Wednesday 20 September 2017

Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz

Genre: YA Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance
Published: April 11, 2017 by: G.P. Putnam
Pages: 368
Rating: 4/5 stars



It's 1777 in New York, and the Revolution is sparking excitement in everyone. On the eve of the legendary Schuyler family's winter ball, middle-daughter Eliza Schuyler is less enthused by her graceful older and gentle younger sisters, and is more focused on making a change in America. But when she meets Alexander Hamilton at the ball, a bright young colonel with a lot of ideas, they start something that will change the course of American History forever.

I'll be honest, I would probably never read this book if the musical Hamilton never existed. And even so, would this book even exist if the musical Hamilton was never created? Lin- Manuel Miranda has truly influenced the literature and art scene forever.

I really liked this book. It provided great, vivid descriptions of 1777 America, and the author really took on the tone of people in the time period, which is hard to do. It didn't feel watered down to modern audiences, she really kept it authentic.

I loved how she portrayed the character of Eliza, and I could definitely see the parallels between her Broadway counterpart. She was brilliant and enthusiastic, as was Alexander Hamilton. Both characters seemed to keep up with the personalities of their stage versions.

This book didn't feel boring to me, and I was really worried it would. I think it was probably because I was already familiar with the story of Alexander Hamilton, because if I had gone into this book completely ignorant, I would probably have no time for the information. So, I'm not sure how a non-Hamilton lover would read this.

I felt as if this book was a little too long. It took a lot for action to build up, and Alexander and Eliza's relationship didn't flourish until literally the very end of the book, something I did not expect. I would have really liked for their relationship to have happened sooner.

But other than that, I think this book was a great nod to Hamilton. It was romantic and cute, but it just took too long to get there.

Have you read Alex and Eliza? What did you think?

Emily @ Paperback Princess

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