Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon | 850 pages | 1991

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just 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 circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

I decided to reread this after many years and many more books in the series. It has a very special place in my heart, and I enjoyed going back to the beginning of the series and seeing how the writing style has changed (like many others, I actually prefer these earlier books when the writing was more straightforward). This classic took a while to get through, but it did not disappoint.

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

                                       Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, 1070 pages

It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past—or the grave. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice. Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became legend—a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century. Their daughter, Brianna....

Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the stone circle and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history...and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past...or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong....

Book 4 did NOT disappoint! This entire series has been full of adventure and drama to the point that I cannot put them down and I have the sleep deprivation to prove it! Going to try and wait a week until I start the next book though...gotta catch up on laundry that's fallen by the wayside. :)

Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon, 976 pages

For twenty years, Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the mysteries of Scotland’s mist-shrouded Highlands.
 
Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as shocking as the events that gave it birth: the secret of an ancient circle of standing stones, the secret of a love that transcends centuries, and the truth of a man named Jamie Fraser—a Highland warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.
 
Claire’s spellbinding journey continues through the intrigue-ridden French court and the menace of Jacobite plots, to the Highlands of Scotland, through war and death in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.

Loved this one! I read it just as quickly as the first book and enjoyed how the book transitioned from the 1760's to the 1960's. Ready for book 3!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, 850 pages

Scottish Highlands, 1945. Claire Randall, a former British combat nurse, is just 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 circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding clans in the year of Our Lord . . . 1743.
 
Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of a world that threatens her life, and may shatter her heart. Marooned amid danger, passion, and violence, Claire learns her only chance of safety lies in Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior. What begins in compulsion becomes urgent need, and Claire finds herself torn between two very different men, in two irreconcilable lives.

I've never been a fan of historical fiction so when more than 3 people recommended it to me AND I was in need of something new to read, I thought, what the heck? I work at a library...if I hate it, I'll take it back tomorrow and find something else. 

Sometimes trying new things isn't awful...it's awesome AND addicting. The 800 page book was read in 4 days and some sleep was lost but I was so eager to see what happened next! Highly recommend!