Finding Fraser

It's been a while since I was this disappointed in a book. I can't help but believe all the good ratings are due to Outlander sentimentality rather than the actual story and characters of This book.I did not like Emma. In the beginning, I felt fairly neutral about her (which isn't great, since the reader should attach to the heroine and sole narrator!). By the second half, once she was with Hammish, she became a Too Stupid to Live heroine, and the rest of the book was disappointment after disappointment.Emma's mission was to find a modern-day Jamie. Instead, she instantly falls for a guy whose only similarity to Jamie is that he's tall, good-looking, muscular, and Scottish. Three of those four features could have been found in her own backyard in the US or at any public gathering in the world where a decent amount of young-ish men were in attendance. Yet, she's convinced this guy must fit the Jamie mold, though it's not at all clear why she thinks so. Never mind that Nothing about his personality, actions, lifestyle, overall looks, etc., embody Jamie. Never mind that it's glaring to the reader and every character but Emma that Hammish treats her poorly, repeatedly. Never mind that Hammish was a one-dimensional character who never, for even a minute, held appeal for me as a reader. Just never mind Emma. Her desperation to be loved by the first man to look her way and her clingy attachment to him was off-putting, the more so for the fact it doesn't serve as a platform to show her personal growth; by the end of the book she's still a co-dependent woman who needs a man to save her and to make her happy. At least the man she finally ends up with is a good man! Emma is so desperate for Hammish to be The One that she's convinced all she has to do is sleep with him to make her feelings and his Jamie-ness legitimate. Um, what? Remind me of how that's paralleled in either Jamie or Claire's characterization or the Outlander plot? No, that's right, it's the exact opposite portrayal. How did Emma convince herself she was "finding Fraser"?? Her ridiculousness with this story thread ruined the book for me.I also grew so very tired of Emma's sister's bitching through blog comments. Every comment was the same. They added nothing new to the story as it progressed; there was no growth in the story thread with the sister. I simultaneously thought the sister was an extraordinary b*tch, as was intended, while also thinking she was right in her opinions of Emma.And as some other reviewers mentioned, Emma did not come across as 29. (I'm 30 myself, so I say this with no judgement against our age bracket!) She felt young, and her sister felt like a much older sister. I also had the hardest time pegging Gerald's age (part of the supporting cast). For a really long time I thought he was an elderly man, but by the end I'd worked out that he must have been similar in age to Emma!The only enjoyable part of the book was the tour of Scotland and some of the supporting Scottish cast.

]I bought this book on DG's recommendation. Perhaps she only read the first chapter or two, which really did start out very promisingly, but it never progressed to anything beyond a hollow and unengaging series of coincidences and mishaps that strained credulity, with a few funny lines thrown in here and there. The heroine is utterly un-Claire-like, a completely clueless and shallow grown-up woman acting like an adolescent; stupidly stumbling through one idiotic decision after another without a single moment of self-awareness or growth. The supporting characters were flat and uninteresting. I was 50% of the way through the thing when I realized that nothing interesting had happened yet. Enough.For a pair of funny, well-written stories about book-obsessed fan who goes on a search for her own hero, read Austenland and its sequel Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale. [[ASIN:1596912863 Austenland: A Novel]

I bought this book when it came out from Baker about three years ago, due to Diana Gabaldon's mention of it on her page. Fanfiction approved by the author? Intriguing. Could be great. Could be really freakin' awful.Good things first. The writing is smooth, descriptions are detailed but not too much. I could see the places Emma was going in my mind, I could picture the people she was meeting. Great! Also I love all things Scotland, but I try really hard to keep a real and not touristy view of the country, and I think Dyer did a great job of bringing this out in the book. The story - once a certain amount of suspension of disbelief was applied - was amusing. I laughed out loud several times. The author is good at making even secondary characters different enough to remember (even if a couple of them turn out more caricature-like than I would prefer).It's a fluffy, fast read. Actually, this is the first non-academic book I've finished in months, and I finished it in one evening (stayed up almost three hours past my usual bedtime to do so). So, if fluffy, ridiculous, entertaining books are your thing or you need a break from your usual thing, this book might do it for you. Please bear in mind, it pretty much reads like a fanfiction. Because...well, it is! It was approved/allowed by Diana Gabaldon, due to the heavy influence of her Outlander books on the writing. Ahem. I.e., FANFICTION. If you haven't read at least the first Outlander book, much of this one will make absolutely no sense and no doubt engender even more eye-rolling than it did for me (I love the Outlander series with a passion).Now the reason for the Anger. Please excuse my undeniable urge to use caps.WHAT THE EFF CENTURY ARE WE IN, THAT OUR MAIN CHARACTER DEDICATES HER ENTIRE LIFE TO FINDING A MATE?!? Are you freaking kidding me right now?!?I think Emma needed a counselor more than she needed a trip to Scotland. She was clearly suffering from a horrible lack of self worth due to constantly comparing herself to her highly successful (and younger) sister, and by a chronic tendency to derive her self worth from the amount of male attention she received or could obtain.*insert gagging emoji here*What, exactly, has Emma been doing with her life? I tried to figure it out, as just because one works at Starbucks at the age of 30 does not mean one has wasted one's life. Things happen, circumstances change...maybe I just missed it, but Emma seems unable to have pursued anything other than boyfriends with any real vigor.No. Just no. Okay, so I still love a good HEA and cutesy romantic stuff as much as the next person...sometimes. When it is warranted. In this case, I chose to finish the book and suspend by disbelief/outrage/horror at Emma's underlying reasoning for "searching for her Jamie," and was able to somewhat enjoy the rest.I gave three stars because of the quality of the writing, but I wouldn't read it again. Give me a book with a female MC with LIFE GOALS, not man goals.

This book is great, being an Outlander fan I thought I'd give this book a shot and wasn't disappointed. The story was a little stail in the middle, just my opinion, but picks up again and I couldn't put it down. Would recommend

This was very funny and I had a great laugh while reading it. I loved the mix of story and blog. There are many interesting characters who are well developed and increase the enjoyment of the book. I gave it four stars instead of five because there are some irritating errors which should have been edited out. By the way in Scotland an injection is called a jag not a shot.

A great wee read. I'd read some of the reviews before I bought it, and yes there are a few wee issues about routes taken and where we have motorways here in Scotland, but these aren't major issues surely? Light, funny, and there's a happy ending. Nairn is indeed a lovely, friendly town with stunning scenery and the off chance of seeing dolphins in the firth (although I've not been lucky yet on my visits). Outlander fans will either love it or hate it ... I loved it 😊

If you want something easy to read, mildly amusing and with a background based on Diana Gabaldon's famed Jamie and Claire Fraser stories, you will probably enjoy this book. I guessed early on who her 'Jamie' would be, even though it took her the whole book to finally get there. It isn't a book I simply had to finish and couldn't take my eyes from, but it was a pleasant read and I dipped in and out of it and picked up the story again easily.

Anyone who is an outlander can will love this book. Thoroughly enjoyed this book with its outlander theme and looking for their jamie