99 problems, and a book ain't one

   Another great addition to the Outlander series. I have a lot of the same feelings after finishing this book, that I did after finishing the first book, Outlander. I am first and foremost WOWED by Diana Gabaldon's obvious extensive amounts of knowledge of history, and her absolutely breathtakingly beautiful writing. She is a glorious story teller, and paints such a thorough, detailed picture with her words.

   "I found myself thinking that I had always heretofore assumed that the tendency of eighteenth-century ladies to swoon was due to tight stays; now I rather thought it might be due to idiocy of eighteenth-century men."  haha probably Claire, probably.

   Dragonfly in Amber started out a little different than I was expecting. I wasn't quite sure where Roger Wakefield fit into this story. All was eventually revealed by the end, like seriously, the very end. It was a cool twist, one I did not see coming. I will be rather curious to see what this development will have to do with the future books. We really only just met Roger and Brianna (Claire's daughter) before we were transported back to the past with Clair and Jamie to hear the full story of the events that occurred and led up to Claire being transported back to the present. Of course that means we get ample amounts of Claire and Jamie, which I adored.

   "No," he said shortly. "I don't. And what would ye do if I had lain wi' a whore, Sassenach? Slap my face? Order me out of your chamber? Keep yourself from my bed?"
   I turned and looked at him.
   "I'd kill you," I said through my teeth.
   Both eyebrows shot up, and his mouth dropped slightly with incredulity.
   "Kill me? God, if I found you wi' another man, I'd kill him." He paused, and one corner of his mouth quirked wryly.
   "Mind ye," he said, "I'd no be verra pleased wi' you either, but still, it's him I'd kill."
   "Typical man," I said. "Always missing the point."

  I love these two, whether they are fighting, conspiring together, or gushing over each other, they are always entertaining and it's heartwarming how fiercely they love one another. Sometimes even at the expense of other people. I seriously can not get enough of them!

  It's funny how much I enjoy these books, considering I am not always the biggest fan of historical romances. There are a few that I love, but for the most part, I'm a more contemporary kind of gal. There is just something so demoralizing in the way that women were viewed back then. It's sad to think how little opportunities there were for woman back then, it seemed the most important thing one could do is marry wealthy and produce heirs. I commend Gabaldon on how she writes her women though, she focuses a lot on a few of them, not just the main character. The secondary ones get to shine too, in different and wonderful ways. I also find that at times all the trickery and double agent work is exhausting to keep up with! It's so intricate and there are so many players, each with their own secret agendas, it can be hard to remember, or know for sure, who is a friend or foe.

   My only real complaint is that, my goodness these books are ENORMOUS. They are the kind of books that once you finish you almost feel like you've conquered an enemy lol. I know I threw my arms up, and said "Hell ya! I did that! Done.".  I may have even done my own rendition of Queen's, "We are the Champions".

I felt quite accomplished. Now the length itself isn't really my complaint, so much as, that I feel that if things were trimmed down in quite a few areas, there would still be an AMAZING story here. Gabaldon is so detailed in everything, which can be a blessing and a curse, for there are times where after having finished the beast of a book, you can't help but think the same outcome could have been received sans 200 or so pages. I feel something that must be akin to what can only be described to A.D.D. when reading these books sometimes. The writing is beautiful and I love it, but after so long reading it's hard not to get distracted by the littlest things.

I will say where Outlander does this a lot more just building up the scenery and general atmosphere, or talking about plants and whatnot, Dragonfly in Amber doesn't do that as much, still slightly, but it's more extra scenes, or conflicts altogether could have been removed with no real affect to the story as a whole. But that's just my opinion on it anyway.

  All together this was a great second book in the series, and I do look forward to reading the next book and seeing where the story goes from here. Although I think I might take a break in between these mammoth novels by filling it with a few other books that aren't as hefty. Thank goodness my next read is a novella, just what I need after this big boy.