Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander #8) by Diana Gabaldon

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publish Date: June 10, 2014
Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3617.Diana_Gabaldon
ISBN: 9780385344432
List Price: $11.59 (Amazon)
My Rating:

Jacket Synopsis:
WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD is the eighth novel in the world-famous OUTLANDER series. In June of 1778, the world turns upside-down. The British army withdraws from Philadelphia, George Washington prepares to move from Valley Forge in pursuit, and Jamie Fraser comes back from the dead to discover that his best friend has married Jamie’s wife. The ninth Earl of Ellesmere discovers to his horror that he is in fact the illegitimate son of the newly-resurrected Jamie Fraser (a rebel _and_ a Scottish criminal!) and Jamie’s nephew Ian Murray discovers that his new-found cousin has an eye for Ian’s Quaker betrothed.

Meanwhile, Claire Fraser deals with an asthmatic duke, Benedict Arnold, and the fear that one of her husbands may have murdered the other. And in the 20th century, Jamie and Claire’s daughter Brianna is thinking that things are probably easier in the 18th century: her son has been kidnapped, her husband has disappeared into the past, and she’s facing a vicious criminal with nothing but a stapler in her hand. Fortunately, her daughter has a miniature cricket bat and her mother’s pragmatism.

The best of historical fiction with a Moebius twist, WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD weaves the fibers of a family’s life through the tapestry of historical drama.

My Comments: (Spoilers included)
This latest addition to the series did not disappoint. It was great to see Claire and Jamie get back on track after the book 7 which was a real whirlwind. In this book, book 8, it was another amazing read that you just could not put down. Diana does an amazing job with the time travel aspect of the book. We move from the 18th century to the 20th century easily following both story lines separately until they converge again later in the book. It's a mystery how the 20th century associates of Brianna and Roger find about the time travel abilities and I hope that is revealed in the next book, but they have to escape for their own safety. (Spoiler) - They return to the 18th century to escape those who want to take advantage of their time travel knowledge & abilities.

I will add a comment regarding William Grey and that his character is much more developed and interesting now instead of the whiny and boring character he was in book 7. He actually has somewhat of a commanding voice in this book and might actually show us that he really is the son of Jamie Fraser and man-up to the character he should be. William may look like his father, but he hasn't shown the presence or personality of his father very much until now. We never had this issue with Brianna. We knew from the start that she was Jamie Fraser's daughter by looks and her presence.  She is a commanding young women and there is no mistake about who her father is.

I love this series. I get completely lost in another world when I read Diana's book. It's as if I am time traveling with these characters. The writing is unbelievably vivid and takes your imagination on a roller coaster ride. I love all the characters even the not so likable ones.

I don't know how I will be able to wait for the next installment to the series. I guess I will have to occupy my time with other books -- maybe another series in the meantime!

The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5) by Diana Gabaldon

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publish Date: August 30, 2005
Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3617.Diana_Gabaldon
ISBN: 9780440221661
List Price: $7.85
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Jacket Synopsis: 

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. Claire’s 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.

My Comments:
We are thoroughly involved in the life and families of Fraser's Ridge. Just as you think the American life on the Ridge is going to slow down and let the family have happy times, it is not meant to be. Almost every major character is involved in some major drama in this book of the series. The American Revolution is looming in the near future. Claire and Jamie are doing their best to prepare. Does it mean the family stays together or should some time travel to be safe?

What can Brianna and Roger share with Jamie to help him better understand what is coming and how to best prepare the families on the Ridge? Should they try to change history again in any way shape or form? Or should they focus on making sure their family is safe with the changes coming?

Another vivid adventure for our main characters and all that we continue to discover about the past with family history of Culloden.

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

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publish Date: January 1, 2009
Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3617.Diana_Gabaldon
ISBN: 9780752898476
List Price: $7.81
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Jacket Synopsis: 
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.

My Comments:
Well, this is the first book in the series that I definitely struggled with. In all the other books, I found it hard to put them down. This one was the most boring and arduous book I've read since Stephanie Meyer's "The Host", ugh! This book is taking forever, and I mean forever to trudge through. This book has taken 3 times as long to get through because I just don't want to pick it up and read it, but I know I have to in hopes that it gets better.

Jamie's son, William, is becoming more of a main character and I feel there is no depth or thought put to developing this character. He is long winded and boring. Nothing exciting happens to him nor is his personality all that interesting. When I get to sections where William has written a letter or narrates his travels, I just want to skip to the next section for a different character. I feel that if I did skip his sections I would not miss anything.

Jamie and Claire are set on new travels once the house is burned and they need to find a way to help the revolution without physically putting themselves in harms way, if that is possible.

One of my favorite quotes: "Come to bed, a nighean. Nothing hurts when ye love me.” He was right; nothing did."

Brianna and Roger now have to follow their parents history from 1981 to know what eventually became of them.

Tissues again because of a character death and the story changes from Scotland back to America and now we will see the requirements for time travel again by family members. Not sure that I liked it ending with Ian and Rachel, but hopefully the next book will bring us back to center with Claire and Jamie and the immediate family members.

I've seen excerpts from "Written in my own heart's blood" (book 8) and I think that this next book will get everyone back on track. I just hope that it comes out in paperback soon because I am not paying $21.00 for a book that I am not sure will not be a repeat of this one.

Voyager (Outlander, #3) by Diana Gabaldon

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publish Date: August 7, 2001
Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3617.Diana_Gabaldon
ISBN: 9780385335997
List Price: $7.99
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Jacket Synopsis: 
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 Comments:
I love historical fiction and book #3 is another great book in this series. Claire must decide between her daughter's time and Jamie's time now that she has discovered he survived Culloden. Again, the writing in this series continues to draw the reader into a different time and place. You can see the castles, villages, and scenery that is being created in this book. It is always vivid enough that the reader can hear, smell and feel the world being created.

