Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

★★★★ 1/2

"Don't be afraid.  There's the two of us now."

I don't know what to say about this book that hasn't been said before, but I FINALLY was able to get through the first 100+ pages and finished it.  I guess I shouldn't try to read such a huge book right before I have a baby or start a new job or be in the middle of grad school, but those things keep happening lately and I honestly had to start this book at least three times.  I knew it I would love it once I did - and I was right.  A perfect mix of history and romance and - time travel.  Didn't see how that combination could possibly work, but it did.  I would love to read the rest of the series...someday.  But for now I am very excited to FINALLY be able to watch the TV show!!!

At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen (audio)

★★

"The monster - if there was one - never revealed itself to me again.  But what I have learned over the past year was that monsters abound, usually in plain sight."

After reading (and loving) Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants several years ago I was really excited to read this!  Sadly, I was rather disappointed.  

The author is a great storyteller - I love her creativity and description of language.  But, in the case, the story was not at all appealing for me.  It felt like she was pulling from too many different angles.  There were marriage problems...and an identity crisis...and the was...and then throw in the lochness monster into the mix and it was all a little too much for me.  And then there were the characters. Ugh. I find hardly anyone in the story even remotely interesting or find myself caring about what happened to them.  

There were some ok parts that I enjoyed, but overall I was expecting a lot more from the book.  I finished the book a little over a week ago and I honestly can't remember what happened at the end.

The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

★★★★

"There are times when our victories have a cost that we did not foresee, when winning brings us loss."

Nicola Marter was born with a unique gift that allows her to see a glimpse of the past when she touches an object - a gift that she has tried her whole life to keep a secret.  When she is approached by a women looking to sell an object known as the firebird, Nicola is convinced to jump into the past and find out the truth.  Here, she discovers a young girl named Anna and the mystery takes on a life of it's own.  Nicola travels to Scotland and then to Russia to discover Anna's story and involvement with the Jacobites and the Russian court.  She also finds her self on an adventure of her own that will test the limits of her powers and how far she is willing to go to reveal the truth.

I'm so glad that I discovered Susanna Kearsley a few months ago with The Winter Sea!  This novel continues with many of the similar characters.  It also follows a similar pattern of unique gifts and a sort-of time travel to the past.  I didn't find it quite as compelling as the first, but it was still very enjoyable.  I love Kearsley's writing style and unique storytelling!  She has a wonderful ability to weave together stories that are interlocked together and I can't wait to read more.

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole (audio)

★★★★

"You glided over to me and, as I was struggling to think of something intelligent to say, you said 'There you are.'  I often think of that, Sue.  Here I am.  No matter where I am in the world, 'Here I am.' "

Goodreads Summary: A sweeping story told in letters, spanning two continents and two world wars, Jessica Brockmole’s atmospheric debut novel captures the indelible ways that people fall in love, and celebrates the power of the written word to stir the heart.

March 1912: Twenty-four-year-old Elspeth Dunn, a published poet, has never seen the world beyond her home on Scotland’s remote Isle of Skye. So she is astonished when her first fan letter arrives, from a college student, David Graham, in far-away America. As the two strike up a correspondence—sharing their favorite books, wildest hopes, and deepest secrets—their exchanges blossom into friendship, and eventually into love. But as World War I engulfs Europe and David volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western front, Elspeth can only wait for him on Skye, hoping he’ll survive.

June 1940: At the start of World War II, Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret, has fallen for a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Her mother warns her against seeking love in wartime, an admonition Margaret doesn’t understand. Then, after a bomb rocks Elspeth’s house, and letters that were hidden in a wall come raining down, Elspeth disappears. Only a single letter remains as a clue to Elspeth’s whereabouts. As Margaret sets out to discover where her mother has gone, she must also face the truth of what happened to her family long ago.

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This novel is told completely in letters: in 1912 between Elspeth and David and years later in 1940 between Margaret and Paul and Margaret and her mother.  The style reminded me a bit of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow - another novel told through letters.  I loved the idea of letter writing - something that is rare in today's modern world of texts and emails.  With all of the instant communication, it's hard to imagine a time when it messages would take weeks to reach someone!  There is something wonderfully romantic about getting to know someone and falling in love through letters.

Brockmole tells the epic love story of Elspeth and David, who develop an unexpected correspondence when David writes Elspeth a fan letter after reading her book of poetry.  They quickly realize they have a lot in common and their friendship slowly develops into something more.  The two fall in love in unexpected circumstances - Elspeth is already married and David has recently enlisted as an ambulance driver in France. Over the years, the two struggle with finding a way to make their relationship work.  Call me old-fashioned, but it sort-of bothered me that Elspeth was developing a relationship with David when she was married to someone else (similar to how I felt about the characters in Loving Frank by Nancy Horan).  I understood where they were coming from, but I still didn't exactly like it.  That being said, the situation did bring about a lot of complex emotions and decisions that might not have otherwise been there.  

Overall, I enjoyed this book.  I was a little cliche at times, but I liked the story really liked the author's description of the time period and setting (particularly the island of Skye).  It was also really interesting to read Elspeth and David's letters while learning about Margaret's journey to find out about her mother's past.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (audio)

★★★★★

"...the fields might fall to fallow and the birds might stop their song awhile; the growing things might die and lie in silence under snow, while through it all the cold sea wore its face of storms and death and sunken hopes...and yet unseen beneath the waves a warmer current ran that, in its time, would bring the spring."

Goodreads Summary: In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.

Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.

But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her..  

The above photograph is a picture of Slains.  I found it through Google images when searching for the book's cover and it describes the book perfectly.  I can't say enough good things about this book...I absolutely loved it and the narration on the audio book was amazing.

I've read a lot of past/present historical fiction novels, and this is by far one of my favorites.  I loved the description and instantly was intrigued by the characters.  I usually have a tendency to like the parts in the past better, but this one was a dead tie.  This novel was extremely well-written and unique.  I knew it was going to be a 5-star from the very beginning and I loved the idea of using the writing of a historical-fiction novel as the contemporary story!  The research process was really interesting and I loved being able to learn more about it as the author did.

All-in-all and excellent book and a great new author to read!  I came across this when a patron returned it at the library and am so glad I picked it up.  I loved listening to the narration, but there was a lot to take in and I often found myself having to look back at the book and look up the historical characters and dates to make sure I was getting everything.  I am very much looking forward to reading the second Slains novel, The Firebird, but I may read the novel this time around!

This book was #1 on my top ten list of 2014.