TEST
I credit Diana Gabaldon with my return to romance reading after a nearly 30-year hiatus, and to the discovery of All About Romance as my go-to site for reading recommendations. I am a bit obsessive compulsive in my reading and back in 2006 was in the midst of a Pride and Prejudice sequel run when I chanced upon A Breath of Snow and Ashes on a display at Books-A-Million. It did not take me long to discover that I had started this series with a book that was quite far along in the story, but I was sufficiently entertained to finish it before buying Outlander. I will just say that Gabaldon had me at Sassenach.
<!– var browName = navigator.appName; var SiteID = 1; var ZoneID = 4; var browDateTime = (new Date()).getTime(); if (browName=='Netscape') { document.write('‘); document.write(”); } if (browName!=’Netscape’) { document.write(‘‘); document.write(”); } // –> 
I quickly read through the remaining books in the series and was so upset there were no more books as yet that I went on a search to find more time travel romances. That search led me to All About Romance and eight years later here I am…still. I am also still a great Gabaldon fan and am marking off the days until Outlander premieres as a series on Starz. The previous book in this series (An Echo in the Bone) was not my favorite. It was still a good book, but the number of story arcs had grown to such a degree that I felt parts of it were a little disjointed. However, whatever problems Diana Gabaldon may have had controlling the different stories in Echo, she seems to have corrected that problem in Written in My Own Heart’s Blood. Knowing that I would be writing a review for this book, I tried to really look for any problems. I just did not find them. In fact, I found myself slowing down considerably in my reading the last 100 pages because I could not bear for it to be over.
If one has not read any of these books, it would probably be best just to stop reading now and go out and buy Outlander. Gabaldon left us with several cliff-hangers at the end of Echo and if you are not current with the series, this review will make little sense. When MOBY (Gabaldon’s acronym for the book) opens, Claire Fraser Grey (living in Philadelphia) has just found out that Jamie is not dead and she is in a bigamous marriage to Lord John Grey. Brianna discovers that Jem did NOT go back in time and that Roger has traveled back to the past with no way of knowing this. Ian is unaware that both Jamie and his mother Jenny are still alive and William has discovered that everyone has been lying to him his entire life about his paternity. Lord John is confronted by Jamie and when he tells Jamie that he slept with Claire, Jamie beats him to a pulp and leaves him. As all action takes place right smack dab in the middle of the American Revolution, armies are everywhere and Lord John is captured by American forces with the threat of being a spy “hanging” over his head. Jamie throws his back out while beating Lord John to a pulp and is detained from getting back to Claire. During the interim, he meets General George Washington and is given an order to lead an American regiment in an upcoming war. So the book opens with a bang and just keeps going.
While Claire and Jamie are the headliners of this series, there are quite a few secondary characters that deserve high billing as well. I have always loved Ian Murray Jr. Readers of Gabaldon’s book have watched him grow up and for most of his life, he just could not seem to catch a break. However, his relationship with Rachel Hunter of the Society of Friends seems to have changed Ian’s luck and it is impossible not to root for his happiness. Fergus and Marsali figure more prominently in this book, as does Jenny Murray as she has now moved to America. And Lord John’s brother Hal, the Duke of Pardoe, shows up and there is a mystery surrounding his oldest son that drives part of the narrative with William.
There have been times throughout the books that Brianna has gotten on my nerves a bit. I did not always care for her and Roger’s story as much as some of the other relationships in these books. But I really love the way that Gabaldon wrote this latest installment of the MacKenzies and their trials and tribulations. More information about time traveling is gleaned from this story arc as well as a surprise or two. Gabaldon again leaves the reader hanging at the end of the book, but the situations are not quite as dire as they were in Echo, so readers will not be tempted to throw the book at the wall.
As usual, Diana Gabaldon puts out another winner and unfortunately readers around the world will have to wait years for the next installment. Fortunately, we will all have the Starz series beginning on August 9th to tide us over until next we meet Jamie and Claire Fraser in the ninth book of this remarkable series. If the price puts you off, buy the ebook version and just wait for the book to come out in paperback. However, this book is worth the price and my DIK bag just gained a little more weight when I added this book to the pile.
Grade: A
Book Type: Time Travel Fiction
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 23/06/14
Publication Date: 2014/06
I am from Alabama where I live with my husband of over 30 years in our now empty nest. Our three adult children have flown the coop and my husband and I are getting ready to build that retirement house in the next few years when I hope to have even more time for reading. I am a lifelong reader and while I read primarily romance, I enjoy most genres. If an author can tell a good story, I will read it.
Related Reviews
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.