My feelings toward Diana Gabaldon are very love/hate. She is, on the one hand, one of the greatest writers I have ever come across. I want to shake her hand for being so carefully detailed and doing what must have been an unbelievable amount of research to put together her 7 (currently) gigantic novels of this series. I love her characters, how the events are all interwoven with true historical happenings... she is just generally a literary genius when it comes to historical fiction.

But... seriously, I couldn't help but think repeatedly "why did we need to know that? what has the last 200 pages really added to the overall story?" The books are so well written but they are about 500-600 pages too long. Gabaldon frequently wanders off into subplots that we (or I, at least) don't care about. Her waffle would get an A* in a literary test but it's still waffle. And the general size of her books is off-putting, she should have left out those bits that we didn't need to hear and gave the readers a much less forboding 400-500 page novel.

The start of this book was even slower than Outlander, who actually cares about Roger Wakefield here? The whole point of this extremely long-winded beginning was to tell us that something bad had happened to make Claire return to the future, where she had given birth to Jamie's daughter and, for whatever reason, believed her wonderful red-headed Scot had been killed in the battle of Culloden. We are then taken back in time to when Claire and Jamie are in France trying to stop the rebellion before it ever happened.

This seemed a bit scientifically risky to me. If you assumed that they could change time and prevent the battle, surely this would result in a complete upheaval of historical events resulting in many changes. If such a huge thing happened, it is likely that everything would change and unlikely that Claire Randall would ever have ended up in Scotland at exactly that time to go wandering through the stones. And then, of course, had she not gone through the stones, she would have never been there to warn Jamie and stop the rebellion so... it's a bit of a historical and scientific conundrum. Therefore, I like my time travel to not interfer with past events - it wouldn't make sense. Unless it's a Back To The Future scenario where he actually fills in some of the necessary blanks.

To be honest, I didn't enjoy this book as much as Outlander because I didn't feel as much happened. But I adore the relationship between Claire and Jamie, even more so after reading this second installment, and I will definitely be reading Voyager as soon as I can get myself ready for another hefty volume. And thank god for the ending of this book when my slowly increasing depression throughout was finally alleviated - can't wait to see where this will take our characters!

Having enjoyed the first volume of this series, I was expecting something good of this one, so I'm a bit sad it didn't match my expectations.

First, because in the first and final parts, the point of view jumps around from first person (Claire) to third person, due to the fact that we follow another character and Claire isn't always there. The problem is that this character does almost nothing but notice how Claire is so beautiful and wonderful... Second, the book drags a bit in some parts. Third, the flashback idea is nice, but it loses when during the reading you think "well, she's telling this story to her daughter, so obviously she survives all this..."

So, we find ourselves in 1968, Claire and her daughter are in Scotland and the first thinks this is the chance to tell the truth about what happened to her, 20 years before. We go on a long flashback, this one told only from Claire's point of view, picking up where the first volume left us. We follow Claire and Jamie in Paris who, knowing what History will tell, try to avoid a massacre in case Charles Edward Stuart (also known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie" and pretender to the English throne) is able to reach Scotland and take his quest forward. As the first book, the story's rhythm is somewhat slow, enabling us to get to know the French court and the politics behind History. But, if this was pulled nicely on the previous volume, the same doesn't happen here, making the book dull and dragging where there was no need. It was easy to put it down and find excuses to not pick it up again.

The end was interesting though and was left open since there's another book... which I will not pick up so soon, as I need a rest from this.

1.) Outlander ★★★★★
2.) Dragonfly In Amber ★★★★.5
3.) Voyager ★★★.5
4.) Drums of Autumn ★★★.5

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I've never cried so hard in my life over fictional characters before

This one took me by surprise, it was definitely much better than Outlander in some aspects. But most of it was the same old. Confusing right? Elaborated further.

