Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I rated this 5 stars because of how much I absolutely LOVED the first book. The characters are so well developed it’s hard to think of them as characters and not real people. The story is truly mind blowing, and the attention to detail about the history of the time is incredible. Truly a stunning piece of work in all aspects. Not to mention I’m completely head over heels for Jamie Fraser. *swoon* No better male hero has ever existed. That being said, I unfortunately have to report that the series continually gets worse as you go on. I still greatly enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd for the most part, although I wasn’t as on board with where the story was going and it seemed like Diana kept introducing more and more wild plot lines with no explanations. Then the 4th book. Oh where to begin. What an utter disappointment. The characters I love so much have started to become a shell of who they were in the first book. New characters are mediocre at best, and hateful at their worst. Not hateful because they’re good villains, no; they’re hateful because they’re so pathetically constructed and underwhelmingly developed. And the amount of detail about things that don’t matter is so hard to get through. You could probably eliminate a good 300 pages of just description and the story would be exactly the same. Speaking of the actual story, this amazing action/adventure/romance/fantasy series that I have come to know and love felt much more like a cheesy soap opera than anything in the 4th book. Yikes. I’m currently on the 5th book, The Fiery Cross, and I’m only a few chapters in and already I’m bored and disappointed. Let’s hope it turns around.....But yeah. I still recommend it because the first is so amazing it’s worth it, but beware...you’re signing up for heartbreak. **UPDATE: I quit. I read about halfway through the 5th book and decided I couldn’t take it anymore. I looked up a summary online and true to form, it continues to spiral downward with outrageous plot lines. I’m not even sure how a writer DOES that - goes from fantastic/amazing/revolutionary to insultingly terrible within the same series, but never fear, Diana is here to show us it is possible. The first chapter of the 5th book is literally called “The Longest Day” and BY GEORGE I am here to tell you that it was literally the longest day(s!! because it is that long) of my life struggling through it. I don’t even know how I can love and hate something so passionately at the same time. Is this what it’s like to be a teenager in a vampire drama series?? Just do yourself a favor and only buy the first two books. If there is anybody who actually does want to continue reading the 5th and 6th books because they’re still in denial, hmu because I do not need that reminder of disappointment and sorrow sitting on my shelf.