My Scotsman is Back

Here I sit in a boring staff meeting, supposedly listening to a presentation on the smart board. I decide to check my emails on my phone. I cannot waste my precious time...so I peruse through my inbox and there is an email from Goodreads titled "Upcoming Releases". My finger taps the icon....I leisurely scroll down with a gentle flick of the wrist....and there it is. The title leaps off the page and takes my breathe away....THE SCOTTISH PRISONER! OMG.....it's coming! My eyes scan the synopsis, drinking in the words I have waited long to hear again...."Jamie Fraser". I quickly tap on that little word "more"....I need more....I want more....right now! This link takes me to Diana Gabaldon's site. It is here that I let out a little cry of exhilaration, (in the middle of my meeting - thank goodness I am near the back of the room!) for what do I read on my wonderfully informative android phone? READ THE EXCERPT HERE! You mean here...now...I could be with the Scotsman who is unlike any man I have ever conjured in my deepest imagination?! Part of me wants to wait, to savor this little morsel of Jamie alone in my king-size bed, under the soft, feather duvet, where I can envision his brute manliness without any interruptions. Alone with my visions and Diana Gabaldon's magnificent prose. But I can't do it. I cannot wait. So I read...and I read....and I gasp and giggle in the very first sentence! She is a very smart woman, that Diana Gabaldon. She knows all of her Outlander fans are waiting for a piece, a morsel, a glimpse of her infamous Scottish hero Jamie Fraser. So she lets us in with an excerpt from "The Scottish Prisoner", the next book in her Lord John series. True fans know that this book will have a lot of Jamie in it. But it's like eating one of those mini chocolate bars when what you crave is the whole damn Kit Kat. A taste...but not enough to satisfy. Yet better than nothing. So here I sit, ignoring my colleagues and my boss, engrossed in this excerpt, reunited with a time and a place that has become so familiar to me. The release date for the novel is November 29th. The date is ingrained upon my memory, for it will be that night when I slip under the feather duvet and reunite with the red haired Scotsman from the 1700's we all know as Jamie.

Book Review for "The Wild Rose" by Jennifer Donnelly

It's 1914. England is about to declare war on Germany. The world is going to change forever, yet no one can dream of the devastation about to engulf the human race. Women are fighting for the right to vote. Explorers have landed on the South Pole and many are fighting to reach the peaks of the Himalayas. Set within this tumultuous time are Seamus Finnegan and Willa Alden, two people so meant to be together, yet so devastatingly torn apart.

Having successfully reached the South Pole, Seamus has become a famed explorer. He has all he needs....a family that loves him, peers seeking his company on future explorations, a passion that he has fulfilled. But yet....the fire in his eyes is missing.....his soul is void without its other half. He can never feel complete without Willa. But Willa made it clear...she walked away from him. She left him. She blamed him for the loss of her leg. She blamed him for the loss of her dreams.

Willa is living in Tibet, forever bound to the marvelous mountains that stole her leg. She lives with constant pain and overwhelming regret, both of which she tries to drown with pills, drugs and reckless risk-taking. She shouldn't have left Seamus. He is the other half of herself. She realizes this too late. She wants to go to him, to travel back to London and tell him she loves him, but too many years have passed and he would never forgive her. So, she continues on her isolated journey. Until.....word comes to Willa that her father is dying. She must get to him. She must travel back to London. It is at her father's funeral that Willa sees Seamus, and the pull between them is undeniable. And so is the fact that Seamus is now married to another woman, someone he thought would make him happy, someone he thought would make him forget Willa.