The pacing of the book is as slow as Outlander (not surprising) and it's again, definitely not something you can binge read. There are parts when it gets super boring. The book is over 900+ pages and in my opinion it could very easily be around 600 to 750 pages. Idk why the author likes the idea of dulling our senses with such big books.

The story starts off with a twenty year jump and I thought those chapters were really intriguing and written well. I might be even bold to say those were fairly fast paced compared to the rest of the book when Claire and Jamie were in Paris with the elites. The political intrigue at times can be very boring to me personally, so I did skim a bit through it (in my defence, it's a big book).

Jamie and Claire are such a perfect couple. And the way they just love each other, and are ready to give up their whole world just to love and cherish one another is so swoon worthy. It was really impressive to see how much their characters have evolved. Ever present in love, they know how to communicate and resolve their problems. They have setbacks (major ones) but instead of creating petty drama, they talk; which was something I loved. The two had me crying towards the end of Part six and seven

Gabaldon's sex-ridden, hugely researched, academically adventurous, time travel/sci-fi meets historical romance novels qualify as trash novels for lit nerds -- they're absolutely a guilty pleasure. From clan warfare to herbal medicine to genealogy to British history to WWII, the books are packed with information (what little Gaelic I know started with these books). Bonus: the heroine gets to have many, many rolls in the hay with a handsome hard-bodied Highlander. Can't really go wrong.

The books were recommended to me while I was living in England, and a lucky thing, too, because had I taken one look at the Fabio-in-a-kilt-of-passion American paperback cover I would have refused to read it (note: the British version was called Cross Stitch and the cover had a less-than-sexy field of heather on it). For a while I was caught up on the series, but I lost interest once the Frasers headed to America.

They are long books but the pages turn quickly. Gabaldon has a way with characters and her prose flows along at an engaging clip. Oh, but if you get all squeamish about buggery, don't bother -- the negative reviews of these books always focus prudishly (and tediously) on one specific encounter in an otherwise pretty rampantly heterosexual landscape.

ugh. liked the first book (Outlander) a lot, but this second one just drags.... The chemistry between Jamie and Claire that really popped in the first book is given a back seat to the waaaaaay too in depth historical background crap.

The first book made me think 'oh wow this book makes scottland seem really neat.' the second book makes me think 'shit is she done with the french history yet?'

In continuation to the first volume in the series, the book “Dragonfly in Amber” – with its delightful title reappearing along the story – tells us the timeless love story between Claire and Jamie, along their struggle to prevent historical tragedies and awful wars.

When the author describes Paris of the 18th century and the conduct of King Louie and the city’s noblemen, it feels like we’re there with them – dining with the King of France and his entourage, or hosting a feast for the Parisian elite.

Moving back to Scotland, which at the time serves as a bloody battlefield, is a sharp contrast that bring us back to “war state”, fearing for every important and beloved character that stands in danger. The destruction is heart-aching.

Reading this book is like diving into a parallel world, and so it happened that in less than a week I finished over 900 pages. I just couldn’t stop reading. Gabaldon manages to surprise us with her original ideas and twists, which leaves me no choice but to carry on to the next volume in the series!

“It’s only the essence of a thing that counts. When time strips everything else away, it’s only the hardness of the bone that’s left.”

Dragonfly in Amber is the second book in the Outlander series and follows Claire’s journey through time.
I liked this one better than the first. The book is a bit long-winded, but well written and well-researched.

“Then let amorous kisses dwell
On our lips, begin and tell
A Thousand and a Hundred score
A Hundred, and a Thousand more.”
- Richard Crashaw

n  For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland’s majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ... about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ... and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his....n

I will say that you need patience to read this series. The books are long, verra long indeed.

n  ”This is Scotland. Of course not liking whisky is a crime.”n

Twenty years have passed and Claire returns to Scotland to try and unravel some secrets.


I fell in love with Jamie in the first book, Outlander. So when this one started 20 years later with Claire being 48, I was excited as to see where it would go.


