Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (a book set someplace I want to visit)

After 700 pages of reading I have finally finish Outlander! I am using this book for a place I have always wanted to visit because who doesn't want to visit the beautiful rolling hills of Scotland. I have been hearing great things about this book and I was not disappointed at all. Going into the book I was expecting a stereotypical romance with a dashing Scottish man but little else. When I began reading I was surprised. The book did have romance but I came after several hundred pages of back story and the characters actually getting to know each other first. The story also was full of historical content that plays into the plot. There is a lot of political happenings that play into the main characters lives and I found it very interesting the time and effort Gabaldon put into making the book historically and culturally accurate. The story is accurate for the time period and because of that there is quite a bit about sexual assault. My enjoying this book in no way means that I support the idea of rape (people are accusing fans of this on Goodreads). Gabaldon was being accurate to the time and the struggles that women face. I like that she didn't sugar-coat it because it's a romance novel but instead was truthful won't the audience. I found some of the scenes gruesome but necessary in the overall plot and atmosphere. I can't wait to continue the series and see how Ckaire uses her knowledge of the future to help the people of the past.

MY RATING: *****