Crossing Over: Time Travel Books with a Focus on the History

Hey all. It's been awhile since my last Crossing Over post. If you're not familiar with Crossing Over it's a feature that stemmed from my desire to recommend an adult book with crossover appeal based on a YA or sometimes Middle Grade book that are similar. I hate that we pigeonhole books into a specific age range and so I try to combat that. Plus it's basically an if you liked, then try but for crossover books. It runs once a month (usually) here and I pick the books based on the theme of what I'm reading. So this month my theme is historical fiction and honestly that was a pretty hard one for me. I feel like I don't read a ton of adult historical fiction and the ones that I do are very different from the YA I read. So I did a little bit of a twist on the topic and do time travel stories with a big focus on historical fiction

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
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So I feel like the first thing I have to say about this book is that it is not really a crossover book. It is very adult. VERY. There are some really explicit sex scenes and a ton of violence. And there are also plenty of violent sex scenes. This book is not for the typical YA reader. But it is still really good and I don't think teens should avoid these kinds of books because they aren't "adults." Alright, that's out of the way so let's get to the good stuff.

This book is about a woman who is ahead of her time who ends up, unbeknownst to her, having the ability to travel back in time. She ends up in the Highlands of Scotland right before the Jacobite uprising and becomes entrenched with a family who is more than meets the eye. There's a ton of action and drama, plus a good amount of political intrigue. As the series develops she starts to realize that if she wants to save the people she loves, she may have to change history.

This book also has amazing characters. I absolutely love Claire for one. As I said she is ahead of her time which often puts her at odds with the historical time period. She's sassy and tough, brilliant and resourceful, and shows a lot of confidence under pressure. She's an easy character to get behind. But Jamie Fraser is also quite amazing as well. He's not your typical war-hardened soldier. He's got a real vulnerability to him which makes him quite complex.  But even more than that, this is a series full of amazing and odious characters including some truly vile villains. Plus the book is way more character driven than you would expect.

But the thing I liked most about this book is that it's a time travel story that reads like historical fiction. The focus is definitely not on the time travel at least not in the first few books (yes, I admit I have only read the first one and seen the second season of the TV show). The time travel is just a means of getting the character to the time period which is a great setting. I loved the themes about the period that were explored and think fans of historical fiction will enjoy it as well.

In general, it's a good read. It defies genre classifications because it has elements of historical fiction, fantasy, and romance. If you are worried it's too romance heavy, don't be. Take it from this romancephobic person, there is much more about this series to love. If you are a historical fiction fan check it out.

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
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So there are a lot of books out there that market themselves at Outlander for teens. Some because they are historical fiction that takle place in Scotland, some because they're time travel, some because they have both. But none of them quite get there. Passenger I think gets the closest. One because it's not trying to be Outlander and two, because it has the same kind of vibes,

This book is about a young woman who ends up, unbeknownst to her, having the ability to travel back in time. She ends up aboard a pirate ship right before the American Revolution and becomes entrenched with a family who is more than meets the eye. There's a ton of action and drama, plus a good amount of surprised. As the book and series develops she starts to realize that if she wants to save the people she loves, she may have to change history and travel through time even more.

This book also has amazing characters. I really liked Etta for one. Etta is a modern girl with modern sensibilities which often puts her at odds with the historical time period. She's tough, smart, resourceful, and shows a lot of confidence under pressure. She's an easy character to get behind. But Nicholas is also quite amazing as well. He's not your typical swash-buckling pirate. He's got a real vulnerability to him which makes him quite complex. But even more than that, this is a series full of amazing and odious characters including some truly vile villains. Plus the book is way more character driven than you would expect.

But the thing I liked most about this book is that it's a time travel story that reads like historical fiction. The focus is on the time travel but what it does right it perfectly capture the location and history of where it is taking you. The time travel is the main plot point but it doesn't neglect some of the larger implications and how the characters inhabit the locations. I loved the themes about the period that were explored and think fans of historical fiction will enjoy it as well.

