Holy shit, I finally read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I know, right? So 1991. And I know there's a TV show and all (which I have also watched), but after having the book recommended to me by so many people, I just had to give in and read it.

And holy shit, it was amazing.

I'd planned on reading this book a long time ago. Back in my first year of high school, circa 2005, one of my favorite teachers told me, upon finding out that I was a bookworm, that the day I turned 16(because the book is rated R I believe), I had to read Outlander. Apparently I reminded her of one of the characters, and while I'm still trying to figure out if that's Laoghaire or Geillis, it was because of my bright red hair and Scottish origins.

Then I forgot all about it until the TV series was announced a couple of years ago, and I'd been meaning to read it ever since.

I was never a fan of historical fiction. I know, I suck, but books that I can't relate to because of historical events I wasn't alive for, or because of supernatural skills, I just don't usually enjoy them as much. But holy shit (last time, I promise), this book was absolutely fantastic. So good, that I've already finished the second book and I'm about to devour the third.

So the book follows around twenty-seven-year-old Claire Randall (later known as Claire Beauchamp and Claire Fraser) who is visiting the Highlands of Scotland with her husband, Frank Randall, six months after the end of the Second World War. That's in 1945, in case you weren't sure. Frank is a historian and professor, and he spends most of his trip learning about the Highlands and the history of the beautiful country. Claire is a fully-trained nurse with a passion for plants and natural medicine, and a sort of hatred for history.

A day after witnessing a Scottish ritual with her husband on the grounds of Craigh na Dun (I love saying that), she returns to stones alone, only to be sent to 1743. And what a shock it is.

In 1743, the Scots are about to start a war with the Brits, and Claire Beauchamp is taken hostage by the MacKenzies who suspect she might be a British spy. This group includes Jamie Fraser, a twenty-three-year-old Wanted man for theft and murder.

Claire is suspicious of everyone. Not only is she not in her country, but she's also not in her time. In 1743, people kill for no apparent reason. Hygiene is different. Food isn't as easily accessible. Life is completely different from everything she's ever known, apart from plants. Plants are pretty similar, so she becomes a healer. Fewer people die, and people become healthier.

But since her husband was a historian in 1945, Claire knows that the Scots will lose the war. She knows most of the historical events, and changing the past might disturb the future.

Needless to say, she's in danger. The Brits want her, and it's getting trickier to hide from the world. So her only two options include to marry or to die. Also, she's too good of a healer. The only plausible explanation behind that, according to the 1743 civilization, is that she's a witch (that chapter is amazing).

Then war is declared. She knows the outcome, but she doesn't want to die. She also doesn't want her husband or her friends to die, and by then, Jamie knows about 1945 and Craigh na Dun. "You will return to your husband," he tells her, and God, that sentence still breaks my heart just thinking about it.

The second book follows Claire in a flashback from the moment war is declared to when she crosses back to 1948, three years after her disappearance. Then twenty years later, her daughter is twenty years old and they finally return to the Highlands to finish what Claire has started. A search to know if Jamie did or did not die during the war. What she finds is surprising.

I'm totally giving spoilers here, so I'm sorry, but that was such an intense book that I still have chills. Loved it.

There are a few things that turned me off. One of which is the length. I love a book that never ends when the story is just too good, but some chapters are filled with text and never-ending thoughts that, to be honest, could have been skipped. And they have, in the TV series, which is admittedly just as good as the books.

One other thing is the writing. I feel like written English is the same for everyone, whether you're a Scot or a Brit or an American. But the author used very Scottish writing, such as "ye" instead of "you", which was sometimes annoying. I do understand the need to emphasize the fact that people had thick accents back then, but it was a little bit overdone in my opinion. I apologize to those of you who disagree, but they, this is Canada, so I can say what I want!

The rest of the writing was impeccable, as well as the humor thrown here and there in the book. My favorite sentence will forever be, "How was your first time, Jamie? Did you bleed?"

God, I love these boys.