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votesforwomen's review
2.0
I'm so disappointed. I went into this book very excited and hopeful for a great read. I am a self-proclaimed Hamilfan, and I've read a couple of Melissa de la Cruz's books before. While they weren't my FAVORITES, they weren't bad, so I assumed that this book would be at least a four-star read.
I was wrong.
I'll try to give some likes first - it really wasn't all bad - and then I'll move on to the things I didn't like so much.
WHAT I LIKED
-So Eliza's whole family was in there? And that was kind of lovely? She had brothers (ha-ha! Take that, Angelica! But you still have to social-climb for one) and Peggy and Angelica were both very present and her MOM AND DAD were both there too. And it was wonderful.
-Angelica was dating John Church. Which was a major enough part of the story that I liked it.
-It was just plain sweet when Eliza FINALLY decided she might like Alex a little.
-And the part at the beginning when Angelica, Eliza AND PEGGY gave Hamilton the verbal lashing of his life was just #Yessssssss.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
-This is going to be most of the review, but it's unfortunately most of the book, too. The characters just felt wrong.
-Like, Eliza was this feminist person who at the beginning is like, "Mama, you cannot make me wear that dress and I won't do it because I'm supporting the patriots' cause and I will not dress like that when our men are starving!" And she was like "I won't fall in love with that Colonel Hamilton! We'll know each other for like two years but we'll never actually talk to each other!" And that gave me trouble with seeing her as the woman who sang "Helpless" in the musical and she certainly would never have been the one who sang "That Would Be Enough" or who stuck with Alexander after the whole Reynolds pamphlet fiasco or took his hand in "It's Quiet Uptown" or dedicated her life once he was gone to preserving his memory. And I'm reading the Chernow biography right now (which, by the way, is an exemplary biography and you should read it despite the fact that the writing is very difficult to swim through) and it sounds like Miranda's version of Eliza is a lot more accurate to her in real life.
-Alexander wasn't a tomcat or a flirt and he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would womanize behind Eliza's back later on in life. (Other than that he was mostly okay.)
-Lafayette made a cameo but he was not in it anywhere near enough and that made me mad.
-And Angelica and Peggy just felt wrong? I don't know. Maybe it was because they weren't Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas-Jones, but I feel like it was something to do with the fact they weren't really clever and witty. They also faded into one person.
-Also there was this issue of time? Like in both Hamilton and Chernow it says that the romance was whirlwind thing where they met and - Boom! One week later, writing a letter nightly... etc., etc., etc. This is more of a "hate-at-first-sight" thing where they didn't get around to falling in love until two years after their first meeting.
-And there was this weird arranged marriage thing where Eliza was supposed to marry this other guy for his money but then he was like this awful pig and his family was made up of awful pigs and he
-Also there was this cast of underdeveloped male characters who faded into each other and there were just too many of them. OH I'M SORRY, IS THIS NOT YOUR SPEED?
Verdict: This was a decent book, but I honestly think it would be better if it was read by someone who hasn't read Chernow or seen the musical. Because they're very different fictional works. And I just couldn't get past how wrong the characters felt in general.
I was wrong.
I'll try to give some likes first - it really wasn't all bad - and then I'll move on to the things I didn't like so much.
WHAT I LIKED
-So Eliza's whole family was in there? And that was kind of lovely? She had brothers (ha-ha! Take that, Angelica! But you still have to social-climb for one) and Peggy and Angelica were both very present and her MOM AND DAD were both there too. And it was wonderful.
-Angelica was dating John Church. Which was a major enough part of the story that I liked it.
-It was just plain sweet when Eliza FINALLY decided she might like Alex a little.
-And the part at the beginning when Angelica, Eliza AND PEGGY gave Hamilton the verbal lashing of his life was just #Yessssssss.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
-This is going to be most of the review, but it's unfortunately most of the book, too. The characters just felt wrong.
-Like, Eliza was this feminist person who at the beginning is like, "Mama, you cannot make me wear that dress and I won't do it because I'm supporting the patriots' cause and I will not dress like that when our men are starving!" And she was like "I won't fall in love with that Colonel Hamilton! We'll know each other for like two years but we'll never actually talk to each other!" And that gave me trouble with seeing her as the woman who sang "Helpless" in the musical and she certainly would never have been the one who sang "That Would Be Enough" or who stuck with Alexander after the whole Reynolds pamphlet fiasco or took his hand in "It's Quiet Uptown" or dedicated her life once he was gone to preserving his memory. And I'm reading the Chernow biography right now (which, by the way, is an exemplary biography and you should read it despite the fact that the writing is very difficult to swim through) and it sounds like Miranda's version of Eliza is a lot more accurate to her in real life.
-Alexander wasn't a tomcat or a flirt and he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would womanize behind Eliza's back later on in life. (Other than that he was mostly okay.)
-Lafayette made a cameo but he was not in it anywhere near enough and that made me mad.
-And Angelica and Peggy just felt wrong? I don't know. Maybe it was because they weren't Renee Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas-Jones, but I feel like it was something to do with the fact they weren't really clever and witty. They also faded into one person.
-Also there was this issue of time? Like in both Hamilton and Chernow it says that the romance was whirlwind thing where they met and - Boom! One week later, writing a letter nightly... etc., etc., etc. This is more of a "hate-at-first-sight" thing where they didn't get around to falling in love until two years after their first meeting.
