August 2022 Book of the Month Giveaway
September 18, 2022 05:24 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
During the month of August, I only read one full-length novel and two short stories. I’m a slow reader, so when I pick up a thick, doorstop book like the one I’m featuring, it takes me the better part of a month to get through it. That’s not because it wasn’t good, because it definitely was. It’s the latest entry in my all-time favorite book series and one that’s wildly popular. When Jamie and Claire sent their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their two children back through the stones to the future, they’d resigned themselves to never seeing them again. But they unexpectedly returned, leaving Jamie and Claire rejoicing over having their family back together again. However, despite making their home in the back country of North Carolina, the Revolutionary War has been creeping ever closer to Fraser’s Ridge. The loyalties of Jamie’s tenants are split between those who are faithful to the British crown and those who pledge fidelity to Jamie and the rebel cause. As things gradually heat up to the boiling point, Jamie makes the decision to gather together a militia of those men he can trust to protect the ridge and its interests. He also knows they’ll need to fight in an upcoming battle that will take place close to the ridge, and the outcome of that battle may leave his life hanging in the balance.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Diana Gabaldon
June 2020 Book of the Month Giveaway
July 15, 2020 07:30 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
With regards to quantity, I didn’t read many books during the month of June, mainly because I was reading an epic novel that took this slow reader most of the month to complete. However, it was an excellent book that ended up being my favorite five-star read of the month. Although now six years old, it’s the most recent book in this equally epic series that follows star-crossed lovers Jamie and Claire. I know now that I’ve mentioned their names, it will obvious to most exactly what series I’m talking about, and it’s been a favorite of mine for over twenty-five years. Much like Jamie and Claire’s love for each other, my love for them and this series is just as strong now as it was when I first picked up the inaugural volume of the series all those years ago, and I don’t anticipate that I’ll ever get tired of it. I’m always eager to see what happens next, which is why I simply couldn’t put this or any other book of the series down.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Diana Gabaldon
August 2019 Book of the Month Giveaway
September 15, 2019 03:24 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
I didn’t read very many books in August, but those I did read were all winners. However, one stood out among the rest. It’s the seventh volume of a long-running, epic, romantic series that I first discovered nearly twenty-five years ago. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been following Jamie and Claire’s story for this long, and now that I’ve named the main characters, I’m sure most hard-core romance readers know exactly what series I’m talking about. This couple have been through so many adventures and hardships, joys and sorrows, and yet they’re still together and still experiencing all that life (or perhaps I should say the author :-) ) has thrown at them. In this installment, they’re trying to avoid the American Revolution, partly as a matter of survival and partly so that Jamie doesn’t risk facing his own son, a British officer, across a battlefield. But as is often the case in this series, fate has other plans in store for them, and they end committing piracy before winding up in a couple of the more significant battles of the war, then finally reaching their original goal, a return to Scotland.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Diana Gabaldon
June 2018 Book of the Month Giveaway
July 14, 2018 03:02 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
My book of the month selection for June is the sixth volume in a phenomenally successful and widely loved epic romantic series that spans decades and even eras of time given its time travel aspect. This particular book – like all the others in the series – is a very lengthy tome. At nearly a thousand pages in hardcover it’s big enough to use as a doorstop, and it took me over three weeks to read it. (Have I mentioned that I’m a slow reader?) Yet it never felt long at all, and I was still sorry to see it come to an end. With kidnappings, rape, two murder mysteries, other mysteries surrounding a missing slave, missing gold, and the identity of who fathered a young woman’s baby, as well as political intrigue as the War for Independence gets under way, there’s never a dull moment. Not to mention there’s lots of character development for our main characters as well as tons of romantic entanglements, as well as the culmination of a plot point that began two books back. There was just so much going on in this book that I was never bored for even a moment, and I loved every minute (despite it being quite a lot of minutes:-)) that I spent reading it.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Diana Gabaldon, Outlander
July 2015 Book of the Month & Giveaway
August 24, 2015 06:00 PM Posted by juliannadouglas
My favorite five-star read for the month of July is the fifth novel in a long-running, epic historical fiction series that is filled with romance, adventure, mystery, Scottish Highlanders, details of life in Colonial America, and a touch of science-fiction in its time travel element. Yes, I'm talking about the amazing Outlander series. I just can't get enough of my most beloved romantic hero, Jamie Fraser, and the love of his life, Claire. These two have captured my imagination in a way that few character's do, and I would literally read anything the author chooses to write about them. In the more than two decades since I started reading this series, no one else has been able to supplant them as my favorite romantic couple. Theirs is a love worthy of legendary status. In this volume, though, their daughter, Brianna, and her now husband, Roger, are front and center as well, afforded nearly as many scenes as Jamie and Claire. While theirs perhaps isn't quite as compelling of a romance as Jamie and Claire's, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading about them. The narrative of this book seems to ebb and flow between more exciting scenes and quieter moments, but in spite of the slower parts, I still found myself eager for the next book when this one ended. That's why I'm naming Diana Gabaldon's The Fiery Cross as my July Book of the Month. If you enjoy historical fiction, historical romance, or time travel stories, and haven't read this wonderful book yet, you should definitely give it a try. Keep reading to learn how you can win a copy for your own library.
Categories: Book of the Month, Giveaways
Tags: Diana Gabaldon, Outlander
