The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

Historical Fiction

Book 5 in the series has Claire and Jamie making a life as grandparents in North America. Roger and Brianna are trying to get married, as is Jaime's aunt. They also know the war is coming and are wondering what to do about it or whether it's possible to avoid. Stephen Bonnet is still around, somewhere, and Jaime is trying to track him down and bring him to justice.

This is the first Outlander book I've read since the tv show started, which I've been watching. The tv show for some reason has turned me against Brianna. I didn't mind her while I was reading the books but now find her annoying due to the tv show and this book couldn't turn me back to a Brianna fan. The chemistry between Jaime and Claire is still as great as ever. The start of the book was pretty slow with 100 pages only being a few hours in time. However the pace eventually picks up and there are some pretty shocking events in the latter part of the book.

First Line: "I woke to the patter of rain on canvas, with the feel of my first husband's kiss on my lips."

Rating:
(4/5)

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon
Genre of book

This is the second in the series of Lord John books but can be read as a stand-alone. In this book Lord John is searching out the reason behind his father's death. Although ruled a suicide Lord John knows it was murder. A page of his late father's journal was delivered to both his brother and his mother. Also Lord John has been attacked twice. Lord John is now determined to find out if his father was a Jacobite and who murdered him.

Lord John's mother is getting remarried and there is a new brother, Percival Wainwright to be introduced to and get to know. Percival is so attractive and seems to be equally attracted to Lord John. But this is the era where homosexually is the gravest of sins and severely punished.

Gabaldon writes books that are very readable. I loved the story of Lord John and Percival and loved the descriptions of war in Prussia and France. However, I found the story about Lord John's father very confusing. Whether it was the number of characters involved or the use of initials (Mr. A) or the storylines that seem to go nowhere (Jamie Frasier's letter writing), I was lost and unable to figure out what was going on.

The other nit I have is the total out of character sexual boasting by Lord John to Jamie. It was so unlike Lord John I couldn't believe what I had read and had to re-read it a second time.

First Line: "To the best of Lord John Grey's knowledge, stepmothers as depicted in fiction tended to be venal, evil, cunning, homicidal and occasionally cannibalistic."

Rating:
(4.0/5)

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon
Historical Fiction

Lord John Grey is back in the second of his series. He is with his brother when a page from his dead father's journal is delivered to him. Grey knew that his father was murdered even though the death was made to look like a suicide, which had people wondering if he was a Jacobite supporter. Grey never questioned that his father was a Jacobite but after receiving the letter and speaking with his brother about it, he starts to question what he knows.

Meanwhile, as Grey investigates his father's past and those who are involved, his mother mentions that she is getting re-married so Grey has new family members in which to get used to. This includes a new step-brother Percy who Grey immediately takes a shine to. As the two are out, Grey is attacked and he suspects this is due to him looking in to his father's death.

This is another long book of almost 500 pages. Sometimes I wonder if Gabaldon cannot write books fewer than 450 pages. This was quite similar to the previous Lord John book in that it was interesting but I felt like I didn't fully understand some of the things that happened and was always slightly confused. I'm not sure why that was the case. I still enjoyed the book though and will continue on to read the third book in the series to see what Grey gets up to. For those that enjoy the Outlander series, Jaime Fraser makes a couple of short appearances in this novel.

First Line: "To the best of Lord John Grey's knowledge, stepmothers as depicted in fiction tended to be venal, evil, cunning, homicidal, and occasionally cannibalistic."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Lord John and the Private Matter

Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon
Historical Fiction

This is the first book in Gabaldon's Lord John series. Lord John was a minor character in her Outlander series. Lord John is a major in the Royal service. While at a gentlemen's club, Lord John discovers his cousin's fiancee is poxed. Lord john sets out to discover if this is indeed true which takes him to brothels and other scandalous places.

In the meantime he is also charged out with finding out whether a recently deceased sergeant in his regiment was a traitor. The information the sergeant had was valuable and must be found before it is sold to England's enemies. As Lord John pursues vanishing footmen and women in green velvet dresses these two investigations slowly become intertwined.

