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lauraerna's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
rhiannajohnson's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
What a beautiful but kinda fucked up love story.
corditeq's review
2.0
I'm just going to put this out there - I didn't like this book. If you want to read someone gush about it, page down, you'll find plenty of people who did.
I didn't think this book was particularly poorly written. I didn't find it terribly historically inaccurate, which for someone with two parents with history degrees, is unusual.
My problems were these:
1. Rape as a plot device. I'm not saying women were not victimised during this time period - they were. I'm saying whenever the plot of this book began to slow, someone tried to sexually assault Claire. This happened a lot. Most of it was unnecessary. An incident or two would have gotten the point across about the treatment of women during this period. The rest was unnecessary and felt to me like filler material.
2. Church-sanctioned bigamy. I have no suspension of disbelief for a priest in 18th century Scotland suggesting Claire's marriages are both completely fine because "time travel". Just no. She also seemed a lot less upset about the possibility of never seeing her (original) husband again than one would think.
3. Healing heterosexual sex. After reading this book, I queried a male friend of mine about the final sex scene between Claire and Jamie. Would he be willing to have sex with his girlfriend so soon after being brutally tortured and raped? The answer was a resounding "No!" complete with his hands covering his genitals and a green tinge on his face. This scene felt extremely unrealistic to me - Jaime's trauma was absolutely brutal, and his sex scene with Claire seemed extremely unlikely. This level of damage would take a lot to work through, and I didn't feel like any of it was really resolved.
(Attaches armour.)
I'm ready to face the firing squad now.
I didn't think this book was particularly poorly written. I didn't find it terribly historically inaccurate, which for someone with two parents with history degrees, is unusual.
My problems were these:
1. Rape as a plot device. I'm not saying women were not victimised during this time period - they were. I'm saying whenever the plot of this book began to slow, someone tried to sexually assault Claire. This happened a lot. Most of it was unnecessary. An incident or two would have gotten the point across about the treatment of women during this period. The rest was unnecessary and felt to me like filler material.
2. Church-sanctioned bigamy. I have no suspension of disbelief for a priest in 18th century Scotland suggesting Claire's marriages are both completely fine because "time travel". Just no. She also seemed a lot less upset about the possibility of never seeing her (original) husband again than one would think.
3. Healing heterosexual sex. After reading this book, I queried a male friend of mine about the final sex scene between Claire and Jamie. Would he be willing to have sex with his girlfriend so soon after being brutally tortured and raped? The answer was a resounding "No!" complete with his hands covering his genitals and a green tinge on his face. This scene felt extremely unrealistic to me - Jaime's trauma was absolutely brutal, and his sex scene with Claire seemed extremely unlikely. This level of damage would take a lot to work through, and I didn't feel like any of it was really resolved.
(Attaches armour.)
I'm ready to face the firing squad now.
xcaity's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars, I think. For now. It was a good story...for the most part. What I thought would be the main story line actually wasn't really (and I feel like she missed an opportunity there), and my god the woman needs an editor--not for grammar at all, but for content. This book could have been half as long (I'm not exaggerating) and still told the same story just as well. Every. Single. Detail. About. Everything. Is. Not. Necessary.
I understand the reviewers who say nothing happens in this book. The plot only goes so far, and then she relies on how much you like the characters to keep it up. I don't know how else to explain it. It's likeable characters in day to day life for a lot of it...nothing super pressing to keep you hooked except that you love their love.
Romance for the severely romantic, I guess, and a bit too much for me. I enjoy romance...but I need more than a small side of plot.
I understand the reviewers who say nothing happens in this book. The plot only goes so far, and then she relies on how much you like the characters to keep it up. I don't know how else to explain it. It's likeable characters in day to day life for a lot of it...nothing super pressing to keep you hooked except that you love their love.
Romance for the severely romantic, I guess, and a bit too much for me. I enjoy romance...but I need more than a small side of plot.
trash_kid's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
kmr16831's review
5.0
Perfect perfect perfect. I'm sad that I am only just now starting to read this series. I've owned the book for years but just never got around to reading it. Now I don't know how I ever lived without it! Jamie and Claire are so beautiful together. Now I'm off to find my own standing stones.
frantically's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If by this point you haven't heard of Outlander, you've been living under a rock. I'm not going to add anything meaningful in my review here that hasn't been said before.
I really enjoyed this! I listened to it as an audiobook and the parts that would've probably been tedious in book form still worked well that way. I'm up to season 5? 6? now and I really just wanted to go back to the Claire and Jamie of season 1 for some time <3
I took multiple breaks and listened to whole other audiobooks during this and I think that's how I didn't end up hating it 🙈 It is very long (obviously) but it is also very good. The writing is excellent and Claire is such a good main character.
Would recommend, even if you've already watched the series :) I still enjoyed it a lot
I really enjoyed this! I listened to it as an audiobook and the parts that would've probably been tedious in book form still worked well that way. I'm up to season 5? 6? now and I really just wanted to go back to the Claire and Jamie of season 1 for some time <3
I took multiple breaks and listened to whole other audiobooks during this and I think that's how I didn't end up hating it 🙈 It is very long (obviously) but it is also very good. The writing is excellent and Claire is such a good main character.
Would recommend, even if you've already watched the series :) I still enjoyed it a lot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, and War
Minor: Child death, Grief, Death, Abortion, Animal death, and Death of parent
wendythegeekgoddess's review against another edition
5.0
Edit: I originally rated this book 4 stars. I finished this book 6 years ago (it’s now 2022) and I still find myself thinking about it and can still remember plenty of scenes in detail. That’s how you know this book was a masterpiece! Because of that I’m officially changing my rating to 5 out of 5 stars!
misszoehatter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sianph's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0