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clay1914's review against another edition
4.0
I’m enjoying getting to know Claire and Jaime all over again. The historical fiction is also fascinating.
dylchka's review against another edition
4.0
more like 3.5 cuz it kinda dragged onnnn and onnnn when they were in france buuuuut i forgive that
also soo much genuinely awful stuff happens that it’s lowkey too much and knocked it down a bit for me, like wtf diana
also soo much genuinely awful stuff happens that it’s lowkey too much and knocked it down a bit for me, like wtf diana
wdixon's review against another edition
4.0
Dragonfly in Amber is the sequel to Outlander. I’ve posted before about how obsessed with the tv show I am and it’s the sole reason I even picked up these books due to the sheer size-this one is over 700 pages
idratherbereading542's review against another edition
4.0
Overall I really liked the second book in this series. It was a great follow up and although it's very long, it was fairly easy to keep turning the page to continue.
Some things I didn't like:
- I don't like that it started off telling us what would happen. I wish it would have started back right where the other one left off. Instead, throughout their whole journey trying to stop something, we know for a fact it doesn't succeed. That's one major thing I didn't like about this book.
- The length and "fluff" the book contained. There just seemed to be a lot of things in the book, which I'm sure were character building or something of the sort, but didn't really add to the story. I truly believe that with good editing, this book probably could have been cut in half. This was one of the main reasons why I struggled with giving this a 3 or a 4. I probably would give it a 3.5 if I could for this reason and because it had...
- Way too much rape and underage sex. I just can't get past how much is in this series so far. Although I did give it a 4, I think there were just 2 too many underage sex/rape scenes in this book (there were 2).
- Starts off very slow and ends a little slow. I'm not a big fan of the scenes where she's back in her "own time". I just think those parts move really slow. There are also other parts throughout the book that move a bit slow (such as some parts in Paris). If you asked me to rate this throughout the book my rating certainly would have been different at different points.
What I did like:
- Jamie! I can't get enough of him. Anyone who says he's too controlling is crazy. I think that in the first book he was a bit controlling. But you gotta realize that that's what it was like back in those days, it was the norm. I just love him even more in this book. He's much more loving, romantic, and passionate about Claire; what's not to love? He's just a fantastic character and I can't get enough of him!
- That there's more! I can't wait to get started on the next book. I'm off to the library after writing this.
I honestly can't imagine how there are so many more books in this series. What else could possibly happen that hasn't? Well, I'll be finding out though...
Some things I didn't like:
- I don't like that it started off telling us what would happen. I wish it would have started back right where the other one left off. Instead, throughout their whole journey trying to stop something, we know for a fact it doesn't succeed. That's one major thing I didn't like about this book.
- The length and "fluff" the book contained. There just seemed to be a lot of things in the book, which I'm sure were character building or something of the sort, but didn't really add to the story. I truly believe that with good editing, this book probably could have been cut in half. This was one of the main reasons why I struggled with giving this a 3 or a 4. I probably would give it a 3.5 if I could for this reason and because it had...
- Way too much rape and underage sex. I just can't get past how much is in this series so far. Although I did give it a 4, I think there were just 2 too many underage sex/rape scenes in this book (there were 2).
- Starts off very slow and ends a little slow. I'm not a big fan of the scenes where she's back in her "own time". I just think those parts move really slow. There are also other parts throughout the book that move a bit slow (such as some parts in Paris). If you asked me to rate this throughout the book my rating certainly would have been different at different points.
What I did like:
- Jamie! I can't get enough of him. Anyone who says he's too controlling is crazy. I think that in the first book he was a bit controlling. But you gotta realize that that's what it was like back in those days, it was the norm. I just love him even more in this book. He's much more loving, romantic, and passionate about Claire; what's not to love? He's just a fantastic character and I can't get enough of him!
- That there's more! I can't wait to get started on the next book. I'm off to the library after writing this.
