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A review by illyanadallas222
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
3.0
3.5-4 stars...
A very conflicting incoming review (you have been warned...;) ).
This was probably the longest amount of time I have spent reading a book (1 and a half months). I could blame it on the dizzying travels I had to do in the last 2 weeks or the length (this installment is almost 1,000 pages long) but I truly believe that 'Will' will overcome any obstacle, if you put your heart into it. And my heart wasn't in this book. And this renders me a little sad! I was reminded in this read through of how graiting the first third of the novel was. The first arch (so the first 1/3 of the novel) was Brianna and Rogers' wedding and I was so frustrated that such an iconic moment felt so grating and Faulkner-esk. And then for the rest of the novel, we follow Jaime and Claire settle into Fraser's Ridge and help Roger and Brianna make a home with it. The politics were not as stimulating (the impending Revolution War is well on its way), Stephen Bonnett is still on the loose and we sparingly follow young Ian homogenous with the Mohawk tribe. I would trope this book as the 'domestic' book in the series, but that again annoys me because I often yearn for a domestic novel in series, but just not like this haha.
However, I budge it up to 4 stars at most, mainly because while I was not impressed it was still lovely to read. Claire and Jaime and the whole cast, while maybe as not stimulating, are iconic characters that can motivate you into reading any crumb. Also, this precedent novels overall picks up the rating. And I have to admit, that there were several arcs within the story -the murder, the gangrened abusive husband, the Hanged Man, and Brianna's journey into motherhood- that DID sing to my soul. But it was not a constant.
In sum, while I do say this novel was not 'outstanding', it was a necessary shift between the first half of the series and the second (not encompassing the anticipated Bees coming up this Oct.) half of the series. I just wish the dubbed 'domestic novel' in this series, likened more so to my own 'domestic novel' tastes...
Onwards Outlanders!
A very conflicting incoming review (you have been warned...;) ).
This was probably the longest amount of time I have spent reading a book (1 and a half months). I could blame it on the dizzying travels I had to do in the last 2 weeks or the length (this installment is almost 1,000 pages long) but I truly believe that 'Will' will overcome any obstacle, if you put your heart into it. And my heart wasn't in this book. And this renders me a little sad! I was reminded in this read through of how graiting the first third of the novel was. The first arch (so the first 1/3 of the novel) was Brianna and Rogers' wedding and I was so frustrated that such an iconic moment felt so grating and Faulkner-esk. And then for the rest of the novel, we follow Jaime and Claire settle into Fraser's Ridge and help Roger and Brianna make a home with it. The politics were not as stimulating (the impending Revolution War is well on its way), Stephen Bonnett is still on the loose and we sparingly follow young Ian homogenous with the Mohawk tribe. I would trope this book as the 'domestic' book in the series, but that again annoys me because I often yearn for a domestic novel in series, but just not like this haha.
However, I budge it up to 4 stars at most, mainly because while I was not impressed it was still lovely to read. Claire and Jaime and the whole cast, while maybe as not stimulating, are iconic characters that can motivate you into reading any crumb. Also, this precedent novels overall picks up the rating. And I have to admit, that there were several arcs within the story -the murder, the gangrened abusive husband, the Hanged Man, and Brianna's journey into motherhood- that DID sing to my soul. But it was not a constant.
In sum, while I do say this novel was not 'outstanding', it was a necessary shift between the first half of the series and the second (not encompassing the anticipated Bees coming up this Oct.) half of the series. I just wish the dubbed 'domestic novel' in this series, likened more so to my own 'domestic novel' tastes...
Onwards Outlanders!