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Dec 17, 2008

Shannon rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

18 comments like (34 people liked it)

Jul 20, 2008

k8lane rated it:

Gabaldon's sex-ridden, hugely researched, academically adventurous, time travel/sci-fi meets historical romance novels qualify as trash novels for lit nerds -- they're absolutely a guilty pleasure. From clan warfare to herbal medicine to genealogy to British history to WWII, the books are packed with information (what little Gaelic I know started with these books). Bonus: the heroine gets to have many, many rolls in the hay with a handsome hard-bodied Highlander. Can't really go wrong.

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3 comments like (56 people liked it)

May 15, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

"Drangonfly in Amber" starts with Claire coming back to 70s Scotland after the death of her husband Frank. You don't have to be a genius to realize right away that something had gone really wrong between Claire and Jamie in the 18th century. So I started the book a little sad knowing that I was surely headed for a heartbreak.

The book however soon goes back to Jamie and Claire through Claire's memories. We meet them where the 1st book left off - on the way to France to attem More...

17 comments like (10 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2009

Julie (Mom2lnb) rated it:

Reviewed for THC Reviews
Dragonfly in Amber is no ordinary romance novel. In fact, in spite of its romance and paranormal elements, it is far more of a historical novel than anything else in my opinion. This book basks the reader in lush descriptions of 18th century European history, from the political intrigue in the courts of King Louis XV of France, to the everyday life of a merchant, to the inner workings of hospitals of that time. Then it sweeps the reader along, back to the beautiful More...

12 comments like (24 people liked it)

Mar 12, 2009

Rae rated it:

I'm only on book 2 and this series just continues to surpass my expectations and interest. What a ride! Dragonfly in Amber is the second in the Outlander series and still kickin' some literary tail. There's a lot of questions and things that I wished had happened in Outlander. Not necessarily because the story left that open per se but mainly because of what the characters went through, I wanted to see the continuation of the story (and maybe a lil payback for what our hero suffered). In that se More...

22 comments like (12 people liked it)

Mar 17, 2008

Christy rated it:

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0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jun 25, 2007

Nicole rated it:

The Outlander series is definitely one of my most recommencded series of books. I might even love these books more than Harry Potter - and that's saying something.

The Outlander books are set in the 1700s. They start off in Scotland, but later travel to Paris, Jamaica and the American Colonies.

Claire and Jamie, the book's two main characters are fantastic. They're deep, smart and action-oriented, yet very real. As their relationship evolves over the series of books, it More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 14, 2008

Graeme rated it:

I read the last 200 pages of this last night, and stayed up waaay later than I should have... but I had to finish it.

I then moved directly on to Voyager, and read the first several chapters until I nearly passed out with exhaustion.

Okay, okay, I admit it, I'm hooked, I have been hooked, I'm completely hookered and hookified by the tale of Jaime and Claire. My past knee-jerk sentiments aside, this was a gripping novel, well-paced, lush with detail.

I pr More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Aug 20, 2010

Jasmin rated it:

"Dragonfly in Amber" is a lusciously perfect way to continue Outlander. It couldn't happen any other way. It has to be this way. It is absolutely perfect in every way possible in my eyes, and I love it with sheer perfection.

Dragonfly in Amber, the second book of the Outlander series, continues with another amazing journey (or rather retelling) of Claire Randall/Fraser beyond time. But this time, Claire is back in her own time, year 1968, with daughter Brianna, already a twe More...

10 comments like (14 people liked it)

Apr 19, 2008

Lisbeth rated it:

"Ugh, what a dreadful cover. I'm supposed to have this read by Sunday afternoon."

Okay, Wendy's book group will meet tomorrow to discuss book three in the Outlander series, but I just finished this second one, and man, it was a long haul, and I don't just mean the length.

What didn't work for me: the self-satisfied tone of the author's voice behind her main character, repetitive phrases (mouths always "twitching" rather than almost smiling), excessive de More...

0 comments like (18 people liked it)

Apr 09, 2008

Whitelady3 rated it:

Having enjoyed the first volume of this series, I was expecting something good of this one, so I'm a bit sad it didn't match my expectations.

