Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Dragonfly in Amber

Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

59 reviews

imrereads's review against another edition

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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tiffanysmith's review

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoy Gabaldon’s immersion into historical times and characters, but this did get quite slow for me toward the middle. To keep my momentum, I actually switched to audiobook to get through the middle and then went back to reading toward the end when the excitement redeveloped. The pacing of the first book was somewhat better, but it also had it’s moments of unhurried storytelling.

Still, I love how she drew me in with details and emotion. Gabaldon is very skilled with gifting the reader with all their senses during the read. It’s as if you can taste, hear, and smell every moment for better or worse. This is a true reflection of the magic of being immersed in an amazing read.

There were a few moments I had some conflicting thoughts about how the author approached rape and sex in this installment. Some of Jamie’s remarks/actions were probably in remarkably bad taste. Admittedly, the events of Claire and Jamie’s relationship take place in the 18th century, so relationships were quite different back then. I don’t believe Jamie is a bad man, only that there were some specific choices of words or actions he made that made me cringe at the vulgarity.

Overall, the book is well-written and I do feel like I am a part of the world woven by the author. It’s full of beautiful moments of love and heartbreak, as well as loyalty, betrayal, and a sincere fierceness to protect those that we hold most dear. And then the heartbreak! I look forward to the next book! I’ve realized by now that I’m committed and in it for the long-haul.

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tiana_king's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I was really thrown off this book didn’t follow the same chronology as the TV show. The TV show went straight through events but in this book you start in the “future” and that was jarring and I found myself waiting for the flashback. Aside from a handful of times you can hear ambient noise in the background the narration was wonderful; she can do so many accents. I do wish Claire was less of a character that had things happen to her vs making things happen though. Excited to see what happens next.

Content Warnings