I didn’t quite make it back yesterday! I stayed up until 2 in the morning yesterday morning and finished Drums of Autumn. I paid for it all day yesterday! The baby was cranky, I was cranky. I find myself emotionally exhausted right now and haven’t quite figured out if I’m ready to take on the next 2 books right away or give myself a break! What do you think? One friend has told me that I can’t stop or I won’t be into it when I restart. I think it’s the 1500 pages that is daunting to me, that and I haven’t read good reviews about the next one. I’ll let you know what I decide.

Now for my review on ‘Dragonfly in Amber’

Dragonfly in Amber

by Diana Gabaldon

From the author of Outlander… a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland…

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland’s majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones …about a love that transcends the boundaries of time …and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his ….

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire’s spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart …in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising …and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves….

I finished ‘The Outlander at a about 1am and decided just to read the first little bit of the 2nd one, already installed on my iPod. I was soooo confused. All of a sudden we were in 1968 and in the library of Roger Wakefield, a name I knew I should recognize but didn’t first off. I got out of bed, got on the internet and made sure I was on the right book. Confused I started reading again and realized what the author was doing and read until Part 2 when it was back to Claire and Jamie.

I have to admit that I had a hard time getting through this book, but I think it was because I couldn’t wait until the end when I could figure out what had happened to separate them and why she knew without a doubt that Jamie had died. There was also A LOT of political and historical events taking place, which was interesting, but again, What the hell happened to Jamie? New characters were introduced, I love Fergus, and some old ones came into play also. I was  nervous the whole time reading it knowing that there would be battles and uprisings around the corner.

I will have to go back and reread this book again now that I know what happens and I will probably enjoy it a lot more the next time. There were many times in this book that I was bawling and my heart literally ACHED! Diana Gabaldon is absolutely amazing in her details that make you feel like you are right there in the pages. This is probably why I am so exhausted right now.

I give this book 4 stars, with the resolve to reread it again. I will let you know if my rating changes.

Favorite quotes:

“I can’t sing,” he protested.
“Nonsense, nonsense. Of course you can. A nice, deep baritone, too,” the little man murmured approvingly. “Excellent. Just what we need. Here, a bit of help for you. Try to match this tone.”
Deftly whipping a small tuning fork from his pocket, he struck it smartly against a pillar and held it next to Jamie’s left ear.
Jamie rolled his eyes heavenward, but shrugged and obligingly sang a note. The little man jerked back as though he’d been shot.
“No,” he said disbelievingly.
“I’m afraid so,” I said sympathetically. “He’s right, you know. He really can’t sing.”

He heaved a deep exasperated sigh. “Sassenach, I’ve been stabbed, bitten, slapped, and whipped since supper—which I dinna get to finish. I dinna like to scare children and I dinna like to flog men, and I’ve had to do both. I’ve two hundred English camped three miles away and no idea what to do about them. I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I’m sore. If you’ve anything like womanly sympathy about ye, I could use a bit!”

“D’ye think I don’t know?” he asked softly. “It’s me that has the easy part now. For if ye feel for me as I do for you—then I’m asking you to tear out your heart and live without it.”

“I will find you,” he whispered in my ear. “I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you—then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I shall stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weigh against the rest.”
His voice dropped, nearly to a whisper, and his arms tightened around me.
“Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well.”

Now for the book giveaway! I have a brand new Hardcover copy of ‘The Host’ by Stephenie Meyer that I will be giving away to one lucky winner. This giveaway contest will go until May 20th. Want to know how you can win? There are quite a few different ways that you can get your name in the drawing.

1- Leave me a comment in this post

2- Follow me on Twitter. My twitter ID is by_mel. Let me know in the comment section if you follow me and your Twitter ID.

3- Tweet about this giveaway contest. Leave the link in my comments.

4- Participate in my new forum ‘Writer’s Corner’ (Details below)

So I decided that I wanted a place where I could interact with other readers about different topics and books. I started a forum and by the time I got done, it has turned into the potential of a reader’s community. Please check it out here. There are 3 threads that I have opened as topics. Any of you that comment in these threads will recieve an additional chances for the drawing. Up to 3 additional chances. So go sign up and let’s see if we can’t start an awesome community for those of us that love to read and talk about it.

Here are the topics that we will be discussing…

What book are you currently reading?

The big debate: eBooks or traditional books?

Which actor do you think should play Jamie in the ‘Outlander’ movie?

Go check it out now! I will be back tomorrow with a review of ‘Voyager’ as long as I don’t have too many Margarita’s tonight for Cinco de Mayo! LOL!