To Read, Perchance to Dream: Book Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

I've been mainly reviewing new books on my blog so far. Books that were published in 2011 or late 2010, some not even published yet. I really love it! However, there are some books I've found out about that I wanted to read that were published awhile ago. I have a confession to make...I have loved reading since I was a child, but there was a time, for about the last 6 years or so, that I didn't read much at all. A lot was going on in my life and I was really enjoying my tv and netflix! *hangs head in shame* I hope you fellow bookies can forgive me! I came to my senses and was looking for good books to read when I found this world of book review blogging and I came to life again! So there's been a lot of great books that I have missed and I'm going to get those read. Since I'm reading them, I'm going to review them on here, too. Perhaps there are some of you who have missed some of these "older" books and I can bring them to your attention. If you've read them, maybe I can bring them back to your attention and you can remember them again. Here's my first "oldie" review.

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

For me, the book started out a bit slow. I found myself wondering why I had heard such good things about it when it didn't seem so great. But I kept going to give it a fair try. Then Claire was thrown back in time and the book came alive! 18th century Scotland at its best and worst.

Ms. Gabaldon did an excellent job in her descriptive narratives. I could see the beauty of Scotland and the ugliness the war brought to it. Her characters are well developed and I quickly found myself loving some and hating others. Even though Claire and James had their flaws, they were so vivid and real, it was easy to care about them.

For the most part, the action was nicely paced, though I felt it dragged a little at times and maybe could have done with some editing. I see that some reviewers had problems with Claire's "infidelity." It's not an easy issue to deal with, but there was little way around it. She was trapped 200 years in the past and didn't know if she'd ever see her husband again, she was human, she had feelings. Also, some did not like the rather graphic love scenes, but I never felt they were excessive or truly pornographic. However, because of these and other elements of the book, I would not recommend this book be read by anyone other than adults.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. I read it in two days because I didn't want to put it down. The house didn't get cleaned, but I was happy! I can't wait to read the rest of the series. If you haven't tried it, get it now!