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alessandran 's review for:
Written in My Own Heart's Blood
by Diana Gabaldon
I forget how much I love these two (meaning Jamie and Claire, if that wasn't obvious) between books sometimes, and every time I read one book, I immediately want to go back and read the whole series again for the umpteenth time.
With that said, I enjoyed this book so much more than the last one. This series holds a special place in my heart, and I savour every one of its books, but they are, each of them, LONG and sometimes feel it, to their detriment. An Echo in the Bone was, for me anyway, weighed down with too many ponderous passages and side plots for characters I didn't really care about. It was saved by the virtue of including Jamie and Claire Fraser, who, let's be honest, are what we're all really here for, anyway.
By comparison, Written in My Own Heart's Blood had me interested through almost the entirety of it tome-like length. Jamie and Claire's story felt front and centre (something Echo lacked) and, rather unusually for Diana Gabaldon, there were very few, if any, irrelevant and tangental plot-lines. William and John Grey, whose sections of the book I bemoaned and suffered through last time (honestly, how long was Willie lost in the wilderness? Because it felt like a bloody lifetime), had stories that felt tied into the greater narrative, which ultimately meant you had reason to be invested in them.
On William though, and I'll keep this as spoiler-free as possible, the wee gomerel better pull his head out of his arse, or I'll tire of him right quick. It's pretty rich for a person to spend the majority of his time lamenting and cursing his true parentage and yet still being happy to call on that familial connection when in need of a not small favour. I have an extremely short tether for William, and his continuing histrionics and angst doesn't make me like him any better.
The same can be said of Bree and Roger, whose story actually felt like it was going somewhere in this instalment. Again, no spoilers, but their plot felt much more involved in this book than the last, rather than cyclical and somewhat uninteresting. And I always have time for Jem and Mandy.
Jamie and Claire were, as always, at their best. They spent what felt like an abundance of significant time together. Honestly, eight books and I'm not tired of these two... and I doubt I ever will be. I'll be reading these books for as long as Diana keeps writing them... I don't think anyone can ever have too much JAMMF in their lives.
In light of that, bring on book nine!
As a sidenote, was I the only one who had a little freak-out meeting 'Heughan' and seeing that one of Ellen's middle names was 'Caitriona'? Took me a quick moment to think about the casting and timelines to figure out it wasn't just coincidental... but I thought it was a really cute addition.
With that said, I enjoyed this book so much more than the last one. This series holds a special place in my heart, and I savour every one of its books, but they are, each of them, LONG and sometimes feel it, to their detriment. An Echo in the Bone was, for me anyway, weighed down with too many ponderous passages and side plots for characters I didn't really care about. It was saved by the virtue of including Jamie and Claire Fraser, who, let's be honest, are what we're all really here for, anyway.
By comparison, Written in My Own Heart's Blood had me interested through almost the entirety of it tome-like length. Jamie and Claire's story felt front and centre (something Echo lacked) and, rather unusually for Diana Gabaldon, there were very few, if any, irrelevant and tangental plot-lines. William and John Grey, whose sections of the book I bemoaned and suffered through last time (honestly, how long was Willie lost in the wilderness? Because it felt like a bloody lifetime), had stories that felt tied into the greater narrative, which ultimately meant you had reason to be invested in them.
On William though, and I'll keep this as spoiler-free as possible, the wee gomerel better pull his head out of his arse, or I'll tire of him right quick. It's pretty rich for a person to spend the majority of his time lamenting and cursing his true parentage and yet still being happy to call on that familial connection when in need of a not small favour. I have an extremely short tether for William, and his continuing histrionics and angst doesn't make me like him any better.
William's got me like...
The same can be said of Bree and Roger, whose story actually felt like it was going somewhere in this instalment. Again, no spoilers, but their plot felt much more involved in this book than the last, rather than cyclical and somewhat uninteresting. And I always have time for Jem and Mandy.
Jamie and Claire were, as always, at their best. They spent what felt like an abundance of significant time together. Honestly, eight books and I'm not tired of these two... and I doubt I ever will be. I'll be reading these books for as long as Diana keeps writing them... I don't think anyone can ever have too much JAMMF in their lives.
In light of that, bring on book nine!
As a sidenote, was I the only one who had a little freak-out meeting 'Heughan' and seeing that one of Ellen's middle names was 'Caitriona'? Took me a quick moment to think about the casting and timelines to figure out it wasn't just coincidental... but I thought it was a really cute addition.