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12th out of 87 books
—
144 voters
Gabriel's Woman (The Lover #2)
by
Robin Schone (Goodreads Author)
In 2000, Robin Schone introduced readers to a pair of remarkably handsome, sensual men in her erotic historical romance The Lover. Michel and Gabriel met as boys, and were trained by a French madam to fulfill the sensual desires of those who sought their services. That was half a lifetime ago. Now, in Victorian England, the two are still closer than brothers, but their ser...more
Paperback, 376 pages
Published
September 1st 2001
by Kensington
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4 stars
As much as I enjoyed the first book The Lover, I felt the second book, Gabriel's Woman was a better book. The plot, characterization, andambiance of the story felt more fleshed out and intriguing.
Honestly, I don't think I've read a more tortured soul than Gabriel. The more I learned about his past and his trials, the more my heart ached for him. Victoria is such an endearing character. She's everything I love in a heroine. Strong and determined while remaining feminine and a little vulner...more
As much as I enjoyed the first book The Lover, I felt the second book, Gabriel's Woman was a better book. The plot, characterization, andambiance of the story felt more fleshed out and intriguing.
Honestly, I don't think I've read a more tortured soul than Gabriel. The more I learned about his past and his trials, the more my heart ached for him. Victoria is such an endearing character. She's everything I love in a heroine. Strong and determined while remaining feminine and a little vulner...more
view all 22 comments
Jul 12, 2011
Juliana
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
0-own-in-dead-tree-form,
challenge-2011-bb-summer,
4-stars,
4-to-5-stars,
2011-reads,
2011-jul-reads,
0-reviewed,
set-in-england,
set-in-england-london,
set-in-19th-century,
set-in-1880s,
romantica,
romantica-suspense,
romantica-historical,
challenge-2011-rrrc-the-4-elements,
challenge-2011-rrrc-a-to-z-heroines,
hr-hero-rough-haunted-tortured
I read
The Lover
yesterday and Gabriel's Woman today, and I agree with those who say that they're best read in order. I enjoyed - though was a little conflicted about - The Lover, but I really loved Gabriel's Woman. They are both very emotional and somewhat difficult reads, because there is such horror that is faced. Both Gabriel and Michael are tortured souls, haunted by the unbelievable things they have survived.
The ages of the main characters were very unusual for romance and something that...more
The ages of the main characters were very unusual for romance and something that...more
Feb 20, 2009
Eastofoz
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Readers looking for a dreary/dark romance
Shelves:
historical-regency,
erotica
What an excruciating read –and not in a good emotional roller coaster way either. The vast majority of this book is a 2 star read for me. It’s exceptionally confusing and repetitive. I’m all for some suspense, not putting all your cards on the table at the start, leaving the reader guessing and all but this book needed a rewrite because it felt like a first draft that was printed. The French is in desperate need of editing seeing as most of it is either misspelled, wrong or just doesn’t make sen...more
May 26, 2012
Baba ♥♥♥ Marcus, Tyler, Tate, Dan, Ty, & Hunter
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
@KatLynne
I'm sorry to disappoint you but I really tried to like Gabriel's Woman. Despite its failure it's not the end of the world though. Come to think of it, we have quite a few HR authors in common that we both love, i.e. Jennifer Ashley, Elizabeth Hoyt and Courtney Milan.
I was so thrilled to give Ms. Schone a try but sadly Gabriel's Woman couldn’t live up to my high expectations. It didn’t work out for me at all. DNF. I totally dislike the author's writing style. It feels choppy, stiff, stil...more
I'm sorry to disappoint you but I really tried to like Gabriel's Woman. Despite its failure it's not the end of the world though. Come to think of it, we have quite a few HR authors in common that we both love, i.e. Jennifer Ashley, Elizabeth Hoyt and Courtney Milan.
