A Breath of Snow and Ashes

A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Diana Gabaldon

Ugh, I forgot how exhausting reading these books can be.

*SPOILERS BELOW*

Can it end already so I know how/where the characters end up? The books are just way too long and it's like Gabaldon doesn't even care she just keeps writing 1000+ page books with so much fluff in the middle it's ridiculous. I came back to the story because I care about most of the characters and I want to know what happens to them. I don't need to read, in full detail, what they ate for lunch everyday.

My main problem with this book is that it dragged and had unnecessary scenes, but the important and action-packed parts went way too fast and were a bit confusing. The first 85% of the book is pretty much not needed, but the last bit would've been very interesting and suspenseful and could have been more drawn out. There were definitely pacing issues. For instance, they've referred to the house fire how many times? And that was about a chapter long with no real reasoning or importance? I was looking forward to that pretty much the most out of this whole thing.

I don't give a shit about Stephen Bonnet because I absolutely HATE Brianna. She's just horrible. Roger's not much better lately. They made such a big deal about not going back through the stones because of how little they knew about it and how PAINFUL it was, but that scene took all of 2 seconds to actually do... like why didn't you just go back years ago then?

It felt like Donner was also just thrown in there to show that there are other travelers. Other than that, he was pointless. Also, why so much kidnapping? I'm sure it happened often in the past, but twice within months of each other?

All I really care about is Claire and Jamie. The historical and medical information is very interesting, but there comes a point when it's too much.

I did like the storyline with the Christies. It was a bit overly dramatic in a soap opera kind of way, but it definitely captured my attention. Tragic, but at least everything was actually explained. I'm only still reading because I have the books and I've heard that Written in my Own Heart's Blood is worth it.