Outlander

Summer approaches and as it does, the one thing I always get excited to think about is "What am I going to read this summer?" I remember two years ago, when a friend of mine suggested this series to me. I looked at the two inch thick book and rolled my eyes but she told me to trust her- and I did. It was then that I was introduced to a wonderful Scotsman by the name of Jamie Frasier and spent the next few weeks wrapped up in his story and the adventure of the Outlander series.

Here is my review of:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Outlander is one of those books/series you can easily lose yourself in for weeks and not regret a second of it. When you are done with book one, you will be reaching for the next in the series without hesitation.

Claire Randall is a woman who seems to be living a comfortable life with her husband when they go to Scotland for a second honeymoon after being separated for six years while she served in the army. On the trip, her husband Frank begins to research one of his family members who was known as Captain Jack Randall. Everything changes when Claire pays visit to the standing stones of Craigh na Dun. During her initial visit with her husband and some friends they witness a pagan ritual as they hide and play observers to the women. The next day, Claire an ex-army nurse with an interest in botany, goes back to the stones alone to investigate a plant she saw there the day before. While at the stones, she is overwhelmed by a buzzing sound that begins the moment she touches one of the rocks. She passes out and from that moment on, everything changes.

Claire's world is tossed upside down when she regains consciousness and after a series of confusing events, finds herself having traveled back in time to 1743 where she meets not only her husband's relative, the infamous Black Jack Randall, but she also crosses paths with an endearing young man named Jamie Frasier who changes her future and captures her heart in a way her husband never could. Trapped in 1743 Scotland, Claire must find a way to reconcile what has happened and make a life for herself in the past.

Outlander is an adventure from the moment Claire goes to the standing stones and doesn't stop until the last page of the book. The series will suck you into Scotland as easily as it did Claire Randall.

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What I liked: I enjoyed the differences between Jamie and Claire's personalities and how they fall in love. At first I thought it would be difficult to forget Claire had a husband in the present but Diana Gabaldon did  wonderful job of making it believable. The adventure of the book, the cast of characters will keep you turning the pages.

What I didn't like: Diana Gabaldon is a beautiful writer, but she describes everything the characters see, feel, encounter, and are thinking down to leaves on the trees and the grass on the ground. I admit, I am a skimmer when I read if it doesn't move the plot. I have to say, I did find myself skimming at times. Part of it is it's just that's how I read, and part of it was I was so endeared to Jamie and Claire's relationship that I wanted to skip the stuff that wasn't about them. As the series goes on, there were more things about the plot that bugged me than in Outlander, so I will save that for another time.


When you pick up Outlander, be ready to read. It isn't something you get through quickly nor is it something you find yourself wanting to put down. You have been warned ;)

Thank you for Reading my Mind

A Discovery of Witches

This next book I'm going to review, I have to admit, the first time I read it, I hated it. I saw it in the back of Entertainment Weekly and it had the tag line of 'If you liked Twilight, you'll love A Discovery of Witches' so I bought it, and was underwhelmed.  I saw pieces of Twilight everywhere in it, from the dialogue to the characters to the plot points. About a year later, I decided to re-read it when the next book 'Shadow of Night' came out. I'm not sure why, but I did and was pleasantly surprised with how I felt the second time around.

Here's my review of:

A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was struggle to get through the first time. Because it had been mentioned in the same breath as Twilight when I saw a review of it, all I could see were the similarities and it made me shake my head. When I read it again with a different eye (and the sequel was out by then) I found myself enjoying the story more and actually liking the characters where before I was bored by them. It's actually one of the main reasons I read books twice before reviewing them.


*SPOILERS START HERE*




Diana Bishop is a witch who doesn't want to be a witch. She's researching an alchemical manuscript- Ashmole 782- that hasn't been seen in years and somehow it appears in the library Oxford. She senses the magic in it the moment she comes in contact with the book but because she's been denying her witchcraft, she ignores the warnings and doesn't realize the importance of it until it's been returned to the stacks, and vanishes. While in the library, she meets Matthew Clairmont a vampire with an interest in her because of her ability to have called the book from the stacks. He knows the importance of the book, the secrets it's rumored to be carrying and gets close to Diana to see if she can call the manuscript again and try to get his hands on it.

Needless to say, Diana and Matthew fall in love but because of the laws of the Congregation they are forbidden to be together. (of course) The book that was touted to be 'like Twilight' ends up being 'like Outlander' too because for reasons you'll have to read the book to find out, they end up going back in time to stay alive.


*END SPOILERS*




What I liked: I liked the world Deborah Harkness created, the idea behind the story. A witch, intent on denying her craft, who needs to learn more about it in order to save herself and Matthew. I think the Ashmole 782 itself is really interesting- and the scene where she has the encounter with it in the library is well written. Matthew is of course a perfect, wealthy and gorgeous vampire with the patience of a saint to put up with Diana at times. I liked the character of Matthew's mother and her protective ways.

