"Voyager" Take You on an Amazing Voyage into the Past-- Again!

Synopis from Amazon.com:

From the author of the breathtaking bestsellers Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, the extraordinary saga continues.

Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her...the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite—or forever doom—her timeless love

Okay, if you are not already an obsessed Outlander fan, I don't know what I can say to change your opinion. But no worries-- everyone has their own thing, so I won't push it. I will, however, say that even though the whole series was started with Outlander, and it is definitely one of the top books in the series (Though this is hard to say for sure, since rating one perfect 5 star book over another is veeeeeerrrrry hard, at least for me!), the story that Diana tells us does not, can not, simply end there.

I loved reading Voyager because Diana did a great job of writing Jamie and Claire's reunion. I was almost close to tears a few times! I think that with every book, I fall deeper and deeper in love with Jamie-- who wouldn't? I think that Voyager proved that they can withstand anything-- 20 years of being apart, the whole 200 year difference in time periods, all the problems and trials they've been through. In a way, being apart like they did made them even stronger, as much as I hate to say it, because I wish they had never parted just as much as the next fan. But if they hadn't, nothing would have been as it was.

Besides the heartwarming love connection between Claire and Jamie, you also have the budding romance between Brianna and Roger (Which, okay, was mostly in the previous book, Dragonfly in Amber, as well as the next book, Drums of Autumn, but still.) and that of Fergus and Marsali (The latter of which I found to be kind of annoying at times, but I put up with it because she seemed to make Fergus happy, and he did the same for her, which I found kind of cute. Hey, I liked Fergus and I was happy that he came back in the story!).

I could not find any real flaws in Voyager either, but I guess that's a 'duh' for a true fan. The only thing that I didn't particularly like, but I won't hold it against him for ever either, is the fact that Jamie fathered a child on that annoying, spoiled, immature twit, along with his other moments of infidelity, shall we call it? Yes, I know that Claire was gone, that he wasn't even sure if they *Claire and Brianna* were alive, etc, and he never thought he see her again, but I still think he could have done without the occasional woman to warm his bed at night. He mentions that he didn't love any of them, had no feelings for any of them, and that he felt like sometimes that was the only way to remind him that he was really alive, that he wasn't completely alone... Well, I can sympathize there, but that doesn't mean that I am allowing him to use that as an excuse. I forgave him, before the end of the book, but I still found that it kind of upset me, that he could do that to Claire, even if she was gone (After all, she only had her husband, Frank, while she was gone.. and even that wasn't love like she had thought if 23 plus years ago!). And yet, I understand that this contributed to the story's plot and the way that the characters turned out.

5/5 STARS! Yet again, Diana has done it-- no surprise there! Perfectly written, a wonderful mixture of secrets and mysteries, romance and love, adventure and death, Voyager goes above and beyond most other books, and proves, yet again, that Outlander cannot be beat!

~TBQ~

"Dragonfly in Amber" Just as Wickedly Delicious as The First!

SYNOPIS on B&N.com:

From the author of Outlander... a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland...



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....



Diana Gabaldon has done it again! Weaving a breathtaking story of myth and history, fiction and love, Diana has created a series that goes beyond that of any other romance novel out there: She creates a world that seems real, that is real for her fans, not just yet another story that is possibly enjoyed and then set aside. No, the Outlander Series grabs you from the very first page and even after you have set the books down (Until next month, of course, when you revisit them all...) the story and characters are still with you.



Dragonfly in Amber proves once again that Jamie and Claire's love transends over two centuries, a fierce love that goes deeper than ANY other connection I have ever read about in the hundreds of 'Romance' books I have read. Just reading some of their scenes, you almost feel like you are intruding on a personal moment between your best friends, it is that real, that deep. Nothing keeps them apart, and even though they have their fair share of arguments, they never hold it against each other for very long. A miscarriage, rape, both attempted and, well, 'succeeded', battles, treason, murder.... this all pales in utter significance to their love and passion.



I've fallen in love with Jamie more than I have any other guy I've ever known or dated. Now, yes, that could be read as me being a little bit... obsessed or crazy, but to any true Outlander fan, this is another reason why Diana Gabaldon is able to write such touching and gripping books. I am now eager, no, impatient!, to pick up her next book (The only thing standing in my way is 60 plus miles between me and Barnes and Nobles.).



5/5 STARS! What other words can I use to describe Dragonfly in Amber? Witty, heartwarming, touching, deep, loving, passionate, steamy, magical, wonderful, delicious, wicked, lovely, spectacular...the list could you on and on! But the one that should be at the very top is : 'A-MUST-READ-DO-NOT-MISS!' Okay, so maybe that's a lot more than one word... But it's the truth!

Until next time... Read plenty, laugh often, love unconditionally, and live each day to it's fullest!

~TBQ~

Deliciously Outlander!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Publisher: Delta (August 10, 1998)

Series: The Outlander Seies, 1

Genre: Time Travel/Historical Romance

Unrivaled storytelling ... unforgettable characters ... rich historical detail ... these are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon's work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured millions of readers.

Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and history that combines exhilarating adventure with a love story for the ages....

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon — when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach — an "outlander" — in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord ... 1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life ... and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire ... and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Where to Buy*:

Amazon | Kindle | BN | NOOK

More Info:

Author's Site | Book Site | Excerpt

My Review:

In the two years that I have been devouring romance novels, I have come across the book Outlander many times, whether it was while searching for romance books on Barnes and Nobles, talking on LibraryThing, or simply listening to friend's recommendations. But for some unknown reason, I never picked it up. Oh sure, I always told myself--or the friends telling me to read it-- that I'd put in on my TBR lis, but I honestly never thought I would. I coudn't tell you why I didn't. After I've read it, I'm even more confused as to why I've never read the series before! I've tried going through different reasons. Was it because it was about time travel? No, I don't mind this theme. Was it because it was in Scotland? Once again, no, I love this location for a romance novel. Was it because of the title/cover? Honestly, I hate to say this, but this is possible. I have the unfortunate problem of sometimes judging a book by it's cover. If the name doesn't reach out and grab my attention, and the cover fails to also, I probably won't even pick it up and turn it over to read the summary. I regret this sometimes, like now, and I wish I could prevent myself from doing this...



