Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Release Date: July 26, 2005
Publisher: Dell Publishing Co.
Format: e-book
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Nahomi

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

4.5 stars out of 5 stars

I absolutely loved Outlander! It’s the second time book I’ve read, and I became enamored with this world and its characters.  I have to say that although I really like the story and characters I found it hard into the story at the beginning. I would pick it up read a few pages and put it down and this pattern persisted for a few weeks before I really got into the story and I couldn’t put it down.

Diana Gabaldon’s writing is very descriptive. The plot and characters are wonderful but some of the passages are verbose and can on occasion slow down the pace of the story. All of the descriptiveness did give me a clear and vivid picture of Claire, Jamie and their surroundings. 

Claire is a head strong heroine, I love her character and how she does what she feels is right. Although, sometimes I wish she would wish she would just listen to Jamie. Jamie is handsome, manly and just a softy inside. I love his sense of honor and tenderness all the while being a big tough warrior. Together Claire and Jamie have a great friendship and even greater chemistry that keeps me coming back for more. 

Overall Outlander is a fantastic story! I can't wait to start on Dragon Fly in Amber! 

Mini Review: Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier

Emerald Green
Author: Kerstin Gier
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2014
Publisher: Square fish
Source: Library
Review by: Nahomi

Gwen has a destiny to fulfill, but no one will tell her what it is.
     She’s only recently learned that she is the Ruby, the final member of the time-traveling Circle of Twelve, and since then nothing has been going right. She suspects the founder of the Circle, Count Saint-German, is up to something nefarious, but nobody will believe her. And she’s just learned that her charming time-traveling partner, Gideon, has probably been using her all along.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars

       I was so anxious to start Emerald Green after the ending in Sapphire Blue; so much so that if it weren't for my book buying band I would have bought it on the spot just to find out how the story continued. Emerald Green continued in the same manner as the previous stories; full of adventure and mystery. Although in this installment I finally got some of the answers I was looking for.

      There were some very funny scenes in this story; particularly one with Charlotte at a party (jejeje). I enjoyed imagining the dresses Gwyn would wear on her time traveling adventures. My heart raced as the book was coming to an end and everything was unraveling and I couldn’t figure out how everything would turn out.

      The ending was a little anticlimactic. Everything was wrapped up a little too nicely and open ended for my taste. Otherwise I really enjoyed Emerald Green.

Mini Review: Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

Sapphire Blue (The Ruby Red #2)
Author: Kerstin Gier
Release Date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co
Source: Library
Review by: Nahomi

Gwen’s life has been a rollercoaster since she discovered she was the Ruby, the final member of the secret time-traveling Circle of Twelve. In between searching through history for the other time-travelers and asking for a bit of their blood (gross!), she’s been trying to figure out what all the mysteries and prophecies surrounding the Circle really mean.

At least Gwen has plenty of help. Her best friend Lesley follows every lead diligently on the Internet. James the ghost teaches Gwen how to fit in at an eighteenth century party. And Xemerius, the gargoyle demon who has been following Gwen since he caught her kissing Gideon in a church, offers advice on everything. Oh, yes. And of course there is Gideon, the Diamond. One minute he’s very warm indeed; the next he’s freezing cold. Gwen’s not sure what’s going on there, but she’s pretty much destined to find out.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars

It was great getting back into this world again! Sapphire Blue picks up right where Ruby Red leaves off. Sapphire Blue is literally the middle section of the trilogy there isn’t a solid beginning, middle or ending. Gwynn learns a lot of information about what is going on but there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

There are a lot of wonderful character additions this time around. Xemurius is hilarious, his comment are sarcastic and made me laugh. I also felt like someone was actually on Gwynn’s side; although it still not clear who she can trust. Gideon’s brother is also an interesting addition to the story.

Gwynn’s relationship with Gideon is hot for a millisecond then cold like a blizzard for the rest of the time. Her relationships with the other characters are all suspect. I still don’t like Charlotte any better. The mysteries continue and keeping track of the different meetings in the past certainly kept me entertained. I’m dying to get my hands on Emerald Green to see how this story ends!

Mini Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Ruby Red 
(The Ruby Red #1)
Author: Kerstin Gier
Release Date: May 10, 2011
Publisher: Square Fish
Source: Library
Review by: Nahomi

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars 

Kerstin Gier creates a world that is easy to get lost in. Ruby Red is so entertaining that I felt like I couldn’t get enough of this story. There is so much going on throughout the story that at times it is difficult to keep all of the details straight. The historical and time travel aspects of this novel keep the story really interesting. I kept trying to wrap my brain around the different outcomes of past and present and the time continuum. This was really one of my favorite aspects of the story.