What I didn't like: The book dragged. Often. And I really had to make myself not think Twilight/Outlander as I read it because there are many similar threads within it. I found myself skimming at times because nothing was happening. Diana at the end of the book is still a very inept witch with 'great powers' but has no idea how to use them.


The next book in the trilogy, Shadow of Night is, in my opinion, a better book. It still drags in places, but thee seemed to be more action in it even though the plot still progresses slowly. I am actually looking forward to the next book, interested to see where the story goes. And that is more than I can say after my first read of A Discovery of Witches.

That's why I'm glad I gave it another chance.

Thanks for Reading my Mind.

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One for the Money

As I go through all the books I've read that I want to review, this one has to be next. One of my all time favorites, this book (Romance/Mystery) puts a smile on my face just thinking about it. I should preface this review with the fact that I love to laugh- and this book had me laughing so much, my family eventually asked me to read somewhere else, because I was disturbing them. To me, that's the sign of a great book- when you're enjoying it so much you can't help but let everyone around you know it!

Here's my review of:

One for the Money

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One for the Money is hilarious. Hands down one of the funniest things I have ever read. Janet Evanovich has some of the most interesting, demented, over-the-top, ridiculous, delicious, and crazy characters I've ever read and somehow, it works! The situations Stephanie Plum gets herself into (and out of) will make you laugh out loud.




*SPOILERS START HERE*




Stephanie Plum is living in New Jersey, and down on her luck. Divorced and barely scraping by she seeks out her sleazy cousin Vinnie for a job in in bail bonds business. Needing money, she decided to try her hand at it and begins chasing down criminals so they can appear in court. She charges into the unknown and hilarity ensues. Add to it, the hunky Joe Morelli, a local cop who gets himself accused of murder and jumps bail. Stephanie somehow finds herself on his case and over her head. The two of them have a bit of unfinished business from high school that leads them into a laugh out loud game of cat and mouse.

What I liked:
The characters are over the top and fantastic. Joe Morelli makes you melt, Grandma Mazur steals the show time and time again. Lula gets better as the series goes on and you love her more and more. Stephanie's poor parents just want her to get married again, and are mortified by her outlandish shenanigans. The plot moves, is funny, and it's a yummy romance with a little mystery thrown in.

What I didn't like:
At times I would skim the mystery to get back to the romance. I liked the interactions between the characters so much more than 'solving the mystery.'


In the end, what I wouldn't give to have dinner with the Plum family, with a little Joe Morelli for desert ;)

Great read, fun read. If you've had a bad day, THIS is the book to pick up for an escape and a laugh.

Thanks for Reading my Mind!

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Delirium

So I spent a few days trying to decide what to make my first book review. This YA book, I had recently re-read and decided it would be a good place to start. It would help people to see what I mean about being honest in a review. This book is quite popular and seeing how many times I've seen people reading it in person or on Goodreads, I thought I should check it out. So I did.  And here is my honest review of:

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'll start with the positives:
Cool premise- Love as disease to be cured.
I liked the relationship between Hana and Lena, I thought it was well written and loved them going for their runs together.
The chapter intros from different books in the world of Delirium were very cool and gave a neat perspective of where people's thinking was.


After that, it gets sketchy. The book was a slow start. I really had to make myself keep going and that's unusual for me. The biggest problem I had was with the way the plot rolled out.


*SPOILERS START HERE*


Love is bad, it's a disease. Lena can't wait to be cured. Until she meets Alex, and she falls in love. Not an unusual story arc. Actually it's not unusual for any teenager to believe they are in love with someone. Most do experience that, or an extreme crush they call love- however fighting the need to be 'cured' is somehow portrayed as on the rare side in this book. I would think it'd be quite the opposite. Hana is experiencing all these new things, freedoms, breaking curfew, going to parties and associating with boys *gasp* but is willing to undergo the cure because that's what is expected? That's a pretty atypical teen perspective.

"You said this is what I should do? Okay." It's not what most teens would do, no mater what the consequence.

Even more confusing is that, for Lena's mom, the 'cure' didn't take. She had to be 'cured' three times and then commits suicide. Lena has all these memories of her mom, basically, loving her. She has experienced love (without it being labeled that), yet she's willing to throw that away and have it taken from her- like her sister did.

Even if you accept all that, why would people ever undergo the 'cure' to begin with all those years ago? As a society, we don't want people taking guns, cigarettes, and alcohol away from us, but we'd willingly turn over our capacity to love?

Nope.

I debated reading the next book Pandemonium because I thought, "Maybe it's me. People really like this series." So I peeked at the summary and saw a love triangle was going to develop and went, "Yeah, no." Lena is so desperately in love with Alex that she leaves everything she knows... only to meet up with another guy when they are apart who she despises and she falls for him? Doesn't follow the whole 'in love' thing with Alex so I'm going to save my money and keep looking.


I suppose if angst and love triangles are your thing, this might be a series you'd enjoy. But if you've ever truly been 'in love', I think you will see how a number of things in this just don't quite add up.

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I'd love to hear your thoughts and feel free to disagree with me. I love a good discussion!

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