For moons people have recommended this book to me, all the while sighing "oh Jamie...". I was hesitant to get into another series of 1000+ page books, and wasn't sure about the whole time-travel/historical fiction/romance novel concept. I'm so glad I finally listened and read this amazing novel! The beginning was a bit dull and hard to get into, but once Claire travelled through time, and we met our hero Jamie, I couldn't wait to find pockets of time read a page or 10 to see where things would go. By the time I got to the last 25% of the book, I literally could not put it down. "Oh Jamie" is right. He is the original Edward Cullen, and a superior, and epic hero for the ages. Claire is a strong leading lady, with progressive attitudes for the 1920s, nevermind her time-travelled 1700s. With characters like these, I'm looking forward to the balance of the series. Cannot recommend this book enough!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon was a really good book and I have had it on my to be read list for a while now and I have had people recommend this book to me right, left and center. I thought the story was good but was slow in a lot of parts and I liked the characters but they got on my nerves sometimes and overall I think I would have loved this book and would have thought it was amazing if it was cut in half. Now don't get me wrong I don't mind big books and I like the monster reads like everyone but those books for me needs to be consistantly good and this one wasn't for me, I just felt that even though the info that was in the book made sense it wasn't really needed and it dragged the book a bit. Overall I did enjoy the book and I can see why people always say to read these books and I will read the next in the series but I was expecting a bit more. :0)

Now I know what all the fuss is about! In the beginning of the story, Claire has been reunited with her husband, Frank, in Scotland. For much of their eight-year marriage, they have been separated due to World War II. Claire, a WWII nurse, is picking flowers at a place called Craigh na Dun, where the stones have been arranged in a circle atop a hill. As she leans down, she hears a buzzing noise coming from between two of the rocks. Claire has somehow come upon a portal and travels two centuries back in time. At first, Claire has no idea what has happened and believes she has stumbled onto a movie set. Naturally, she is dumb-founded when she finally realizes what has happened. Her nursing skills come in handy, as she is more educated about modern medicines and treatment than even the doctors in that age! Claire treats a young man named James “Jamie” Fraser, who is an injured warrior. She rides with him back to Castle Leoch, which is owned by the Mackenzie Clan. They are very suspicious of her and think that she is a spy. Her knowledge of medicine is her saving grace, and she stays on at the Castle to treat the locals. She takes over the room occupied by the previous doctor and sorts through his cache of remedies. She discards much of the useless folk remedies but finds some herbal medicines to be of value. All the while, she can only think about how to get back to Craigh na Dun so that she can return to Frank. One of the head of the Mackenzie Clan, Dougall, takes Claire to Captain John Randall (who, coincidentally, is an ancestor of husband, Frank!) so that she can be questioned. It does not go so well, and Claire is ordered to be brought back for further interrogation. The only way to avoid the clutches of Captain Randall again is for Claire to be wedded to a Scotsman. The lucky lady is wed to hunky Jamie Fraser. She eventually develops true feelings for Jamie (who wouldn’t?), and she is torn between staying with Jamie in the 18th century or trying to return to Frank in the 20th century. Her education and skills can be put to good use in this new life of hers, and she feels needed and that she can do a lot of good here. We should all be so adaptable! Claire actually finds that she enjoys this simpler lifestyle and that her work is rewarding. And with yummy Jamie to keep her bed warm, what more could a woman want? With all the hype about Jamie, I had expected the scenes to be hotter. They are a little tamer than what I am used to from the likes of J.R. Ward and Christine Feehan, but Gabaldon’s scenes are more romantic: Jamie to Claire: "Does it ever stop? The wanting you?" "Even when I've just left ye. I want you so much my chest feels tight and my fingers ache with wanting to touch ye again." Jamie to Claire: "And I mean to hear ye groan like that again. And to moan and sob, even though you dinna wish to, for ye canna help it. I mean to make you sigh as though your heart would break, and scream with the wanting, and at last to cry out in my arms, and I shall know that I've served ye well." Jamie to Claire: "Oh, aye, Sassenach. I am your master . . . and you're mine. Seems I canna possess your soul without losing my own." Jamie to Claire: “Ye are blood of my blood and bone of my bone I give you my body that we two might be one I give you my spirit till your life shall be done.” Ahhhhhhhhh, Jamie! What woman wouldn’t want to stay with him? He is quite possibly the most romantic hero that I've ever read! What I loved most about Claire is that she did remain torn between her two lives right up until the end. She clearly is in love with two men, and it eats away at her even though she falls quickly and madly for Jamie. I loved Gabaldon’s scene of Claire’s confession at The Abbey. It was heart‑wrenching to watch Claire grapple with her emotions as she ponders the moral aspects of her dilemma and also for Jamie to come to terms with what has happened to him. It did bother me a bit that Claire could so quickly appear to move on with her life so, for me, this was a much-needed time of reflection. I thought that Gabaldon ended this segment of the tale on the right note! At this point in my life with young children, I would never be able to find the time to sit down and read this lengthy tome. It is for this reason that I am so thrilled that audiobooks exist! At nearly 33 hours, I was a little reluctant to start this audiobook because I worried that it would not hold my interest for the duration. Boy, was I wrong! Narrator Davina Porter is truly remarkable! Her voice is so rich with emotion. I loved her Scottish brogue, and she is quite convincing in her portrayal of Jamie and the other Scots. Even if you have read Outlander, I recommend listening to the audiobook. You will be captivated by Porter’s performance! I was hooked from beginning to end, and I can’t wait to dive into the next in the series, Dragonfly in Amber.

