Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Dragonfly in Amber

I enjoyed this a lot more than the first one; perhaps I was coming in with lower expectations. Rich in its historical setting, we travel from Scotland to Paris and back again. Really enjoyed learning more about the politics of the time and the Jacobite rebellion. Hated seeing the English win ofc, we're always the villains 😫

This was a comfort read as the story and characters were familiar. However I was kept engaged by the high stakes not only of Paris aristocracy but civil war too! There is something quite mesmerising about Gabaldon's writing, despite the smut scenes.

TW: r*pe, SA, misogyny, murder, death, PTSD, miscarriage, violence, kidnapping, torture

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noctadea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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imrereads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This is less a helpful review, and more an attempt of compiling my feels after what to be is a very comolicated story. I don't know what to say about this book. Honestly I felt like it didn't need to be as long as it was and it took me ages to finish, but I still find myself compelled to read the next one (despite knowing what happens, thanks to the tv series). There is certainly something great about Gabaldon's style of writing that makes me want to continue, despite many aspects of the books not being to my taste.

I think one of my major issues, and this is absolutely a oersonal preference, is the degree of sexual content. While I often find it good and fitting, I also often find it jarring and takes away from the core of the moment. Does every sex scene need to be explicit? I don't think so, but I guess it is that kind of a book so I can't really complain. I just found that often when the scenes showed up I couldn't fathom how they were horny in that moment.

This probably is my least favouritr part of the story, it was in the series as well, but I found the first 200 pages really compelling, and likewise the last 200. I guess the issue is that that leaves about 500 pages in the middle that was kind of rocky to me.

So I don't know. The overall premisenof the stort compells me. Gabaldon has a strong pen in my opinion. What happens next really interests me. I like that the characters are complicated, but a lot of the time I don't really like them. It ebbs and flows. I found that supplimenting my physical copy with the audio was really helpful to get through it, so maybe doing that from the start will lift the next book. Who knows! I just know that this book left of strong, so despite taking 4 months to finish, I want to continue the journey.

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