Gabriel's Ghost - Linnea Sinclair

Linnea Sinclair's new book, Shades of Dark, has just been published (yes, of course I've bought it) and is a direct sequel to Gabriel's Ghost. Since, as much as I can love a book while I'm reading it, my poor memory retains little of the details, I decided to reread Gabriel's Ghost before moving on to the new book (which I haven't had a chance to do yet as my TBR has exploded with lots of new books coming out - four on 29 July alone - and a bunch of library holds coming in for me).

I found the book very slow going at first (a definite case of problems with the reader, not the book) but I still enjoyed rediscovering Chaz and Sully as they discovered each other and the problems facing the Empire they live in. Chaz is a wonderful heroine - full of totally reasonable doubts for the situation she finds herself in, strong, stubborn and sometimes implusive but never stupid - and Sully is a hero to die for. He's the strong and silent type, carrying a huge (and reasonable) fear of rejection and plenty of internal pain and hidden secrets, but determined to succeed in all his endeavours, including making Chaz a permanent part of his life.

They make a great couple, and Sinclair has created a great world in this space Empire facing rot at its core. It is large, real and solid and easily large enough for more stories to be told in it.

Knowing that one of the minor characters is the central character in Sinclair's next book (Philip Guthrie, and the book is to be called Hope's Folly), I found myself noticing the secondary characters more this time around. It was nice to realise that they are generally all well fleshed out and add significantly to the story rather than just being there as window dressing. I liked Philip a whole lot on this read and I rather hope Thad might get a book one day too as he was a lot less stuffy than I remembered him being.

I'm glad I took the time to reread Gabriel's Ghost and I'm looking forward to reading Shades of Dark, just as soon as I can fit it into my insane reading schedule.

Gabriel's Ghost
Linnea Sinclair
Empire Series, Book 1
9/10