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Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
WARNING: what follows is an over dramatized review with spoilers.
I wanted to give this series the benefit of a doubt.
(See my reviews on Gabriel's Inferno & Gabriel's Rapture to understand my inner conflict.)
Let's do this.
This book takes place after Gabriel's Rapture. Gabriel and Julia are married, settled in a house, and living the newlywed phase, sort of. All of Julia's dreams are coming true: Harvard, marriage to Gabriel, debt's paid, no longer going hungry...She's become this sex goddess overnight and no longer fears her inexperience. She's laying down the law, kicking ass, and taking names.
And for the first 50 pages or so, I actually believed her toddler days were behind her. Or as Gabriel would say "That is beneath you Julianne."
BUT NO.
Little Miss Julia has made a few enemies along the road to becoming Mrs. Emerson. Christa, Natalie that one professor, mindless gossipers, Christa, mindless gossipers....It's all very complicated stuff people. Their jealous of her 1) husband. 2) husband....and 3) husband. Because everyone wants to bed Gabriel Emerson. (And for damn good reason: he's rich and hung).
I'm sorry, but I don't buy anything relating to Julia's IQ. I think she's dumber than a bag of rocks. Half of the time I think she's trying to imitate Gabriel.
1) She wants his career.
2) She wants the respect his admirers give him.
3) She wants to be Grace and Richard's daughter, Rachel's sister....
It's creepy once you really think about it. I can't believe I didn't notice it before this book. The speech she delivered was obviously a strategically placed scene to hide the similarities. (She and Gabriel had different views on what she was speaking about.) I didn't care though. She could've switched her major to Psychology, and I still would've believed she was obsessed with being Gabriel.
*I'M SORRY, IT'S JUST MY OPINION BASED ON EVERYTHING I'VE READ.* Everyone thinks Gabriel's the real creeper, but not me. No. It's the silent ones you've gotta watch out for.
The topic of children is brought up and Julia doesn't want to talk about it. (Kinda like how she didn't want to talk about getting married in Rapture, but did it anyways 27 pages after mentioning it.) She wants kids with Gabriel, but wants to wait until she graduates. Which is 7 years away. And the whole time I just wanted to slap her. It was like she was biting the hand that fed her, understand? He's given her everything. She is at Harvard because of him. He took the fall for everything. And the one time he asks something of her, she can't deliver. Why? Simple. She wants to be like Gabriel. She wants to have the same opportunities he had for success.
Julia:
Gabriel:
Me:
Oh but this book get's 3 stars from me. Yes mam' it does! Because justice was finally served, cold. After two books of Gabriel giving and giving and giving, he finally got something in return. His little boys knew how to swim!
The moment the flood gate was released, they swam with all their might! Bypassing birth control and shattering Julia's dreams!
Gabriel:
Julia:
Me:
NOTE: I stopped reading this book when Julia found out she was pregnant and had her millionth breakdown. Even though I haven't finished the last 15% of this book, I know there is a happy ending, obviously. But I prefer the ending I got: Julia miserable. Justice served.
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Gabriel's Rapture by Sylvain Reynard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
WARNING: SPOILERS TO FOLLOW....
On a side note: I purchased this book for 2 dollars at a local book store. I'm quite proud of that. *SMILES*
Anyways, moving on...
(For reader reference: this book starts off where Gabriel's Inferno ended...)
The beginning of this book was rough for me to get through. I'd forgotten how innocent and pathetic Julia was. So when the sex talk started and she began the water works, a familiar feeling came over me...
5 pages. Julia couldn've masked her tears for 5 damn pages to give me some hope that she'd traded her diapers for "big girl panties" but no.
"I'm not experienced..."Julia said
"I don't want you to leave me..." Julia choked up.
Words cannot express how aggravated I was every time I saw "tears welled into her eyes..." I would stare at my bedroom door, then back at my book, then back at my door, contemplating whether or not to throw the damn thing across the room. I get that she's innocent and all, but all I'm reading is "tear tear tear...He's going to leave me...SNIFF." She's so damn weak!
My biggest issue with this series so far, and I mentioned something about it in my previous review: how Julia always pulls a 180. In the beginning of Rapture and Inferno, she was this quiet, innocent little girl, who cried about every little damn thing. And then when there is 50 pages left, she turns a 180 and starts making her demands.
And like before, with Inferno, I couldn't help but think of her as a little bitch for it. (AKA, making her demands.) No matter what Gabriel does, this bitch always comes out looking like the innocent party even if she's guilty.
Case-in-point: In Inferno, it was Gabriel's fault for not remembering her. She knew the truth, all she had to do was say something, but she waited until he treated her like whore shit to spill the beans. The damage was already done by that point. It's like she enjoys being the damn victim.
And then with Rapture she plays the victim card again, even though she's just as guilty ladies. For her to be such a "smart" and "bright" girl, she sure as hell had a problem looking through one damn book. O-N-E. Just like with Inferno, it was something so simple, all she had to do was tell him who she was. And now with Rapture and the damn book, which she had in her possession for almost 4 months.
Harvard? H-A-R-V-A-R-D? Hell, I'm surprised she can write a damn thesis after this book. ONE BOOK and she didn't RESEARCH or LOOK through it?
Why this book pissed me off:
1) Gabriel Emerson and Julia Mitchell are apart for 100 pages in this book.
2) It takes them 3 days and 50 pages to get everything involving Toronto University out in the open.
3) The first 167 pages of this book is nothing but filler.
4) Julia's ex-best friend, Danielle? What happened there with the photos? This problem just dropped completely because Julia threatened her? O_O. The same girl who cries at the drop of a hack, is the same girl threatening? Please...spare me.
5) Page 353: "I want us to take things slowly. No more talk of marriage." Julia said.
Page 390: "Say you'll be mine forever." Gabriel said.
"Yes."
6) Passionately kissing Gabriel, and then when he's trying to talk to her about fixing their relationship, she's all "I think we need to get to know each other better. We're not the same people...." WTF? So being intimate is okay, but talking about a relationship is taboo? Good job Julia....
Writing: well-written, aside from the repeats and constant answering a question with a question.
Plot: Solid, except for a few places.
As expected, the ending was rushed, just like Inferno. I'm not ashamed to admit that I actually skipped through the final 30 pages just to see how long Julia played this whole "I want us to take things slowly" gig. Within 4 pages, weeks had passed by and Julia and Gabriel were on cloud 9.
By that point I was just frustrated. I couldn't figure out how this little spoiled/poor bitch, had managed to gain control of the situation again. How she had managed to capture this power over Gabriel to where he was falling at his knees and obeying her every command...ect.
And I can say without a doubt that I have NEVER, EVER, read a series with a weaker female lead. Julia put's the YA girl's to shame. So when they mentioned Harvard throughout this book, I rolled my eyes.
And ladies let me tell you, when it got to the part where Gabriel sacrificed his career for her to go to Harvard....
I wanted to light that book up, understand? Toss it in the dumpster, flick a match, and let it burn.
(I'm sorry, this has turned into a rant. But I can't help it. I stayed up last night finishing the book.)
After a while, I just didn't feel any pity for Julia at all.
Julia had a bad experience sucking dick. Okay. And?
Julia wants to get her scar removed so she doesn't have to be reminded of the boogie monster who gave her a battle wound.
This series as I'm finding out all too well, is one of those where you've gotta take the good with the bad.
Gabriel: Good.
Julia: Bad.
Me: Confused. Pissed. And wanting to throw Julia scraps of bread.
So I don't know if I'll make it through Gabriel's Redemption. 2 books of Julia's weeping and childish antics might be all I can take.
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Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Shredded Reviews
2 stars WARNING: Spoilers
What follows is somewhat of a er-rant? Sorry, but I am very frustrated after reading this so forgive me. Or not.
First off, I want to say that I don't rate fan fiction on a 5 star scale. I rate them on a 3 star scale for putting in half of the creative effort.
Bias? I know.
The biggest problem I had with this book (aside from the fact that it is fan fiction) was the word FOR. I know what you're thinking: What kind of damage could the word FOR possibly cause? A lot. Trust me. Whenever an explanation was needed for a characters behavior, Reynard just stuck that word in and before long I was thinking about old fairy tale novels written in the mid 1800's.
Gabriel frowned, FOR he knew she was upset.
Julia shivered, FOR she knew what would happen now.
I was waiting for the word "THOU" to make it's grand entrance.
Example: Gabriel frowned, For he knew thou would be upset.
And I'm sorry, but I have to ask: where the hell are all of the corsets? Mr. Darcy?
The only way I'll get through this review, is by making a list. (and cue, DUM-DUM-DUMMMMMM.)
This book has it all people.
You've got Julia, a girl so fucked up that the Salvation Army would think twice before tossing her a piece of bread. She's got 1) anxiety, 2) crying spills, 3) alcoholic mother, 4) neglectful father, 5)abusive ex-boyfriend, 6) poverty, 7) untapped promise land/virgin....I could go on and on with this. She's a poster child for Murphy's Law. (AKA, what can go wrong will go wrong.)
You've got Gabriel: a rich, pissed of professor with a brilliant mind and quote "haunting past." Like Julia, this guy need's a tissue for his issues. He's got 1) anger issues, 2) a fetish for labels, 3) adoptive past, which leads to abandonment issues, 4) whorish tendencies, 5)past cocaine addiction, 6) obsession with Dante and Beatrice, 7) no brotherly love, 8) pornographic pictures in his bedroom, 9) a warped colleague that likes to spank him...
NOTE: Since Robert Pattinson isn't old enough (*shocking*), I've decided to use Matt Boomer instead. No offense to the Edward Cullen, Christian Grey, and Gabriel Emerson fans of the world.
For me, the trouble in this book started early on. Whenever Julia invited Gabriel into her apartment and he gave his two cents, I knew I was in trouble. The girl had done nothing but cry since the beginning of the book, which made me question what all she's been doing for the last 6 freaking years. Oh wait, I think we know...
She had one encounter with Gabriel six years before the book started. And because of that one encounter that included an apple, kiss, and a few sweet words...She is high on life and has found "the one." For future reference, no woman, and I don't care how in love she is, is going to waste six years of her life waiting for a possibility/chance. Get real. It doesn't matter if you live, eat, and breath matrimony, it's not going to happen.
What's strange about this is Gabriel apparently already knows this tad bit of info, said Paulina, Professor Singer, whore #'s 1-200. It's almost humorous, really. While Julia's been out in the real world trying to protect her virtue, Gabriel's been looking for any excuse to pull his wang out because he's dead set on the idea that Beatrice was an illusion from his cocaine induced haze.
And Julia's so dead set on this fantasy that she refuses to tell Gabriel who she really is and allows him to treat her like shit. Which he does without a care in the world, and I'm just laughing the entire time. For someone who thinks very little of herself, Julia sure has a high opinion of the impression she made on Gabriel in the orchard.
Poor Julia, she's poor ect., and wants to make it on her own. She hates spending his money and taking any charity that comes her way. She's such a strong woman for not telling anyone what happened between her and Simon, or reporting her mother, or standing up to her father. (This is sarcasm people...) So when the time came for her to tell Gabriel who she really was, I was mentally punching her in the face. It was almost like she wanted him to get in too deep so she could play the victim card.
Gabriel treated me like shit during the beginning of school.
Gabriel made fun of my apartment.
Gabriel shouted at me. Blah blah blah...
By the time he realized who she was, the damage was done. It's hard to recover from something like that, right? But then I got to thinking, well, she's spent 6 years without him, so the worst is over, but no. Little Miss. Helpless then decides to do a 180 and for the first time in her life, take a stand.
I was willing to give this book 3 stars for satisfactory writing, until the skeletons started coming out of the closets. I expected something huge, so when it got to the part where Gabriel said he was a murderer, I just rolled my eyes. Despite the fact that he had said he didn't have a wife or ex-wife, I was holding on to hope. (I wanted some real plays, not sideline interference.) That would've really tested Julia's character I think. But no. Instead, Julia's all understanding, which no woman in the world would be. When a man tells you he still keeps in contact with his ex-girlfriend, whom lost the baby he fathered, you don't sit there and smile and feel sorry for them. No. That was some lameass attempt to right what all Gabriel had done wrong, and a pathetic one at that.
Sex scenes? I don't know why this is listed as Erotic at my bookstore, but it doesn't even come close. Gabriel wants to be gentle, romantic, yada yada, and the whole while I'm just thinking: GROW A PAIR.
Some women have this ridiculous notion that a man is 1) going to massage your feet every night 2) make you dinner, 3) turn on your nightlight and act like your mother, essentially treating you like a child...But I sure as hell don't. A masculine man is going to come home, kiss your cheek, say he loves you, smack your ass, and grin while jogging up the stairs. (Sorry, but it's true. Or maybe I just have a different opinion for what a man should be.) It's hard for a character to recite old scripture, primarily romance, and not lose his masculine credibility. It just wasn't believable.
Conclusion: 2 stars for the writing. And a special thanks to Edward Cullen for making this all possible.
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