[REVIEW + BLOG TOUR] Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard

Gabriel's Redemption by Sylvain Reynard
Published: December 2013
Age Group: Adult
Series: Gabriel's Inferno #3 [end]
PROUDLY CANADIAN

ARC courtesy of PENGUIN Books, provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!

Gabriel's Redemption was an installment of mix-matched answers to unanswered questions and well deserved karma laced into a loosely composed plot consisting of too many side characters with their own myriad of problems, goals and subplots, all while trying to tie up any loose ends for the fans resulting in a well written fan fiction that leaves me with new questions and a changed perspective on several characters.

It's been some time since I've read the Gabriel's Inferno series.  In fact I'm certain that the series had ended with two installments, which was fine, so imagine my surprise when I saw that there was a SEQUEL being released! I finished Gabriel's Rapture feeling slightly less astounded then I was when I finished Gabriel's Inferno. It was really a means to an end. A way to end the series on a happily ever after.

To note, Gabriel's Redemption is first and foremost a story written for the fans because so many people were asking (demanding) Sylvain Reynard to go back to the story of Gabriel and Julia and tell more of their life after marriage. Well I don't see this as much of a spoiler considering the majority of romance novels follow this pattern but what are we expecting after a marriage? You can answer the question yourself. Anyway, what I'm trying to get is the storyline was predictable. I also found it somewhat repetitive. The newlyweds would follow this pattern of having a conflict, not dealing with this conflict by talking resulting in frustration, anger and a lot of huffing, puffing and foot stomping, only to make up within the next few pages and everything is hunky dory. Until the next few chapters when this all starts again. The first few times I was really engaged, I mean don't all newlyweds (scratch that, couples in general) have their arguments and disagreements? Yes, they do if you have any doubts and so it wasn't out of the norm but the continual use of arguments to reveal important and personal information about the characters soon became boring and I found myself disengaged from the story and uninterested. I understand that some couples argue a lot. I just said it myself earlier that ALL couples will have their disagreements but for a work of fiction, using the exact same method and the same procedure bores on me as a reader. I prefer variety or instant action. Dwelling on details and explanations always seems so mundane to me.

In addition, the book consists of many different characters making "cameo" appearances, telling their stories and what happened for them after Gabriel's Rapture. You have Paulina (Gabriel's ex), and Natalie and Simon (Julia's enemy), Paul (the poor guy who got friendzoned), and Christa (the whore). Some of these stories finish answering any unanswered questions, all of these have "happy endings" (depending on what side you see it from) and all those (who need to) atone for their sins. All I can say is karma is a bitch. These could have been released as short stories. There was very few ties that linked it to the main plot.

Although it is clear that this idea of "atoning for one's sins" is very prevalent in the story, I'm not sure if I agree with Sylvain Reynard's divine retribution towards all villains in the story. I've grown to sympathize with some of the characters. In fact one of them falls in love and oh the cold and heartless bitch known as karma comes and rips it away. I don't understand, why couldn't they be happy? In fact, all the evil characters of the story ended up with sad fates. I understand that this story is geared towards fans, but ruining their fictional lives seems too much for me.

I've also come to despise Julia in this book. I get it, she's Beatrice, Gabriel's Dante but I barely tolerated her in Gabriel's Redemption. I don't what happened to her or perhaps what happened to me but she just seemed very stubborn throughout the story always telling Gabriel what to do. I don't want to ruin the beautiful image people may have of her but she is (now) most definitely not one of my fav protagonists.

Overall I found the story ok. It's not one of those books I would necessary recommend to new readers. Although I would recommend it to already readers of this series since it does tie up any loose ends.

BORROW

 

GABRIEL'S REDEMPTION BLOG TOUR INFO!

Author: Sylvain Reynard

Title: Gabriel’s Redemption (Gabriel’s Inferno Series #3)

Publisher: Penguin Berkley

Summary:

From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Gabriel’s Rapture and Gabriel’s Inferno comes the epic conclusion to the captivating romantic trilogy.

Professor Gabriel Emerson has left his position at the University of Toronto to embark on a new life with his beloved Julianne. Together, he’s confident that they can face any challenge. And he’s eager to become a father.

But Julianne’s graduate program threatens Gabriel’s plans, as the pressures of being a student become all consuming. When she is given the honor of presenting an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel is forced to confront Julianne about the subject of her presentation—research that conflicts with his own. And in Oxford, several individuals from their past appear, including an old nemesis intent on humiliating Julia and exposing one of Gabriel’s darkest secrets.

In an effort to confront his remaining demons, Gabriel begins a quest to discover more about his biological parents, beginning a chain of events that has startling repercussions for himself, Julianne, and his hope of having a family.

Bio: I'm interested in the way literature can help us explore aspects of the human condition - particularly suffering, sex, love, faith, and redemption. My favourite stories are those in which a character takes a journey, either a physical journey to a new and exciting place, or a personal journey in which he or she learns something about himself/herself.

I'm also interested in how aesthetic elements such as art, architecture, and music can be used to tell a story or to illuminate the traits of a particular character. In my writing, I combine all of these elements with the themes of redemption, forgiveness, and the transformative power of goodness.

