3.5 stars but I really thought this one's gonna make at least 4 stars. The story was rather interesting with the usual paranormal activities that were creepy and intriguing at the same time. And I really liked the H, who was a secondary character in book 1; a friend of the H there. I didn't like him in book 1 much but in his own book, I got to know him better so all in all, I thought this one's gonna be better.

However, the h of the story completely ruined it for me. She was an idiot, extremely stubborn and super irresponsible. If someone said 'don't do this, it's dangerous', she'd simply ignore that warning and do exactly that; all because she fancied herself a 'journalist', a detective too, by the looks of it. *eyeroll* I lost count of just how many times she had put herself in danger throughout the book and in the process, put the H in danger too cause he was always rescuing her. -_- Even though she'd later acknowledge some of her blunders, I don't think she learned much from any of it. Either way, by 70% I began losing interest and didn't care how it ended. I wished I could replace the h with someone smarter, more responsible. No idea what the H saw in her anyway! Meh.

I had high hopes for this series. Too bad. *sigh*

3 stars but barely made it. This one definitely won't go down as one of my favorites. TBH, I was bored for the most part but it was mainly because I didn't care for our "beautiful and brilliant" heroine. To me, she was every bit silly and clueless as her dumb family. I don't even know what James saw in her, apart from her affinity towards the Bard's work (and her beauty?). She may have wrote some good papers on the Bard but I was bored through and through with her real self.

On the contrary, I LOVED our hero, who I thought deserved a better, and dare I say, more matured woman in his life. Even as I slogged through where Ellen shows her dumb self over and over again, by being a pushover for the half of the story, I lost my patience when she turned down James's marriage proposal for the umpteenth time, reason unknown. I mean for no valid reason at all! After all that he'd done for her, she still couldn't bring herself to come to a decision about his utmost devotion to her. :o I mean, was that part even up for debate? A young, handsome, brilliant, RICH Marquess wants to marry me, who also encourages my interest in Shakespeare, Geography and other things society won't let any gentle lady take part in. Who comes running if he thinks I'm in danger and would do anything to help me and my family so he's also extremely kind. Who already said he loves me... I like him too, but not enough to decide whether I should marry him. Oh geez! From her monologue, all I can say is that she was unquestionably dumb.

It took James's decision to not pursue her any longer (he at least had some reasons, not to retaliate in any way) for Ellen's brain to start working, and finally realizing what an idiot she'd been and how unfairly she'd treated him. Too late Ellen, you've already ruined my fun. -_- *yawn*

Beware!! This is a rant rather than a review. If you don't like it or agree with my POV, move on to the other, more positive reviews. Thank you.

2 stars but barely made it. 1 star for Tristan, another for changing the horrendous cover into something bearable.

This was going to be a light and funny, well-written story I was going to enjoy. Having read the author's 2 other books and totally loving them, I had no tension on that regard. The story wasn't badly written at all and I can see why all the 5 stars but I had a problem all throughout. Indeed I would've enjoyed Lingus too had it not been for the top-notch hypocritical heroine. Every time she opened her mouth, she'd say something completely demeaning about the female pornstars who made an appearance, especially after her meeting with the then pornstar hero in question.

Now I'm no feminist, and if my boyfriend was as hot as the hero, if not an ex-pornstar, I would've probably felt the same... who knows. But then again, I don't have a lifelong pornstar friend of MY OWN whom I actually helped achieve that goal (I'm not even going into the extent of the "hows" of it). To think that she'd be more understanding... pfft! So when Kat would call all the female pornstars who have either worked with Tristan (former Robbie Lingus) or she felt may have had a "history" with him, various names-- from whore to slut to etc. whatever-- and then go and call her OWN pornstar friend Zoey "the best person in the whole wide world", I wanted to SLAP THE SHIT OUTTA HER! Very conveniently, Zoey swings the other way, or else I would've loved to see Kat's face if she was one of them either worked with Tristan or made horny eyes at him often. Because, IMO all of Kat's friends were either sluts (hello Nicole!) or touched in the head (yup, Zoe, when she wasn't being a slut). Don't look at me, I'm just following Kat's directions. Really, what would happen if Nicole the maneater made horny eyes at Tristan too, had the author not, again, conveniently paired her with another pornstar at the beginning of the story? Mind boggles!

I was so thoroughly disgusted that it took me months to finish this book. Tristan was such a fun guy, absolutely adored him. He deserved better. I can't see how, with this mentality, Kat is going to be happy with him in the long run. It just doesn't add up, as much as Calum and Nicole's so-called HEA. Yah, right!

And thus, my very sexy "ewww-wtf-was-that" shelf was not dedicated to Tristan or to any other pornstars, but to Kat and her "bitches". Now deal with it!

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

Rachel L. Demeter’s Finding Gabriel promised something dark and bada$$. Even comparison to books like Gaelen Foley’s Lord of Ice and Judith James’s Broken Wing were made. Then there was the $0.99c release sale, so no wonder I grabbed it when it was released!

Both Lord of Ice and Broken Wing are straight 5 stars books, aptly deserved as I absolutely loved both. However, Finding Gabriel, IMO failed to deliver what it promised. Yes there were quite a lot of dark and depressing matters in the story but they never worked out the way I wanted them to. Since this was my first book by the author, I went in totally blind and felt the unadulterated shock of disappointment. I’d go into my full review later but first, here is what happened in a nutshell...

Colonel Gabriel de Laurent has seen it all, done it all in his 30 yrs. life. Born in a noble family, he wasn’t supposed to serve Bonaparte but he went to the army when tragedy struck his family down and there was no one left to mourn him. After his parents had passed, Gabriel married the girl he was betrothed to quite dutifully, being the only heir to their legacy. Both were young (late teens) and totally inexperienced. And they didn’t suit at all. Soon, after the birth of Lisette, their only child, Gabriel and his wife drifted apart. There were numerous affairs on both sides. From what little shown in the story made me feel that both were to blame equally for their failed marriage. When not submerging into the charms of his next mistress, Gabriel was drinking away. His wife was depressed, resentful, always looking for the next lover, never finding the peace that eluded her in her own marriage. And that brought trouble at their home; a jilted lover who wanted revenge. I won’t go into the details but Gabriel lost his whole family on one single night, in a quite gruesome way. He would’ve died himself had he not killed the perpetrators equally brutally and left home, never to return again. His conscience, the urge to be a good husband and father, came a little too late... there was nothing left to do anymore.

NEVER wanted to see Duke and Dove together, so there you have it. No good. Not at all. I'm stumped as the whole thing is ruined for me. -_- ... and God that last chapter! *shudders*