We’re so excited to be a part of the blog tour for the upcoming Alex & Eliza by Melissa De La Cruz! Before we dive into our post, I wanted to share the book details with you!
Alex and Eliza: A Love Story by Melissa de la Cruz
(Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by Penguin on April 11th 2017
Genres: Colonial & Revolutionary Periods, Coming of Age, Historical, Romance, United States, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 368
Format: ARC 
1777. Albany, New York.
As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. Descended from two of the oldest and most distinguished bloodlines in New York, the Schuylers are proud to be one of their fledgling country’s founding families, and even prouder still of their three daughters—Angelica, with her razor-sharp wit; Peggy, with her dazzling looks; and Eliza, whose beauty and charm rival that of both her sisters, though she’d rather be aiding the colonists’ cause than dressing up for some silly ball.
Still, she can barely contain her excitement when she hears of the arrival of one Alexander Hamilton, a mysterious, rakish young colonel and General George Washington’s right-hand man. Though Alex has arrived as the bearer of bad news for the Schuylers, he can’t believe his luck—as an orphan, and a bastard one at that—to be in such esteemed company. And when Alex and Eliza meet that fateful night, so begins an epic love story that would forever change the course of American history.
In the pages of Alex and Eliza, #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz brings to life the romance of young Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler.
Jaime’s Thoughts
If you know me at all, you know that history just isn’t usually my thing, but how could I resist a YA Alexander and Eliza retelling? I couldn’t is the answer. Now, I’m not obsessed with the musical by any means… I haven’t even seen it yet (we’re going this summer) but I love the story that is told with the music (which I’ve listened to) and I thought a YA spin on it would be interesting. Well, if you go in thinking this is going to be a retelling of the musical, you’ll be disappointed. Where the musical’s focus is mainly the politics with the relationships in the background, this one is all about the relationships.
There were things that really worked for me, and of course there were a few that didn’t. I’m going to start there. I’m not a huge fan of this author typically. I’ve just never really clicked with her storytelling and writing style but I didn’t want to assume that would be the same … unfortunately I feel like that was part of my problem with this story as well. The story felt clunky at times, and the history was somewhat dull to me. Also, there were some super cheesy parts in this that had me just groaning … but once you get past those, the story here was somewhat enjoyable!
I think that De La Cruz did a really wonderful job of crafting this story and working around actual events, but she also gets a lot of wiggle room in writing about how the love between Alex and Eliza sparks and grows and I thought she did a pretty good job of keeping me interested! Fans of Hamilton I think are either going to really love this or hate it, and I think never having seen it yet, I fall somewhere in the middle.
If you’re a fan of historical retellings, if you love a good romance story, if you’re obsessed with Hamilton … or even if you’re not, give this one a try and fall in love with Alex & Eliza along the way!
Thank you to the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on March 27, 2017 and 12:00 AM on April 24, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about April 26, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
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