A Breath of Snow and Ashes

*A Note: I was sick when I typed this and tired, please forgive any misspellings and/or missed words. :-)

I just finished A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. I stayed up late, even though I'm tired, to finish. I just had a little sliver of pages left at the end, it was too tempting to not read.

So, Ian is back! Yay! However, he carries a lot around with him now. He has his awesome wolf/dog Rollo too. I really do like this dog. He's only mentioned here and there, but I want one.

Anyway, Jamie, Claire, Brianna, Roger, Jem, Lizzie...everyone is here. However, what all happens to everyone...I'm amazed at the amount of stuff that happens in these tomes. However, I do have to wonder, how much rape and kidnapping can happen in just one family? For one person, just one of those could crush a normal person, but here, Jamie was raped in the first book, Claire allowed herself to be used in the second book, Ian was kidnapped and assaulted in the third book, Brianna is raped in the fourth and Roger is thrown to the Indians, Roger is taken by force and nearly hanged in the fifth book, and in this book, Claire is kidnapped and raped, then taken by a group later on, which then in turn leads her to be held by the Governor as prisoner until, Jamie has found a way of release for her, then finally, Brianna is kidnapped by the guy who raped her. It's a lot that happens to this family!

However, it's not all rape and kidnappings. We have Lizzie and Malva Christie to break all of this up. Lizzie...she makes a name for herself on Fraser Ridge in this book. This sweet little Scottish girl who, Brianna saved as she was traveling to America a couple of books back, has come into her own. she has been engaged, but it was called off to a character in another town. She's now free to look for another match, well she couldn't decide who she wanted and became a bigamist and tricked Jamie and Roger in to being able to marry two brothers...twins. I can't make this stuff up.I was floored the first time I read this. I still am a bit.It definitely kept me wanting to know what else is going to happen.

Next Malva, we are introduced to her and she seems very meek, quiet, but she slowly comes out of her shell and, I kind of like her. She wants to learn what Claire knows and she is bright. However, all is not what it seems with this girl. Dark, sneaky, and you just want to slap her! She ends up being fast and loose with the boys on the ridge and tries to black mail Jamie, turning the Ridge against him and Claire. The character transformation of Malva Christie is fascinating and it left my mind boggled. Ms. Gabaldon can make you believe one thing then snatch it out from you, not just once, but twice!

There are some other fun twists and turns with other characters, plus we are now entering the start of the Revolutionary War. Claire, Brianna, and Roger all know what is coming and they do their best to help the others, but it's there and they all will have to face the realities of it with big decisions.

This is a long story, with a lot of information, but a very good story and it is a to read!