I was so thrilled to give Ms. Schone a try but sadly Gabriel's Woman couldn’t live up to my high expectations. It didn’t work out for me at all. DNF. I totally dislike the author's writing style. It feels choppy, stiff, stil...more
There's nothing I hate more then shelling out good money for a book that bores me... Robin's work, NEVER does that! Her work is frank, sensual, and true artistry. Gabriel's Woman delivers that which I think every woman secretly desires. To reach in, touch, and heal the man she loves. Many times "mainstream" romance novels will not deal honestly with circumstances that happen in character's past for the sake of escapism. I like that Gabriel's Woman not only deals with things truthfully, so as not...more
I bought "Gabriel’s Woman" as a 2 for 1 deal when I got “The Lover”. My reading OCD did not help in this matter, so I was unable to stop myself from the mental torture of finishing this harrowing saga.
In the beginning I thought that it was funny – they way the author grabbed at straws, trying to make her book more …Gothic… more …pure… more scandalous… more intellectual... more …poetic… more…just more!
But it was only JUST pathetic.
The word repeat count in this read is monstrous. We can lie to ours...more
In the beginning I thought that it was funny – they way the author grabbed at straws, trying to make her book more …Gothic… more …pure… more scandalous… more intellectual... more …poetic… more…just more!
But it was only JUST pathetic.
The word repeat count in this read is monstrous. We can lie to ours...more
Dec 17, 2011
Anna (Bobs Her Hair)
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Historical Erotic Romance Fans, Tortured Hero Fans
“Fumier means a piece of shit. Gutters are filled with sewage; I was born in a gutter. I lived in a gutter. A nameless bastard. It wasn’t whoring that made me what I am, it was living.”
- Gabriel
“We do what we must in order to survive.” – Victoria Childers
I loved this book! It packs an emotional punch and the plot is so much better than The Lover. There's suspense, romance, toe-curling love scenes, and a hauntingly beautiful hero that breaks your heart.
The Story
Hunger and desperate circumstanc...more
- Gabriel
“We do what we must in order to survive.” – Victoria Childers
I loved this book! It packs an emotional punch and the plot is so much better than The Lover. There's suspense, romance, toe-curling love scenes, and a hauntingly beautiful hero that breaks your heart.
The Story
Hunger and desperate circumstanc...more
5++++++++++++
WOW..another keeper by Robin Schone. As most everyone knows, I love Robin's unique talent that blends emotionally intense love stories with graphic erotic scenes. Her skill with character development is wonderful. Gabriel's Woman is one of my favorites. This is a very complex story. It is a story of redemption, a story of passion and such intensity that comes from the soul. Gabriel's story blew me away. He is very, very much a tortured soul.
We first meet Gabriel in the prequel, The...more
WOW..another keeper by Robin Schone. As most everyone knows, I love Robin's unique talent that blends emotionally intense love stories with graphic erotic scenes. Her skill with character development is wonderful. Gabriel's Woman is one of my favorites. This is a very complex story. It is a story of redemption, a story of passion and such intensity that comes from the soul. Gabriel's story blew me away. He is very, very much a tortured soul.
We first meet Gabriel in the prequel, The...more
It was difficult for me to feel the romance in this story. Most of the time, it felt as if Ms Schone was trying a tad too hard in sounding mysterious, what with all the one-liners, cryptic allusions to vague events and people, repeated self-contemplations, and dark thoughts left hanging (with their signature ellipsis…)
The story definitely felt like it was all Gabriel’s, and that Victoria was just a poor innocent thrown into the mix to give the man a body to lose himself in. Even until the end,...more
The story definitely felt like it was all Gabriel’s, and that Victoria was just a poor innocent thrown into the mix to give the man a body to lose himself in. Even until the end,...more
Reading the first conversation Victoria has with Gabriel, when she's so naked and vulnerable, and admits to wanting sex very badly, was really hard for me. It hit me in a nails on a chalkboard kind of way; I was upset and hated Victoria for saying what she did.