I try to use my platform as an author to raise awareness about the following charities: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation, WorldVision, Alex's Lemonade Stand, and Covenant House. For more information, see my Twitter account.

Buy Links:

Amazon Kindle  

Amazon Paperback

Barnes & Nobel Nook

Barnes & Nobel Paperback

iTunes iBook

Chapters Indigo Paperback

Chapters Indigo Kobo

Social Media Accounts

Website

Facebook
Twitter

Goodreads

Rafflecopter Widget - FYI, the Louboutin winner will be gifted a Neiman Marcus gift card with shipping included. All prizes are international.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[REVIEW] Seize me by Crystal Spears

Seize Me by Crystal Spears
Published: July 2013
Age Group: New Adult - 18A
Series: Breakneck #1

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SPOILER FREE REVIEW. SPOILERS ALERT!

I tend to like books with gangs in them (does that sound weird???). Madeline Sheehan's Undeniable was June's Tea Worthy Book of the Month so it's no surprise that I quite enjoyed Seize Me. The story follows Winter Belov, an exotic dancer who ran away from her Russian mobster father and family after her father killed her love in front of her. Seems a bit extreme  but who am I to judge her. Anyway she finds herself in Nevada and you could say it's a cruel turn of fate that she ends up finding herself back in the gang life that she was running away from, but hey, love doesn't care about anything.

I enjoyed the story line and the banter between the characters. Winter is a pretty well developed character with her own quirks and mannerisms. She doesn't take any crap from others and stands her own. Not sure if it's her mafia background or she's just a strong individual but she makes for a very powerful protagonist. And then there's Braxxon who I think isn't as well developed a character mainly because there isn't enough information shared about him, not nearly as much as we know about Winter. That's already one thing I find lacking in this book, which is pretty normal for series that have different protagonists per book since there's obviously NOT enough time to explain everything in a 400 page book no matter how concise you are, it's just not possible to explore every dimension in the book.

That said that's why I personally would really like to see this story line become a series of it's own following Winter and Braxxon. There's so much more to their relationship and background that I find so intriguing and would be really interested in reading about.

The story just progressed too quickly, with large time gaps and little happening during each chosen period of time.  There are so many different story lines that it turns into a somewhat checklist of need-to-cover-before-the-story-is-over-because-I-started-it-and-should-finish-it.

Personally I thought the beginning of the story was amazing. There's a lot of chapters dedicated to Winter being uprooted from her "normal" life or hiding life and brought back into the gang environment. But then the pace started picking up and I thought a lot of information was lost. The rival gang war story line is good and I think it would carry well over an entire series.

The most disappointing part of the story I found was when Winter finally reunited with her father. After realizing that Winter is indeed running from her father and family and is terrified of them finding her I instantly started anticipating for that eventual reunion. Closer to the end I started thinking perhaps it would happen in this novel and that there was a sequel dedicated to that story line because the gang war plot was the main focus. And then sh*t started to happen. I don't hate what happened per say. In fact I find it a strong way to bring in Winter's father figure. It's the execution of it that I find extremely lacking. First, the way that her father finds her is in my opinion total BS. Think about this, if you were treated as royalty to one of the most influential and powerful figures of the Russain mob, I'm sure your father would have found you already with his bountiful (albeit probably illegal) resources and yet the story makes it seem like Winter's father and no idea where she was and it wasn't until a someone let slip did the information spread and her father found her. Seriously? I would have assumed that right when she ran away he would have started tracking her, looking at cameras for her image and tracking her cash flow online back to her location. Am I thinking too CSI? I don't know...I just thought the mafia was really sneaky and clever and could do anything they wanted...So after that initial bump in the story it only got worse. I think everything happened within the span of two or three chapters and it was over. That's really little space given to something with such importance to the story line. In fact I think it was Winter running from her father that was the main headliner in the blurb of the story. So then they meet and it ends and it's all within a couple of pages that I find completely uninspiring and boring to read. Sorry, no offense to the author but I was expecting SO MUCH and I felt like I was only given a spoonful instead of an entire meal.  Also the whole gang war plot that encompassed most of the story basically disappeared after the climax. I mean I guess the Breakneck's won but I'm not really sure and honestly by the end it was late and I just wanted to finish reading this and go to bed.

I apologize for the long review and I guess bashing of the story but I really do think that this series has potential that hasn't been utilized to it's fullest. All the ideas and story lines are there, it just needs to be executed in a more coherent fashion and the story needs filler chapters to add more dimension to the character and in my opinion, bring this story to its fullest potential so that it can be enjoyed completely and every main plot and important detail can be explored fully.

Because I really do think this story can be great but Seize Me itself wasn't that great.

 

BORROW

 

 

If you like this check these other tea loving books out:

• Undeniable by Madeline Sheehan (18A. WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS MANY DARK ELEMENTS THAT SOME READERS MAY FIND UNCOMFORTABLE TO READ ABOUT.)
• Reaper's Property by Joanna Wylde (18A)