Gabriel's Inferno

Gabriel's Inferno is a book that I will read over and over again in the next years. As a matter of fact this is my second reread of it, as I had read it when it came out back in July of 2012. I decided to reread all his books again while I am waiting for The Shadow to come out! So I have decided to review them all as well! Gabriel Emerson is a very dark character in this book. He is a Dante Professor in Canada at University of Toronto. He was adopted at the age of ten, and it was by a wonderful family, but his formative years were very sad. He is a stern professor but a good one, as a Dante specialist he needs to be! He is extremely handsome and sexy and he devotes his evenings to seeking pleasure. feels that he is beyond any hope of any kind of redemption. At a time in his life where he had gotten himself into a lot of trouble and had to come home for help, he was a cocaine addict and drank, and he had a girl he got pregnant and then she lost their daughter Maia when she was 5 months along. Gabriel secretly feels it is his fault as he ignored her, treated her bad, and did not give her what she needed. This is why he feels there is no hope. This is why he also feels unworthy of love, and will not see it in his lifetime. At that time when he was younger and had been expelled from college, he came home, and he is drinking on the porch when young Julia Mitchell sees him for the first time, she had been invited to dinner, she went into the house and everything was in shambles. Gabriel and his brother Scot had gotten into a huge fight, and her best friend Rachel, with her boyfriend left, she was so upset. Grace, Gabriel's adopted mother (and incidentally nurtured Julia as well as she had no mother) was up in her room crying and her husband had gone to get help for Scot at the emergency room and then to get Gabriel out of the mess he was in and to get him into rehab. Julia had gone back outside and sat next to Gabriel and they struck up a conversation. Gabriel had been drinking and kept referring to her as his "Beatrice", or his "brown eyed angel". They walked down to the apple orchard together and then talked and had one kiss and Gabriel gave Julia an apple for dinner. Then they laid together innocently holding hands until Julia woke up alone the next morning. She was so upset. She felt like she was lost without Gabriel already. This then is the beginning of them, and several years later Julia has gone to college to be a Dante specialist, and was hoping to run into her Gabriel again. She stayed innocent and always stayed hopeful that they would be together. Her father could not afford to send her to Harvard, and although she qualified for scholarships she went to Toronto herself to take her next stage of her degree there, and took Gabriels class! It is during this first meeting that Gabriel is so terrible to Julia in class-he does not remember her! His treatment of her is terrible and does not go unnoticed by Paul a big handsome farm boy from Vermont, who is Gabriel's student helper and teacher. He is instantly attracted to Julia and compares her to a timid rabbit! He from that moment on determines that he will be her protector. He does not realize Julia knows Gabriel from before and that he does not remember Julia. His cruelty towards her does not go unnoticed by others. After he gets back from his mother's funeral, things come to a head when Rachel comes to visit her brother Gabriel and she gets in contact with Julia and she sees how her brother is towards Julia and tells him that he had met her before! At this point Gabriel is conflicted, and he keeps having memories flash back in his mind he can't quite see. The book continues and we get to see how Julia and Gabriel finally reconnect with each other. There is so much mental and sexual angst in this book, and the best thing about this book is the beautiful way the author writes the story. There are many correlations between the story and the Dante's Inferno works. It makes the book so much more rich and special, it is not just a romance it is also a history of the world of Dante in a way, so I just fell in love with this author from the beginning and have read all of the books! I will be reviewing these books this week! I gave this book 5***** stars and I would have given it 10 stars if I could! Do yourself a favor and read this book! I know that once I read it, I knew I had stumbled on something so special!

