Review: Love & War

Love & War
(Alex & Eliza, #2)
by Melissa de la Cruz

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Publication Date: April 17 2018
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Pages: 369
ISBN: 9781524739652
Genre: Young Adult | Historical Fiction | Romance
Source: Own

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Synopsis: Alex & Eliza are now married but instead of what should be a lovely honeymoon, it's back to business as usual for Alex. Alex is off to war with General Washington and Eliza is. left behind in Albany with her family. Alex & Eliza have decided to wait to settle down into a place of their own, waiting to see just where they would end up. While Eliza is at home helping around the Schuyler residence, Alex is leading his own charge in the war.

Once the war is over, Alex & Eliza find themselves living in New York City. Alex struggles to build his business but the Hamilton's are determined to persevere so they push forward with their new life and begin laying down the framework for their life together as a couple.

Review: I really wasn't feeling this book. I enjoyed the first one quite a bit but this one was just, meh. It took me so long to read this and I thought about just giving up so many times. I really was just hoping that if I stuck with it, it would get better? Ugh. It didn't. It wasn't that there was anything in particular that was bad, it was just so slow, and boring. I don't know, it's hard to explain but it just felt like a letdown. I resented Alex for being gone so much for work and I hated seeing the jealousy within Eliza. However, I did enjoy the historical references and aspects of it.

“We will only stand if we learn to accept and even embrace each other’s differences rather than allow them to divide us. It is a childish fantasy to expect everyone to agree all the time, but how much better to live in a country where one is free to think differently from one’s neighbors, and even one’s government, without risking life and limb.”
― Melissa de la Cruz, Love & War

Overall I give this book a three but it could have easily been a 2.5. Yes, it was that forgettable. Now I need to decide if I want to read the final book in the series or just call it good and move on entirely.

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Review: Alex & Eliza

 

Alex and Eliza
(Alex & Eliza. #1)
by Melissa de la Cruz

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Publication Date: April 11 2017
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9781524739621
Genre: Young Adult | Historical Fiction | Romance
Source: Own

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Available for Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis: It's been a year since the Second Continental Congress declared their independence as the United States of America. The Schulyer family is dealing with the loss of their Saratoga home and on the brink of financial ruin. With their dire luck, it is imperative that the three oldest Schulyer children, Angelia, Eliza, and Peggy, marry as soon as possible. In order to speed up the process of marriage, Mrs. Shculyer hosts a grand ball.

When Eliza hears that Alexander Hamilton will be attending the ball, she can barely contain her excitement. She is curious about Alexander and has heard a lot about him. Alex in enthralled by Eliza's personality and beauty and their meeting sets off a two-year epic love story with Alexander trying to win over the heart of Eliza and the approval of the entire Schulyer clan.

Review: I don't read a lot of historical fiction, it's not a particular genre I am interested in. I came across the cover of this book a while ago and added it to my "want to read" list, not even knowing what the story was about (I didn't even read the synopsis). Then I saw a Bookstagram post that was showcasing this series along with other things from Hamilton and realized it was ahistorical fiction about Alex & Eliza - duh!

I loved the Broadway show of Hamilton and Eliza seemed like such a strong female character so I couldn't wait to read this fictional account of their love story. I held off on reading it because the reviews weren't super high, and again - I generally don't like historical fiction. Ahh! I'm so glad I finally read this. I loooove how Melissa portrays Eliza and the Schuyler sisters. They are so sassy for the time period but still in a respectable way. When Alex and Eliza were finally together, their relationship was adorable to watch - total swoon!

“He scooped her into his arms once again, his doubts quelled. "I shall never be worthy of you, my angel," he said. "I know I shall disappoint you in a thousand ways before our time on earth is through. But I hope that you will always see the good in me and know that this unworthy heart of mine will always be yours, no matter what obstacles or failures I bring to your life.”
― Melissa de la Cruz, Alex and Eliza

Overall I really liked this story and I can't wait to finish the rest of the series. I wish the series showed more of Alex's relationship with Angelica but it skipped over that entirely. I did enjoy the fact that Peggy has a lot of notable scenes. She's often overlooked (and Peggy) so it was nice to see her and her beau a bit in this installment. I think the reason the review ratings were so low is because of the historical inaccuracies in this book. But who cares - it's historical fiction and definitely fan-fiction and even Melissa says it's a fictional account of their relationship and mostly fabricated.

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