Opening this book was like visiting with old friends....no matter how long you've been apart, you settle right back into each other...familiar and true. It was exactly a year ago that I began this journey with these amazing characters. I met Fiona and Joe in the "Tea Rose" and instantly I was hooked. Right away I reached for the second book and not only found myself reunited with familiar characters, but I was rooting for Fiona's long lost brother and notorious crime boss, Sid, in "The Winter Rose". The adventure continues in this third and final installment, "The Wild Rose", where the story centers upon Seamus and Willa. But this book is not just a love story. It is so much more. Through these unforgettable characters, the author realistically and historically explores a time period filled with spies, villains, political struggles, and war heroes, including the legendary Lawrence of Arabia. The plot is complex, with twists and turns that had me at the edge of my seat, my finger hovering to turn the page and continue the exciting pace of the book. How Jennifer Donnelly manages to connect all threads of this vast story is unbelievable and yet, very believable. She is a true talent. She gives her readers an emotional ride. She strips her characters bare, all flaws there for the viewing, and yet the reader urges them on, willing them to get up and move on...to fight....to live.....to love. So often I wanted to reach out and slap Willa, knock some sense into her, make her stop her self-destruction. There is no fluffy happily ever after. The love story is hard-fought, with fate pushing the lovers together, only to be lost to one another again.

Jennifer Donnelly has written an epic tale filled with strife, love, war and destruction, both physical and emotional. Yet she manages to end her story with a sense of hope...a light at the end of the tunnel, not only for Seamus and Willa, but for the world itself:

They had torn themselves apart, she and Seamie. Years ago. Here in Africa. And then in 1914, the world had torn itself apart. Now they, and the world, would put themselves back together. Slowly, with pain, regret, and with hope, they would find the way forward. She didn't know how, exactly. She had no map. No answers. No guarantees. All she had was this day. This impossible mountain rising before her. This sun and this sky. This man and this child. This terrible, wonderful love.

I am sad to say goodbye to these amazing characters. It has been wonderful crying, laughing and loving with the Finnegan family. Perhaps we'll meet again, amidst the costermongers and the hard-working poor of London, where this trilogy began. Perhaps a new, younger member of the Finnegan family will continue the fight for the poor...perhaps a figure like the fiesty Katie. A reader can only hope.
I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher.

"The Wild Rose" is book #12 in the 2011 Historical Romance Challenge.

Review and Giveaway for "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another...

In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone 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's destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning 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 passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

MY REVIEW:

James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser....what's in a name, you might ask. Everything. Honour, passion, strength, intellect, bravery, sex, love, excitement, playfulness, friendship and courage. All of this in one man? Yes...and more! Those of us who are Outlander fans know that there is no other man for any woman other than Jamie.

As soon as I discovered Outlander and the Scottish Highlander named Jamie, there was nothing and no one else for me. I ate, slept, breathed and dreamt only of Jamie. Obsession to the max. I spoke of Jamie to co-workers to the point where they either had to read the book or listen to me. Needless to say, they have joined me in my obsession. I discovered Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series of seven books in October and lived with her characters until February. Five months of Jamie...so little... yet so much. I even re-read Outlander 3 times, most recently for this review. Jamie is the standard by which I measure all others. And thus far in my journey, no one can compare. Even Sarah Donati's Nathanial and Paullina Simons' Alexander don't quite fill the shoes of this great highland hunk. Close...but not quite. What is it about him? Is it his wit, his charm, his sensuality or his raw manliness that draws every reader to him. I believe it's all of this and more.

As in many other series I've read, for me, the first book is the best. It is the place where the journey begins for the characters and the reader. In Outlander, it is the place where Claire finds herself drawn to this young Scotsman, two hundred years in the past. It is the place where she fights against that burning inside her, that brewing passion that she knows will be all-encompassing. It is the place where the truth of her love overtakes her and the force of it plunges her into an emotional abyss, one she can't and won't escape.

Diana Gabaldon is an amazing writer whose talent I truly envy. She has made me fall in love with the beauty of Scotland, the heather in the fields and the mountains in the distance. She has taught me about the clans and their castles and the battle and suffering at Culloden. She has made me believe in a love that is more than physical, more than spiritual, one that transcends time and space. She has made me long for a man that can touch a woman with his eyes, his hands, his lips, but most seductively, with his words. With every turn of the page, I am plunged deeper into Scotland, deeper into battle, and deeper into love with a red-headed warrior named James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser.My thanks to Cheryl Malandrinos and Pump Up Your Book Promotions for inviting me to participate in this tour and to Random House for the review copy and giveaway copy. I was not compensated for my opinions.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Diana Gabaldon is the author of the award-winning, #1 NYT-bestselling OUTLANDER novels, described by Salon magazine as “the smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting “Scrooge McDuck” comics.”