I don't really know where to start with this review. I don't want to talk about the plot too much because I don't want this to be a spoiler review. I also have a hard time putting this in the Contemporary Romance category, but I don't know how else to classify it. It's definitely not a paranormal romance, but it's not "just another romance" novel either. It's more of a grand love story... Gabriel is a relatively young professor, yes, I still think that 33 is young! He reads older because of his darkness and his intellect and quite frankly, the way he treats Julia. In the beginning he treats her like a child. Julia is 23 and a grad student that ends up at the college he teaches at when, due to extenuating circumstances, she is unable to go to Harvard. Her area of study, Dante, just happens to be his specialty. It becomes obvious quite early on that it's not a coincidence. Clearly they have history that isn't fully revealed until about half way through the book. I love the darkness of this story. Gabriel is clearly a tortured man who believes that he is completely beyond redemption. I rarely highlight passages of the books I read but this really struck me and I had to save it. "I don't expect you to understand. You're only a magnet for mishap, Miss Mitchell, while I am a magnet for sin." That says it all for me. This is the precise moment that I fell in love with Gabriel. I like Julia throughout the book, but her insecurity drives me insane at times. I know that there is a reason for it, but until that reason is fully revealed it's almost too much. Gabriel and Julia go through a lot to be together. Their relationship is also forbidden because of their positions in the University. They each have demons that they have to face, and eventually share with each other to get past the darkness that they are immersed in. They seem to be on the right path, but they still have a long way to go I think. I am not going to say anything else about the plot except to say that , for me, it flowed well. I think that SR did a wonderful job with the plotting and the way the story unfolded was really quite natural. I know that it seems like Julia should have told him about their connection earlier, but for the sake of the story in it's entirety it needed to be done this way. Otherwise it would have ended up rushing the story and the relationship between Julia and Gabriel. The book seems long, but I was enjoying it so much I didn't want it to end so that didn't bother me at all. In reading we do find out that SR isn't a fan of rushing into things! There is a nice build up of tension that follows to the very end of the book. I have read a couple of "romance" novels by men before and I will say that this one was the most sensual. Not that men are incapable of writing love scenes, but the scenes in this book are very beautifully written and while some of them leave the characters unsatisfied they will leave you panting for the next one! I can't write a review of this book and leave this out. I remember reading Dante as assigned reading in some of my college classes, but this book made me want to read Dante for fun. I loved the way he compares the Julia and Gabriel to Dante and Beatrice. It makes me want to find out everything I can about Dante and Beatrice. I thoroughly enjoyed Gabriel's seminars on Dante and would love to have been sitting there in class with him as a professor!

Fiquei curiosa sobre este livro. Adorei a história

Questo libro definisce l'amore romantico per eccellenza, l'amore che tutti sognano di trovare! L'autrice narra la storia un modo fluido, dando una visione completa e profonda dei personaggi principali con molte citazioni letterarie. Lettura consigliatissima!

When I first read Fifty Shades of Grey it was out of curiosity since romance was not my genre of fiction reading, I then read it several times, bypassing the bdsm (was educational) but it does not float my boat, thought this was an exceptional and erotic love story and the best romance story I ever read. Subsequently when I could read no more, I suffered from withdrawal and bought several authors who all came out of the woodwork to capture the FSOG audience, I threw all those books in the garbage. There are currently 6 authors I will re-read in this quality of romance and Sylvain Reynard (SR) is at the top of the list. Not into bdsm romance, chic lit, YA, paranormal, vampires etc. Stumbled over the Gabriel Inferno/Rapture and stayed up till the break of dawn enthralled with this erotic love story, with an intellectual point of view. I love books that have a takeaway, and the Gabriel series did that for me, I am so intrigued with Dante and Beatrice and Renaissance art and literature I was left wanting to know more. Not particularly inclined to poetry but am open to experience what I never learned. Some might balk at the religious inference but the life of Dante was during the 13th century when religion and politics influenced each other, keeping in mind Dante's questioning of his life and his redemption was based on biblical teachings and it was obvious Dante was of the catholic faith. I loved the life of St. Francis of Assisi even though I am not of the catholic faith; the current Pope is an example of St. Francis. The Gabriel series made me yearn to visit Assisi. I thought SR captured the relationship between Dante and Beatrice and skilfully wove it into the lives of the Professor and Julianne and made it current. Who did not fall in love with this troubled, enigmatic, sexy Professor? His sartorial elegance seemed to be a cover for how conflicted he feels about himself and his demons. I loved that he was not a pretty package and that he was so highly educated and intellectual and enjoyed the finer things in life, some of which was not so complimentary. I was somewhat perturbed by the way he `worshiped' Julia, as if she was the epitome of perfection, which she was not. But it later turns out he was seeking redemption - maybe thru her own goodness and spiritual beliefs, he somehow finds the better parts of himself as his love for her evolves and escalates into a heated affair to the exclusion of jeopardizing his job and tenure the University of Toronto. Thought the Professor's choice of radio stations were boring......CBC and BBC!! I loved that the Manulife building is a place I have known and all the familiar sights and sounds of Toronto, what a pleasant change to most books written in and around the U.S. Julia with her innocence and her abiding love for Gabriel who captured her heart at 17 and influenced her career as a Dante specialist, takes us on her tumultuous journey from her troubled childhood to becoming Gabriel's post grad student unbeknownst to him at the time. I loved that she never gave up on him no matter what, or maybe until she thought he deliberately broke her heart. I loved all the intellectual bits and pieces and the reality of politics even in academia. I loved the whole premise of love, forgiveness, faith, redemption which gives us all hope thru our own belief system. I loved the whole courtship until it was no more, loved all of the experiences in Italy, made me want to pack my suitcase and take off and go drink some wine in Italy. I loved the storytelling between these two and how healing her love was to Gabriel who was trying to escape his demons. Courtship today is unheard of. Looking forward to the release of Gabriel's Redemption and the continuation of this most passionate, romantic love story that just grabs your attention from the first go and doesn't let you go. Well done SR, you are a keeper, now have purchased the whole trilogy for my bookshelf.

