More that Romance

Author's Rating:

Pros: Characters you become passionate about, with an engrossing storyline

Cons: Have to wait too long between installments

The Bottom Line: 
I have read all six books in the series, along with the companion. My only advice is....read at least till chapter 7 before you make any decisions.

Author's Review
In school I was considered a reader...and then I discovered boys. After high school, I never read. I got married had a couple of kids, and then one day my Dad loaned me ....Outlander!!!

I was never interested in "Romance Novels," my husband(also a reader) called them "trash books." Well against my better judgement I gave Outlander. a go. I have never been so surprised in my life!!!! The story was engrossing, descriptive and a whole lot more!!!

When we meet Claire, she is a post-WWII British nurse enjoying a second honeymoon with her historian husband, Frank, in the Scottish highlands. As Frank pursues local historical information, Claire goes on her own historical adventure. As she is collecting a flower for her collection near a standing stone, Claire falls through a rift in the stone. Slowly she begins to realize, this isn't 1945 anymore......it's 1743! She is rescued from a British Captain, and ends up running with a group of Highlanders from clan MacKenzie. Among the highlanders is a wounded young man named Jaime, whom Claire helps take care of.

As the story progresses Claire and Jaime develop a relationship, easy and friendly at first, then stormy and passionate. All throughout their journey we are bombarded by historical accuracy intertwined with phenomenal fiction. The characters begin to leap off the page, the passion(and I don't mean just sex) and fear they feel seem real. Throughout the book Claire fights a battle with herself. To protect herself in 1743 she had to marry Jaime, but what of her marriage to Frank in 1945? As she begins to fall in love with Jaime, there is a part of her missing and wanting Frank. With war on the horizon and unrest in the land, Claire must do all she can to stay alive and find a way home; but is that really what she wants to do?

THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE!!!!!!! This is the first in a historical fiction saga. Outlander introduces you to a wonderful cast of characters with excellent backdrops and historical events. You not only read about Jamie and Claire, but you begin to care about them...you share in all of their moments. Love, hate, murder, kidnapping, fighting, rape, intrigue, death, life and everything in between....that is what Outlander is.

After reading this book for the first time, I quickly went online to see if Diana Gabaldon had wrote anymore about Jaime and Claire. Well, I was excited to see that there were more with the fifth one coming out in two mos. I called my Dad to tell him thank you for the book, and that there were more in the series. Well he simply laughed, and said that he knew.....he had the next three books already. I then had to wait two weeks before I could read more about Jaime and Claire! Because of Outlander. I became a reader again.