Name: Dragonfly in Amber
ISBN: 9780385335973

Diana Gabaldon

In eighteenth-century Scotland, Claire Randall and her raven-haired daughter, Brianna, return to the majestic hills where Claire recalls the love of her life--gallant warrior James Fraser.

Dragonfly in Amber

(Bre)anne✨

I knew that early marriages were not uncommon, but fifteen? Still, I had been married at nineteen—and again at twenty-seven. I knew the hell of a lot more at twenty-seven.

"As for you," he said, eyeing me in a sinister manner, "did I not tell ye to stay away from those alcoves?"

"Yes. But aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?" I ask politely.

"Worth it?" he said, sounding a little dazed. "What's it to do wi' clean, that you've pulled all of the hairs out from under your arms?"

Patricia Palomares

“You've been at Court before; surely you know what ladies dress like. You know this isn't terribly extreme by those standards."

 He glanced down at me and smiled, a trifle shamefaced. 

“Aye," he said. "Aye, that's true. It's only… well you're my wife, Sassenach. I dinna want other men to look at you the way I've looked at those ladies.”

Bria

The amount of research that's been in this series so far is wild. I wonder how long it took Gabaldon to even start writing.

esperanza 

As much as it is boring, it’s also...not my taste. Jamie is.... questionable and I definitely like what the show made of him instead of Gabaldon. Stopped at around 300, skipped forward and saw problematic things, then closed it. Good choice, espy. I would give it one star, but the writing is too good not to consider with the rating. Yeah, would not pick this one up again.

The story building, the character development, the turns and twists, the love, the adventures, the sex, the plotting, the war, the stones.

If you loved the show, do yourself a favor and start the series, the books have been nothing but perfection.

Corey’s Books

Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon

5⭐️

The story building, the character development, the turns and twists, the love, the adventures, the sex, the plotting, the war, the stones.

If you loved the show, do yourself a favor and start the series, the books have been nothing but perfection.

Probably my 3rd time reading this book all the way through. It's still one of my favorites, however the back 150 pages or so are kind of slow for me, following mostly army tactical war stuff that was a bit repetitive. The rest of the book is so exciting and full of intrigue, Claire following her passion for medicine, and a lot of really sweet and heartbreaking conversations between Claire and Jamie that I cry over every time. 

Emma Lechner

A true epic of a novel, much like Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber has it all: romance, history, intrigue, adventure, heartbreak...the list goes on. The story is very well crafted and even though this is a hefty book, it kept me hooked throughout. 

If you are going to undertake this book, have a dictionary handy. Quite a few times (sometimes more than once on the same page) I had to pause to look up the meaning of a word. This is not a complaint; I enjoy learning and expanding my vocabulary. And while sometimes context clues helped determine the general meaning of the words in question, other times they did not. I can see why this may be off-putting. Reading a book of this size and scope is not for the faint of heart, or for casual readers. Be prepared for this book to completely suck you in. You have to dedicate a lot to it, and it is very rewarding in terms of entertainment. 

In the same vein, a map would have been nice, especially of Scotland. Toward the end of the book, a lot of traveling takes place that I just couldn't keep up with, having never visited Scotland myself. It would have been nice to have a reference point of all the locations in the book. Again, this doesn't take away from my enjoyment, but it may have enhanced it.

With a book of this size, there are bound to be a few typos. Get ready for that. As an editor myself, it was also hard not to notice the inconsistencies throughout. Whether this ranged from small to large details, sometimes these inconsistencies were like little roadblocks I had to overcome. Again, maybe someone who isn't paid to be an editor wouldn't notice or care from these conflicting or confusing narrative and character details, but quite a few stuck out to me. I didn't stop to write any down as I sometimes do with other book reviews, but they were there nonetheless. And of course it's understandable, again because of how long and epic this book is. 

The writing, story and characters overcome and overshadow any minor inconsistencies, however. Diana Gabaldon is a master at her craft, and I so enjoyed this romantic and adventurous book.

I can feel a major book hangover incoming...

Amanda

A true epic of a novel, much like Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber has it all: romance, history, intrigue, adventure, heartbreak...the list goes on. The story is very well crafted and even though this is a hefty book, it kept me hooked throughout. 

