Review: Gabriel’s Inferno – Sylvain Reynard

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.

Series:  Gabriel’s Inferno #1
Release Date:  April 4, 2011
Publisher:  Omnific Publishing
Source:  Amazon, via my own wallet
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

This is one of those books that I had read a few reviews of and figured I’d get to it when I could.  I’m so glad I pushed this one up my TBR pile.

Julia Mitchell has uprooted her life to write her thesis on Dante’s Inferno with one of the best professors on the subject at the University of Toronto.  What Julia doesn’t know, until the first day of class, is her professor is the man she has harbored a crush on for the last six years.  Torn between the feelings she has for the Gabriel she had built up in her mind and the reality of Gabriel make things difficult for Julia as she tries to put her life back together.  Sometimes reality is not close to what you dream…but sometimes it could be better.

Oh Professor Emerson!  He was the absolute biggest ass you have ever met and treated Julia like she wasn’t worthy enough to be on the bottom of his shoe, but you slowly find yourself falling for Gabriel despite how we are first introduced to him.  He’s a very complex man who has lead a very hard life that has jaded him.  But Julia colors his dark world, even when he doesn’t want her to.  He fights with himself over his feelings for Julia and their situation.  But when he gives in, nothing stops him for fighting for Julia’s love.

Julia, while often times appearing very weak, was just as complex as Gabriel.  She herself had led a very hard life and many times appears to be broken by what she’s gone through.  Gabriel’s mouth tends to beat her down even more, but she discovers her backbone with Gabriel at one of his darker moments.  It was great to see and made me love Julia’s character even more because she makes Gabriel “work” for her.

There is a lot that happens in this book.  While it’s not an overly erotic read, it is one that is chocked full of emotional upheaval and angst that, at times, can drain you but is so very satisfying when you get to the end. This is definitely one that I highly recommend.