I will say though that the plot is predictable in respect to certain aspects of the story. I had a love hate relationship with Gwyneth, because she can be so dense sometimes. On occasion she was really self-deprecating which is really annoying. I felt bad for her because she was thrust into this strange situation with no preparation or warning what so ever.

Overall the Ruby Red is really interesting and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment.

Blog Tour Stop: Review: Rewrite Redemption by J.H. Walker

Rewrite Redemption by J.H. Walker
Release Date: January 25, 2013
Publisher: J.H. Walker
Source: Gifted for Blog Tour
Reviewed by: Nahomi
Links: Amazon / Goodreads

*I received a copy of this book for part of a blog tour but it did not influence this review in any way*

My Rating: 3 stars out of 5 stars

Synopsis: 

She's sixteen. He's seventeen. They don't know each other...at least not yet.

She has a secret and her whole life revolves around keeping it. Every few months and with little warning, she simply disappears, pulled into the past for hours or even days. She's terrified it will happen in front of someone, changing her life forever. So far, the only witnesses have been her parents, and that didn't end well. She has no control over it and no idea why it happens to her. 

She wants answers..

He has answers-at least he understands what's going on. He has a secret, too. He's part of an organization that goes back in time to rewrite reality. But he also has a problem. He broke the organization's number-one rule by altering his own timeline. As punishment, he's been blocked from time travel, which is most unfortunate. Because the changes he made to his timeline, accidentally resulted in disaster for his family. A disaster he's now prevented from repairing. No one can travel beneath the organization's radar except a Shadow. But they're rare, so rare he's never even met one.

Then he moves to her town.

    I was really excited to have the opportunity to review this novel, because the premise sounded really exciting. I hadn't read any other stories about time travel, but I always found the concept really interesting. In Rewrite Redemption we meet A.J. and Constantine our main characters, who can travel back in time and have very broken family lives. The story is written in dual points of view from both A.J. and Constantine's to give the reader a more complete vision of what is happening.

A.J. gets pulled back in time but doesn't understand what or why this is happening to her. She blames her "strangeness" for her horrible family life. Through most of the novel A.J. tries to be invisible, not to be noticeable; in case she ever just disappeared during school. I feel like throughout the novel A.J. showed significant character growth. She goes from a girl who hid behind a big black hoodie and sunglasses to someone who came out of her shell and began being more social and confident.

Constantine was a little more difficult to relate to. He was the older of the two, but man he had a big pity party for most of the book. I understand that he feels guilty because of what changing his timeline did to his family but he does not come off as 17 at all. He is impatient and impulsive for most of the story. As the story progresses he does evolve and show some maturity which he lacked in the beginning.

The plot is a little slow paced and tends to get bogged down by a lot of detail. There isn't always a ton of details, but sometimes the details drag down the pacing of the story. I enjoyed the dialogue and felt that a lot of the issues that the main characters were dealing are relevant to whats happening today. I felt this gave the novel the touch of realism it needed to keep the story believable. 

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here.

About the Author

J.H. grew up in Central America. She now lives in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies with her photographer husband and many, many books. In addition to her never-ending study of human behavior, she's a political junkie and a certified tree hugger. Rewrite Redemption is her debut novel.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter

Review: Timeless by Alexandra Monir

(source)

Timeless (Timeless #1) by Alexandra Monir
Release date: January 11, 2011
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Source: Personal copy
Reviewed by: Daisel

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads): "When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor's world, she is forced to uproot her life and move across the country to New York City, to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she's never met. In their old Fifth Avenue mansion filled with a century's worth of family secrets, Michele discovers a diary that hurtles her back in time to the year 1910. There, in the midst of the glamorous Gilded Age, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life - a man she always wished was real, but never imagined could actually exist. And she finds herself falling for him, into an otherworldly, time-crossed romance.
Michele is soon leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves - a quest that will determine the fate of both of their lives."

I first found out about this book from sale on BookCloseOuts.com and I decided to buy it. I added it to my Goodreads list without reading the synopsis and I ended up absolutely loving and adoring it. This book had me so wrapped up in its pages that there were moments that I did not want to be bothered because I was so immersed in it.
Michele Windsor lives a normal life with her mother. She loves her mother and friends, and she loves her life. She does not know her father since he abandoned her mother before she was born. After tragedy strikes Michele's family, she is forced to move in with grandparents in New York. She has never met them before, and therefore, she doesn't know what to expect from them.