"Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her...the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite--or forever doom--her timeless love."

#3 in the series. I picked up the first 3 books at the library book sale (yeah!) It's an older copy (traditional cover art, unlike the downloaded version). I'm very anxious to someday (hopefully soon) start reading this series!

(hardcover)

In this, book #3 of Gabaldon's Outlander series, Claire has returned to the 20th century and we get a glimpse of her marriage to Frank, her career as a physician, and Brianna's upbringing in Boston. However, 20 years later, Claire discovers, through some historical documents, that Jamie may have survived the Battle of Culloden. She is then torn. Can she leave her daughter, who is now a young woman, to return to the 18th century Scottish Highlands to find her true love?

As with all of the books in this series, the reader must devote some series reading time to tackle these monstrous tomes. Gabaldon tells a good story, but it does sometimes take her a while to get to the point. While I enjoy these books, I don't think I could read them all back-to-back, thus I'm reading an average of one per year, and I've decided to do so as they coincide with the Starz series. The TV series is a good adaptation, and this reading plan seems to be working well for me.

I can't decide exactly how I rate this book in comparison to the first two. As with the others, there's lots of action and Jamie & Claire continue to survive in situations where an average person would likely perish. A large portion of this book takes place on the sea and among the Caribbean islands, which is somewhat of a change from the previous two books, but still interesting. I was disappointed, however, with the outcome of a certain recurring character. Without going into too much detail, I felt that a particular story line could've gone off in a multitude of different, rather intriguing directions, but ultimately ended up being anti-climactic. I don't put it past Gabaldon to re-introduce this certain person in a later novel in some way, but I have to admit I wanted things to pan out a little differently in this one.

I'm still invested in this series and will continue reading at my yearly pace. As always, I did this on audio and listening to Davina Porter read this story is really the best way to go. She's excellent and captures those Scottish dialects perfectly.

Sending off to PBS member. Enjoy! :')

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