Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

22 reviews

brownieboo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, War, and Violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Murder, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Torture

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abortion, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, and Grief

hannahbailey's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, War, Violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Colonisation and Classism

kerttuli's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Torture

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, War, and Torture

tiffanysmith's review

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pregnancy, Grief, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, Miscarriage, and Sexual content

Moderate: Vomit, Torture, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Drug use, and Murder

jillianseibert's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

Hot, sexy, the slow burn is necessary.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Rape, Miscarriage, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Infertility, and Infidelity

Minor: Domestic abuse

infjill's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, and War

linnylionheart's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Cursing

Moderate: Addiction, Infertility, and Xenophobia

Minor: Animal death, Dementia, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

meganpbennett's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

Dragonfly in Amber starts off very differently than Outlander ends. In fact, it starts 22 years after Clair first goes through the stones and ends up back in time, and 20 years since she returned

pregnant with Jamie's child

. Clair calls on Roger, a historian, and asks him for information about some men who may or may not have died at Culloden, and eventually tells Roger and her daughter, Brianna, the story of Outlander and what happened between the end of Outlander and Culloden. I say that because Culloden is a fixed point in time - no matter what you try to do, a fixed point in time will happen as it is meant to happen. 

A good portion of Dragonfly in Amber is spent in Paris, where Jamie is trying to both support Bonnie Prince Charlie's uprising and keep it from ever happening. Lots of things happen in Paris, and it's fascinating. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Murder, Animal death, and Vomit

Moderate: Torture, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts

bookishandlegal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Violence

Moderate: Torture and Sexual violence