It was only later that I understood why that conversation had such a powerful effect on me, when I realized why I liked the book so much. Victoria has this "my sexuality is a beast within me" sort of attitude...she's not just a lady coming...more
It was only later that I understood why that conversation had such a powerful effect on me, when I realized why I liked the book so much. Victoria has this "my sexuality is a beast within me" sort of attitude...she's not just a lady coming...more
Robin Schone is amazing. This is the first book I read by her and I definitely want to read the first book, The Lover now. I enjoyed the historical feel of the book, though I wish she would have told what time period it was set in. I loved the tortured hero, the dark feel to the book and the woman who heals him.
To be honest, there were times the bad guy theme was over my head, but that could be because I haven't read the first book yet.
Even though her sex scenes were hardly what I would call kin...more
To be honest, there were times the bad guy theme was over my head, but that could be because I haven't read the first book yet.
Even though her sex scenes were hardly what I would call kin...more
Well color me disappointed. :(
I had high hopes for this book, because I really enjoyed Gabriel's character in The Lover, and was looking forward to reading his story. Unfortunately, it fell a bit short in my opinion. The twist, while surprising, was a bit contrived (even moreso that "the man" in The Lover), and again the technical jargon during sex was a put-off for me. I don't know if it bothered me more in this book because it was more prolific, or if it was merely my getting bogged down from...more
I had high hopes for this book, because I really enjoyed Gabriel's character in The Lover, and was looking forward to reading his story. Unfortunately, it fell a bit short in my opinion. The twist, while surprising, was a bit contrived (even moreso that "the man" in The Lover), and again the technical jargon during sex was a put-off for me. I don't know if it bothered me more in this book because it was more prolific, or if it was merely my getting bogged down from...more
This is sort of in the middle between romance and erotica. Erotic romance? Also, clearly there is a subgenre of romance novels where hero enters into relationship with heroine who is trying to sell herself without any plans for sex on hero's part but to catch a killer. Because this is not the first book I've read with this set-up. How bizarre.
I liked it a lot! If you don't mind really explicit sex stuff, some severely dark themes (rape, prostitution etc), and a rather idiosyncratic writing styl...more
I liked it a lot! If you don't mind really explicit sex stuff, some severely dark themes (rape, prostitution etc), and a rather idiosyncratic writing styl...more
I wasn't really able to appreciate this darkly erotic piece of literature, unlike I did with the first two books I've read from this author (The Lady's Tutor, The Lover - in that order). The atmosphere was heavy with malicious intent, murder, anxiety, and questions.
The author really wrote in riddles, nothing and no one is who s/he seem to be, except for Victoria. She's a very likable character, a woman who's hungry for passion and intimacy, who's ashamed of admitting to her own sexuality, driven...more
The author really wrote in riddles, nothing and no one is who s/he seem to be, except for Victoria. She's a very likable character, a woman who's hungry for passion and intimacy, who's ashamed of admitting to her own sexuality, driven...more
4.5 Stars - Impressive Book
While this novel is the second book in a dualogy, it is not necessary that you read “The Lover” in order to understand this book. However, you would be in for a slightly better reading experience if you did read it first.
Ms. Schone does wonders in evoking a very vivid picture of pleasure just by using words. And not the words one would normally expect in an erotica novel. This author can make you shiver just by her trademark perfect timing, the words and the style wit...more
While this novel is the second book in a dualogy, it is not necessary that you read “The Lover” in order to understand this book. However, you would be in for a slightly better reading experience if you did read it first.
Ms. Schone does wonders in evoking a very vivid picture of pleasure just by using words. And not the words one would normally expect in an erotica novel. This author can make you shiver just by her trademark perfect timing, the words and the style wit...more
Gabriel's Woman by Robin Schone.