-And there was this weird arranged marriage thing where Eliza was supposed to marry this other guy for his money but then he was like this awful pig and his family was made up of awful pigs and he
Spoiler
tried to RAPE Eliza but then Alexander came in and broke it up but then his family blamed HER for it? But then her parents let her call of the engagement? And it was just weird?-Also there was this cast of underdeveloped male characters who faded into each other and there were just too many of them. OH I'M SORRY, IS THIS NOT YOUR SPEED?
Verdict: This was a decent book, but I honestly think it would be better if it was read by someone who hasn't read Chernow or seen the musical. Because they're very different fictional works. And I just couldn't get past how wrong the characters felt in general.
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
3.0
3.5/5
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve seen Hamilton a million times and done some research myself so I knew about the story. It was nice to see other books on the subject.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve seen Hamilton a million times and done some research myself so I knew about the story. It was nice to see other books on the subject.
stephaniealysse's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
melissaverasreads's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
This was okay, it was entertaining enough. Sadly, I know what's going to happen with this couple and that didn't let me... let's say, "ship" Alex and Eliza.
This was okay, it was entertaining enough. Sadly, I know what's going to happen with this couple and that didn't let me... let's say, "ship" Alex and Eliza.
sallyavena's review
3.0
It was a cute light read. Can hardly be called historical since the author didn't even provide and acknowledgement of research done...no footnotes, endnotes, list of research or anything of that sort. Leaves one wondering if it's just her attempt to ride the coat tails of the popularity of the musical. Not badly written and not a bad little love story. The historian in me just wanted the list of resources.
labunnywtf's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a Schuyler girl
In a brand new world
I'm so scholastic
It's trope-tastic
No wig on my hair
No corset under there
Not like other girls, no, you're not like other girls
In defense of this book, I knew going into it that the tropes were going to kill me. I knew before I requested the sneak peek of this at the beginning of the year it would be a problem, because I really am such a huge critic of romance. But the premise was such that I got the sneak peek, and was really interested.
Right at the beginning of the book, we get slammed with the trope of a beautiful girl who feels so plain and ordinary.
Mmmm. That could've turned me off, but then we get a fantastic scene show casing the wit of the three Schuyler girls, and why Elizabeth and Alexander would catch each other's attention. And I was intrigued, so I really was excited to read this.
And it's shameful that this book was ruined by the extraordinarily heavy handed tropes.
The story is sweet, and realistic. Extreme historical liberties are taken, but hey, if you think Hamilton the Musical is 100% factual, we need to talk. We alternate between Eliza and Alex's POV, and the growth of their relationship feels fairly natural, especially for this period of time in history. The eye rolling is genuinely at a minimum for so much of this.
So, why. Why, Melissa de la Cruz, why. Why would you ever. ever. ever. ever. ever. ever. ever. ever. fucking. ever. think you should literally include the phrase, "You're not like other girls"?
Why?
FFS.
Seriously, there were a handful of minor tropes, but the absolute second Eliza said it, then Alex seconded it, I wanted to stop listening.
Let's not even get into the events that led up to Eliza and Alex finally ending up together with family approval. That was beyond unnecessary. While some historical liberties are warranted, I am emphatically disagreeing with the need to put Eliza in that level of unnecessary danger just so Alex can swoop in and rescue his damsel in distress.
This could have been a really great fluff piece, and I'm sorely disappointed it was not. I'm interested in reading the next one in the series, but I am, by far, not in a rush.
In a brand new world
I'm so scholastic
It's trope-tastic
No wig on my hair
No corset under there
Not like other girls, no, you're not like other girls
In defense of this book, I knew going into it that the tropes were going to kill me. I knew before I requested the sneak peek of this at the beginning of the year it would be a problem, because I really am such a huge critic of romance. But the premise was such that I got the sneak peek, and was really interested.
Right at the beginning of the book, we get slammed with the trope of a beautiful girl who feels so plain and ordinary.
Mmmm. That could've turned me off, but then we get a fantastic scene show casing the wit of the three Schuyler girls, and why Elizabeth and Alexander would catch each other's attention. And I was intrigued, so I really was excited to read this.
And it's shameful that this book was ruined by the extraordinarily heavy handed tropes.
The story is sweet, and realistic. Extreme historical liberties are taken, but hey, if you think Hamilton the Musical is 100% factual, we need to talk. We alternate between Eliza and Alex's POV, and the growth of their relationship feels fairly natural, especially for this period of time in history. The eye rolling is genuinely at a minimum for so much of this.
So, why. Why, Melissa de la Cruz, why. Why would you ever. ever. ever. ever. ever. ever. ever. ever. fucking. ever. think you should literally include the phrase, "You're not like other girls"?
Why?
FFS.
Seriously, there were a handful of minor tropes, but the absolute second Eliza said it, then Alex seconded it, I wanted to stop listening.
Let's not even get into the events that led up to Eliza and Alex finally ending up together with family approval. That was beyond unnecessary. While some historical liberties are warranted, I am emphatically disagreeing with the need to put Eliza in that level of unnecessary danger just so Alex can swoop in and rescue his damsel in distress.
This could have been a really great fluff piece, and I'm sorely disappointed it was not. I'm interested in reading the next one in the series, but I am, by far, not in a rush.
princessklee's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced