Gabriel's Inferno

Original title: Gabriel's Inferno (Gabriel's Inferno #1)
Author: Sylvain Reynard
Date published: April 18th 2011
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Enigmatic and attractive, Professor Gabriel Emerson is a man tortured by his past. Though he takes great pride in his prestigious role as a Dante specialist, he knows he is a magnet for sin, especially lust.
When the virtous Julia Mitchell joins his graduate seminar at the University of Toronto, she alters their lives irrevocably. Through their connection, Gabriel begins a journey that forces him to unravel the mysteries of their past entanglements, as well as face his many demons.
A sinful exploration of sex, love, and redemption, "Gabriel's Inferno" is a beguiling intelligent romance filled with intrigue, seduction and forgiveness. Told through witty, dark humor, the narrator relates a captivating tale of Gabriel's odyssey through the Inferno.

I’ve read the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E. L. James and read the first novel of the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day. I thought “Fifty Shades of Grey“ was just okay, “Bared to You“ on the other hand, I loved, it had a better writing style and it was just.. I don’t know. It had something extra. Now that I’ve read “Gabriel’s Inferno“ I can say that I liked this one the best.

“Gabriel’s Inferno“ has a strong female lead and this is something I enjoy. Gabriel has his past and Julia, too, but they fit together perfectly. This book wasn’t all about love and Gabriel teaching his love interest about love and passion. No! It was intellectual, about gaining trust and redemption. I liked that they both were damaged, but not completely ruined. And what I liked the best was how the author combined Dante’s and Beatrice’s story with theirs – it was a perfect combination.

I felt bad for Julia for how she was brought up and I can’t possibly imagine how that would affect someone, but I’m glad she turned out to be a great, honorable, strong woman with little flaws of her own. Gabriel, on the other hand, was sometimes a true SOB, but he always made up for his mistakes by doing something unexpected or extremely sweet.

What I also loved was that they had a past and neither of them had been able to overcome it. They had shared only a kiss and slept under the moon, but it was still influential enough to leave a mark on their hearts for forever.

I enjoyed that this book was all about these two lovers, but that was also the thing that bothered me the most. I would have loved to see different aspects of their lives and pasts and some other characters than their family or the two co-students of Julia from Uni.

As for the rating, it wasn’t exactly a 4 for me, but I don't want to give it a 3 either, because in my opinion, it had a more fluent style in writing and a better plot line than FSoG and the characters weren't as damaged as they were in BtY. So I guess I should solve this dilemma by giving it a 3.5 rating. I liked this book and I’m pretty sure I’ll read the sequel as well. By the way, the author has hinted that there might be a third one and some of it might be written already.

Rating: 3.5/5

Excerpts:

“Kindness is never wasted.”  

“You, of all people, deserve a happy ending. Despite everything that happened to you, you aren't bitter. You aren't cold. You've just retreated a little and been shy, and that's okay. If I were a fairy godmother, I would give you your heart's desire in an istant. And I would wipe away your tears and tell you not to cry.”

“Bad things happen to everyone. Not that this was an excuse or a justification for wronging another human being. Still, all humans had this shared experience — that of suffering. No human being left this world without shedding a tear, or feeling pain, or wading into the sea of sorrow.”  

“I’ve always had a terrible weakness for beautiful but sad things.”

Reading order:

1. “Gabriel’s Inferno“
2. “Gabriel’s Rapture“