This was one of the weirdest, wackiest, most confusing, bizarre, sexual, and surprisingly compelling books I have read. I have never been so confused at the beginning of the book. Who was the first man? Who was the second man? Who the hell was Michel? Who was the other woman? The evil woman? The evil man? The angel? Gabriel? Remember that scene in Moonstruck where the grandfather says "I'm so confused!" and he has tears in his eyes? That was me reading the beginn...more
This was one of the weirdest, wackiest, most confusing, bizarre, sexual, and surprisingly compelling books I have read. I have never been so confused at the beginning of the book. Who was the first man? Who was the second man? Who the hell was Michel? Who was the other woman? The evil woman? The evil man? The angel? Gabriel? Remember that scene in Moonstruck where the grandfather says "I'm so confused!" and he has tears in his eyes? That was me reading the beginn...more
This book is a conundrum, and I don’t read enough erotica to be able to judge how it compares to other books of its type. This should appeal to those who like their romances on the emotionally intense side with damaged characters finding their way toward one another and healing (personally, I found quite a bit of it overwrought). The writing style drove me crazy in the beginning. Very short, choppy sentences with characters talking in circles and a lot of stylistic repetitions (angels, silver ey...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I finished The lover yesterday morning and started on Gabriel's woman right after that.
Robin Schone's novels have been a wonderful discovery for me. She writes with style, her characters are well described and there is so much passion underneath the ashes !
At first, I thought the book followed the same canvass as The lover, but then I found out otherwise.
The story is heartbreaking, intense, it keeps you guessing, you can't put it down until you have finished it.
One thing, though, I thought th...more
Robin Schone's novels have been a wonderful discovery for me. She writes with style, her characters are well described and there is so much passion underneath the ashes !
At first, I thought the book followed the same canvass as The lover, but then I found out otherwise.
The story is heartbreaking, intense, it keeps you guessing, you can't put it down until you have finished it.
One thing, though, I thought th...more
Dark erotic fiction. Liked The Lover better... it is true that this one has too many "angel" analogies, seemed the author got in an endless loop with that, lol! Still an "interesting" read and certainly much better than some of the cheap SP (self publish) SH stuff out there...
Started to read this some months back (maybe a year?). This book did make an impression on me with the two friends.. so when I finished The Lover, I tried to re-read it last night. Just couldn't do it.. Skipped to some good...more
Started to read this some months back (maybe a year?). This book did make an impression on me with the two friends.. so when I finished The Lover, I tried to re-read it last night. Just couldn't do it.. Skipped to some good...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Nov 16, 2010
Catherine
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
angst,
bad-childhood,
dark,
england,
erotica,
historical,
manipulation-plot,
prostitute-courtesan,
ptsd,
rape-abuse,
read-2010,
series
This was a very nice follow up to the first book, The Lover. Any time I saw Gabriel in that book he stole the scene. I was fascinated by him and wanted to know who he was, how he thought, and what led him to the point he was at today. I didn't understand how he could love Michael and seem to hate him at the same time. I just needed to know why.
This was very much a story about Gabriel. I know it's advertised as an Erotic Romance but just like with The Lover, that wasn't the appeal for me. I liked...more
This was very much a story about Gabriel. I know it's advertised as an Erotic Romance but just like with The Lover, that wasn't the appeal for me. I liked...more
Lu en VO. Aussi bon que le précédent. Après Micheal, on découvre les secrets du second ange déchu, le prostitué Gabriel. Qui est encore plus impressionnant et complexe que son comparse. Encore une fois, Robin Schone tisse une trame tordue et délicieusement perverse, où le sexe est omniprésent : ce ne sont pas tant les scènes de sexe elles-mêmes (très bonnes pourtant) que les sous-entendus et les réparties sensuelles imprégnant les dialogues qui font la qualité de son écriture. Son style, pas tou...more
Gabriel's Woman is erotic, suspense, romance story. In the last book, Gabriel was captured and raped. He has killed the first man and he is hunting the second man. The second man has sent Gabriel a present who happened to be Victoria. It is a cat and mouse game between the second man and Gabriel.