First, because in the first and final parts, the point of view jumps around from first person (Claire) to third person, due to the fact that we follow another character and Claire isn't always there. The problem is that this character does almost nothing but notice how Claire is so beautiful and wonderful... Second, the book drags a bit in some More...

2 comments like (13 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2007

Josie rated it:

Writing style aside, this book wasn't bad. The plot was vaguely more interesting than Cross Stitch, as Claire and Jamie are trying to stop the massacre that will happen at Culloden in 1745. I found that more interesting than the introductory tone of Cross Stitch, which is mostly about Claire getting used to life in the eighteenth century while making half-hearted attempts to get back to her own time. I felt that a lot of this book could have been cut out, though, as it did drag on (it's 963 p More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 18, 2007

LJ rated it:

Dragonfly in Amber - Ex
Gabaldon, Diana - 2nd in series
This time-traveling romantic adventure will please fans who have been waiting for the further adventures of Dr. Claire Beauchamp Randall, a 20th-century American who goes to Scotland in search of her 18th-century husband, virile Scot Jamie Fraser, whom she met and married in Outlander ( LJ 7/91). Book 2 of a planned trilogy takes readers along on Randall's quest, as she hopes to find a state or time (like that of the title's drago More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

May 16, 2008

penelopewanders rated it:

here as a ring.
Well, sign me up for the next in line, please! I really do love this series, although I kept wondering how Brianna and Roger were going to fit into the whole thing - do they go back in time too? And I couldn't believe Claire and Jamie's story was ending and felt that was so unutterably sad... so the sneak preview of Voyager was both good and a bit of a shame too, as I wouldn't have minded a bit of suspense. I didn't mind reading about the battles - and the fine line between More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 31, 2008

Jaime rated it:

I loved this one just as much as the first. It had me crying. Now, that’s not entirely unusual — after all, I cry at tv commercials. But I wasn’t just crying, I was friggin’ sobbing. Even though I knew it wasn’t that bad! No one was going to die, they’re going to see each other again — there’s more books!

I’m forcing myself to read something else in between books in this series. Mostly because I don’t want to finish it too soon!

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Oct 18, 2009

Ivy rated it:

I am happily writing this review within a half hour of finishing this novel simply because I am glad I finally got through it! Long gone are the days I could polish off a nearly 1000 page book within a few days. Grownup responsibilities kept me from finishing this behemouth of a book sooner than I would have liked--a whopping two weeks!

Once again I entered the world of Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall but, as I began, I find Claire back in 20th century Scotland, twenty years after h More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 10, 2009

Ashley rated it:

*sigh*

The love stories are wonderful, but the action is equally as enticing. The pages turn with little effort as the story flows, the plot pushing preventing you from putting the book down. The way the pieces of the past fit into what we know of the future is fun to piece together, keeping your interest even when you are fairly certain of the end results.

I felt hooked in the 1st book, but I'm really hooked now. I can't put it down! I'm thrilled I am reading this seri More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 17, 2009

Stephanie rated it:

I finished Outlander and promptly went into DIA. The first 86 pages are with Claire in her present time but twenty years later. The end of Outlander had Claire and Jamie happily together and I was so distraught that Claire was now back in the present without Jamie. The majority of the book then goes from where Outlander left off all the way up to the '45 at Culloden. I really enjoyed the comfort between Jamie and Claire in their still new marriage. Since Jamie is an outlaw, a lot of DIA is More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2011

Claire rated it:

I am quickly becoming a fan of Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander series. Her writing has a way of sucking you in and making you believe you have traveled back to the 1700's in Scotland with Claire Randall .. or Fraser now and you're tagging along for all of her adventures, no matter how unbelievable or dangerous they may be. There are a few things that kind of bug me, however. She uses some french and some Gaelic phrases throughout the book, and she never translates them, so you're left wondering More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 18, 2009

Julie rated it:

Okay, obviously this star rating thing is wildly subjective because this is my LEAST favorite book out of the whole "Outlander" series. (I'm re-reading them.) Probably I will be re-reading ALL of them because they are insanely addictive. At least, to me they are. I've read some of the other review here on GoodReads and there seem to be only two camps -- those who LOVE this series, and those who HATE it. Interesting....

