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lizzy_22's review
3.0
More romance in space surrounded by a well developed plot! There was nothing really surprising in this story by Linnea Sinclair, who knows how to bring all of this novel's pieces together in a brisk fashion. I liked Games of Command (oh Kel-Paten you handsome biocyb you) better than this one I think and since the rest of the series bounces points of view I might skip to Sinclair's stand alone novels from here on out.
ducky_wonder_vo's review
4.0
The first 1/3 was good, the middle 1/3 dragged on for too long, and the last 1/3 was great. I read this for an online book club and I was unsure if I was going to finish it in time due to the middle dragging on. The characters were realistic, I didn't always like how they reacted, but I still thought they felt real. I really liked Ren, he interested me a lot, but he kinda got lost halfway through the book. He was still there but just not as prominent as I wanted. I still haven't decided if I am going to read the next book, but if I do I hope we learn more about Ren.
librovert's review against another edition
2.0
Gabriel's Ghost was a pretty average read for me. I liked a lot of the ideas behind the novel, but felt that it could have been executed better.
I will note first, I've already picked up the second book in the series. While Gabriel's Ghost does bring the relationship between our main characters (more-or-less) to a conclusion, it does not wrap-up the non-romantic plot line (which I enjoyed far more than I enjoyed the romance in this book). [Post Book #2 Note The second book was much better than the first and does a better job of concluding both the relationship arc and the story arc. I think both books could have been scaled back and combined into one to make a much stronger book. I definitely recommend reading them together.]
The relationship between the main characters was disappointing. The heroine is back and forth about her feelings towards the hero so many times that the entire relationship began to feel unbelievable. My favorite character was Ren, a secondary character who takes the role of the beta male in our story - I would love to see a novel in the universe based on him.
The book was pretty predictable. There were some surprises early on, but after that I started to catch on to the path the novel was taking and wasn't extremely surprised by anything that happened.
The worst part of the book for me was the repetition of words. Sully always gazed with his "obsidian eyes," Chaz was always talking about "rainbows" (a cheesy synonym for auras, in the context of the book), and there was a definite overuse of lame pet names on Sully's part.
I will note first, I've already picked up the second book in the series. While Gabriel's Ghost does bring the relationship between our main characters (more-or-less) to a conclusion, it does not wrap-up the non-romantic plot line (which I enjoyed far more than I enjoyed the romance in this book). [Post Book #2 Note The second book was much better than the first and does a better job of concluding both the relationship arc and the story arc. I think both books could have been scaled back and combined into one to make a much stronger book. I definitely recommend reading them together.]
The relationship between the main characters was disappointing. The heroine is back and forth about her feelings towards the hero so many times that the entire relationship began to feel unbelievable. My favorite character was Ren, a secondary character who takes the role of the beta male in our story - I would love to see a novel in the universe based on him.
The book was pretty predictable. There were some surprises early on, but after that I started to catch on to the path the novel was taking and wasn't extremely surprised by anything that happened.
The worst part of the book for me was the repetition of words. Sully always gazed with his "obsidian eyes," Chaz was always talking about "rainbows" (a cheesy synonym for auras, in the context of the book), and there was a definite overuse of lame pet names on Sully's part.
robynrussell's review against another edition
3.0
So cheesy it was almost good. The sex scenes were so badly written that I couldn’t help laughing.
ria_mhrj's review
2.0
I had high hopes for Gabriel's Ghost. Sci-fi is not my most comfortable reading zone, but when human elements (such as friendship, romance, loyalty etc.) are key focus points, it usually helps me acclimate to new and unusual worlds. And Gabriel's Ghost has a fantastic set-up, in which our heroine, Chaz, is trapped on a prison-planet, found guilty of a crime she didn't commit, only to be rescued by a mystery marauder from her past.
The world was great, richly imagined and with an extremely interesting study in psychic mutation and the associated prejudices. The supporting cast were good, especially Ren and the surprising depth brought to Philip, who could have easily fitted the 'angry ex' stereotype.
Unfortunately, I kept getting yanked out of the story, largely due to Chaz's narration. Repetition is something I can't abide in books (and in real life conversation, for that matter) and lordy, does Chaz love to say the same things. Over. And over. And over. The repetition of key words and phrases (like "poet", "warrior", "ghost", "pirate" blah blah blah) really got on my nerves and by the time the finale came along, I really struggled to bring myself to care.
The world was great, richly imagined and with an extremely interesting study in psychic mutation and the associated prejudices. The supporting cast were good, especially Ren and the surprising depth brought to Philip, who could have easily fitted the 'angry ex' stereotype.
Unfortunately, I kept getting yanked out of the story, largely due to Chaz's narration. Repetition is something I can't abide in books (and in real life conversation, for that matter) and lordy, does Chaz love to say the same things. Over. And over. And over. The repetition of key words and phrases (like "poet", "warrior", "ghost", "pirate" blah blah blah) really got on my nerves and by the time the finale came along, I really struggled to bring myself to care.
severelyhopefulcloud's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
margaretkearney's review
3.0
Liked it.Wasn't entirely in love with it.Sometimes it felt like the reader should know what some of the species or tech in the book were without being told.Good characters and an interesting storyline.On the romanace side,it could have done with a bit more.The science fiction side was well thought out and interesting.