This post is part of my ongoing reviews/reading of the Outlander series – Read Outlander first. Potential spoilers ahead.

Author: Diana Gabaldon

Book: Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4)

Other Books in Series:

Outlander (Outlander #1) – my review is here
Dragonfly In Amber (Outlander #2) – my review is here
Voyager (Outlander #3) – my review is here
The Fiery Cross (Outlander #5)
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander #6)
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander #7)
The Space Between (Outlander #7.5 – a novella)
Written in My Heart’s Own Blood (Outlander #8)
A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows (Outlander #8.5 – a novella)
Moonlight And Howling (Outlander #9 – not yet finished)

Link to buy all 8 books here

tl;dr recommendation: Drums of Autumn gave me the HEA I so desperately craved and that I damn well deserved.

Book Summary:

In this breathtaking novel—rich in history and adventure—The New York Times bestselling author Diana Gabaldon continues the story of Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser that began with the now-classic novelOutlander and continued in Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager. Once again spanning continents and centuries, Diana Gabaldon has created a work of sheer passion and brilliance….

It began at an ancient Scottish stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past—or the grave. Dr. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice.

Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became a legend—a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in the American colonies. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century—their daughter, Brianna….

Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the circle of stones and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history … and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past … or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong….

Longer Review:

4.5 stars!

I’m not kidding when I say that Diana tries to kill you in this book. Once again, every emotion you have is played upon, tweaked and twisted until you’re not sure what end is up and how things will end.

From the book summary you know that Brianna goes through the stones to find her mother and meet her father. I don’t read those before I start these books, so I was so fucking excited when I realized what was happening. Brianna leaves everything – and everyone – behind on her quest. I was actually bouncing up and down on my couch like a toddler in the back seat of a car asking ‘are we there yet?’ I couldn’t put it down until Brianna got to where she was going and THEN I couldn’t put it down because of what was happening when she got there. #DianaKillsMe

Don’t worry – you get plenty of Jamie and Claire in this book. They haven’t gone anywhere at all. They’re settled in North Carolina, trying to make a place for themselves and set up the life they plan to have. Their love is ever present while they build their future.

I absolutely adored the storyline in this book but didn’t always love the way it was presented. There are many times that you’re taken to the cusp only to start a new chapter in a different character’s POV that takes you back to the beginning again. It was reading with cliffhangers thrown in the middle of a book. This tactic was effective to have me reading through my fingers but it also caused me to read a little faster than I wanted because I NEEDED to know what happened. I wanted to skip over all the other stuff (which was also fucking important) just to find out what happened to the FIRST stuff. Gah. It made me all anxiousy and I wasn’t a huge fan. But I digress.

Out of all of the books so far, I needed an HEA in this book, and Diana knows it. Drums of Autumn gave me the HEA I so desperately craved and that I damn well deserved. I was cheering and flailing and loving every member of that Fraser clan like they were my own. DoA is full of adventure, suspense and the makings of a new life. *winks*

I’m slightly terrified to start book 5 because I was left in such a happy place at the end of this book. Really, this could have been the end of the series and I would have been ok – I mean, I would have been in a major book hangover, but my soul would have been in tact. THAT’S HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS ENDING.

However, I’m also dying to know what ultimately happens – so, I’ll pull up my big girl breeks and get on with it. The Fiery Cross is up next!