An Echo in the Bone (Outlander #7) by Diana Gabaldon

Title: An Echo in the Bone

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Series: 7th in Outlander

Pages: 820

Published: September 2009 by Delacorte

ISBN: 9780385342452

Source: Personal Copy 

Description: Jamie Fraser, erstwhile Jacobite and reluctant rebel, knows three things about the American rebellion: the Americans will win, unlikely as that seems in 1778; being on the winning side is no guarantee of survival; and he’d rather die than face his illegitimate son — a young lieutenant in the British Army — across the barrel of a gun. Fraser’s time-travelling wife, Claire, also knows a couple of things: that the Americans will win, but that the ultimate price of victory is a mystery. What she does believe is that the price won’t include Jamie’s life or happiness — not if she has anything to say. Claire’s grown daughter Brianna, and her husband, Roger, watch the unfolding of Brianna’s parents’ history — a past that may be sneaking up behind their own family.

 I Give This ...

 

It's really hard to give a review of the 7th book in the series.  Especially a series as epic as this.  It was my personal goal of 2010 to finish reading the current books in the Outlander series.  I did it!

I'm having to remind myself constantly Jamie and Claire aren't the young and feisty characters we meet in the first book.  While I'm ok with that, sometimes I feel like they need reminding if that makes sense lol.  But, it's good that the characters still feel the same no matter what their age.  I still love them and their adventures.

I admit, I was a little bored with this novel for the first half.  I'm sensing a pattern here.  The first half is all about the details and preparing the stage for what's to come.  I could have done without the narratives from Lord John and William.  I think I actually skimmed these parts unless they were interacting with the main characters.  I'm not sure on Roger and Brianna.  I don't feel like the belong in their own time.  Although I did find it interesting how Jamie and Claire left them letters in hopes that they would get them in their own time.  The whole idea of it is maddening really.  

I'm enjoying Jamie and Claire's involvement in the war.  He seems like such a natural part of history that I feel like I should have read about him in school.  I also love how real events and people are included in the story (such as Benedict Arnold).   I think my favorite is Ian.  He's a character I've really grown to love and I hope he's finally finding some peace and love.  I was surprised at the ending.  None of the other books left with such a cliff hanger.  I'm hoping the next one doesn't take to long to come out!

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6) by Diana Gabaldon

Title: A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Series: 6th in Outlander

Pages: 980

Published: August 2006 by Delta

ISBN:  9780385340397

Source: Personal Copy

Description: The year is 1772, and on the eve of the American Revolution, the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest.  With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown. But from his wife Jamie knows that three years hence the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the result will be independence — with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. And there is also the matter of a tiny clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports Jamie’s death, along with his kin. For once, he hopes, his time-traveling family may be wrong about the future. 

I Give This ...

 

I doubt anything I can say about the series and this book in particular will make you read it or any of the others.  I think there are those who refuse to pick up this just because of some preconceived notion they have.  And then there are your die-hard fans.  Those who love anything Diana Gabaldon writes.  I'm some were in the middle.  I haven't loved all the books, but am amazed at the talent portrayed in them.

I was worried were the story was going after the last two novels.  I knew we had to hit a point were the action would pick up again, but I didn't know if it would be enough to compel me forward.  The first 500 pages are much like the previous two books.  It's all about the details.  But, I could tell the tension was building.  The date on the newspaper was approaching as was the pending war with England.  And then the last 500 pages just exploded.  There's murder, theft, kidnapping, and many other things.  It reminded me of the adventures in the first three books.  I was anxious to see how all the pieces fit together.  I was also happy to see some things settled the way the should be.  

So for those who have felt the series has faltered a little and haven't read this one yet, I would recommend it.  I would say it's my 3rd favorite of the series (I know right it the middle, but it's hard to beat Outlander and Voyager).  And, if you haven't even started this series yet, I urge you to give it a try!

The Fiery Cross (Outlander, #5) by Diana Gabaldon

Title: The Fiery Cross

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Series: 5th in Outlander Series

Published: October 2002 by Delta

Pages: 976

ISBN: 9780385336765

Source: Personal Copy

 

Description: The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser’s wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy — a time-traveler’s certain knowledge.
Born in the year of Our Lord 1918, Claire Randall served England as a nurse on the battlefields of World War II, and in the aftermath of peace found fresh conflicts when she walked through a cleftstone on the Scottish Highlands and found herself an outlander, an English lady in a place where no lady should be, in a time — 1743 — when the only English in Scotland were the officers and men of King George’s army.  Now wife, mother, and surgeon, Claire is still an outlander, out of place, and out of time, but now, by choice, linked by love to her only anchor — Jamie Fraser. Her unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past; her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead — or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes.... 

I Give This ... 

 

I can see were others would begin to fall out of love with the Outlander series at this point.  They are tedious and heavy books that take awhile to read.  But, I still thoroughly enjoyed this one. I do wonder about some of the details.  It's almost like the editors were afraid to tell Gabaldon that she needed to take some things out.  And, it also feel like not a lot happens.  At the end, I came to conclude that it's a setup book.  It's preparing to you for things to come.  While the overall content of the book is basically day to day living on the ridge, there are events that happen that are important to the future.  I was completely dumbfounded with what happens to Roger.  There are some tense moments with the local wild life (including a snake and a buffalo).  I wish we could have gotten so more closure with Stephen Bonnet, but have come to accept that it isn't time yet.  I loved the interactions between the characters.  I loved what happens with Ian at the end.  But, most of all, this particular book just made me think.  I began to wonder if it's truly possible for a time traveler to change what happens?  And if they do, what might the consequences be?  

