Book Review: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Series: Outlander Book #2

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 743

Rating: 4 Stars

How I Got It: Purchased

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Bantam

Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads

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 ....

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ...in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ...and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves...

Review

It took a few months, but I finally finished this. Overall, I liked the story, but it seemed to drag a little in the middle or 75% through. There was one chapter with fighting that was so long and agonizing to read. But I enjoyed the portion in France and the ending made me want to pick up the next book.

I do have some issues with the narrative style. I would prefer a 3rd person instead of 1st person from Claire. That is personal preference. But in the "present" there would be times it would switch to 3rd person-even mid-chapter. That just really confused me.

I do not hard-core love Jamie and Claire like a lot of people. But I do love and care about a lot of the side characters. They don't show up often, but Jamie's sister and brother-in-law are favorites. Murtagh is also a great character even though he's often silent.

One of my favorite characters was mentioned at the end which is what really makes me want to keep reading. Partially, because I loved that action in the show and want them to come back.

Thanks for reading!

Holly

Summer TBR (2017)

It's that time again. I'm going to try a seasonal TBR of 5 books again. Some of these have been on TBRs before, so hopefully, they'll actually happen this time. But I think this is a great list, especially for the summer season.

Doon by Carey Corp and Laurie Langdon

The Heir by Kiera Cass

The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Series: Outlander (Book 1)

Format: Paperback

Pages: 850

Rating: 4 Stars

How I Got It: Purchased

This book has a lot of hype and a huge following. I had seen the first episode of the show and liked it so I was hopeful I would enjoy the book. But I was still a little nervous. I mean, what if I didn’t like it? There’s something scary about disliking a book everyone else seems to love.

Overall, I liked the story. For the first half of the book I wall all about this being a favorite and a five star read. There wasn’t a lot going on with the plot, but Ms. Gabaldon’s writing is beautiful. I didn’t mind reading about Claire’s day-to-day life in 18^th century Scotland. They probably got me more invested in Claire’s story.

And the whole cast of characters are intriguing. They aren’t without issues and I will get there. This book is not just a love story between Jamie and Claire. I do with there were more female characters, but this world is very male so I understand.

I want to talk about Claire a little more. I felt like I was supposed to view her as this strong, independent, 20^th century woman, but she made some stupid decisions. The first few times I was able to overlook them, but then it just got annoying. She kept doing the same things over and over and then would be surprised when the same bad things happened. But please don’t think I hated her because I didn’t.

The writing, while beautiful, did confuse me sometimes. She seemed do dance around a situation or a character. I get showing and not telling, but there are several things that happened that I just don’t understand. Maybe they will make more sense in a re-read, but this is a big book to re-read.

While I do have some issues I completely understand why people love it. And I do want to continue the series, but not right away. This was such a big book and very dramatic so I need a little break.

Now, I want to talk spoilers.

There’s really one specific thing that turned this book for me. It put a bad taste in my mouth that I carried throughout the rest of the book.

That thing is when Jamie beats Claire. I could have moved on if he had hit her on the butt with his hands a few times, but he literally beat her so she was uncomfortable for days. To make it worse he never apologized (only gave excuses), and she forgave him way to fast. I get this is a different time and life was more harsh, but that’s no excuse. Beating a woman-especially one you claim to love- is never okay. I don’t see people talk about this, but I’m curious how other people handle/justify this. And I’m interested to see how the show handles this.

And I do plan on doing a video review and discussion if you want to see more of my thoughts and opinions. I’m watching the show, too.

Thanks for reading!

~Holly