Denise

I took some time to gather my thoughts about this book before I rated and reviewed it. I really wanted to rate it 5 stars immediately after I finished it but the more that I thought about it the more I realized that 4.5 was the rating I felt it deserved.

I felt exhausted when I finished reading Outlander. I felt so emotionally connected to Claire that her journey felt like my journey. Whether she was in 1945 or 1743 Claire was a compelling character that you couldn't help but love. Claire is stubborn but she has a good heart.

I have to say that I felt a bit bad for her when she was in 1945 because I felt like Frank didn't really appreciate her fully. So you'll imagine my happiness for her when she finds herself in 1743 and meets Jamie. Jamie is a strong, stubborn Scottish man who carries his past with him in the scars on his back. Jamie annoyed me (and Claire) sometimes with his anger and stubbornness but you could tell that he really cared for her.

I loved how this book really embraces the Scottish culture back in the 1700's. I thought it might be difficult reading the Scottish dialogue but it was easy and I could actually imagine their accents in my mind. I don't agree with the way that women were treated in some parts of the book but I do understand that that was the norm back then.

One of the reasons why I decided to rate this book 4.5 stars is because I felt like it got off to a slow start. I understand that the story and characters need to be introduced to readers but I felt like the story didn't pick up until around Part Three. Another reason for my rating was the fact that towards the end of the book Jamie is extremely traumatized by what he has experienced but only a couple chapters later he suddenly just goes back to being how he was before the event. It didn't seem realistic that he just kind of snapped out of it.

This book was an emotional roller coaster and it was a beautifully written look at life in Scotland during the 1700's.