Tag Archives: Gabriel’s Inferno

Review: The Prince (The Florentine 0.5) by Sylvain Reynard

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Title: The Prince
Author: Sylvain Reynard
Publisher/Year: Penguin Group USA 1/20/15
Length: 79
Series: The Florentine 0.5

Overview

The unveiling of a set of priceless illustrations of Dante’s Divine Comedy at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence exposes Professor Gabriel Emerson and his beloved wife, Julianne, to a mysterious enemy.
Gabriel may have acquired the illustrations only a few years ago, but unbeknownst to him, they were stolen a century earlier from the ruler of Florence’s underworld.
Now one of the most dangerous beings in the city is determined to reclaim his prize and exact his revenge on the Emersons—but not before he uncovers something disturbing about Julianne…

My Thoughts

I love Gabriel and Julianne together – so getting anything else about them or tied to them is GREAT.  The Prince is an interesting introduction to a side series that takes us to the darker underworld side of things – among vampires i’m guessing who rule Italy and who are in search of the paintings that Gabriel has…and looking to kill him for them.

Although the tone of this series is quite different than that of Gabriel’s Inferno, i think that the style that our lovely author ingrained into us in the former series really carries through here.  You’re left wondering what exactly is going on and always looking over your shoulder.  In the first series, it was more about whether or not this couple could make a go at it and who would rat them out and here, it’s a mix of whether Gabriel knows who’s after him, who’s going to die, and who’s the rat in the Prince’s regime.

The other side bit too is that we learn that there’s something going on with Julianne – and that she’s sick – The Prince senses it, but we don’t know what, and it’s semi clear that she doesn’t even know it yet.  It’s only during a night of passion that there’s a tease that they may wonder, but again, nothing tangible…until maybe they flee back to the US early.

I’m kind of happy that it’s taken me about a month to read this first intro to the series since i believe that the Raven comes out very soon so i’ll be able to get the continuation quite soon.  I’m really interested to see how Sylvain Reynard will intertwine the series even further, or at least show the parallel paths while The Prince tries to get his revenge.  We saw a tease of the passion between the happy couple in this first installment, and i hope that we’ll get to see more of it.  I think that we’ll learn that The Prince has a heart – even if it’s been buried for hundreds of years.  so…on that note – enjoy!

Review: Gabriel’s Inferno (Gabriel’s Inferno #1) by Sylvain Reynard

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Title:  Gabriel’s Inferno
Author: Sylvain Reynard
Publisher/Year:  Penguin Group (USA) 9/4/12
Length:  560 pages
Series: Gabriel’s Inferno #1

Overview

From national bestselling author Sylvain Reynard comes the haunting, unforgettable tale of one man’s salvation and one woman’s sensual awakening . . .

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.

My Thoughts

alas i’ve found myself back into a ‘romance’ inspired series, but i have to say that i left these 2 books significantly more intelligent than i went in.  with Book 1’s title Gabriel’s Inferno, i had visions of Dante’s inferno, and i was completely on target with that one. it’s really nice to read a story that has as much passion and depth as a dante inspiration.  i also love that we’re immediately introduced to the characters as the modern Dante and Beatrice.

so here’s how it shakes down:

Gabriel – he is our brooding male lead, also known as ‘Professor’.  he’s young, handsome, powerful, smart, and well of course very very troubled.  He’s got a past that we don’t actually get the entire picture of even through both Gabriel’s Inferno or Gabriel’s Rapture.  we get a glimpse, but not the whole story.  he’s adopted, troubled, and tries to turn his life around – question is – does he succeed?  that’s why you must read.

Julia is our female lead – and the girl that we always want to root for in these types of stories.  she’s very innocent of course, and even a virgin (big surprise there right?) but she comes into her own skin as these stories progress.  We know that her life wasn’t the easiest as she was growing up either, and that’s kind of what shapes her whole story.

interesting fun facts that we find out in book 1:

1) Gabriel and Julia met when she was 17…..because her best friend is Gabriel’s brother.  but….Gabriel has no idea who she is when she turns up in his graduate level seminar.  reason?  (you must read to find out)

2) Gabriel has a tattoo over his heart with initials or a name…what’s the story there…and how does that relate to the ‘bursary’ that he bestows on Julia when he tries to help her out financially?

Gabriel’s Inferno brings these characters together through a bit of a round about way.  she enrolls in his class, and he doesn’t know who she is at first…and of course she won’t tell him.  it takes his sister/her best friend visiting to uncover some of that….yet – it’s still not that easy.  we know that Julia is in love with him, and has been for years, but does that ever get resolved?

Gabriel’s Rapture – book 2 takes us on a continuation of their tale, picking up at a really juicy spot actually.  and i’m not saying juicy from a sexual aspect.  there’s a lot going on that book 2 does a really good job talking about.

**potential spoiler alert**

so we know from the first book that there’s an issue with professor/student relationships and we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop all book 1.  we find that to some extend the shoe drops in book 2 – but how and how does that effect each of the characters?

what i lOVED about Gabriel’s Rapture is that it took you in a direction that you expect, but the story there is so unexpected.  i’m used to things being tied up in a nice little bow right off the bat and in this case, you’re really forced to keep from skipping to the end of the book to find the resolution since there’s so much greatness going on with both Gabriel and Julia separately.

anyway – i read that there may be a book 3 in the works and if that’s true then i’m thrilled.  Professor and the Student really were great at drawing me in, and i can’t wait to hear more of their tale