Gabriel's Inferno (Gabriel's Inferno #1) by Sylvain Reynard

 

Summary:

 

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.
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 545 pages (Paperback)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Available Formats: Print/Audio/E-book

Publication Date: April 4th 2011 by Omnific Publishing

 

Prior to reading and finishing this book a few days ago Gabriel's Inferno had been sitting on my TBR shelf since January 2011. Ever since I heard from a pretty reliable source that this book might just turn out to be a new favourite of mine I'd been dying to read it. Now after finishing it I can honestly say that the book did not live up to my expectations whatsoever.

 

I went into the book expecting a contemporary romance that was a little less fluffy than the ones I usually read and while I got the less fluffy part the book was lacking in a major aspect for me...the romance! I honestly didn't see any chemistry between Gabriel and Julia.

 

When I first started the book I was immediately bogged down by the writing style. While I liked the whole Dante aspect of the book I don't think that the book needed to have so much to do with Dante. I think that aspect could easily have been lessened because it too way too much time to get through it and really for me it added very, very little to impact to the overall novel.

 

The only other thing that I found remotely interesting about the book was that it is set in Toronto where I live. I recognized a few places that were mentioned in the city but I feel as though the author could have made Toronto and Canada seem a lot less cold, formidable and unfriendly.

 

When it came to the main characters I hated them. Gabriel was a pompous ass and I'm pretty sure if he were a real person I'd have shot him he was so irritating! Almost all his dialogue was pretentious and seriously grated on my nerves. He was so cold and condescending towards Julia I hated it.

 

As for the leading lady Julia well I didn't like her so much either. Her inner dialogue really irked me as well as the fact that she was so childlike. There is a difference between being a naive character and one that a push over. Unfortunately I thought Julia was way to much of a pushover and come on she fell for a guy after only spending one day with him 10 years prior to their second meeting and she was all woe to me and it ended up getting way too much for me to handle by the first 100 pages.

 

Still, despite the fact that the characters were annoying from the beginning I had hoped that I would like them more. However, I didn't. Plus I hated the fact that book was 545 pages of drivel that lead up to the most anti-climatic ending I think I have ever read and let me tell you this is no small feat believe me.

 

Basically I detested the novel completely. It isn't as though I didn't give it a fair shake because I had hoped it would get better yet it never did. At a hefty 545 pages I though the story lines was pretty darn pointless and was way too long. If the novel had been about half the length and the characters were better developed and likable I think I would have liked it a lot better. As it stands now I doubt I will read the second book. The book was too cold and the writing lacked excitement that is why I couldn't give it a higher rating.

 

As always, just because I didn't like the novel that is just my personal opinion. Many people loved it and it all depends on the person. If you think you might like this contemporary romance I say go for it and give it a try. While I won't be buying this one for anyone in the near future I will be recommending it to some people that I think would enjoy it.

 

Not for me!
★

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