Diana is renowned historian specializing in the origins and evolution of Alchemy. She’s also a witch, albeit one who never learned the craft. Matthew is a scientist studying DNA. He’s also a vampire. I avoided this series for years because I didn’t want to get caught up in several lengthy books, and I was tired of YA novels, especially those with vampires, witches and other supernatural creatures. Turns out the only one of my expectations that proved true was that this was a series of lengthy books. Despite the fantasy elements it is both real and raw, uplifting and tragic. It is suspenseful, it is enlightening, and it is one of the most beautifully articulated love stories I have ever read. Don’t judge this book by its title like I nearly did.
Category Archives: Historical Fiction
The Paris Wife – Paula McLain
The Paris Wife is a fictional tale of the emotions surrounding Earnest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley. Even though I knew the outcome I still read this hoping I might be wrong. Earnest was outwardly brave and boastful, but inwardly insecure, and Hadley seemed the only person to truly see this and understand it and love him for it all the same. And when that wasn’t enough anymore, I almost took it personally.
Drums of Autumn – Diana Gabaldon
Jamie and Claire continue to share a rare bond, which I think serves as an example for all the young adults around them. But for the first time Claire contributes to this bond verbally, so I felt a stronger sense of the panic and loneliness she must have endured without Jamie, and the intensity of her need for him.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Lisa See
From the very first page you get a sense of how empty a woman’s life is in nineteenth century China, and why women would dream of a deep yet platonic friendship with another woman to fill the many voids they have in their lives. Women today have many opportunities for happiness, which don’t necessarily rely on other women, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need female friends, and this book reminds you how much we still need each other even if we can find happiness in multiple forms through children, partners or work.
Voyager – Diana Gabaldon
How lonely and painful would it be to live a life devoid of emotion? Any emotion, as Jamie has without Claire. And when that emotion tentatively returns and Jamie lets himself experience joy I was scared for him, because as he knows when you open yourself to true happiness you also expose yourself to true loss, and if you’ve been there before you wonder if you can survive it again.
Dragonfly in Amber – Diana Gabaldon
Whether it be through wit, charm, humor or conviction Jamie commands the attention of those around him, and it’s as a leader that he seems whole as a person. But it’s his love of Claire that makes him whole as a man, and I love that while on the surface he seems to be the stereotypical strong male his greatest strength actually comes from Claire.
Outlander – Diana Galbadon
I’ve never been a huge romance fan, mainly because I don’t like thinking I’ll know the outcome of a book before I’ve read it. But I have always liked strong, outspoken female characters, and been intrigued by the men who have the courage to love them, and that is what initially attracted me to this story.
Michele Lenard 