But now that I have read it, I now know the reasons why everyone else has picked it up and loved it. It has a lush location, one that brings to mind strong, brawny men and rugged terrain. It is set in two different time periods, each one unique. It has it's moments of sweet sigh-and-wish-that-was-you romance along with it's more steamy, wild ones. It has a great plotline that does not simply revolve around the romance. It's more than that. It has plenty of spots of historical accuracy, which I didn't mind, though some have said that they might have liked it better it she had put less in there.



And then there is Jamie Fraser, the blushing virgin Highlander with a big heart-- among other things. ;) Like many other Outlander lovers, I feel in love with Jamie from the very start. What's not to love? He's innocent, but not so much so that he doesn't know what he wants. He's caring, though, yes, he does have his moments when he is slightly more callous. He was funny, yet serious. He was hard, yet soft. He was wild, yet gentle. And most importantly, he was a Highlander from the 1740's! (Okay, so maybe this is only the most important thing to me, because for the longest time, I've always wanted to have a good looking brawny Highlander from centuries past....*SIGH* They just don't make them like that anymore...)
Do I wish that Diana had made the love scense slightly more explicit/longer? Sure, at times I did. But the thing is, that was simply something I would have enjoyed, as a side dish, sort of speak. But unlike other books, that are so lacking in the writing/plot area that the author and reader both feel it needs more sex scenes to keep your attention *which isn't always bad....*, Outlander did not NEED it. Some of us may not have MINDED more, but it was not needed because it was more than satisfying as is.



Unlike some romances that seem to have little to no true plot line to back them up, Outlander has one that is to die for. Diana Gabaldon has an amazing talent-- the talent to be able to weave together a spectacular story, filled with more than just romance, and yet less than simple straight fiction. She combines the best of both worlds, and you love them both. She tells the story from Claire's point of view so smoothly that from the start, you find yourself not simply reading a book, but instead actually following Claire through the whole thing, as if you were but a few steps behind her! Very few authors take this plunge and write a romance novel from first person, and of those, even fewer can actually pull it off well. Diana has no problem with this. There is only one suggestion I have about the way Outlande was written, and it's not really to say that it was not written well--quiet the opposite, in fact. I would simply have loved to have heard Jamie's version of this wonderful story also.  I loved it from Claire's perspective, don't get me wrong! I just think that it would very interesting to read the same story from Jamie's.



Outlander reminds you what a book from the genre 'romance' is truly suppose to do for the reader. A romance book is meant to make you fantasize, to want, sigh over and dream about. Some of the books published under this genre lately have not accomplished that for me. Outlander does all of that and more. Through all of the roadblocks and troubles that both Claire and Jamie have in their own personal lives, they still manage, in the end, to stay together, making each other stronger, and showing their love for each other in new and unique ways.It's the little things, as people say, that matter most. And Jamie and Claire prove this, time and again. How many other romance H/H's do you know of that have to deal with: clan wars, being followed constantly by soldiers who will not hesitate to capture--or kill, having a price on their head, being tried as a witch, seeing death all around them, captured multiple times, tortured so much it makes the the reader physically and emotionally feel their pain, being so ill he was practically on his death bed, nightmares that we couldn't even begin to imagine, overcome rape, and, let's not forget, come from two different times and still be together, even stronger, in the end? True, there were plenty of rough spots along the way, but the thing is, they made it. What says 'romance' more than all of that?



By the end of Outlander, I was a jumbled mass of emotions. I was happy, because they were both together again; upset, because I knew, deep down, that it wouldn't last forever *or at least, not without periods of them being apart, not because they were having troubles, but for the obvious--she's from 200 years in the future...*; devistated, after hearing all of what Jamie had been through with the horrible Captain; and anxious to know what happens next. Not many books, especially romance books, can really do that for you. Oh sure, some leave you with many emotions at the end: confused, upset, and empty. But those are not the emotions you want a book to make you feel.



After years of putting it off, I now regret the wait. I do NOT, however, regret reading the book. I now plan on going to B&N and buying all 6 books in the Outlander Series. I can now join the hundreds of Outlander fans out there who are impatiently awaiting her 7th book. And did I mention that I loved how thick they are? Very few truly great books can be covered in less than 400 pages, yet so many authors cram it all into 250-300 pages. Sometimes this works out well, mostly it does not. Diana goes beyond, which I am happy for. Hey, if the book is over 500 pages, it's for me!



As if my gushy review did not say it enough, I am giving Outlander-- and the rest of the series-- 5/5 stars and a place on my 'One of my Favorite' list. Thought it is too hard to rank that list, I do know for certain that Outlander is easily towards, if not at, the very top. If I could give it 10/5 stars, I would. If you haven't read this phenomenal series yet, run, don't walk, to your local library/bookstore and get them--I promise, you will not regret it! If you have already read it, you already knew everything I've told you, but hopefully you enjoyed it anyway, and are willing to welcome me into the 'group'. :)



Hungry for more, I am now starting Firefly in Amber. I now have a new obsession *or two, actually*: the Outlander series and Jamie Fraser.



Since I can't sooth my itch for the second obsession *At least not the way I'd like...Dang!* I'll just have to go and work on the first one.



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I bought this book and chose to review it.
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Enjoy!
  


Until Next Time,
 
*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!