Virgins by Diana Gabaldon

So, after reading book one but before reading book two, I thought it might ease my heart to read a tale about young!Jamie when he was still just a teenager (nineteen, I believe). Freshly escaped from his brutal fate at the flogging post and banned from his homeland of Lallybroch, Jamie and his best pal Ian wander around in France with a group of bawdy, rapacious mercenaries. They end up coming into the acquaintance of a Jewish doctor named Dr. Hasdi who wants them to deliver his daughter, Rebekah, a Torah, and a chest of gold to her fiance in France. But of course, this being a book about Jamie, that doesn't go off as planned.

The title refers to the fact that Jamie and Ian are both virgins, and there's a lot of blushing and dirty jokes in this book as both of them speculate - in the true fashion of boys everywhere - as to What Sex Must Be Like. Considering that several portions of this book take place in whorehouses, there's ample room for speculation. I thought that their discussions with one another were cute, and the dialogue is a lot more light-hearted here than it was in the books, even though some dark stuff does happen in VIRGINS.

I recommend reading this after book one, or you won't have context for some of the backstory. Ian doesn't appear until pretty late into book one, and his character there sets the stage for what he's like here (and vice-versa). Reading VIRGINS was fun, but the whole time I read it there was a cloud over me, because I knew what was going to happen to these characters later, and it made me sad. :(

Still, if you can get your hands on it on the cheap, it's not a bad way to pass the time.

3 to 3.5 out of 5 stars