“The devil’s in the detail.” Isn’t that what they say? Well there sure was some detail in this story. I don’t know how long it took Ms Gabaldon to do her research for this. I found it authentic

n  “I am called Lord Broch Tuarach for formality’s sake,” the soft Scottish voice above me said. “And beyond the requirements of formality, you will never speak to me again—until you beg for your life at the point of my sword. Then, you may use my name, for it will be the last word you ever speak.”n

n  “The price of Frank’s life was Jamie’s soul, and how was I to choose between them?”n

n  “The window was made up of thousands of tiny colored panes, held in place by strips of melted lead. Though the entire window, a mythological scene of the Judgment of Paris, shuddered in its frame, the leading held most of the panes intact; in spite of the crash and tinkle, only a jagged hole at the feet of Aphrodite let in the soft spring air.”n

n  “I stood still, vision blurring, and in that moment,
I heard my heart break.
It was a small, clean sound, like the snapping of a flower's stem.”n

n  “The gray cloud that had surrounded me … seemed to draw closer, wrapping me in swaddling folds that dimmed the light of the brightest day. Sounds seemed to reach me faintly, like the far-off ringing of a buoy through fog at sea.”n

n  REMEMBER MAN, THOU ART DUST …
AND UNTO DUST YOU SHALL RETURNn

n  “Never,” he whispered to me. “Never. Never another but me! Look at me! Tell me! Look at me, Claire!” ”

“For you are mine.
My wife, my heart, my soul.”n

Jamie and Claire’s story is epic.
It was wonderful.
They were perfect together and perfect for each other.

n  “And I looked, held prisoner, bound to him. Looked, as he dropped the last of his masks, and showed me the depths of himself, and the wounds of his soul. I would have wept for his hurt, and for mine, had I been able. But his eyes held mine, tearless and open, boundless as the salt sea. His body held mine captive, driving me before his strength, like the west wind in the sails of a bark.

And I voyaged into him, as he into me, so that when the last small storms of love began to shake me, he cried out, and we rode the waves together as one flesh, and saw ourselves in each other’s eyes.”n

Once again, we are sent on a journey through Scotland and France. Parisian Court beckons and Jamie and Claire are thrown headfirst into aristocratic life in Paris.


To be honest, some of the political detail went right over my head. I don’t know a lot about Scottish history – well I do know that they or some of them are looking for their independence from England with a referendum in September.

n  “Whatever you want to say about the Swiss, they are clever woodcarvers, no?”n

I wasn’t’t sure if I should be shouting for the Jacobites, the Stuarts, King Louis, Bonnie Prince Charlie…


I knew I was shouting for Jamie and Claire.

n  “He turned to me, wordless, and the breath rushed from him as he pulled me hard against him. Our hands groped in the dying light of the setting sun, urgent in the touch of warmth, the reassurance of flesh, reminded by the hardness of the invisible bone beneath the skin, how short life is.”n

I loved Jamie’s sister, Jenny and her husband, Ian.

n  “Aye, mo duinne. But you’re my sassenach.”n

I found the Scots Gaelic to be quite lovely. Verra similar to Irish so I could understand some of it.

n  “You’re mine, damn ye, Claire Fraser! Mine, and I wilna share ye, with a man or a memory, or anything whatever, so long as we both shall live. You’ll no mention the man’s name to me again. D’ye hear?” He kissed me fiercely to emphasize the point. “Did ye hear me?” he asked, breaking off.”n

Once again, I could be here all night and talk about Jamie and Claire but time is of the essence and the night is falling.

n  “I know it,” he said quietly. “I do know it, my own. Let me tell ye in your sleep how much I love you. For there’s no so much I can be saying to ye while ye wake, but the same poor words, again and again. While ye sleep in ” “my arms, I can say things to ye that would be daft and silly waking, and your dreams will know the truth of them. Go back to sleep, mo duinne.”n

n  “There is one way,” I said. “Only one.”n

n  “I will find you,” he whispered in my ear. “I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you—then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is the one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest.”