As Gabriel looked into Victoria's past, he came closer to finding the second man. The longer Victoria remained with him, Gabriel started to care about Victoria but vengeance for what was done to him, ca...more
As Gabriel looked into Victoria's past, he came closer to finding the second man. The longer Victoria remained with him, Gabriel started to care about Victoria but vengeance for what was done to him, ca...more
no...just no, I study medicine unlike the writer and anal sex is not only a sin but unhealthy and dangerous to your intestine track, I got nauseated and stopped midway. The courtesan Gabriel is just a turn off...the fact that he's raised to please men is...uhh...no, and sexual abuse is not something you'd use as an erotic theme. If you're not a mental expert, Keep your opinion to yourself and don't portray it as erotica that makes you a senile bitch that likes to include sodomy in sex scenes, bl...more
Jan 03, 2013
LizzieB
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
erotic-romance,
19th-century,
abused-hero,
angry-hero,
big-secret,
blond-hero,
book-2-in-a-series,
ebook,
england,
english-heroine,
evil-family,
french-hero,
gambling,
hea,
historical,
london,
mistress,
pederasty,
prostitute,
ptsd,
pubbed-2004,
romance,
tortured-hero,
tragic-past-heroine,
tragic-past-hero,
victorian
I saw this book/author described as having spare prose. Boy, was it spare. To the point of uselessness. I don't know if my reading comprehension would have been assisted by having read the first book or not, but the incessant description of the nameless, faceless enemy as "the second man" (without capitalization) was confusing and annoying (particularly whenever there was a generic second man around).
Gabriel's love-hate relationship with his best friend was inconsistent and annoying, too. In fac...more
Gabriel's love-hate relationship with his best friend was inconsistent and annoying, too. In fac...more
I won thiis book on a different book site and I just found myself another excellent author. I had a hard time. Following the start of the book but after the first two chapters I caught on quickly. The characters and story line grip you by your heart strings and take you on a turbulent. Ride. I will definetely be reading more by robin schooner. This is the reason free books are great. They turn you on to authors you may never have discovered otherwise. Thank the goddess for book sites. Like these...more
In The Lover, we met Gabriel, a 40-year-old man, a former prostitute who was taught to please men. He and his best friend Michael met as children and protected each other as they lived and survived on the streets. Now, Gabriel is an adult man, the wealthy owner of a popular brothel. But Gabriel has another nightmare addition to his horrifying past. When he was younger, he was brutally raped by two men. The first man, who made him beg for death or to be let go, is dead. The second man, who made h...more
5 Stars +
What can I say about this except that this book deserves more than 5 stars and makes me seriously want to reconsider the way I rate books.
Gabriels Woman takes up were The Lover finished and so to apprieciate the story you should really have read Micheal and Annes story first.
Gabriel is haunted man, Victoria a desperate woman. The two become enmeshed in an elaborate contrivance which has it's foundations firmly rooted in the past. Gabriel fears for his life and that of his close friend M...more
What can I say about this except that this book deserves more than 5 stars and makes me seriously want to reconsider the way I rate books.
Gabriels Woman takes up were The Lover finished and so to apprieciate the story you should really have read Micheal and Annes story first.
Gabriel is haunted man, Victoria a desperate woman. The two become enmeshed in an elaborate contrivance which has it's foundations firmly rooted in the past. Gabriel fears for his life and that of his close friend M...more
Moody, Gothic, and So Very Sexy...
Robin Schone once again challenges our notions of female sexuality and male power with Gabriel's Woman. Like her previous short works and novels, neither Gabriel or Victoria are the stereotypical romance couple. Gabriel, a former prostitute and now owner of an exclusive brothel that bears his name, is a man tormented by an act so tragic, that it has shaped him into the untouchable being he now is. Wealthy women will pay any price for his services, but he knows t...more
Robin Schone once again challenges our notions of female sexuality and male power with Gabriel's Woman. Like her previous short works and novels, neither Gabriel or Victoria are the stereotypical romance couple. Gabriel, a former prostitute and now owner of an exclusive brothel that bears his name, is a man tormented by an act so tragic, that it has shaped him into the untouchable being he now is. Wealthy women will pay any price for his services, but he knows t...more
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USA Today Bestselling Author Robin Schone is the recipient of the Romantic Times 2008 Career Lifetime Achievement Award for Most Innovative Historical Romances. She is published in thirteen countries, including China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and Spain. Scandalous Lovers (Kensington Brava 2007) was chosen by RUSQ (Reference & User Services Quarterly, the official journal of the Re...more
More about Robin Schone...
