This novel follows seamlessly from Gabriel's Inferno.

I'm only about 1/4 the way in so far but I like this Gabriel more than the one in the first book. He seems to have found himself. ( )

A wonderful addition to Gabriel's Inferno . I enjoyed this so much. Love is tested and triumphs in this story and it's beautiful to see. 4.5 Stars ( )

After "Gabriel's inferno" I was anxious to know what would happen with this modern Mr. Rochester and his bright pupil, Julianne. The first book ended with their relationship finally consummated, even though the world was already conspiring to separate them.

I picked up "Gabriel's rapture" with high expectations and I wasn't disappointed, in fact, the only problem is that I'll have to wait God knows how long for the final instalment of the series.

In this second book, Gabriel and Julianne have finally succumbed to their mutual attraction and share their love in secret. But Gabriel's past threatens to destroy his new found peace and Julia still doubts that her love will be enough for the moody and needy professor. Will their love survive the pressures of the external world?

Again, I loved the parallelism in the relationship between Dante and his beloved Beatrice and Gabriel & Julia's. The continuous references to Florence and Italian Art in general make the setting of the story elegant and sophisticated, and the combination of modern and classic give the book a special atmosphere difficult to equal, it reads like a classic in the modern world, and that for me, is fantastic.
And the characters' evolution, especially Gabriel, are awesomely well threaded and accurate, making the whole novel a delightful treat for all your senses.
Pick up this book together with a glass of red wine or maybe with some chocolate, and you'll know what I mean.
Pleasure. For all your senses.
Enjoy! ( )

Gabriel and Julianne are back for the continuation of their love story. Gabriel's Rapture picks up right where Gabriel's Inferno left off at. Julia and the Professor are in Italy moving forward in their relationship. their relationship is anything but conventional. Julia is shy, timid and self conscious. that is to be expected especially after her time with her mom and her stint with slimy Simon. You would think though that she would be able to get through most of her vices being with Gabriel. He tells her all the time that she is beautiful, he loves and would go to hell and back for her. Maybe some wounds run too deep.

Gabriel is the opposite of Julia. He is opinionated, blunt and unconscious of things. He has a hard time showing affection towards people but Julia changed him. He is not the hardened man he once was. Julia softened him a bit. His troubled past with his real parents and then his painful relationship with Paulina made him emotionless. But meeting Julia years ago seemed to have opened him up to something he didn't think he wanted nor could have. Then seeing her again years later just confirmed what he wanted.

Their love is a tragic yet beautiful one. In GR we learn that the past was never truly behind them. Having never really dealt with it only in passing, it creeps in and haunts their everyday existence. In this book Julia allows that to happen the most. She worries that she is not up to par for Gabriel, but if that was the case wouldn't he have tossed her aside long ago? Julia annoys me in the beginning of this book. With her constant needing of reassurance and then she always gets mad at Gabriel because of his past lovers. Past is the operative word in the sentence. That means that she is his present and future. What he did before Julia shouldn't hinder his relationship now. So when Crista comes into the picture again and throws a wrench into things, it's not surprising that Julia takes it all wrong. Gabriel and Julia have to both learn to trust in order to get back what they had and move on.

I love the author's writing. She does a good job in telling this love story. The story is complex and refined yet simple at the same time. The storyline is not as alluring as it was in the first book. It is a repeating of the same thing by that main characters which is their insecurities in each other. Then there was Christa's character's who didn't interact with Gabriel or Julia but she makes a big impact.This part of the story seems so misplaced since she doesn't talk to them in this installment. I think it would have made more sense if she had spoken to them instead of through a third party.

While I am a fan of the author's and I liked the book I did dislike some of it. That some of it namely is Julia. She is whiny and needy in this book. I expected in in GI. She was new to everything and was getting to know Gabriel again. In GR why is she still so whinny? If it was any other man he would have dumped her and moved on but Gabriel loves her. I wish that the author had toned down her neediness in this book. It would have made it much better.

Overall thoughts of this book are that I still love the series. This story didn't exactly live up to my expectations and I was a little disappointed in this one. I wished that it was a better storyline. It grab me like Gabriel's Inferno did. was happy that the author wrapped the story up with a great finish.

I received this book courtesy of Edelweiss and the publisher for review. ( )

(possible spoilers...) Gabriel's Rapture picks up right where Gabriel's Inferno left off. Julia and Gabriel are in Italy furthering their relationship. However the university has caught on. Everything is there to tear them apart..university policy, exes, their past. But their love for each other sees them through!
I Love Sylvain Reynard's writing. His characters have depth, which you don't typically find in romance novels (imo, at least not the ones i've read yeat). I can't wait for the third book! and hopefully other books/series to come! ( )