I honestly can't imagine how there are so many more books in this series. What else could possibly happen that hasn't? Well, I'll be finding out though...
venla_reads's review against another edition
1.0
I absolutely love the show and I've been rewatching it to prepare for season 7. It's been a few years since I read the first book, but I remember mostly liking it, even though it was nowhere as good as the show.
But the second book... oh boy is it a slow one. Fair enough, the Paris storyline isn't the most exiting thing in the show either, but in the book it's incredibly slow and it just keeps going. Overall the book was just plain boring and way too long. I don't think the writing is bad, but I just don't like it and for some reason it doesn't manage to convey any emotion to me, which is so crazy, because the show manages to convey every emotion known to man. I adore show-Claire as a character and a protagonist: she's strong and clever and helds her own. Book-Claire on the other hand, has less good moments: she doesn't speak her mind very often, never says no to Jamie and overall doesn't really participate in the plot.
And then there's the (sexual) violence. In the show it's horrifying, yes, but I don't mind it, because it's never romanticised. In the book, it's not handled so well. I don't get how anyone can like book-Jamie, who can't shut up about how he wants to beat Claire and even wishes she was dead because of what happened with the king.
While I appreciate the intricate plot, it just feels really unnecessary. With good editing, the book could be at least 300 pages shorter.
But the second book... oh boy is it a slow one. Fair enough, the Paris storyline isn't the most exiting thing in the show either, but in the book it's incredibly slow and it just keeps going. Overall the book was just plain boring and way too long. I don't think the writing is bad, but I just don't like it and for some reason it doesn't manage to convey any emotion to me, which is so crazy, because the show manages to convey every emotion known to man. I adore show-Claire as a character and a protagonist: she's strong and clever and helds her own. Book-Claire on the other hand, has less good moments: she doesn't speak her mind very often, never says no to Jamie and overall doesn't really participate in the plot.
And then there's the (sexual) violence. In the show it's horrifying, yes, but I don't mind it, because it's never romanticised. In the book, it's not handled so well. I don't get how anyone can like book-Jamie, who can't shut up about how he wants to beat Claire and even wishes she was dead because of what happened with the king.
While I appreciate the intricate plot, it just feels really unnecessary. With good editing, the book could be at least 300 pages shorter.
mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
5.0
As with most other reviewers, I loved 'Outlander'. I mean, why would I pick up the monstrously heavy 'Dragonfly in Amber' if I hadn’t? but I did gird my wrists for reading the second in the series, and my expectations along with it, because how easy it could be to fall from such a dizzying height of enjoyment in a 'sequel'.
The novel was in three distinct parts. The first was not at all like 'Outlander' and had me worried that I wouldn't be able to finish this novel should it continue throughout. Luckily it did improve and the second and third were much like 'Outlander' full of tension, drama, near-misses, emotion and all those good things that kept me on the edge of my seat and muttering to myself.
Set in France and with a new host of characters, storylines and settings, I found it difficult to keep up with all the new characters and their relationships and political stances in the early part of the book. Once I was more settled, I found this a little easier, but found that the plot tended to drift. It wasn't that the 'drift' was uninteresting as such, but in such a big book, I felt that constant progression was needed, because it doesn't take much for interest to waver. For example, Claire's work at the hospital was interesting, but it didn't need the amount of pages afforded to it. I would much rather have seen progression elsewhere in the plot. Raymond and his dealings were an okay read, but did it need so much page time? Luckily, the setting changed toward the end of the first section and the plot was far more tense and dramatic, shooting the book from a wavering 4* review to a solid 5* review.
I did struggle with knowing that Claire was alive and well in her own time as I read the book. I thought that it was giving away something but I came to realise the impact that the knowledge had on my blood pressure the further I made it into the novel. Every time they met with danger I would stop breathing and wonder if this was how it happened. It made the final goodbye so much more emotional because it had been building in my mind for a nine hundred pages.
