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 However, I did enjoy the historical references and aspects of it.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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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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Review: Dragonfly in Amber

 

Dragonfly in Amber
(Outlander, #2)
by Diana Gabaldon

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Publication Date: July 1 1992
Publisher: Ballantine Bantam Dell
Pages: 963
ISBN: 9780385335973
Genre: Historial Fiction | Romance | Adult Fiction
Source: Audible

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Synopsis: Twenty years after her trip to Scotland, Claire Randall, now a doctor, returns with her grown daughter, Brianna, to find information on the death records of the Jacobite soldiers and to share the shocking truth, Brianna's father is not Frank Randall, the man who loved and raised her, but instead is James Fraser of Lollybroch.

Claire meets up with young historian, Roger Wakefield, to find more information about the Jacobite Rising in 1745. Roger begins to feel like Claire is hiding something from him and is shocked to hear about Claire's tale about time-traveling two hundred years into the past. Claire recounts of her time spent with Jamie, their life in Paris, and the rising of the Jacobites who were set on putting Prince Charles back on the thrown.

Review: I loved this book. Granted, it's not as good as the first one, but it was still really good. Diana's descriptive writing style, character-driven storyline, and fast-paced dramatic tone pulled me right into the story. I love the historical fiction aspects of this story, especially since a majority of it takes place in France in 1774.

I did struggle for a bit because two of my favorite characters were killed off in the series, and I knew it was coming but it was still painful. I enjoyed getting to meet Fergus though and hearing about his adventures as a small boy on the Paris streets.

Having watched the tv show, I knew what to expect for the general outline of the story. Obviously some details were different and there was a lot of stuff left out of the show or changed, but the general premise was still the same. I've always loved Roger's character and found Brianna to be a bit annoying. I have such a soft spot for Murtagh and Fergus though and I loved following them along in this sequel.

“I will find you," he whispered in my ear. "I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory, two hundred years without you - then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes.”
― Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber

This is such a great series, I'm really looking forward to the next book and the adventure that waits with Voyager.

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