Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I know these books have been out for a while. I also know that they are loved by millions of people. My friend recommended I try it out and gave it a lot of praise. I am reviewing it, not with the idea that many people will benefit necessarily from my thoughts, but to hopefully cleanse myself of the horrible feelings I have been left with from attempting to get through this first book, Outlander. From a literary standpoint, I did not think the book was well-written. The main character was very unlikeable. She was selfish, smug and stupid. Her eventual husband, while admirable and sympathetic at times, was not much to my liking either. I thought the long pages dedicated to his heritage, his uncles' heritage, the bad guys' heritage were tedious and unnecessary. The main plot got muddied over and over and over again with these long detours. The constant descriptions of beatings, battles, rapes and sex scenes also did little to further the plot. The characters' reactions to the events going on around them made no sense. The two main characters are jumped and nearly murdered during an amorous encounter and their response, after killing the two assailants, was laughter and going back to life as if nothing happened. What??? The supposedly strong-willed, proud, independent main character has no problem with every man in the story patting her on the bottom after she was beaten with a leather belt for hours by her husband??? I could go on and give more evidence to support my point but I hate to "spoil" the story for those who particularly enjoy completely silly unnecessary sex scenes, murder, beatings, rape, sodomy, etc. I don't know why, but I kept pressing on, trying to find in this book what others had found so riveting. I tried to skim the more gruesome parts but at some point midway, there were too many to skim without missing pages and pages of the book. What did it for me was the graphic and violent depiction of marital rape. Up until that point, despite the horrific things that were being described, the characters' responses to it were mostly as being disturbed (except when the main character's husband was so turned on after he beat her...ugh!). The rape, however, was disgusting. She said no over and over again as her husband, who is described as being protective and caring, continued to force himself on her. The author describes the pain she is going through in detail and his brutality and yet, by the end of the scene, the main character comes to like it and "want" it. In the morning, they both laugh at how bruised she is by him and the bite marks she left on him. This was the point I knew I was done. It was after reading this horrible account I knew that even if there was a good plot present (which there was not), I could not continue to subject myself to something so disturbing and distressing. From what I've read in reviews here, it does not improve as the story goes on so I feel comfortable in having stopped midway through. I actually resent having read any of this book. I have been trying to scrub the images it created and the feelings it caused from my mind since yesterday and it still hangs on. I cannot imagine why or how these books are so wildly popular. I cannot imagine that so many hearts could be so calloused and hardened that they would tolerate such intentional brutality being treated with such nonchalance. As if it was a normal occurrence. I know that sounds rather judgmental towards the fans of this series but I really just am baffled by anyone finding enjoyment in this kind of subject matter. I thank the others who have written their reviews who share my opinions because I felt I must be the only one in the world who felt this way given how popular this series. I am glad I am not alone. I think I'm going to go read Anne of Green Gables now, or perhaps Little House on the Prairie, yeah that, to hopefully cleanse myself of the lasting effects of Outlander.