I found that I grew more affectionate toward Jamie in this novel. It wasn't that I had disliked him in 'Outlander' but he hadn't climbed onto my list of 'Fictional Boyfriends'. I felt that he had a more rounded personality in this novel, full of depth and nuance that was missing in the first. He tended to just come across as a big, tall masculine man who punched first and asked questions later in the first novel. Yet in this novel, I saw his intelligence, loyalty and sense of responsibility. I wanted to know time and time again how he felt about his new role as saviour of the clans and the pressure that he was being burdened with. Perhaps a few chapters in his voice would lend itself to building his personality and would break up Claire's narratives. While I still wouldn't say that he is on my list of boyfriends, he is certainly closer than he was.
The most enjoyable - if I can call it that - aspect of these novels is that Jamie and Claire suffer. They aren't spared the brutality of the time because they are the heroes. They are hurt and threatened and injured and raped and subjected to awful things constantly, and this really ramps up the tension because you do not know what will happen to them or how it will affect their relationship. Not like in a Regency Romance where you know that good will win over evil every time.
My problem is that, again, I cannot wait to get into the next book in the series, and yet I don't want to risk reading another 1000 page book so soon for fear of overdosing. Bloody cliff-hangers! They will be the death of me.
The novel was in three distinct parts. The first was not at all like 'Outlander' and had me worried that I wouldn't be able to finish this novel should it continue throughout. Luckily it did improve and the second and third were much like 'Outlander' full of tension, drama, near-misses, emotion and all those good things that kept me on the edge of my seat and muttering to myself.
Set in France and with a new host of characters, storylines and settings, I found it difficult to keep up with all the new characters and their relationships and political stances in the early part of the book. Once I was more settled, I found this a little easier, but found that the plot tended to drift. It wasn't that the 'drift' was uninteresting as such, but in such a big book, I felt that constant progression was needed, because it doesn't take much for interest to waver. For example, Claire's work at the hospital was interesting, but it didn't need the amount of pages afforded to it. I would much rather have seen progression elsewhere in the plot. Raymond and his dealings were an okay read, but did it need so much page time? Luckily, the setting changed toward the end of the first section and the plot was far more tense and dramatic, shooting the book from a wavering 4* review to a solid 5* review.
I did struggle with knowing that Claire was alive and well in her own time as I read the book. I thought that it was giving away something but I came to realise the impact that the knowledge had on my blood pressure the further I made it into the novel. Every time they met with danger I would stop breathing and wonder if this was how it happened. It made the final goodbye so much more emotional because it had been building in my mind for a nine hundred pages.
I found that I grew more affectionate toward Jamie in this novel. It wasn't that I had disliked him in 'Outlander' but he hadn't climbed onto my list of 'Fictional Boyfriends'. I felt that he had a more rounded personality in this novel, full of depth and nuance that was missing in the first. He tended to just come across as a big, tall masculine man who punched first and asked questions later in the first novel. Yet in this novel, I saw his intelligence, loyalty and sense of responsibility. I wanted to know time and time again how he felt about his new role as saviour of the clans and the pressure that he was being burdened with. Perhaps a few chapters in his voice would lend itself to building his personality and would break up Claire's narratives. While I still wouldn't say that he is on my list of boyfriends, he is certainly closer than he was.
The most enjoyable - if I can call it that - aspect of these novels is that Jamie and Claire suffer. They aren't spared the brutality of the time because they are the heroes. They are hurt and threatened and injured and raped and subjected to awful things constantly, and this really ramps up the tension because you do not know what will happen to them or how it will affect their relationship. Not like in a Regency Romance where you know that good will win over evil every time.
My problem is that, again, I cannot wait to get into the next book in the series, and yet I don't want to risk reading another 1000 page book so soon for fear of overdosing. Bloody cliff-hangers! They will be the death of me.
genetic_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book is great but the beginning is very jarring with the perspective change and time jump.
jbapmasc's review against another edition
3.0
Way too long!!! A lot of boring parts. The beginning and the ending were good, but a lot of the middle should've been cut out, there was no need for it to be that long!