Review: Gabriel's Inferno
So when I first read the prologue of this book, I thought it would be about reincarnation and lost loves finding one another through the ages, or something like that and I found that very interesting. But as I read more of the book, I realized that indeed, this was not the case. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. Gabriel’s Inferno by Sylvain Reynard was an interesting book. The world-building was good, and the character building and development was even better.
So the story goes that Julia and Gabriel have met once before and shared a romantic evening. About six years later, they meet again and Gabriel has no recollection of the meeting at all – while Julia does. So there we see the beginning drama of the story. Without giving too much away, Gabriel finally realizes who Julia is and there we have the start of their relationship. So really, this book is just about a relationship between a Professor and his student, plus the troubles that come with that and secrets in which both hold.
Gabriel Emerson is troubled to say the least. He’s pretty much an asshole who thinks everyone is beneath him – this is evident when he enters Julia’s apartment for the first time. As the novel progresses and we see the relationship between him and Julia grow, we see changes in Gabriel. He pretty much spoils Julia, under the pretense of taking care of her. He hides a lot of secrets (and shame) and is reluctant to tell Julia out of fear of losing her. Under his arrogant exterior, we see that he really does care for Julia as well as his family. Gabriel is a very sexual man, and I couldn’t help but smirk at the things he would say to Julia. Gabriel really is an inferno.
Julia Mitchell is a graduate student taking Gabriel’s class. She’s a strong, independent woman who is doesn’t need the help of anyone – least of all Gabriel. She is reluctant to accept the ‘gifts’ given which sort of makes her humble, in a sense I guess? Julia has secrets of her own, and they physically come back to haunt her. She cares about everyone around her – and that includes Gabriel. Julia is also innocent, but not completely, more than once being referred to as Rabbit.
As the relationship between Gabriel and Julia grows, we also see the characters grow. The storyline was average, and the main focus of the book was on the relationship between Gabriel and Julia. There were also references to Renaissance Italian art and poetry, which gave the novel a little more umph, if you get what I mean? (Not that I could really understand it all anyway). Overall:
