Diana Gabaldon isn't new to me anymore. I fell in love with her writings the first chapter into Outlander. She is a superb writer who really makes everything come alive and I would definitely read anything she's written. 
 Jamie and Claire's adventures continue in France in an attempt to thwart Charles Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) from leading the Scottish uprising that ended at Culloden and resulted in the English hunting down the clans and destroying them. 
 Claire believes that with the knowledge of what will happen she has a duty to try and stop it. In the middle of all of this is the continuing love story of Jamie and Claire who get to spend more alone time together, just exploring each other's natures. We also get to see the wonderfully crafty mind of Jamie and Claire both as they come up with plots to thwart Charles. 
 While I really like this book, I would say it isn't as good as Outlander simply because I do enjoy their times in Scotland and in this book it is so short. The battles and intrigues really bog things down at times but the twists and turns, surprises and shocks really propel you through the story to and end you suspect with the opening chapter and dread with every advancing page. 
 The supporting characters are more developed as are enemies. This really brings a whole new depth through the trials of the beloved characters. We also get to see a little bit more of the day to day life of this married couple which I must admit is something I truly love about it. In Outlander, Claire and Jamie are moving through just being married and all the problems of different clans. In their own house (well his uncles but he's not home) in France, they are just being and that makes things a little more interesting. We get to see Claire through a pregnancy and the little fights Jamie and Claire go through to strengthen their love. 
 Both Jamie and Claire's characters really have room to flex and grow in this story and we are introduced to two new characters: Brianna and Roger. 
 Brianna is the daughter of Claire and Jamie but has been raise to believe Frank Randall is her father. The point of this book is that Claire tells her the truth about her paternity which gets interesting to say the least. I wouldn't say this book develops Brianna well but I know for a fact that later books will as she's isn't as important to this story as Jamie and Claire. 
 Roger is a character we actually meet in Outlander when he is just a child. Now full grown, Claire goes to him to find out something from history past only to reveal to him how he is tangled in her time traveling web. Roger is developed only slightly more than Brianna because Claire and he bound over her story and he's the type of person to believe something fanciful like time travel. He also becomes the go between for mother and daughter. He gets a lot more interesting in books to come too. 
 This truly is a great story but if you plan on reading it make sure you have Voyager handy. Believe me you will need it.