This book is so richly written that you will be immersed in the Scottish Highlands in every way. The writing style is simply breathtaking in it's lush descriptions. I also rather enjoyed that Diana Gabaldon writes in the way that the Scottish words are pronounced making it easier to really "hear" the characters' voices. She paints the world for you and wraps you up in it completely.
When we begin to follow Claire in 1945 on her second honeymoon with her husband, Frank, you almost immediately get the sense that she is a force to be reckoned with. I felt like Frank didn't realize her strength though. I got rather a demure vibe of her in his presence and that perhaps since they were apart during her time as a nurse in the war, that he didn't really understand how tough she was. It seemed an odd match for me from the beginning. Frank is this quiet, scholarly type who's off in his head thinking a lot of the time while Claire is this fireball who stays quiet and does her own thing away from him a lot. Maybe when they met they balanced each other, but after so many years apart they seem mismatched in personality. There is one particular scene that hints at Frank's possible infidelity to Claire while they were separated when he more or less accuses her of the same. The whole first few chapters where we are with Claire and Frank just feel forced to me. Not the writing, but their relationship.
When Claire goes off on her own again to search for some flowers while Frank has his nose in the books, it's almost a relief when she accidentally gets transported through the standing stones to 1743 Scotland. We find Claire suddenly thrust into the center of a battle between some highlanders and the British red coats. She runs into a man who looks exactly like Frank and for a moment thinks it's a movie set, until she realizes it isn't Frank, but his ancestor who looks almost exactly like him, Black Jack Randall. Still not quite convinced until he gets violent with her it takes her a few minutes to understand that she is in danger. She is suddenly rescued by one of the highlanders and taken back to their hideout where she meets Jamie. This is the first time we get a true sense of her strength of character. She is alone and afraid and not entirely sure of what is going on or if she is in extreme danger, but when she sees this group of men attempt to set Jamie's dislocated shoulder in a way that would injure him further, she jumps in and tells them off and completely domineers them to help this man she doesn't even know. They don't know what to make of this tough, foul mouthed woman who is dressed strangely so they take her with them. Thus begins her adventure in the past.
When Jamie and Claire meet you can see that they are both stubborn and have very strong personalities. They immediately feel more compatible as a potential couple. I do like that they don't fall in love at first sight though. At first Claire even thinks he is a suitable match for a young girl in the castle and never even considers him for herself since she is still married to Frank and plotting how to get back to him. The first few hundred pages do move a bit slower because there is so much set up and Claire getting her bearings and trying to figure out what she needs to do. After she accepts what has happened though and begins to plan, there is no stopping the momentum of their journey. We are taken on this whirlwind of misadventures that will keep you turning the pages long into the night. This is quite a long book and there is so much that happens in it that it can't be summed up shortly, but to say you will thoroughly enjoy it is an understatement. Due to a series of events Jamie and Claire are forced to marry in order to protect Claire, but this is when they really begin to get to know each other. They take their time and don't reveal every part of themselves to one another all at once. In the end we are still watching them open up to each other. It is much more real feeling and almost gritty than her whirlwind wartime romance with Frank. There are certain scenes that are difficult to read such as the attempted rape and the punishment scenes. They may be historically accurate as to how women were treated in that time, but to a modern day female reader, it was tough to stomach at certain points. The good thing is that it taught Jamie a lesson as well as teaching Claire what she can and cannot stand for. There is a lot of graphic violence as well as very descriptive love scenes so I wouldn't recommend this for younger readers, but for an advanced or mature reader even the ugly bits were well written.
I could not get enough of Claire and Jamie and can't wait to pick up the next book. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves romance, historical fiction, action adventure, political intrigue, time travel, or just a really beautifully written piece of fiction.