This one is grim and ... grim. From page one you k More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 05, 2010

Stacey rated it:

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0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 09, 2008

Shivering William rated it:

Unfortunately, at times Dragonfly feels like Outlander rehashed . . . like a sequel to a best-selling video game built with the same game engine. (Oh man, that was so nerdy. I'm so sorry. Really.) I found myself phasing out for large sections, only to pay attention for a couple of pages to get caught up.

But, in all honesty, mediocre Outlander material is still superior to most stuff out there. So, I'm just going to consider this story the second leg of the first book. It's ea More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

May 06, 2011

Gaijinmama rated it:

I confess to being pretty freakin' obsessed with this series, and with one gorgeous red-headed Scot in particular. This second book was always my least favorite, but I enjoyed it more this time and cried my eyes out toward the end, even though...(what follows is not a spoiler since it's easy enough to tell that, since there are five more books in the series, this is not by any means the end!)
The reason I didn't like this one as much as the other books the first time around is, to be blunt, More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 10, 2008

Courtney rated it:

Dragonfly in Amber is the second book in Diana Gabaldon's phenomenal "Outlander" series. At the end of Outlander, we left Claire and Jamie Fraser in an abbey in France, exiled from Scotland. At the opening of Dragonfly in Amber, we find Claire back in the highlands in 1968, investigating the fates of Jamie's men at the battle of Culloden - with her red-haired daughter Brianna: Jamie's daughter.

As the search for Jamie's men, and then Jamie himself, unfolds, Claire finds hers More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 15, 2008

Nicole rated it:

I had read the first book several years ago I was completely captivated. It was recommended to me by my Mom who has read the entire series and is a huge fan of the author. I started reading this one shortly after the first, but it didn't grab my attention immediately and I abandoned it due to a busy schedule. When I saw it at the library I really wanted to finish it so I started over and re-read it.
This time I couldn't put it down reading sometimes hundreds of pages at a time (it has over More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 04, 2008

Laurel rated it:

Book on Tape (unabridged) read by Davina Porter. Now I remember why I quit reading this series way back when. It's an enjoyable story, but it just goes on and on, and I wasn't that interested in the scenes in France. This is the kind of series where all the details will (hopefully) be all tied together by the final volume, but until then there are a lot of disjointed details. Listening to the book on tape makes it tolerable. I do plan to continue with the series.

Book Description from More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 12, 2007

Joanna rated it:

Ok so here's the thing. I love books about time travel. I love romance. I love adventure. I accidentally read this book, best of the series, before reading any of the others. The series as a whole is an embarrassment, but oh! the pleasure I had reading this book. By reading the middle book of the initial trilogy first, I was captivated by the manner in which the story was told. How clever, I thought. It started in the middle! How adorable of me to not realize. It started in the middle, More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Laura rated it:

This second installment of the Outlander series was not as strong as the first. I got bogged down with the historical aspects and implications. (I'm still not 100% what the deal was with Charles Stuart and Louis.) However, the ending was worth all that meandering the middle.

I also have issues with Gabaldon's treatment of women. It's interesting to throw a somewhat modern woman into 17th century Scotland to see how women were treated then. Sometimes Claire (the heroine) openly defies More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 21, 2009

Rhonda rated it:

I devoured this book just like I did the first in the series and when it was over whined that it was done. It definitely was not a quick read and the beginning was a bit confusing considering how book one ended but all in all the total reading experience was worth it. I look forward to my next foray into Gabaldon's world just so I can see what happens with Clair!

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 13, 2008

The Cute Little Brown-haired girl added it

This is one of the best series of romance historical fiction I have ever laid eyes on. It is well written, not "sappy" and is not a Fabio-type of read with a damsel in distress. I love it because the main character is a strong and self-assured woman, and it has a little Irish/Celtic/Scottish history to it that makes it interesting beyond the romance aspect. Great if you go on vacation or have a long car or plane ride. Also recommended to anyone needing to have that book on the bedside More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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