful. And I think what makes this kind of passionate, almost out of control love so beautiful is that it reminds us that love is supposed to transcend everything else.It heals both Gabriel and Julia of their many scars and draws them forth out of their own dark places of fear, insecurity and self loathing into the light, where they are both healed. In this respect, the passion can only be, in my opinion, beautiful.

I love how Gabriel and Julia's story was richly layered onto Dante and Beatrice's. I thought the story ended beautifully, with Julia and Gabriel consummating their love as Dante and Beatrice never did. It was probably the sweetest, most romantic bedroom scene I've ever read.

All in all, a beautifully told love story of the epic variety.I enjoyed it so much I'm afraid to read the next book. I'm afraid that their HEA be tested and right now, that idea isn't appealing.

5 glittering stars