5 Very Solid Stars! 
 This one was very fulfilling for me. Great pacing, good story, wonderful characters (as always). Definitely in the top 1/2 of the series for me. And for those who are wondering, no cliffhanger. We can spend the next 3 to 4 years waiting on book 9 with a happy little glow about us. And I'll do that happily with most likely another series reread somewhere in between. I'm not saying this one was perfect, but for me personally it was pretty damn close. 
 I love William. Oh man, that poor lad... And the Grey's - they just keep getting better and better. And Ian, and Fergus, Marsali, Germain, and well, basically the only characters I'm not totally invested in are Brianna and Roger. To be fair this is probably the least annoying those two have ever been. Not that Bree wasn't still infuriating at times but at least they had a good story line this time around. Especially Roger. 
 But let's be real: The only reason any reader is still invested in these books after almost 9k pages is Jamie and Claire Fraser. Mostly Jamie. And let me tell you, he does not disappoint in this one. I mean, he is perfect and I worship him. I can't get enough of Jamie Fraser and I am beyond glad that even though he is pushing 60 (I know! WHAT?!?) he is still one of the hottest characters I have ever had the pleasure to have a book crush on and that crush isn't waning in the least. 
 And when the show starts in less than 2 months? Forget about it. I can't even watch Sam Heughan speak his 8 (ish) words in the trailers without lighting up like a firecracker on the 4th of July. Have mercy. 
 Jamie Fraser OWNS me.