Book Review: Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

 

Goodreads Summary: In her now-classic novel Outlander, Diana Gabaldon told the story of Claire Randall, an English ex-combat nurse who walks through a stone circle in the Scottish Highlands in 1946, and disappears . . . into 1743. The story unfolded from there in seven bestselling novels, and CNN has called it “a grand adventure written on a canvas that probes the heart, weighs the soul and measures the human spirit across [centuries].” Now the story continues in Written in My Own Heart’s Blood.
1778: France declares war on Great Britain, the British army leaves Philadelphia, and George Washington’s troops leave Valley Forge in pursuit. At this moment, Jamie Fraser returns from a presumed watery grave to discover that his best friend has married his wife, his illegitimate son has discovered (to his horror) who his father really is, and his beloved nephew, Ian, wants to marry a Quaker. Meanwhile, Jamie’s wife, Claire, and his sister, Jenny, are busy picking up the pieces.

The Frasers can only be thankful that their daughter Brianna and her family are safe in twentieth-century Scotland. Or not. In fact, Brianna is searching for her own son, who was kidnapped by a man determined to learn her family’s secrets. Her husband, Roger, has ventured into the past in search of the missing boy . . . never suspecting that the object of his quest has not left the present. Now, with Roger out of the way, the kidnapper can focus on his true target: Brianna herself.

Goodreads Rating: 4.53 stars with over 98,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Time Travel, 

Goodreads Challenge: 6/50 (5 behind)

2021 Reading Challenge: #29, Read a book from your favorite genre (find the full challenge here)

Reviews on the series (Alphabetical): A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Dragonfly in Amber, Drums of Autumn, An Echo in the Bone, The Fiery Cross, Outlander, Voyager, 

Book Review:

Hello Readers! Apparently, there is a light at the end of the Outlander tunnel- at least for now. I had absolutely no intention of binge-reading the series, but it was too good. I've basically lost so much sleep while going through the remaining three books. And now I wait for book nine to be released.

I stayed up entirely way too late reading Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon. This series combines two genres I love- Fantasy and Historical Fiction, hence my placement for #29. WIMOHB really dives into both. Historically, it's centered around the Revolutionary War. There's a lot more building on how time-traveling works as well. For the Revolutionary War part of it, Diana Gabaldon brought in historical figures like Washington, Benedict Arnold, Marquise de La Fayette, and the Hamiltons (briefly). Being the Hamilton addict that I am, this only meant I had the Hamilton soundtrack in my head while reading. Especially Guns and Ships. 

There are all kinds of exciting turns that happen with the time travel plotline. Brianna and Roger, being the scholars they are, start recording a lot of what they know. There's a bit of a twist with Jem and Mandy due to the time-traveling, which I really enjoyed. I hope that gets explored a little bit more in the next book. I find the philosophical aspect of why really fascinating. When Brianna is pursued by the man who kidnaps Jem, some information as to why is revealed. I think it's going to tie back into the whole 200-year-old baby prophecy in one of the earlier books (voyager, maybe?) The entire book ended with Roger and Brianna about how I expected it to. 

I'm having a hard time remembering events since I read three of the books back to back. So I may mix up things. We got to see a lot more of William, and while he wasn't my favorite character, I did enjoy a lot of his storyline. Some of it was pretty sad, but it added a lot of drama. I'm curious to see where his story goes. I felt like he has Jamie's sense of honor, which I liked.

I adore Rachel. She might be becoming one of my favorite characters. She seems super adorable, and I really like her balance with Ian. I'm also thrilled that Ian finally found some happiness in his storyline. I want witty banter between Rachel and Jenny. I feel like there'd be a whole lot of sass in that conversation. 

Okay. Gotta talk about Henri-Christian. Hopefully, this won't spoil anything, but... WHAT THE HELL, DIANA GABALDON!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!  Who hurt you?  That is all I can bring myself to say on that matter.

As usual, I loved the book. Binging through the rest of the series put me seriously behind, but I don't even care. If you love fantasy, Historical Fiction, and Romance, then definitely give the series a shot. The books are long but worth it—Onward to other books.