 

Drums of Autumn (Outlander, #4) by Diana Gabaldon

Title: Drums of Autumn

Series: Outlander #4 

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Published: November 1997 by Seal Books

Pages: 1070

ISBN: 9780770427757

Source: Personal Copy 

Description: It began at an ancient Scottish stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past--or the grave. Dr. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice. Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became a legend--a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in the American colonies. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century. Their daughter, Brianna...

Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the circle of stones and terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history...and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past...or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong...

I Give This ...

I was hoping the author could continue the magic that has surrounded this series since I began it.  While this is the first in the series that did not get a 5 rating from me, I still wasn't disappointed.  I've got a couple things I think make the story a little different that the first 3.  My first thing is that Jaime and Claire have almost settled down it seems.  Besides the Indians and living in the complete wild, there doesn't seem to be as much danger or intrigue as before.  It's not really a bad thing, it's just a change of pace that you aren't really ready for.  And funny, I never thought myself as the harlequin romance type, I kind of missed that all out passion that Jaime and Claire have.  It's kind of absent in this book (not so much the feeling but that act).  And last, I didn't like Brianna in the past.  She's a modern young women  who refuses to acknowledge that her ideals do not really have place in the 1700's.  Claire seemed to step right into that past and find her place.  I think Brianna will be ok, but only because she will be surrounded by those who know or come from the future as well.

Now, all that being said, I still really liked the book.  I love the history that is woven in.  I think it's admirable how Jamie and Claire carve a niche out for themselves in the colonies.  All this while trying to keep themselves in the background to avoid any political ties because they know they aren't far from the Revolution.  I liked the dealings with the Indians.  I learned a few things I didn't know and shed some light on things I really wouldn't have understood.  It still beautifully written even if it can seem a bit long.  I will be looking forward to the next in the series!

Voyager (Outlander, #3) by Diana Gabaldon

Title: Voyager
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Published: August 2001
Pages: 1072
ISBN: 9780770428785
Source: Personal Copy

Description: 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.

I Give This Book 5 Stars!

At the start of this book, I was afraid it wasn't going to live up to the first two. It took me awhile to figure out why I wasn't liking it as much. While I enjoyed learning about Jamie and Claire after they were separated, it's the two of them together that make this series so special. And then I realized that story of their 20 years apart is important too. As a reader we need to understand how much of an influence they had on one another. That even after 20 years (not to mention 2 centuries), they still hold those outstanding feelings for each other. But, I have to admit, that moment in the print shop was what I was waiting for! This book takes you on a ride. It's not stop action with all that heart stopping romance in between. It's suspenseful, and at times I really wondered if Jamie and/or Claire was going to get out of whatever situation they managed to find themselves in. It had some major shocks and twists in it, things that I was down right not expecting. And, at times I wondered if 20 years of separation was just too much to overcome. At the end of the story, I was left with a book that rivals my first love of Outlander! I was amazed at the story Diana Gabaldon has managed to create.

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, #2) by Diana Gabaldon

Title: Dragonfly in Amber
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Published: June 1992
Pages: 949
ISBN: 9780440215622
Source: personal copy

Description: 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....

 I Give This Book 5 Stars!

I was completely floored by Outlander.  It was a story like I've never read before.  When I picked the book to read as part of a challenge last year, I did not know that it was part of a series.  I knew when I was finished that I wanted to read them all.  I wish I had sat down and read Dragonfly in Amber in one sitting.  Instead I drew it out over a couple months, reading here and there.  So, in that sense it's my fault that I sometimes got confused over who was who.  Because lets face it, there's a lot of people and even more information presented in this book.  But, its wonderful.  I feel like I've been taken on a history lesson that is much more personal than any book or teacher could ever have shown me.  Claire and Jamie are beginning to work their way into the favorite characters (and couple) category.  They invoke a powerful mental picture.  I love their relationship and to what grounds they will go to portray (notice I don't use the word prove) their love for one another.  The events that happen in this story are also of high emotion and intensity.   Diana Gabaldon has written a masterpiece.  I can not wait to see were she takes Claire and Jamie next!

 

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi and she was inspired by Alea of Pop Culture Junkie!

I've been a reader forever (or at least since I could read lol).  It seems people have forgotten about it until I started talking about my blog.   So, it was my birthday this past week and all I received was books or gift card for books.  Now, I'm not complaining, I just thought it was kind of funny.  This is what I received....

From my parents:

  

• A Breathe of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon


• An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

 

My brother got me

• Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2) by Richelle Mead

My awesome mother-in-law got me a gift certificate for books from Amazon.  I've already redeemed it and will post those books when I receive them!

And my grandmother got me a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.   I haven't gotten any books with it yet.  I'm trying to decide if I want to order online or wait until I get to the store.    

So, needless to say, I won't be running out of books anytime soon!