Rating: 
Summary: A must-read
Review: I highly, highly recommend this series. Dragonfly in Amber is the second book I've read by Gabaldon, the second book in Gabaldon's Outlander series, and the second book in the series which has dents in the cover from being thrown at a wall, yelled at, and sworn off for over three weeks. Her characters are amazingly real, and definitely succeeded in drawing forth ALOT of emotions from me. I hate them, I love them, I always want to read more about them. Her attention to detail and accuracy never ceases to amaze and entertain me. However, this detail does extend to violence and sex. Be warned - this is definitely not a G-rated book.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it!
Review: I found this book on my mother-in-law's shelf one day, while looking for something to take me away from me for awhile. That is exactly what I found. I knew nothing about the series or the author. It blew me away.I was pleasantly surprised that I had no trouble catching up with what was going on, since I read on the cover that it was a sequal. I have to know what happens next, so I keep plowing forward. Once I've read Fiery Cross, I'll go back and read Outlander. I imagine the whole series will be enjoyable to reread, as well. I always find tidbits I had forgotten about when I reread longer books. I'm a fan of many genres. I've always enjoyed a good historical fiction, but I've never read one that seems quite this authentic. I can't imagine the hours of research that must have gone into this series. Well done! There is nothing like a book that pulls you in so that the real world fades away for a time and the only thing you know is what is written on the page. If I had to use one word to describe this book it would be escapism.
Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: Well-reseached and faster-paced than you would believe (it's a large book) I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Intricate and moving at times, it held my attention up until the end. Highly recommended. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
Rating:
Summary: In A Word - OUTSTANDING!!
Review: I usually do not care for sequels, whether in novels or films. After reading Diana Gabaldon's wonderful book, "Outlander," I was sure she could not come up with another book to match the first. I was wrong and "Dragonfly In Amber" is an exception to my rule and an exceptional book. Once you begin to read, you will find yourself absorbed immediately and probably forget the novel's length (900+ pages). In fact, you may find yourself wishing it were longer. There are two major storylines here. One takes place in the 18th century. Claire Randall, who had traveled back in time from post WWII Scotland to a Scotland preparing for the restoration of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, (Bonnie Prince Charlie) to the throne, had married James Fraser and confided to him the truth of her time travels. She also told him of the coming disaster of the Battle of Culloden Moor, (1745), and its terrible aftermath for all of Scotland. Together they do everything in their power to halt the inevitable uprising, including move to Paris to become part of the Prince's entourage and perhaps effect a change in history through their relationship with the Jacobites living in France. The relationship developed between Claire and Jamie continues to grow in this book. Their intensely passionate love and close friendship is extremely moving. Although James is a very strong and competent person, Claire with her strength of character, independence, resourcefulness and nursing skills moves adeptly through another time period and is as indispensable to James as he is to her. We travel with both of them, from the Scottish highlands to the pomp of the French court, as they attempt to impact history and continue on together with a love that transcends the boundaries of time. The second and parallel plot takes place in 1968. Culloden is 200 years in the past. James had sent Claire back to the future to keep her and their unborn child safe from Scotland's fate right before the doomed battle and, they both believed, Jamie's inevitable death during the fight. Claire still feels the bitterness of the intrigues, betrayals, murders, treason and violence that were so much a part of her life with James as they fought together to spare Scotland from its future. Twenty years have passed and Claire, now a doctor, and her daughter Brianna, travel to Scotland from Boston. Brianna does not know the truth about her mother's history, before her birth, nor who her real father is. Claire's 20th-century husband is now dead and she is determined to discover what happened to James, their family and friends. He was her soulmate and the only man she ever loved. If there is a chance at all to find her Jamie, or at least discover what happened to him, she is will do it. Once again Ms. Gabaldon deftly portrays 18th century Scotland and France and immerses the reader in another time with her superb historical research and writing style. Her characters, major and minor, complex and simple, grow and develop as you read. Many of them are introduced in "The Outlander," but some remarkable new figures emerge from this novel also. Many of them are bound to capture your heart. I don't know if this book could stand alone without reading "Outlander" first. And since there is so much to gain by reading both books, and continuing on to number three, I don't know why anyone would wish to do so...unless this book is purchased without the knowledge of the prequel. Gabaldon's "Outlander" series is a major epic and this novel is one of the best in the series. It is jam-packed with adventure, accurate historic detail, romance, friendship, and more from a most unusual perspective. Highly recommended!