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*** I bought this book a while ago only because I was addicted to series books – theTwilight series and the House of Night series were at the top of my list. When I got the books in the mail – I ordered the first 2 – I felt a little taken aback … 850 pages for the first book? Wow. Not that I don’t like a good read, but the print was tiny and the book was big. So onto the shelf it went. After months of sitting on the bookshelf, I finally pulled it down and took an hours worth of time to really get into it. I was immediately hooked! I know, I know … there’s rape, murder, sex, a beating, etc. But I didn’t feel put off at all by any of this. Yes, when Jamie is getting “tortured” in the prison, I felt a little grossed out by it, but you know what? It’s a book. Also, with the sex scenes, I didn’t find them to be that bad. Sure they’re no Harlequin novel, but I’ve read worse. Way worse. Case in point, I felt like I had been violated after reading the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Enough so that I just can’t talk myself into reading the other 6 books in the box-set (this was a bad choice for the “series” books I was going for, but I digress.). Yes, Claire gets beaten, but that’s what happened in that time. And they talked about it afterwards and clarified that that was NOT going to happen again. I wouldn’t say that it was totally let go. As for Claire going back in time and falling in love with Jamie, well, it happens. And it wasn’t just justified by Frank not being born yet. Claire probably could have tried to go back anytime, but she felt like she belonged in that period and was actually helping people, feeling needed. She had been away from Frank for so long, what with the war going on, and I think that people can drift apart in that amount of time (what was it, 6 years?). And the fact that she had to have sex with Jamie on their wedding night, well I think that’s what had to be done in that time period. In the end, I couldn’t tear myself away from this book. 850 pages or not, Outlanderwas a fantastic read, even if I had to read some of the Scottish speaking outloud to understand what was being said. Gabaldon is a great writer and really knows how to draw the reader in with a story. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in the series!

I picked up this book after a random woman in chapters saw me looking at it and told me it was one of her favourite books of all time. I enjoyed it and it was certainly a page turner, but it would not be in my top 10. Regardless, it's definitely worth a read.

In 1946, after WWII, a young Englishwoman named Claire Beauchamp Randall goes to the Scottish Highlands with her husband, Frank. She’s an ex-combat nurse, he’s been in the army as well, they’ve been separated for the last six years, and this is a second honeymoon; they’re getting re-acquainted with each other, thinking of starting a family. But one day Claire goes out walking by herself, and comes across a circle of standing stones–such circles are in fact common all over northern Britain. She walks through a cleft stone in the circle….and disappears. Back into 1743, where the first person she meets is a gentleman in an 18th-century army officer’s uniform.

I dare say the word "epic" is actually warranted. I highly recommend this series (at least the first few installments) if you're looking for good old fashioned entertainment (which in my books means high stakes, a sexy, tortured hero, and a brave, clever heroine). The passionate love affair of Claire and Jamie is one of my favorite literary romances, and a few of my girlfriends have confessed the same. When Claire is first stranded back in time, I was rooting for her to find a way home. But soon I couldn't imagine anything worse for her than to be separated from this dangerous young highlander and his brutal world. The writing is impressively rich in historical detail, but still quite easy to navigate, perhaps because we are seeing through Claire's twentieth century eyes. Some of the more graphic descriptions are jarring, but I think this more effectively conveys the harsh reality of their time and place - we see what has made Jamie who he is and what he and Claire will have to endure to stay together and to survive.

Love history....perilous adventures....romance....this book is for you! I have thoroughly enjoyed this read and only getting started in the series. Although, if this was the only book you read, you would not feel that you missed out on the series. Or at least, that's how I feel and I have only just finished it. The story begins in the historical era of post-world war which draws you into a moment in time...and the writer is able to begin a story which is only, literally, the tip of an iceberg and goes back farther than you can imagine. This book has so many elements that make it appealing. Fantastic characters (nasty, evil villains, empowered hero's, independant and strong heroine) that are put together in one part science fiction mixed with history and romance. Not much more you can grasp at in a story and successfully tie it together as this author has. Highly recommended!

I think I first found this book while wandering a bookstore in 1999 or 2000. I loved it almost immediately! I couldn't put it down. It has the perfect combination of history, fantasy, drama and romance! The characters are vibrant and exceptional. I have read this book over and over ... and over and over.... along with all the ones that follow in this series. In fact, I love the series so much that after loaning the first set (which I didn't get back), I went out and bought the entire set again. I do NOT lend these books anymore! I do, however, recommend them to anyone who loves historical fiction with a touch of fantasy and romance. If you haven't read it yet, buy it and read it. You will be glad you did. At present, I'm still "patiently" waiting for the next installment in the series. If I could give this book MORE than 5 stars, I would! It is a truly great read!

Hooked is the only work my daughter and I can say about this book. I hope that the authour can keep the others as well discovered. Not going to read reviews on 3rd book yet.