If you are going to undertake this book, have a dictionary handy. Quite a few times (sometimes more than once on the same page) I had to pause to look up the meaning of a word. This is not a complaint; I enjoy learning and expanding my vocabulary. And while sometimes context clues helped determine the general meaning of the words in question, other times they did not. I can see why this may be off-putting. Reading a book of this size and scope is not for the faint of heart, or for casual readers. Be prepared for this book to completely suck you in. You have to dedicate a lot to it, and it is very rewarding in terms of entertainment. 

In the same vein, a map would have been nice, especially of Scotland. Toward the end of the book, a lot of traveling takes place that I just couldn't keep up with, having never visited Scotland myself. It would have been nice to have a reference point of all the locations in the book. Again, this doesn't take away from my enjoyment, but it may have enhanced it.

With a book of this size, there are bound to be a few typos. Get ready for that. As an editor myself, it was also hard not to notice the inconsistencies throughout. Whether this ranged from small to large details, sometimes these inconsistencies were like little roadblocks I had to overcome. Again, maybe someone who isn't paid to be an editor wouldn't notice or care from these conflicting or confusing narrative and character details, but quite a few stuck out to me. I didn't stop to write any down as I sometimes do with other book reviews, but they were there nonetheless. And of course it's understandable, again because of how long and epic this book is. 

The writing, story and characters overcome and overshadow any minor inconsistencies, however. Diana Gabaldon is a master at her craft, and I so enjoyed this romantic and adventurous book.

I can feel a major book hangover incoming...

Includes Reader's guide by Catherine MacGregor, PhD (pages [747]-753).

A Novel

Many of the complaints I had with the first book still stand with this one -- and I strongly dislike that healing via sexual assault is becoming a theme in these books. Also, Freud would have a fieldddd dayyyyyy with this series. This book damn sure didn't fall to the curse of being a sequel; it was better than the first. It felt like at times that Jamie was mischaracterized toward the beginning/middle of the book, but that evened out as the plot moved forward. And the naming of Brianna :') Damn all Randalls, indeed! I also really wish Gabaldon didn't name her chapters so spoiler-y...I knew what was going happen a few times before I even got to read it because of the chapter titles.

TW to be added later

Many of the complaints I had with the first book still stand with this one -- and I strongly dislike that healing via sexual assault is becoming a theme in these books. Also, Freud would have a fieldddd dayyyyyy with this series. This book damn sure didn't fall to the curse of being a sequel; it was better than the first. It felt like at times that Jamie was mischaracterized toward the beginning/middle of the book, but that evened out as the plot moved forward. And the naming of Brianna :') Damn all Randalls, indeed! I also really wish Gabaldon didn't name her chapters so spoiler-y...I knew what was going happen a few times before I even got to read it because of the chapter titles.

Dragonfly in amber

Gillian Rose

3 1/2 stars. I liked it for the most part but as I felt with the first book, there is definitely a point where no matter what, the plot begins to drag. I had a basis for what to expect as well as I did watch the last season. Jamie is still perfect though.

With her classic novel Outlander, Diana Gabaldon introduced two unforgettable characters—Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser—delighting readers with a story of adventure and love that spanned two centuries. Now Gabaldon returns to that extraordinary time and place in this vivid, powerful sequel to Outlander.
 
For twenty years, Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the mysteries of Scotland’s mist-shrouded Highlands. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as shocking as the events that gave it birth: the secret of an ancient circle of standing stones, the secret of a love that transcends centuries, and the truth of a man named Jamie Fraser—a Highland warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.
 
Claire’s spellbinding journey continues through the intrigue-ridden French court and the menace of Jacobite plots, to the Highlands of Scotland, through war and death in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.

Annabella

Yep, stopping there is like a blow to the heart every time

It's alright, you know? Diana has just thrown a bomb at me.  Again. 
 8 july 2017 : This reread hit even deeper, scenes of the finale replaying in my head as I read

Vilde

Cassidy

I've learned that romance just isn't for me. Even if it does contain time travel.

Yulande Lindsay

Kills me every time does Diana Gabaldon. Love this series. On to Voayager.

Helene Skjørvold

Jaclyn

WOW THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK, TEARS AND CHILLS ALL AROUND!!! Absolutely LOVE this series so much, Jamie and Claire are beyond epic, the book adds so much to the show and this world and I’m so obsessed!! Very excited for Voyager!!!

Flavia Louise

4 stars
Really enjoyable and just meticulously researched.