The adventure began in 1991 with the classic OUTLANDER (“historical fiction with a Moebius twist”), has continued through six more New York Times-bestselling novels–DRAGONFLY IN AMBER, VOYAGER, DRUMS OF AUTUMN, THE FIERY CROSS, A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES, and AN ECHO IN THE BONE, with nineteen million copies in print worldwide

The series is published in 26 countries and 23 languages, and includes a nonfiction (well, relatively) companion volume, THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, which provides details on the settings, background, characters, research, and writing of the novels. Gabaldon (it’s pronounced “GAA-bull-dohn”—rhymes with “stone”) has also written several books in a sub-series featuring Lord John Grey (a major minor character from the main series): LORD JOHN AND THE PRIVATE MATTER, LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE, and LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS. Another Lord John book, LORD JOHN AND THE SCOTTISH PRISONER, will probably be published in 2011).

Returning to her comic-book roots, she has also written a graphic novel titled THE EXILE (set within the OUTLANDER universe and featuring the main characters from OUTLANDER), but told from the viewpoint of Jamie Fraser and his godfather, Murtagh. The graphic novel is illustrated by Hoang Nguyen, published by Del-Rey.

Gabaldon is presently working on the third Lord John novel (LORD JOHN AND THE SCOTTISH PRISONER), and the eighth book in the OUTLANDER series. In addition, she is working on a contemporary mystery series, set in Phoenix, and has written Highly Scholarly Introductions (with masses of footnotes) to recent Modern Library editions of Sir Walter Scott’s IVANHOE and Thomas Paine’s COMMON SENSE.

Dr. Gabaldon holds three degrees in science: Zoology, Marine Biology, and Quantitative Behavioral Ecology, (plus an honorary degree as Doctor of Humane Letters, which entitles her to be “Diana Gabaldon, Ph.D., D.H.L.” She supposes this is better than “Diana Gabaldon, Phd.X,”) and spent a dozen years as a university professor with an expertise in scientific computation before beginning to write fiction. She has written scientific articles and textbooks, worked as a contributing editor on the MacMillan ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMPUTERS, founded the scientific-computation journal SCIENCE SOFTWARE QUARTERLY, and has written numerous comic-book scripts for Walt Disney. None of this has anything whatever to do with her novels, but there it is.

She and her husband, Douglas Watkins, have three adult children and live mostly in Scottsdale, Arizona.

You can visit Diana online at www.DianaGabaldon.com

GIVEAWAY:
Thanks to Random House, I have a copy of Outlander to give away! This giveaway is open to Canada and the U.S. and the only requirement is that you are a follower of this blog. Please leave a comment at the end of this post, including your name and email address so that I can contact the winner as soon as possible. The winner will be randomly chosen. This giveaway will end on March 16. Good Luck!

Review for "The Sixth Surrender" by Hana Samek Norton

Lady Juliana is forced to choose between marriage or life in the cloister, thus becoming the prefect pawn of the always scheming Eleanor of Aquitaine. She becomes betrothed to Guerin de Lasalle, a bad boy, a man with no soul, a very unlikeable man by modern standards. What ensues is a tale filled with intrigue, romance, mystery, political drama and scheming royals.