In general, it's a good read. It defies genre classification by having great elements of historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, romance. Basically it has it all. If you are a fan of historical fiction I think you will like it just as much as fans of time travel.

Have you read Outlander and/or Passenger? What did you think? What steampunk novels with crossover appeal do you like? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Audiobook Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Title: Outlander Series: Outlander #1 Written by: Diana Gabaldon Published: Originally in 1991 by Delacorte Press (Random House) (Amazon / Goodreads / Audible) Synopsis: Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another... The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.  Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Why did I put this book off for so long? I even own a copy that I got a used book sale and I still never read it. Oh right, because there are 8 books in this series and they're all over 800 pages. I have been so intimidated by this series for a very long time. Well regardless, I'm glad I took the time to give it a try because I really enjoyed it. It's a fantastic adult historical fiction with lots of action and some great fantasy elements.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is the historical aspects. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. I honestly went into this book expecting it to be more of a fantasy series but it read much more like historical fiction. But maybe that's because the entire book was set in the past and not just a part of it. When you're dealing with a time travel book, like this one, it's usually someone in the present going into the past (or future) but here both time periods are set in the past. The author did a great job of setting the scene for both WWII and 18th Century Scotland. Most of the book was set in 1740's Scotland which was totally fine with me. There was so much drama not to mention it made a period and location I knew very little about which was super interesting. It's always great to explore a completely new period. Plus there were some subtle references and plot points about real history that it seems are going to come up more in later books.

But at the heart of this book, it's a time travel adventure. The setting and that narrative led to a really dramatic plot development. A lot of the book was about the main character finding her place in this society she knew nothing about. That's one of the things I love about stories where characters go back in time. They don't understand the practices of the people but they also try not to say or do anything that will reveal them. Claire unfortunately is not very good at that and actually uses her experience to her benefit which honestly makes this more interesting. But there was also a ton of thrilling action and drama. This is not a book for the faint of heart. There are many cringeworthy and/or adult scenes of violence and sexual content, often at the same time. And while I don't personally love that concept it was historically accurate and made me emotionally invest in the book and the characters.

But these characters didn't really need help being sympathetic and likable. I absolutely adored our main character is Claire. She was just a delight. Claire's such a strong female character. She's smart, resourceful, speaks her mind and can hold her own in a very male dominated world. She was ahead of her time for the 1940's so seeing her in the the 18th century is even more interesting. And then there is everyone's favorite Scot, Jamie Fraser. I get it, he's super dreamy. A real man's man but also a romantic at heart. He did have his moments where I didn't quite agree with him but I'm on board for him and his struggle. Plus Claire and Jamie were so great together. They had some great banter and butted heads in the best possible way. There was also some great secondary characters like the devious Black Jack Randall, the dubious Dougal Mackenzie, the odious Geillis Duncan, and Jamie's sister Jenny who could give her brother a run for his money in the tough and stubborn category. The characters within this series are without a doubt one of the best parts.

I was recommended the audiobook for this series and I honestly really liked it. It's long (32 hours) but very entertaining and the accents definitely help set the scene and the mood of the book. I'm not usually a big fan of heavily accented narration but here it worked. If you are an audiobook fan and are looking to read this series then I would suggest listening to the audio.

On the whole, Outlander was a great read with a complex historical setting, action-packed time travel adventure, and had wonderful characters I totally fell for. If you are at all interested in this series, I would recommend it. I'm glad I finally gave this series a try and am interested in continuing with the series although I'm not sure I will be able to do that any time soon.

I give Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. This is a great read I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction and/or romance. But if you don't like either then still give it a try. There is a lot of action and adventure too. I do want to once again mention that this is a heavy read and I don't mean that from a page count standpoint. There is a lot of violence and sexual content. This is firmly in the adult category. But it is really amazing so if you like those kinds of books, check it out.