His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me.

“Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well.”n

n  “There aren’t any answers, only choices.
I’ve made a number of them myself, and no one can tell me whether they were right or wrong.”
n

Whoever picked the casting for the forthcoming TV series, ya picked verra well indeed.


I sort of go in blind to these books. I am really afraid that I will read a spoiler. I already did with the first one when I saw something on Pinterest.


As I said in my review for the previous book, I hope my son gets his place at Edinburgh Univeristy and I can walk in the footsteps of Jamie and Claire Fraser. This book is way more than my review. There are twists and turns and events that will tear at your heartstrings.

Looking forward to my Buddy Read tomorrow of Book 2 avec mon amie, Ⓐlleskelle, n'est pas Alexandra? She is probably cringing at my ruination of the French language.

The setup
When Outlander ended, Jamie and Claire were in Paris following his escape from Wentworth prison. This story opens back in the 20th century, 20 years later. Claire has a daughter, Brianna, who is unaware of her mother's travels in 18th century Scotland. Claire is seeking information and has returned to Scotland for insight and answers.

The issues
Claire's past affects Brianna's future. With Frank Randall's recent passing, she's free to not only share what happened to her 20 years ago but also to search for Jamie. In telling the story, Claire chronicles what happened after Jamie's rescue and how she came to be back in the present.

What I loved about this story
If you haven't read Outlander, you should probably skip reading this section. I kind of fell for Jamie in the first book but was totally captivated by him in this story. He and Claire cannot return to Scotland and are living in Paris at the home of Jamie's uncle, Jared Fraser. Together they try to alter the course of history by attempting to thwart Bonnie Prince Charlie's ill-fated campaign to wrest Scotland from English rule. They navigate politics, attempts on their lives and Claire's adjustments to the era. It's lush with subterfuge, romance, action, adventure and surprises. Through it all, Jamie and Claire strengthen their relationship and discover the depths of their feelings for each other. It's messy and passionate, all the things you love to experience in a saga that spans three countries. Every time you begin to think life will get easier for them, another obstacle arises.

Jamie also emerges as much more than a clever and handsome Highlander. We learn much more about his background and get a better understanding of why he and Claire are so compatible. Claire continues to impress me with her savvy, quick-witted thinking and intelligence. Though she sometimes gets them into trouble, she more often is responsible for having Jamie's back.

My one issue
I really didn't like starting the story with Claire in the 20th century and then waiting to figure out how that happened. That question isn't resolved until the end of the book and it was in the background the entire time. It was a distraction for me.

The bottom line
This is an extraordinary series that I can't compare to any other I've read or heard about. Jamie and Claire's love story is the heartbeat, with the action and adventure as a backdrop. It's sometimes harsh and things happen that will bring you to tears of heartbreak and/or happiness. Life in the 18th century isn't the romanticized version you may be accustomed to reading about, especially when seen through the eyes of a woman born two centuries later. I can't wait to begin the next chapter.

Whilst waiting for the new series of Outlander to air, I’ve finally decided to pluck these gigantic books from the pile!
Even though they seem daunting, the vivid attention to detail and strong cast of characters - it’s easy to get consumed in this historical romantic fantasy saga.

I was fully prepared for the opening chapters being set in 1968 and love how Gabaldon plays with time, here the reader is introduced to Clair’s grownup daughter for the first time.
The clever Timey-Wimey narrative teases all the answers ahead of the reveals.

Though the first section of the book is an intriguing set up, it’s nice to finally get to see Jamie and Claire together as the story picks up from Outlander.
The French sections might not be my favourite parts of the series but there’s certainly some memorable scenes!

Plenty of shocks and sections of a graphic nature, we’re certainly reminded that this is 1744...

Another strong outing in the series, I might be slightly optimistic that I’m hoping to finish the Fifth book before Series Five airs. But when the writing is strong and gripping like this, it makes the task so much easier!