870 p.
Publisher: Delta
Published: 12, 1, 1993
Source: TBR pile
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.My thoughts:
I have absolutely loved the first book. I will recommend that book to everyone. I had a lukewarm feeling with the second book but still liked it despite the plot holes. Um... this one. Well, let me say it took me FOREVER to finish the book and even when I liked it more toward the end I was sort of tired of it but refused to not finish it. Now don't let me discourage you as I was in a bit of a reading slump and I also suspect that this played a part in how I felt. So, do take what I have to say with that in mind.
THIS WILL HAVE SPOILERS as I didn't know how else to talk about it. Knowing this, and you are okay with it proceed... otherwise skip to the last paragraph.
I was giddy trying to figure out how Claire and Jamie would get back together. You go from what they figured out happened to Jamie and then you get details of that in the past. Everything was a bit slow but all worked for me. Then they got back together and I thought it would really take off from there. The action didn't quite work for me, but I cannot say it was slow. Suddenly our Jaime who lives by his moral code has no problems becoming a smuggler which would be fine if there was no other choice to feed his family and tenants. However, even though this was suggested, it really didn't quite make it no other choice for me. It was still a minor niggle for me however.
Skipping to them going back to Lallybroch and this is where I have my biggest problem. In fact I almost stopped reading it. Here is the big spoiler: He married Laoghaire! Okay, I would actually have understood if he slept with her because he was lonely and grieving and she was still after him... but married? Um... no. This makes no sense to me even with the weak explanations given as to why. It would have made more sense that he was like a father to her girls because they needed someone rather than marrying Laoghaire. This does not make sense with the Jaimie we knew in the last 2 books. Besides he couldn't even stand the sight of her previous to Culloden. Even if he didn't know how she tried to have Claire killed, he knew she had a hand in making her life miserable (and I don't buy that he didn't have a clue that she tried to kill Claire since he acted otherwise). How he handles it is even worse and I was upset at how easily Claire forgives him. *sigh*
Things proceeded from there and started settling me down. However, the plot holes didn't end for me and when they were in Jamaica some of the characters they introduced were quite interesting but just didn't get as fleshed out as I would have liked. How they suddenly fit into the scheme of things became too convenient and the reintroduction of a character we thought was dead just didn't quite make sense either. This part wasn't horrible but it just felt like a plot twist that was just didn't quite work for me. Also things ended in a much too easy manner but I will say at least it felt complete despite the cliffie-like ending.
I give this book 2 stars. I will continue with the series as I didn't hate the ending and even though I didn't love how the characters were portrayed, it felt like it was trying to get back on track to what I previously enjoyed about the series.
Oh that's too bad about this one... I have almost the whole series in French but haven't read any I confess
ReplyDeleteOh I'd be curious to know what you think... especially with the first one that I LOVED. :)
DeleteI just can't bring myself to read this series no matter the amount of raves. I can't believe you are going to keep with it after not really liking the last two titles. Have you tried audio? I know someone who listened to them and found them a great story that way.
ReplyDeleteMight want to start and end with the first one then. I might have to switch to audio. I have enjoyed the show on Starz so I think that is partly what keeps me going on the books. Curiosity. :D It kills me. LOL
DeleteIt isn't often we see you give a book a 2 star rating so this must have been disappointing though not so much so that you are giving up on the series which is good.
ReplyDeleteTrue, I rarely give a 2 but it happens on occasion. :(
DeleteI hear that it picks up and I'm hoping that is true. It does sound like it gets back on track... I hope so!
ReplyDeleteI loved the first book so hard, but have been way to nervous to try any additional ones...lol Maybe I should stay in my happy place!
ReplyDeleteI loved that first book so much as well. I guess I'm determined to recapture that feeling. LOL
DeleteI loved Outlander (one of my favorites for 2016!), was iffy on Dragonfly in Amber, and this one...this was hard for me. There were some scenes that I absolutely loved, but overall I wanted to shake every single character, and it was overall quite choppy for me. I am curious to see what the show does with it next year, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm also curious to see where they differ. Probably one of the reasons I'm going to continue. :)
DeleteI really need to get around to reading these!
ReplyDeleteThe first one was so good!!
DeleteSorry this didn't work for you, Melissa! I enjoyed this quite a bit - but I was on a complete binge back when I read it - the first five or six Outlander books were out, and I read them more or less back-to-back. And I was pretty much obsessed with all things Claire and, of course, Jamie! I agree with you about Jamie and Laoghaire, though - that did not make any sense to me whatsoever. I think Claire was able to forgive Jamie so easily because she had been with her other husband as well, though...
ReplyDeleteGreat review!
Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
I almost threw the book out the window with that scene! LOL I will continue for no other reason but to see if it gets back on track. I'm happy that you were also disappointed but still enjoyed the series, so that helps. :)
DeleteNot cool Jaimie
ReplyDeleteTotally! :(
DeleteThe concept definitely sounds cool. But, given your review, I don't think it's for me. :/
ReplyDeleteThe first one is so good! :)
DeleteI think this was the one I stopped on. It just kind of made me throw up my hands :(
ReplyDeleteYea, I think if it wasn't for the show, I'd probably quit here as well.
DeleteI didn't like the first one and had read spoilers for the lalter books and just tapped out. Not for me lol
ReplyDeleteKaren @For What It's Worth
Yea, this was a hard one to get through.
DeleteI am SOOOOOOO happy I read your review. I was torn on this series. I've thought about reading it b/c it's kind of a rite of passage for us UF/PNR readers, right? Get through this book and you can do anything! Well, now I'm a big nope!! Too slow for me to get to character dissections like that... nope, I won't do it. I hate those "I thought you were dead" themes. UGH!!! I'm scrapping the entire idea of it!! Thanks!!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL! I didn't think it was a rite of passage, but you are right. :) Yea, I thought you were dead is a tired and... dead? theme! LOL
DeleteI skimmed as I haven't read book 2 yet (though I have watched season 2). Still on the fence about reading the rest...the 1st book was slow going.
ReplyDeleteHm... I think if you were lukewarm on the first book, you might just watch the series... but then again maybe you'll find you enjoyed it more than I did. :)
DeleteOh darn. I'm sorry you had such a rough go with this and an eh with the one before. I've got a lot of friends who LOVE these but never had the urge to read them myself. On to the next read. Hope it goes better for ya!
ReplyDeleteMe too. I do like the series so that has kept me going.
Deleteman these books are long and there is so much going on in them, maybe it's the reason I was so intimidated to read book 1? I saw a couple of episodes of the show and it looks so worthy it.
ReplyDeleteBook 1 does fly by however. :) Maybe read the first and watch the show for the rest? :)
DeleteToo many plot holes can put a dampener on a read... It would bug me a lot too.
ReplyDeleteYea... and that was unexpected as well. :(
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