Hana Norton has certainly done her homework. A great deal of research and historical detail add to the richness of the story, with some wonderful descriptions of life in medieval England and France. However, there were so many plot threads and so many characters, some with several different names, that the reader becomes quite lost at times. Those of you who love the 13th century and all of the political intrigue that goes with it, The Sixth Surrender is the book for you.
About the Author:



Hana’s passion for the Middle Ages dates to a childhood exploring the ruins of castles and cloisters in the (now) Czech Republic. She also developed that “lurid taste in fiction,” by reading dog-eared novels full of the drama and melodrama of history. She graduated with an MA from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, and a Ph. D. (both in history, of course), from the University of New Mexico where she currently resides. She is married to an Englishman, teaches part-time, and works as a historical consultant. Her latest book is The Sixth Surrender. You can visit her website at http://www.thesixthsurrender.com


My thanks to Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotions for inviting me to participate in this tour. I was not compensated for my opinions.

Book Review & Giveaway for "Blue Bells of Scotland" by Laura Vosika

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone." Joni Mitchell sang these lines in her song "Big Yellow Taxi". The Counting Crows created their own version, but kept these ever so poignant words. Some of us have learned the effects of these words in our very own lives. For Shawn Kleiner in Laura Vosika's novel Blue Bells of Scotland, these words become a reality.

Shawn Kleiner is a famous twenty-first century trombone player. He has everything....money, fame, talent, a loyal girlfriend, and women swooning over his every step. Niall Campbell is a Highland warrior from the 1300's. A loyal, brave, honest man who is willing to die for his people and their liberty. Within the walls of a Scottish castle tower, these men trade places in time and history. Shawn finds himself back in time, fleeing for his life, pursued by English soldiers. Niall finds himself in the future, with a pregnant girlfriend and scantily clad women throwing themselves at him. One of these men stays true to himself, and the other finds himself on a journey that will change his life forever.

Writers are always being told to "write about what you know". Well, Laura does just that in this historical read. She takes her knowledge of music and weaves a tale of redemption, love and self-discovery. A great deal of research and historical detail add to the believability of the story. I was so entranced with the characters that I felt like I could reach out and touch them. I found myself holding my breath as Shawn hid in the cellar from the English soldiers who sought to kill him; I found myself yelling at Niall to keep searching, don't give up; I found myself reaching out to Shawn at the final fair day, wanting so badly to just grab hold of him and tug him back to the future. I admire the way that Laura Vosika led Shawn down the path of self-discovery, one where he finally comes to be the man I feel he was meant to be. This is a captivating story that you will truly enjoy. I am eagerly awaiting the second installment in this trilogy.About the Author:

Laura Vosika grew up in the military, visiting castles in England, pig fests in Germany, and the historic sites of America’s east coast. She earned a degree in music, and worked for many years as a freelance musician, music teacher, band director, and instructor in private music lessons on harp, piano, winds, and brass. Laura is the mother of 7 boys and 2 girls, and lives in Minnesota. Visit her website at http://www.bluebellstrilogy.com/

Let the music take you there in this book trailer....




My thanks to Dorothy Thompson at Pump Up Your Book Promotions for inviting me to participate in this tour, and to Laura Vosika for the review copy. I was not compensated for my opinions..

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the author, Laura Vosika, I have a copy of Blue Bells of Scotland to give away! This giveaway is open to Canada and the U.S. and the only requirement is that you are a follower of this blog. Please leave a comment at the end of this post, including your name and address so that I can get the book sent off as soon as possible. The winner will be randomly chosen.
Good Luck!

Review for "The Exile" by Diana Gabaldon

I have just spent the last 2 hours in bed with....yes....another man! To be more specific, a hot, red-haired, brawny, gaelic-speaking Scot named James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser. Mmmmmm....Jamie.....he's back and in full colour!

It was with much trepidation that I actually opened this graphic novel, for I didn't want to ruin the perfect picture of James Fraser that has been engrained in my psyche since I began my journey with the Outlander series. I am still not sure how I feel about it. (hence my lack of a star rating on this review) The illustrations are beautiful and the artist, Hoang Nguyen, does a remarkable job with the landscape scenes, bringing forth the immense beauty of the highlands with his use of colour and shades of light and dark. The scene with Jamie and Claire consummating their wedding vows is a hot one, yet tastefully done. The ever-famous page 5...hot...truly Jamie in all of his naked beauty! However, I did have some trouble distinguishing some of the minor male characters, for many of their features were the same. But Claire, who could miss Claire with those huge breasts spilling out of every dress!

