
I’ve always had a terrible weakness for beautiful but sad things.
I watched all three Gabriel’s Inferno movies on Passionflix this month and they rocked my world. At the time, I had no idea that the one book had been turned into three full-length movies. Instead, I thought it was all three books in the series. You can imagine my excitement when I realized there was still so much content waiting for me. I rewatched the movies a good six times, and I now consider them some of my all-time favorite movies. They’re basically my new Twilight because just like Twilight, they’re absolutely ridiculous. After watching the movies I decided to pick up all the books, starting with this one.
Gabriel’s Inferno follows Julia Mitchell, a grad student in Toronto studying to be a Dante specialist. Julia’s professor, Gabriel Emerson, is a dark and mysterious man whose past is closer tied to Julia than he might know. Through a series of circumstances, the two grow closer and closer, until a forbidden romance ensues between the professor and student. And if you know me, you’d know I love a good professor/student romance. However, this book lacked all of the charm from the movie adaptations.
First of all, Gabriel is a total asshole in the book. Not only is he a terribly furious professor, often insulting Julia’s intelligence, he’s also possessive and nasty with her before they start dating. The movies edited out all that macho nonsense and made Gabriel a lot more likable, so you can imagine my disappointment when I read this and found myself hating Gabriel. Julia is also the most self-deprecating person I’ve ever read about. She’s a virgin–a fact that Gabriel is obsessed with the entire book–and she lets this detail rule her entire life basically. She puts herself down so much, and I get that she comes from an abusive relationship, but she gave me so much second-hand embarrassment.
I struggled finishing this gigantic book. I found some lighthearted moments from time to time, and I did laugh at other parts, but most of the time, I was rolling my eyes or just shouting in frustration at how absolutely stupid this book is. Sadly, I do own the rest of the books, so I plan to continue reading them. I also want to see the rest of the movies, which I’m sure will also surpass the quality of the rest of the books.
Do I recommend the book? No. Do I recommend the movies? Absolutely! They’re so fun and they never get old. The rating I’m giving it is only due to the nostalgia I already feel because of the amazing movies.