Alexa Jade

imagine being stuck with that cliffhanger LMFAOOOO DAMN. these books would honestly be 5 star masterpieces if there wasn’t so much repetition, unnecessary information and problematic behavior in it. I love that soul deep connection jamie and claire have but then diana ruins it by making them bang. every time!!!!!!!!

Camila Eduarda Vilela Lobianco

58% ★★★☆☆

Plot
Claire suddenly goes back to de 1940s with her daughter. That is the plot, just that. We have a 1k pages book with just this as a plot.

Execution
Don't try to find logic about this book. Even in half of this book, you have no idea about that the f*** is happening. Just, like, I don't know, but I had to check five times if I was reading the right book, because man, this beginning has nothing to do with the ending of the first book.
This review is one of those that I can't do in my usual template, starting for the fact that I have no f**** idea of what is the plot. I mean, I think this only start to make sense in the last fell pages of the book and, man, I'm talking about 1000 pages. I bought this in ebook, what means that I'll read the next one of the saga just because I wasted a lot of money in the ebooks (here in Brazil, they coast, like, in the best days, R$26.00, what is like, $4.72 in US, but for us this is actually a great amount of money) and now I have to read this because this have to compensate my precious money (but actually I don't think that is quite possible).

Characters
Claire, girl, get your shit together and make a choice. Jamie, if you talk once more about hitting Claire, I'm going to be the one to punch someone here and I'm talking about you. Sometimes seems like Claire has no idea about what she wants, and another ones she seems pretty decided about Jamie, but why she still thinking on her ex husband? I know, she loved him and she doesn't want him to die, BUT MAN, EVERYTHING YOU DO CAN MAKE HIM DIE. That's the concept of butterfly effect. Actually this is like, in 40% of the book, but is not spoiler because the book is so full of nothing that this can't even be considered a spoiler.

Romance
I mean, they really love each other.

Trigger Warnings
We have a lot about PTSD in this book. Like, most of it is PTSD. Rape, violence and a lot of things. This is not a light book, take care if you want to read this.

Something to add: it's an unfortunate that I listened to this audiobook without giving a crap, because the ending is really interesting. Although things were a lot slow, too much political and a little bit confusing, things added up together, ending the plot of this book, but letting somethings to the next book. At least, we didn't had to listen to a lot to understand, because things are quite repetitive, so you can get the hole idea of the book even if you don't care too much.

Robin M Cabana

I had to start this one after I finished Outlander. Gabaldon takes Claire and Jaime all over Scotland and France, from high society to life on the run. There is so much that happens in this book, that I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading the same story!

Mary Cullen

i read the first outlander last year and did not get into it nearly as much as this one. i started watching the show which almost clicked a switch in my head lmao. i love this series and i just couldn’t put the book down at the end. highly recommend if ur into fantasy ish romance books

Aundreya Rich

Great read. A little hard to get through at points but I still love Claire and Jamie

Amy Maddess

Melody Izard

Well here I am. Book two in this series. I first checked out the abridged version of the audio book by mistake. Why would someone want that? It’s just the very basics. Anyway back to the library for the monster collection of CDs. Long. A lot of back and forth through time. Once I caught on to that it was worth the effort. As with anything with battles and combat – I could use a bit less of that. I loved the added interest of the daughter. I’ll keep going with this series and might watch the TV series as well.

Grace O'Callaghan

** spoiler alert **
           While I don't think that the first book was necessarily a 'good book' I still highly enjoyed it. However, Dragonfly in Amber was so incredibly boring.

I do appreciate Gabaldon's attention to detail, but it really wasn't necessary. It was incredibly slow moving and to be honest, not a lot happened. I enjoyed some bits when they were in France, but that was about it.

What frustrated me the most about this book was the logic or therefore lack of it. Claire just assumes that she can change the fate of Scotland without changing things in the future. She probably wouldn't have even been in Scotland to go through the stones if things didn't happen the way they did. I think it's hard to do time travel in books and it certainly wasn't done well in this one.

This is without a doubt a romance as we seem to have Claire and Jamie fighting about things over and over again and then making up with sex afterwards. They are both so incredibly possessive over each other and I don't see why everyone wants to be with Jamie Fraser.

Overall, this was such a boring book. So incredibly slow and may have been interesting if I cared about the characters.

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....

Brenda Ortiz

I love this book more than outlander, I feel like Claire is more mature and find her voice in that century. Is full of more adventures now in Paris! 

Dragonfly in Amber

Reviews

Highlights