Being an Outlander fan, I was already familiar with the story line, and I am glad that there were some plots revealed in this book that were different than the original novel, especially the insights from Murtagh's perspective. However, I don't think there was enough development of characters for a new reader to make a sound connection with any of them. Having said this, it is a fast paced, exciting piece of work that could be an engaging invitation into the world of Jamie and Claire. For those truly addicted to Outlander and everything JAMIE, it is a great addition to your collection.



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Review for "Lord John and The Brotherhood of the Blade" by Diana Gabaldon

Lord John is once again in the midst of a mystery. However, this time it is a mystery that has haunted his family since his childhood. Lord John's father, the late Duke of Pardloe, was found dead in his home, a gun in his hand and his reputation sullied with rumours of being a Jacobite sympathizer. Did the Duke kill himself? Lord John knows he didn't and is desperate to prove it and in the process, reclaim his father's honour.

I liked this book more than the first installment in the Lord John series. As the story moves between John investigating his father's mysterious death, John's love affair with Percy Wainwright and his preparations for war, the reader learns a great deal more about this nobleman. A large part of the book focuses on the growing relationship between Lord John and Percy, with well-written, tender love scenes as well as some rough and raunchy ones too. If you are a homophobic fool, this is not the book for you. Although Lord John finds himself growing more and more fond of Percy, he cannot dispel the feelings he still holds for Jamie Fraser. Lord John's unrequieted love for the Outlander Scotsman makes me feel sympathy for him, for it is a deeply felt love, one within his soul, one he cannot forget, even in the arms of another lover.

Once again, Diana Gabaldon is amazing in her descriptions of historical accounts, with gripping battle scenes that make you feel the explosions of the cannons as they tear through the air. I did find the story to be a bit convoluted at times, with many names and connections to be remembered. However, I truly enjoyed the personal insights into Lord John's life...his relationship with his older brother Hal, his growing love for another man, and his sense of honour. This is an interesting and engaging book, written with wit and humour and full of details of 18th century London society. I will surely be reading the third and final installment.

Review for "Lord John and The Private Matter" by Diana Gabaldon

London, 1757, brothels, molly-houses, a dead soldier, spies, an Irish apothecary, treason, adultery, a woman in a green dress (or is it a man?), an escape upon the high seas, and a gay man as the lead character....how could I not read this book!

Lord John has made a shocking discovery while using the privy at a gentleman’s club. The man his cousin is betrothed to has a sore on his “private member”. Shocked and worried about a resulting scandal in his family, Lord John makes it his mission to confront the Honourable Joseph Trevelyan. However, being a major in His Majesty’s army, Lord John is called upon to investigate a fellow soldier’s death and possible act of treason. Investigating both matters at once, Lord John is led from “the drawing rooms of the nobility” to the seedy streets of London and a molly-house he frequented in his not so distant past. He finds himself in the midst of treachery and murder where two mysteries suddenly entwine themselves, both of which he is determined to solve.

Diana Gabaldon is an amazing author whose research is so impeccable that she sweeps you into the adventure with her rich, vivid descriptions. Those who loved the Outlander series will surely enjoy the plights of Lord John, although you will miss Jamie and Claire. However, since Lord John is in love with Jamie, he does think of the Scottish hunk in several spots throughout the book. Here is one such thought:

“Grey took comfort in the imagined vision – a long-legged man striding over the high fells of the Lake District, face turned up toward sun and scudding cloud, wind blowing through the richness of his auburn hair, plastering shirt and breeches tight against a lean, hard body.”(pg.14)

Yes, my Lord, I miss him too!

It was interesting to get a closer look into the character of Lord John, a gay man who always acts honourably and with a strong loyalty to his family and country. Always the gentleman, he is described as a lean, handsome man, whose sense of humour is revealed in his banter with others and with himself throughout the book. However, there is another side to this nobleman, which we find out as we enter the seedier parts of London’s night life where pieces of his past are revealed. True fans of Diana Gabaldon’s style, depth and wit will be rewarded with a great story where seemingly separate events are intricately and cleverly woven together. If history mixed with a mystery is your thing, you will not be disappointed with this tale.