Taking a minor character from one series and weaving a story around him was interesting. Lord John becomes more of person which is understandable. He is fastidious and his one line quips are pure gold. I enjoyed this fast engaging read

First Line: "It was the sort of thing one hopes momentarily that one has not really seen - because life would be so much more convenient if one hadn't"

Rating:
(4.0/5)

Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon

Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon
Historical Mystery

This is Gabaldon's first novel in the Lord John series, who was also in the Outlander series as a minor character. Lord John Grey is an officer of the army in 1757 and is appointed to investigate a fellow serviceman's death, whom was suspected of being a traitor. Grey investigates this mystery while also trying to determine if the man betrothed to his niece is poxed. These investigations take him to the bawdy houses of London where the two items he's investigating start to merge in to one investigation.

I remember John Grey from the Outlander series (after I did a bit of research online) and I remembered him being a wussy character without much backbone. That wasn't the case here, which didn't sit right with me. You can't portray a character one way in one of your series and a completely different way in another series. Grey was much more enjoyable in this novel than he was in the Outlander series because he went about things independently and didn't come off as cowardly.

This story is pretty complex. I was interested in figuring out who had done what, however it then took Gabaldon about 50 pages to explain the mystery. Surely things are a bit too complex if it takes you that long to explain?

Those are two minor complaints for this book, which is interesting.

First Line: "It was the sort of thing one hopes momentarily that one has not really seen - because life would be so much more convenient if one hadn't."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Voyager by Diana Gabladon

Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
Historical Fiction

The third book in the Outlander series starts with Claire and her daughter Brianna tracking down what happened to Claire's husband Jaime. Claire left Jaime in Scotland in the 1700s after becoming pregnant with Brianna, travelling back to the 1960s after walking through a stone circle. Worried that Jaime may have died in the Battle of Culloden but soon finds out that that isn't the case and all signs point to Jaime being in Edinburgh.

Claire has to make the decision between her husband and her daughter, and chooses her husband. Travelling back through time Claire finds herself back in 1700 Scotland and quickly finds Jaime who is shocked to see her. They learn of what happened to each other over the 20 years since they last saw one another, and some things Claire isn't too sure she likes. Irregardless, the passion between the two is definitely still there.

Jaime works in Edinburgh as a smuggler of alcohol, which puts him working side-by-side with many shady characters. When his nephew is kidnapped, Claire and Jaime follow his trail all the way to the Caribbean to try and find him.

These books are hard to get through because they're so large! As much as I enjoy this series I always cringe at the thought of reading them because it takes me so long to read a 1000 page book. The story pulls you in right away though and there's just no denying the chemistry between Claire and Jaime!

I can't understand Claire's reasoning for leaving her daughter to go back to her husband. She didn't even seem to give it much thought. You would think that a mother always puts her children before herself but this seemed to me to be a very selfish decision, which bothered me through the entire book.

A great book though, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series which is like a new beginning, given the ending of this book!

First Line: "He was dead."

Rating:
(4.5/5)

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Historical Fiction

Dragonfly in Amber is the second book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Unexpectedly, this one starts in present time even though Outlander ended off in the 1700s with Jaime and Claire together. Claire has a 20 year old daughter, Brianna, and is taking her back to Scotland in order to tell her about who her real father is. Claire also enlists the help of Roger, the son of an acquaintance of Frank Randall's to help her determine which men survived the massacre at Culloden. While Claire tells her daughter about her journey in the 1700s, Gabaldon takes the reader through her life in France and Scotland.
I enjoyed reading about Claire and Jaime in France. I felt like there was a lot more for them to do in the city. It wasn't just running away from the English in the forests like the first one seemed to be. Politics and Claire's knowledge of history played a lot more into this book and it brought up quite an interesting dilemma. Is the course of history set no matter what or can we really alter it? Claire seemed to be continuously asking herself this.
Of course, the chemistry between Claire and Jaime is unbelievable. They are one of the best fictional couples I have ever had the pleasure to read about. Most of the characters from the previous novel made a reappearance. I mentioned in my review of Outlander that I hoped we would see Jenny and Ian again. There was a section of the book where Claire and Jaime got to spend some time with them and it wasn't disappointing.
The ending of the book is heartbreaking!! I won't give anything away but those that have read it will know what I'm talking about. I'm looking forward to starting the next one so I can find out what happens with Jaime and Claire!

Rating:

(4.5/5)