I'm adding an extra star purely out of loyalty... but *Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander, #8)* by Diana Gabaldon just sprawled too far. It felt like a kitchen-sink novel, and not in a good way. So many plotlines seemed to serve no real narrative purpose, way too much time spent with irritating characters, and an EXCESSIVE amount of surgical detail. Plus, the timelines, even for *this* series, were utterly confusing. It's clear Diana Gabaldon is passionate about her work and the research...

Hmmmm. This book is all over the place. The plot twists are long and meandering, some even feel unnecessary. Character development – and there are *so many* characters – is slow. The scenes are unbalanced; some are drawn out and tedious, while others are too quick, too short, unprecedented, and not firmly tethered to the main plot (if there even *was* a main plot).The last couple of books in the Outlander series have felt unfocused to me, and Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander, #8) is no...

SpoilersThe worst *Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander, #8)* book so far, which is really saying something since the last few have been less than impressive. If all the Claire/Jamie/William/Ian/Rachel/John parts had been cut out and just Roger/Bree/Jem's chapters remained, then I would have rated this four stars. I never would have thought I'd like Roger/Bree more than Jamie/Claire, but they were my favorite characters in this one, probably because they had such an engaging plot, especial...

*Part of Audible's $5.95 sale until 3/6/16!! Don't miss getting the audiobook for a steal! http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Wri...*Of course I loved it! Did you have any doubt? I mean, it's Diana \"mad skillz\" Gabaldon and it's an OUTLANDER book! Could it be anything less than magical? If you are on the 8th book in the series, it is already assumed that you are a rabid Outlander fan. There is no other explanation as to why one would read over 8,000 pages. So if you are a fan of the first 7 boo...

I've finally finished Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander, #8). I have to say, after nearly 15 years of reading these books, Diana Gabaldon was close to losing me. I'm not entirely sure what it was that started to annoy me so much in books four through seven. Maybe it was the sheer number of characters and their incredibly dull adventures. (Seriously, Willie's time in the Great Dismal Swamp rivals Frodo and Sam's journey through Mordor for sheer boredom, surpassed only perhaps by Roger's ...

Alright, full disclosure. This is totally a five-star read, but I'm getting a little bummed out by the sudden, unfinished endings (especially the last book and **Written in My Own Heart's Blood (Outlander, #8)**). It's even more annoying when I KNOW it's going to be, like, five more freaking years before the next one drops. What if I kick the bucket before then? Or **Diana Gabaldon** does? I need some real closure here!My only minor complaint is that the time travel stuff is super heavy in this ...

I've finally caught up and finished all the books published so far, and now I'm desperately waiting for Diana Gabaldon to release the next one! I need it now! There were a couple of deaths that really hit me hard. One was a normal mourning, but the other was so incredibly horrible that it broke my heart. Don't worry, I won't spoil anything for you. It took Claire and Jamie so long to find their way back to each other; I was about to scream! And then Claire had to explain everything that happened...

Okay, here's my review, and I'm bracing myself for some Outlander backlash – because as much as I've adored this series (well, maybe not so much *Echo in the Bone*), and as thrilled as I was to dive back into Jamie and Claire's world, the negatives in *Written in My Own Heart's Blood* sadly outweigh the positives. *Written in My Own Heart's Blood* picks up exactly where *Echo in the Bone* left us. If you've read that one, you already know the plot points. If you haven't, you don't need spoilers...

Please do not expect any work from me until I have finished *Written in My Own Heart's Blood*. I will be taking a break from all forms of human interaction from the time I get it until it is finished. We have got to get little Timmy out of the well...uh, I mean little Jemmy out of the tunnel. I'm diving back into Diana Gabaldon's world!

Update: *sigh* I finished it! This was a good one. If you're looking for great historical fiction, don't miss *Written in My Own Heart's Blood*.

4.5 ★'sWritten in My Own Heart's Blood is essentially broken up into two parts. One deals with Roger and Bree, and the other with Jamie, Claire, and the rest of the family.Wow! Another fun-filled adventure with all the characters we've come to know and love. I swear, when I'm reading it, it's almost as if I'm one of their relatives, helping do the laundry or taking care of someone – but definitely NOT helping Claire with any of her surgeries! The last book left us hanging... literally, and it wa...