The characters continue to develop in this book along with Claire learning what has happened in the time she has been gone.

I don't know what decision I would make in having to choose to leave my child and have the chance to return to the love of my life. It seems Claire made the decision pretty easily, but I know I would have had a much harder time making that choice.

I am a history nut, so reading this series is just a huge adventure for my imagination in how things really were. I love the way that Claire uses her 20th century medical knowledge to help her in the past. It is always interesting to see how she brings future knowledge to help in the past.

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

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publish Date: August 29, 2006
Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3617.Diana_Gabaldon
ISBN: 9780385340397
List Price: $15.13
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Jacket Synopsis: 
Since the initial publication of Outlander fifteen years ago, Diana Gabaldon’s New York Times bestselling saga has won the hearts of readers the world over — and sold more than twelve million books. Now, A Breath of Snow and Ashes continues the extraordinary story of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century wife, Claire.

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.

My Comments:
Another great addition to the series. This book keeps the Fraser family in Colonial America and the family events that occur are again like the previous books exciting, heart wrenching, and it continues to be a book I cannot put down. The adventure in this book shows that their time traveling can change historical events to a degree.

As the story continues, we see events unfolding that dramatically change the ability of the family to stay together and certain family members must move or travel for their own safety.

Warning: Tissues, tissues, tissues for the last part of the book.

I thought this book in the series was better than books 4 and 5. Here's to hoping that An Echo in the Bone (Book 7) is just as good!

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

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publish Date: August 7, 2001
Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3617.Diana_Gabaldon
ISBN: 9780385335973
List Price: $7.99
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Jacket Synopsis: 
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...

My Comments:
I had no idea the book would go where it went. Wow! I am a fan of time traveling and the super-natural. Book #2 in the series did not disappoint. We learn so much about what Claire has done in 20 years and now her return to Scotland is more than interesting. We wonder what she is about to discover coming back from America after all this time with her college age daughter, Brianna. This is the time she decides she has to reveal the truth about her daughter's past and origins. We also learn a great deal more about Roger and his history, origins, and ties to the family.

When Claire discovers Jaime survives Culloden, what will she do? Will she return to his time and leave her daughter in her own time? What happens when Brianna reads the history of her family? Is the ability to time travel genetic?

I am blazing through these books because the story is just so vividly written and exciting. As the reader, you are completely placed in the character's time and time traveling with them. I love the way Diana Gabaldon writes. She gives her character such unique voices.

Now on to book #3!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Author: Diana Gabaldon
Publish Date: 6/28/1992
Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3617.Diana_Gabaldon?from_search=true
ISBN: 9780440212560
List Price: $7.35
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Jacket Synopsis:
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.

My Comments:
I was excited to read this book after starting the Starz series. I've had the book forever and forgot that I had it. The book has not disappointed at all. I have finished the 800 page book in less than a week because I was just that excited to keep reading. I could not put this book down. The writing is wonderful and so descriptive it creates the world and life of 1743 easily for the reader. I could picture myself in every scene from the landscape, the people, and the action occurring in the scene.

I find it so interesting how Claire has to adapt her 1945 medical knowledge to what's available to her in 1743. Her innate need to help the injured drives her into danger and suspicion. The superstitions of the day are so dangerous and leave Claire, who uses knowledge and objective judgement, to be in constant fear of harm even when trying to help those around her. The writer's character development is great. It's almost as if you know these people at every page turn. My only irritation with the book is how Claire, for once, cannot listen to the advice Jamie gives her to be safe and stay put, especially once he leaves for the "hunt." I could have just strangled her myself in that scene and the turn of events.

The story's twists and turns leave you needing to read more and more to see if and when Claire will make it back to the traveling stones to possibly return to 1945. Her choices seem obvious to the reader, but you just do not know what Claire will choose until the last moment. The sacrifices that Jamie makes are almost heart wrenching. The trials and predicaments that are presented throughout the book are all together intriguing and draw the reader to another place and time experiencing the vivid adventures.

The TV series is doing a good job of translating the book to the TV screen. I hope that they stay true to the story as much as possible and not take too many liberties.

I am waiting for Dragonfly in Amber to arrive! Outlander Fan for life!

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
Publish Date: 7/5/2004
Website: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/498072.Audrey_Niffenegger
ISBN: 9780965818674
List Price: $11.17 (Paperback)
My Rating: 5 out of 5

Jacket Synopsis:

A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who travels involuntarily through time, and Clare Abshire, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate love affair endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap, and it is Audrey Niffenegger's cinematic storytelling that makes the novel's unconventional chronology so vibrantly triumphant.

An enchanting debut and a spellbinding tale of fate and belief in the bonds of love, The Time Traveler's Wife is destined to captivate readers for years to come.

My Comments:

I thought this was a great time traveler's love story. A really great concept to entwine time travel and love. There are so many books out there with the same premise, but this love story was unique in that they didn't use their knowledge of the future for personal gain. They fought for each other through good and bad times. It was a heart wrenching, but heart warming story all the same. The book has a different ending than the movie and found it just as loving and great. I really liked the layout of the book where you switch time and see each of Henry's and Clare's viewpoint. Each one is first person view. It took a little to get used to but once I understood the pattern it became a great read. This was another book I couldn't put down. I could not wait to share with friends! I love Niffenegger's writing style and I am eager to read her new book A Fearful Symmetry.