JANA
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of time
Review: I am a real Highlander. This book was written by someone who's research had to have been done from English history books.
This book was given to me as a gift. It is awful.
Rating:
Summary: You Know It's Good When...
Review: When I finished Outlander, I was enthralled. I hadn't read a captivating book like that in ages, and when I learned it was part of a series I ran to the store to buy the next installment, Dragonfly In Amber...
Which is easily the best book I've EVER read. I didn't think it could top Outlander, but it matches it and then excells. When the story picks up in 1968 I was a bit disoriented, but I was hooked. And when the story continued back in 1743/44, I couldn't put it down for the life of me. I read it in two days, with a three hour stint in the tub that had tears soaking my chest.
I'll just say this: I have never been the same since I've read this books. And simply, I never will.
Rating:
Summary: Could it possibly be better than the first?! YES!
Review: Fabulous, fantastic, totally enthralling sequel to OUTLANDER. I loved it truly, madly, deeply. One of the joys of being a reader was discovering these two books. Made me feel like a kid again when I'd read something thrilling.
Rating:
Summary: Brush up on your Scottish history and dive in!!!
Review: I wasn't as hooked on Outlander as some other folks (the violence, particularly at the end, got to me), but I went on to read Dragonfly, and boy, and I glad I did! I actually think that Dragonfly is better than Outlander! Claire and Jamie's characters seem more consistent, (ladies, if you're not in love with Jamie at the end of Outlander, watch out, you will be soon) and the plot is fascinating. One suggestion -- much of the beginning of this book puts Claire and Jamie in the middle of the intrigue surrounding Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the remainder of the book deals with the events in a war-torn Scotland. If you don't know much about Scottish history, I suggest you grab an encyclopedia and look up a quick summary of what was going on in Scotland at the time. I didn't brush up on my history until about halfway through, and I wish I had done it sooner, as some background knowledge makes the book even more enthralling. Do a quick websearch for some basic 18th century Scottish history, and read on!! You won't be sorry!
Rating: 
Summary: A must have
Review: After reading "Outlander," I was ready to dive into this second in the series. I'll be honest--it took almost half of the book to get to the riveting action that the entire first book contains. Having said that, the first half of this book is necessary to understand why Jaime and Claire have to do what they do. It does contain historical background and info that sometimes gets complicated. But, if you stick with it, you WILL be rewarded in the end. I did not have the 3rd book when I finished this one, so I took to reading online reviews of the next one just because the ending was soooo good.
Rating:
Summary: Exceeds your expectations
Review: I read "Outlander" last summer and fell in love with the style of Diana Gabaldon's action-adventure-romance-historical fiction writing. Outlander grabbed me, yet I didn't read this second book until this year. Admittedly I went in with hesitations- how could anything top Outlander- and, besides, I knew what this book would deal with from reviews. To clear up any confusion, this covers the time preceding of the Battle of Culloden, which Jamie & Claire have been working so hard to prevent. In this book, the tensions are increased five fold as this couple works around the clock to stop it. And we all know what happens. However, this is a tale told in flashback- a flashback from Scotland in the 1960's. Frank, Claire's husband of the modern world, is now dead, and Claire has taken her & Jamie's daughter Brianna back to Scotland to reveal to her the truth, in due course introducing Roger Wakefield, a historian who will be essential to Claire's discovering the truth of what happened after she went back through the stones so long ago. Thus you have two timelines- present day Scotland, in which emotions boil and simmer as the past is retold through Claire- and 1700's Scotland, where Jamie and Claire fight the future. The social, political, and historical aspects of this book are genius- it held me for long hours as Jamie and Claire tramped through Scotland and France and England. A must-read for any fan of the Outlander series- and for any reader who wishes to be more than decently entertained for a good long while.
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