Definitely solidly in the romance category, with all that that entails. But gripping in it's exploration of deeper themes such as religion, faith, grief, pseudo-religiousity, academic snobbery. I would definitely say this is an epic of tge romance genre. I read this after watching the first three movies, and still greatly enjoyed this book.

"Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. Love still stands when all else has fallen." - by Blaise Pascal - 5 stars! For the synopsis of this story please read the blurb. I prefer to cut to the chase of the matter. This is not your usual romance book. It was totally refreshing to read something different. The pace is rather slow but it's perfect and it suits the shy and sweet heroine, Julia. There are a lot of emotions buried, although I was anxiously awaiting for them to 'explode'. I felt that this book is somehow embraced by an underlying stillness. Just beautiful! The sensual undertone of Gabriel's Inferno is ever-present and utterly palpable. I was totally stunned that a man could write with such sensuality and so romantically. I don't mean to be condescending. Not at all. That's a compliment. I'm just surprised that this came from the pen of a male. I truly loved the atmospheric density and the depth of the characters. Gabriel's Inferno is extremely character-driven - much more so than plot-driven. I was totally captivated by Gabriel and Julia. Furthermore, I truly enjoyed to read about Gabriel's lecture "Lust in Dante's Inferno: The Deadly Sin against the Self." Gabriel is the epitome of the tortured hero. Wonderful! What I loved most were his hands - they're so enticing! Yes, Gabriel's risen! Gabriel and Julia were perfect for each other. Julia is intelligent, kind, beautiful, and innocent. On the one hand, she helps Gabriel to find atonement. And on the other hand, Gabriel is the first man who truly loves her. Every touch and every look has a deeper meaning. This incredible sensuality envelopes your own skin. You close your eyes and you can feel it. It makes you shiver, your head begins to float, you want to crawl under their skin, into their heads. It grabs you and you can't let go anymore. Your heart is beating faster...and you're spellbound! Ahhhhhh, be still my little heart and calm down...deep breath...in...out...in...out. You just crave for more. Loved, loved how the author described the touch of hands, fingers, and thumbs - this is so subtle. How Gabriel's finger traced Julia's skin and body - so marvellous! *SIGH* This first long kissing scene in Gabriel's office is hands-down THE MOST SENSUAL AND EROTIC DESCRIPTION OF A KISS I EVER - AND I MEAN EVER - READ! *SWOON* This left me totally breathless. I already mentioned a few times in my former reviews that kissing - if it's done right - is far better than sex. If there were any doubts yet, this author has proven otherwise. The author has sexual tension down to a fine art. It's downright electrifying! Sylvain Reynard writes with great care for details, and he does it with such ease one could get a bit envious. On top of that, he writes superb dialogs! He has either done his homework or has extensive knowledge about literature, art (paintings and sculptures), food & wine/liquor, flowers, music. Loved these quotes: "Why not think that sometimes - just sometimes - you can overcome evil with silence? And let people hear their hatefulness in their own ears, without distraction. Maybe goodness is enough to expose evil for what it really is, sometimes." "Sometimes goodness doesn't tell everything it knows. Sometimes goodness waits for the appropriate time and does the best it can with what it has." "When I am an old man and I can remember nothing else, I will remember this moment. The first time my eyes beheld an angel in the flesh. I will remember your body and your eyes, your beautiful face and breasts, your curves and this." He traced his hand around her navel before dragging it lightly to the top of her lower curls. "I will remember your scent and your touch and how it felt to love you. But most of all, I will remember how it felt to gaze at true beauty, both inside and out. For you are fair, my beloved, in soul and in body, generous of spirit and generous of heart. And I will never see anything this side of heaven more beautiful than you." I am not a connoisseur of Dante's work, therefore I have to thank Sylvain for an enlightening journey. He gives the readers a chance to get a glimpse into his life and work, maybe even a bit into his mind. I'm more into the works/artworks of Alberto Giacometti, Jean Tinguely (he worked with steel and created very special constructs and he did 'recycling' on a high level), Gustav Klimt, Charles and Ray Eames, and Le Corbusier. And I do love all kinds of interesting quotes. Finally, I have to say that Gabriel's Inferno is such a great musical treasure trove! I had to download a few very good songs, and Matthew Barber accompanies me all day long. He's got such a great and smooth voice. Sylvain, I came to a conclusion, and I don't know if I'm right or wrong...but if I'm right...then please let me tell you that I am deeply sorry for Maia. This story is about love, despair, fear, trust, redemption, and atonement. Be prepared for a very emotional story! I can't recommend this book enough. And I'm already sure that I will reread it and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!