Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

32 reviews

clairereadstoomuch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? No

3.0

Okay, gals, here we are, buckle up I'm going to take you on a journey.
We had left our heroes on their way to safety. Jamie along his way to recover and Claire is expecting.
Imagine my dismay then when the first chapter of this book is set in 1968. My first reaction was of course; ????. Then denial and rage followed confusion. 
In hindsight, I understand that the author has chosen a joint structure. I just think it wasn't well executed. The first part of the book sees Claire going back to Inverness to learn more about the Highlinders' fate after Culloden. Now, this is a historical fact, almost every Scot that fought in that battle died. When it comes to time travelling there are two options the author chooses between usually: either the time travel has the power of altering the past or the future or it doesn't because it was already foreseen. She went with the latter and I may be upset that my fav had died nonetheless but I wouldn't have been mad if it was well executed. My problem is the structure of it all. 
You tell us in the first part what it's going to happen essentially. Because, at this point in the book, we don't know whether Culloden will even happen. We have left Claire and Jamie after they had just decided to try and stop Prince Charles to get Scotland back. We don't know if they'll be successful or not. So, why has she decided to tell us at the beginning of the book? Makes no sense, structure and plotwise.
Then the second part of the book is a sort of flashback. After she goes back to Inverness, Claire decides it's the right time to tell her daughter, Brianna, about her biological father. Again, we're reading a story after she told us how it ends.
And even though she managed to build a climax and "surprise" us with a plot twist at the end, I have to say, it didn't have its intended effect on me. it kinda made me go: ??? what did I read so far?
so yeah, have I enjoyed the story either way? Yes, because it has everything that I love in a fantasy novel: politics, scheming, battle planning and romance. Have I been disappointed by this book? Yep. Have I bought the next book nonetheless? absolutely.

Another thing, why does she keep explaining things to us that we already know? Like, if I'm reading this second book it means that I've read the first book. So, I don't need to be reminded or explained how Claire and Jamie met, who Randall is etc. It's unnecessary and slowed the pace of the reading.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the structure that bothered me so much, I would have deeply enjoyed this book. If she had omitted the first part of the book and moved it towards the end, it would have been great and had a great impact on the reader.

However, I feel compelled to give this book at least 3 stars because of my dear Jamie.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, and Medical content

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. 

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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

tiana_king's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Miscarriage, 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.

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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

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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

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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

georgia_ryan's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

3.25

A great follow on from the first book. Slow at times with some unnecessary details and a great unexpected ending. Love the characters. Would recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Murder, War, Rape, and Kidnapping

bookworm_by_blood's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Murder

Moderate: Rape

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. 

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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

infinitegoldenfloors's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Misogyny

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming