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ejimenez's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a delight from beginning to end. All three novellas are wonderful, and I love the mix of relationships (m/m, m/f, and f/f). I picked it up more for the authors than for the Hamilton theme. Hamilton himself (or, more precisely, Eliza Hamilton's search for stories about him after his death) provides the frame for the collection, and he is a minor character in one or two of the novellas, but the draw here is the beautifully told hopeful romances set during the youth of the nation.
The theme here is that love and meaningful lives can flower and persist in the midst of difficulty and oppression. A resonant theme in any era, but most particularly in such a time as this. Highly recommended.
The theme here is that love and meaningful lives can flower and persist in the midst of difficulty and oppression. A resonant theme in any era, but most particularly in such a time as this. Highly recommended.
lunarecliptica's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, War, and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Slavery, and Sexism
Minor: Homophobia and Death of parent
alisonalisonalison's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent collection of three historical romance novellas set during and not long after the American Revolution. Five big stars for Courtney Milan's story and three-and-a-half stars for the other two stories by Rose Lerner and Alyssa Cole. Courtney Milan's story, "The Pursuit Of...", was totally fantastic. It's funny and moving and romantic and I absolutely loved it. I will definitely be reading that one again. The other two stories were well-written and interesting and I enjoyed them, but they didn't grab me. I love the diversity of this collection--one story is about two Jewish soldiers, one is about a free Black American soldier and a white British soldier, and one is about two free Black women. This collection gives a fascinating insight into the different ways people might have lived their lives during both wartime and the aftermath.
bowienerd_82's review
5.0
I had my doubts going in, but this book was brilliant all around. All three stories were lovely and engaging, and vastly different from one another.
Promised Land by Rose Lerner has one of my bulletproof favorite tropes- a woman dressing as a man, in this case to fight in the Revolutionary War. The romance comes in when she runs into her estranged husband, whom she has just arrested as a Loyalist spy. I take some convincing to buy into a rekindled romance between two people who have previously broken up, but this was convincing and well-written. I also enjoyed all the detail about Jewish culture in colonial America that the author worked in. A pleasing and charming story all around.
The Pursuit of... by Courtney Milan was an utterly charming m/m romance between a black American soldier and a British deserter. I was a little dubious about the opening, but was swiftly won over, and this became my favorite story of the bunch with ease. Road trip! Cheese! Pining! What's not to love? I could have easily read pages and pages more about these characters and their lives.
That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole was the most wrenching story of the bunch, a f/f romance between the maid that has been working with Eliza Hamilton on her biography of Hamilton, and a dressmaker who is the granddaughter of one of the men who served with Hamilton. I'll admit it was my least favorite of the three, but it still had some areas of interest (I loved all the descriptions of the Grange, after my recent visit there in the fall).
Promised Land by Rose Lerner has one of my bulletproof favorite tropes- a woman dressing as a man, in this case to fight in the Revolutionary War. The romance comes in when she runs into her estranged husband, whom she has just arrested as a Loyalist spy. I take some convincing to buy into a rekindled romance between two people who have previously broken up, but this was convincing and well-written. I also enjoyed all the detail about Jewish culture in colonial America that the author worked in. A pleasing and charming story all around.
The Pursuit of... by Courtney Milan was an utterly charming m/m romance between a black American soldier and a British deserter. I was a little dubious about the opening, but was swiftly won over, and this became my favorite story of the bunch with ease. Road trip! Cheese! Pining! What's not to love? I could have easily read pages and pages more about these characters and their lives.
That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole was the most wrenching story of the bunch, a f/f romance between the maid that has been working with Eliza Hamilton on her biography of Hamilton, and a dressmaker who is the granddaughter of one of the men who served with Hamilton. I'll admit it was my least favorite of the three, but it still had some areas of interest (I loved all the descriptions of the Grange, after my recent visit there in the fall).
ellenbrickley's review
5.0
I loved all three stories in this collection. Only Courtney Milan's writing was familiar to me - I'm happy to have discovered two new-to-me voices in romance with backlists to dig into!
You don't need to know the musical to enjoy this.
You don't need to know the musical to enjoy this.
barefootsong's review
5.0
I'm indifferent to the obvious publicity gimmick of the title and frame for the stories (I like the music of Hamilton, but I'm not obsessed or anything), so I was more drawn in by fave authors Milan and Cole. I loved all three of these stories so much, with their endearing characters and the diversity of America that they represent. The three stories are about a Jewish couple (and it's not just a label, but an important part of their characters), an interracial gay couple, and a Black lesbian couple. The stories don't shy away from the ugliness and injustices that non-Christian and/or non-white and/or non-male people faced at the foundation of our country (and still face...), but they deal with it in a hopeful way. (Yes, these stories are also at least partly a response to our current political situation, and I really needed this dose of hopefulness about the ideals of our country. I particularly loved Milan's "The Pursuit of ..." and the way it includes the wording of the Declaration of Independence, which may have made me tear up a bit.)
soundgirl3's review
3.0
Story 1: Rachel/Nathan - I didn’t care for this one much, but I believe that is because of my personal reluctance to read stories with descriptive battle scenes.
Story 2: John/Henry - this was lovely and a slow burning love story about a white British officer and a black American soldier who fall in love.
Story 3: Mercy/Andromeda- this was my favorite (and I’m partial to Alyssa Cole’s writing). A story about a servant and a dress maker that fall in love.
All these stories revolve around Alexander Hamilton (some more than others) and it was an enjoyable read about Revolutionary America and 3 love stories that stemmed from that time.
Story 2: John/Henry - this was lovely and a slow burning love story about a white British officer and a black American soldier who fall in love.
Story 3: Mercy/Andromeda- this was my favorite (and I’m partial to Alyssa Cole’s writing). A story about a servant and a dress maker that fall in love.
All these stories revolve around Alexander Hamilton (some more than others) and it was an enjoyable read about Revolutionary America and 3 love stories that stemmed from that time.
paladinboy's review
5.0
Fabulous set of novellas. Everyone should read these: History buffs, romance readers, LGBTQ folks and allies, Hamilton musical fans. I’m all of these so, woo doggy was this awesome.
“Promised Land” was amazing and has made me want to read more about the Jewish history of America. Thanks Rose Lerner for the inspiration and a great m/f couple. “The Pursuit of...” was hilarious, incredibly sweet and populated by amazingly real and hopeful characters...in short, another fabulous Courtney Milan story. “That Could Be Enough “ by Alyssa Cole...wow. Like sunlight unveiling a shadowed soul. Yeah, it was that good.
Read this. Now if possible. But not to fast, it’s too good to gulp.
“Promised Land” was amazing and has made me want to read more about the Jewish history of America. Thanks Rose Lerner for the inspiration and a great m/f couple. “The Pursuit of...” was hilarious, incredibly sweet and populated by amazingly real and hopeful characters...in short, another fabulous Courtney Milan story. “That Could Be Enough “ by Alyssa Cole...wow. Like sunlight unveiling a shadowed soul. Yeah, it was that good.
Read this. Now if possible. But not to fast, it’s too good to gulp.