Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

40 reviews

kmac14's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Misogyny, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Infertility, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Infidelity, and Medical content

Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Abortion, Chronic illness, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, War, Gun violence, Vomit, Cursing, and Confinement

siglerbooknook's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

I've watched the show for Outlander on Starz before, but this was my first time reading the book.
I was surprised how true to the plot the tv show stayed.
A few characters are different, either in appearance, or not appearing at all.

I think my favorite difference was in Claire. It always bothered me in the show how rediculously modern she was, for all she's supposed to be intelligent. Many of the moments in the show that made me roll my eyes because "why would she be that stupid" never even happen in the book. 

The chapters near the end with Captain Randall were too much for me and I did skim through them. I was glad to have some warning from the show on how bad it could be.

Over all I loved the book and look forward to recommending it to friends. It was a tad long and I found myself dragging through the last 200 pages. Still, I look forward to reading the next one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Rape, Gore, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Violence, Infidelity, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Minor: Infertility, Blood, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

ailsaod's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

1.0

 This review contains vague spoilers throughout.

I genuinely don't understand why this book and show are so popular. For starters this book would do better to be re-named fifty shades of tartan! This is almost 900 pages of increasingly less consensual sex scenes with the occasional bit of historical set dressing. I honestly don't get how this book was so long - its not like much happens and there was a good stopping point at about the third of the way through that I wish had been the end of this book.

I had heard going in to this book that it probably wasn't going to be my cup of tea but I kept on hearing about it and I am far too nosy for my own good. Nosiness and spite is all that got me through this book - it contains literally EVERY content warning you can think of that could possibly be crammed into that time period. I am not kidding; you can play sensitive topics bingo and you will always win (and lose in doing so I guess). It gets to a point where it feels gratuitous as it is one thing to write about these subjects - it does not take a genius to realise that there is going to be a lot of sexism during Jacobite times for example - but some of the things that come up seem unnecessary. Like how is Jamie's story about how a lord groomed him and tried to assault him when he was a teenager funny? I am not a scholar of Jacobite Scotland but it seems weird that everyone would know about an individual being a paedophile - and with a particular liking for boys too - and find it entertaining. Even I know that during that time the people here were very Christian. Even weirder is that Claire (who is from the 1940s) also thinks it is funny and sides against Jamie?!

There are many things in this book that made me question if Gabaldon is existing in her own universe. She has publicly claimed to have researched everything in her books but they are full of inconsistencies - apparently traditional Scottish marriages now include blood oaths?? Nessie is real and there are specimens in the British Natural History Museum? Claire is supposed to have an interest in wild flowers and yet she can't identify a forget me not (one of the most common and easily identifiable wild flowers in the UK!). It is bizarre as there are a lot of details in this book regarding the society and clothing and what was used as medicine that seem accurate and yet Gabaldon is happy to just chuck any semblance of her precious historical accuracy away whenever it concerns something that is actually relevant to the plot. Also why are we using Sassenach as a pet name? It's a very complicated word as in Gaelic (which is spelled Sasannach) it just means "English man" but in scots it is more like "English scum" and that is before we get to the misinformation where some people claim it used to mean lowlander. In the book Sassenach is translated to mean "outlander" which is quite a reach. I am not aware if Gabaldon is aware of the quagmire she wandered into with this one but it just isn't a thing most Scots say anymore and it was uncomfortable to read. After a while Jamie seems to just forget Claire's name entirely!

The best thing about this book was Jamie and even then that only applied until the romance begun. If this book just chucked out the time travel (a sentiment I commonly feel when reading time travel stories) and had this story be about Jamie's tragic circumstances it would be greatly improved. Early book Jamie comes across like a halfway decent person (which in this book is quite something) and I actually wanted to hear his backstory. However that all changed as soon as he has sex for the first time - he immediately becomes demanding and feels entitled to sex and on one occasion enjoys beating Claire.

I won't go into everything I disliked about this book - we would be here far too long! - but there is one particular scene that I would like to mention for all those nosy folks like me. Late in the book there is a character who is on deaths door after being sexually assaulted and badly injured and Claire (someone qualified as a nurse!) decides the best thing she can do is force them to relive their trauma by simulating the assault they experienced. I may have sounded appalled earlier in my review but really a lot of it fades into insignificance next to this one scene. I have never read something so heinous before and I hope not to again. This scene was so bad it was apparently cut from the TV show entirely and I am not surprised!

To conclude I would strongly advise against reading this book unless you enjoy this sort of story (good for you?). Curiosity will kill the cat in this situation!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape

Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Death, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Incest, Homophobia, Sexism, and Misogyny

soph22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Infertility, Abandonment, Alcohol, Gore, Sexual violence, Ableism, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Vomit

gellyreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

2.0

I feel like this book is just an absolute mess.

She’s abused and forgives him too quickly.

The romance is paper thin. The fantasy and time travel elements were the most interesting, but it’s not really the point.

Why couldn’t we see more of the “witches?”

I don’t get it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, War, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Abandonment, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Abortion, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Infidelity, and Infertility

Minor: Pedophilia

willow_belle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Religious bigotry, Torture, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Sexism, Toxic friendship, War, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

It's bloody good!

sytaylor's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Torture, Death, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Sexual violence

elizlizabeth's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

3.0

I enjoyed the first half of the book but by the end it honestly felt like the plot was there only to justify the smut. Jamie was my favorite character but by the end he had lost all semblance of personality and coherency in favor of whatever the plot or Claire's own arch required. Claire herself was very annoying and unlikable to me, but her actions and personality made sense for the plot so it's not really a critique and more of a lack of affinity on my part.
Gabaldon is a very good writer and I truly enjoyed the historical fantasy part of this. Not sure if I'd read the rest of the series after that infamous dungeon scene tho. Definitely read and heed the warnings on this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Torture, Rape, Ableism, Animal death, Homophobia, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Abortion, Infidelity, and Xenophobia

emhaze's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Alcohol, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, War, Blood, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abortion

water_violin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Definitely an interesting story, but clearly had been published in the 90s, given the portrayal of the only gay characters as predatory and sadistic. The portrayal of Romani travelers was also somewhat problematic to a modern eye, but at least they were not shown to be monolithically negative. I was personally not a fan of how the main relationship developed, as both of the characters were in turns somewhat emotionally manipulative or abusive, but it does make sense with the setting and characterization. Overall, some very unpleasant themes, but an interesting storyline. I’m curious to see how the rest of the books progress and whether there are any more diverse portrayals of queer or non-white characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Medical content, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Rape, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, War, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Vomit, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Racism

Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, and Classism