Review for "The Winter Rose" by Jennifer Donnelly

India Selwyn Jones isn't a blond, spoiled, stunningly attractive heiress. Yes, she comes from money but you wouldn't know it to look at her. Her clothes are clean yet very worn; her hair a pretty colour but tangled and hastily pulled back and twisted atop her head; her eyes beautiful yet hidden behind spectacles. She could be you or I, a hard working woman wanting to make a difference in a cold world. What does make her beautiful is her inner being, her drive, determination, strength of spirit and generous soul. She is a female doctor in England, battling for respect and equality with her male counterparts in the early 1900s. Instead of taking the easy road after medical school and practising her profession in the esteemed parts of London, she sets off for the East End to serve the bitterly poor. It is here that she encounters Sid Malone, the same Sid Malone we were introduced to in The Tea Rose. He is the notorious gangster ruling the streets of London with fear and a heavy hand. The fates allow Sid and India to meet, but she isn't afraid of this mob boss....she is infuriated by his "business adventures" which affect the poorest people of London...her patients. Little does she know that in his own way, this seemingly cold-hearted man is as determined as she is to help those who have nothing.

Malone represents everything that India loathes. He is the polar opposite to her fiance, the aristocratic Freddie Lytton, a man on his way up in the House of Commons, but also a man that would do anything, including using India, to get where he wants to be. Yet India can't help but be drawn to Sid and his mysterious past. She soon realizes that he is a wounded man, a good man that "sometimes does bad things". Sid finds himself drawn to this fiesty, determined woman who somehow has the ability to make him want to be a better man, a man he was meant to be before that fateful night so many years ago...a lifetime ago. India gives Sid something no one else has ever given him....hope....a hope steeped in love and acceptance...a hope that he can lead the life he truly yearns for, the life he was supposed to lead. But he can only do it with India at his side. And there lies the battle.

In this second installment of the Tea Rose trilogy, Jennifer Donnelly makes us aware of the bitter poverty in London and the struggle of those trying to eradicate it. She takes us from the brutal streets of Whitechapel to the exotic plains of Africa and across the ocean to America. And all the while the reader is immersed in a plot that intertwines murder, sex, politics, women's rights and a bittersweet love story. I so wanted India and Sid to be together... to beat the odds.... to prove that there are second chances in life...to believe in hope even when living in hell...and most of all to believe that we all deserve to be loved. Isn't that what we all hope for?

Review for "The Tea Rose" by Jennifer Donnelly

Could I do it? Could I face life bereft of my heart and soul, live life without the one that makes me wake with a smile and laughter in my eyes? I don't know. I suppose I would have to, yet I'm sure there would be something missing, a hole inside me that I would fill with the necessities of living...a job, some friendship, family. But I am sure that at some point the sadness of my lonely existence would overtake me. Would I have the courage to move on, to simply exist? This is the plight of Fiona Finnegan in Jennifer Donnelly's The Tea Rose.

It is 1888 and Jack the Ripper is wreaking havoc in East London. Amidst this terror is Fiona Finnegan, a young girl with a dream, a dream she shares with her lifelong love, Joe. They are supposed to be together forever, they are supposed to open their own shop, they are supposed to live happily ever after. But of coarse, life is not a fairy tale for Fiona. She is thrust into a world she never asked for, a world filled with sorrow, murder, despair and tragedy...a world without her Joe.


The Tea Rose is a story of murder, betrayal, innocence lost and strength found. As I turned the pages, I couldn't help but be drawn in by this strong female character. Her determination, strength and drive mixed with an unmistakable innocence draws everyone to her. Only she feels the emptiness inside her, that hole that cannot be filled by her large mansion in New York or her millions of dollars. Not even the wealthy entrepreneur, the handsome and much older and experienced Will McClane, can give her what she needs. Although I would have liked to feel more of the connection between Joe and Fiona, I am reminded of the strong message in this story, one that Fiona held on to....."The day you let someone take your dreams from you, you may as well head straight to the undertaker's. You're just as good as dead." And so, I keep dreaming.....

