TLC Book Tours: My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Title: My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton
Authors: Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
Format: Paperback
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: April 3, 2018
Source: TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins

What's the Story?

From Goodreads.com: "A general’s daughter…

Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she’s captivated by the young officer’s charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton’s bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.

A founding father’s wife...

But the union they create—in their marriage and the new nation—is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all—including the political treachery of America’s first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.

The last surviving light of the Revolution…

When a duel destroys Eliza’s hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband’s enemies to preserve Alexander’s legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she’s left with one last battle—to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her…"

My Two Cents:

"My Dear Hamilton" is the story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, a woman who came from a storied family who goes on to marry one of America's founding fathers. It would be easy to define Eliza as simply Alexander's wife but she was so much more than that. I have been obsessed with the Hamilton musical for awhile now and Eliza has always struck me as a particularly interesting character. It was this that originally made me interested in reading this book but once I got into the book, I found that Eliza's voice that made this book worth reading!

I am always excited about new releases but there are some books where I feel like I have been waiting forever for. This is one of those books and I was definitely not disappointed! One of the reasons that I love historical fiction is that the books often tell the stories of people, places, and things that don't often make it into the history books. There are so many things that don't make it into our history books and while I wish it were different, at least there are authors out there that are willing (and capable, oh, so capable of telling) these stories.

I loved that this book was told from Eliza's first person point of view. I loved seeing how she thought about the different things that were going on throughout the book. We see how she felt about her father's disgraced legacy, how she felt being compared to her sisters, how she felt first meeting Alexander, and so many other things that she goes through in this book. I also loved reading about her opinions on some of the more well known names of the day. It's always interesting to me to read about other people's personal perspectives on all of the names that do get a chance to be seen in the history books. The authors really give Eliza such a true voice that this book feels as if you are talking to a friend who is letting you in on some of her innermost secrets and rich inner life. 

The pacing of this book was great! At over 600 pages, it would be easy for a book like this to lose steam but it never does. Eliza draws you to keep going and the action throughout the book keeps at a steady pace. Even after getting to the end, I was ready for more!

This is a great book for anyone that loves the hidden stories in history and is looking for a great character to fall for!