Review for "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon

James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser....what's in a name, you might ask. Everything. Honour, passion, strength, intellect, bravery, sex, love, excitement, playfulness, friendship and courage. All of this in one man? Yes...and more! Those of us who are Outlander fans know that there is no other man for any woman other than Jamie.

As soon as I discovered Outlander and the Scottish Highlander named Jamie, there was nothing and no one else for me. I ate, slept, breathed and dreamt only of Jamie. Obsession to the max. I spoke of Jamie to co-workers to the point where they either had to read the book or listen to me. Needless to say, they have joined me in my obsession. I discovered Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series of seven books in October and lived with her characters until February. Five months of Jamie...so little... yet so much. Jamie is the standard by which I measure all others. And thus far in my journey, no one can compare. Even Sarah Donati's Nathanial and Paullina Simons' Alexander don't quite fill the shoes of this great highland hunk. Close...but not quite. What is it about him? Is it his wit, his charm, his sensuality or his raw manliness that draws every reader to him. I believe it's all of this and more.

As in many other series I've read, for me, the first book is the best. It is the place where the journey begins for the characters and the reader. In Outlander, it is the place where Claire finds herself drawn to this young Scotsman, two hundred years in the past. It is the place where she fights against that burning inside her, that brewing passion that she knows will be all-encompassing. It is the place where the truth of her love overtakes her and the force of it plunges her into an emotional abyss, one she can't and won't escape.

Diana Gabaldon is an amazing writer whose talent I truly envy. She has made me fall in love with the beauty of Scotland, the heather in the fields and the mountains in the distance. She has taught me about the clans and their castles and the battle and suffering at Culloden. She has made me believe in a love that is more than physical, more than spiritual, one that transcends time and space. She has made me long for a man that can touch a woman with his eyes, his hands, his lips, but most seductively, with his words. With every turn of the page, I am plunged deeper into Scotland, deeper into battle, and deeper into love with a red-headed warrior named James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser.

Review for "The Bronze Horseman" by Paullina Simons

She sits there, enjoying an icecream, her favourite, creme brulee, wearing a white dress with red roses and ridiculously uncomfortable high heels. It is a glorious June day in Leningrad as she sits on the bench, playfully swinging her legs as she waits for the bus. She glances up and there he is, staring, unabashadly from across the street. From that moment on, Tatiana's life is over...yet it is only just beginning. On this June day, Hitler has invaded Russia and Tatiana has met her Alexander.

This book has taken me by surprise. I had no interest in Russia and didn't know much about its land or people. However, I became immediately drawn into the plot, caught up in the undeniable connection between Tatiana and Alexander. Perhaps it is the strong female character that keeps me reading, a strength of spirit that does not impede on her innocence. Perhaps it is the beautiful dark-haired soldier, Alexander, very tall, very strong and unyielding in his love for Tatiana. Perhaps it is the struggle and the strife that these two people endure in order to be together, the sickness, starvation, war, guilt, deception. I couldn't help but cry for them when they were together and weep for them when they were apart.

In my opinion, the sign of a great writer is the impact the characters leave upon the reader. I can honestly say that I am obsessed. I cannot let go. I want to be that young girl walking with that tall, dark-haired soldier through the Summer Garden. I want that summer month in Lazarevo where I finally feel my one and only true love, in every sense of the word. I want it all, St. Isaac's cathedral, Lake Lagoda, Luga, Leningrad, the Fields of Mars, and the Bronze Horseman. I want my Alexander.

The struggle continues for Tatiana and Alexander in the second book of the trilogy, which of coarse, I have quickly begun. These characters are imprinted upon my psyche and their love for each other burns within my own heart. Thank god their journey is not over, and thus, neither is mine......