TLC Book Tours Book Review: Ribbons of Scarlet

About Ribbons of Scarlet

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (October 1, 2019)

“The French Revolution comes alive through the eyes of six diverse and complex women, in the skilled hands of these amazing authors.”--Martha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls

A breathtaking, epic novel illuminating the hopes, desires, and destinies of princesses and peasants, harlots and wives, fanatics and philosophers—seven unforgettable women whose paths cross during one of the most tumultuous and transformative events in history: the French Revolution.

Ribbons of Scarlet is a timely story of the power of women to start a revolution—and change the world.

In late eighteenth-century France, women do not have a place in politics. But as the tide of revolution rises, women from gilded salons to the streets of Paris decide otherwise—upending a world order that has long oppressed them.

Blue-blooded Sophie de Grouchy believes in democracy, education, and equal rights for women, and marries the only man in Paris who agrees. Emboldened to fight the injustices of King Louis XVI, Sophie aims to prove that an educated populace can govern itself--but one of her students, fruit-seller Louise Audu, is hungrier for bread and vengeance than learning. When the Bastille falls and Louise leads a women’s march to Versailles, the monarchy is forced to bend, but not without a fight. The king’s pious sister Princess Elisabeth takes a stand to defend her brother, spirit her family to safety, and restore the old order, even at the risk of her head.

But when fanatics use the newspapers to twist the revolution’s ideals into a new tyranny, even the women who toppled the monarchy are threatened by the guillotine. Putting her faith in the pen, brilliant political wife Manon Roland tries to write a way out of France’s blood-soaked Reign of Terror while pike-bearing Pauline Leon and steely Charlotte Corday embrace violence as the only way to save the nation. With justice corrupted by revenge, all the women must make impossible choices to survive--unless unlikely heroine and courtesan’s daughter Emilie de Sainte-Amaranthe can sway the man who controls France’s fate: the fearsome Robespierre.

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Review:  If ever there is a must read book for 2019, this book has to be it, especially if you are a fan of historical fiction. I've been waiting on this one for quite a while and it was definitely worth the wait. 

Just look at the names of the authors that are involved in this story. That alone should give this book a top spot on your TBR pile, but more than that, the story is compelling.

Its a story of the French Revolution told from many points of view, which is exactly what makes this a compelling read. That these points of view tie together is even more impressive.  The characters in each story appear again as the revolution moves forward.

Sophie and her husband Condorcet are figures you will come to love and their courtship, while strange may have Condorcet reminding them a little of Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper. He's a brilliant mind, but he's not exactly the more romantic man out there, or for that matter the most handsome.

I found their story to be the one I most connected with. I liked them. Their were others that I didn't like as much. I hated Pauline, maybe it is because of the political climate of the world and the US in particular that made me not like her so much. I understood and felt for their plight, but the hatred and how they turned on so many people made me wonder how France is still standing as a nation today.

As for the figure I most sympathized with, that was Princess Elisabeth. Truthfully, the more I read about the revolution, the more I felt sorry for the King and his family. The divine right of kings aside this royal family had no luck at all.

By the end of the book especially the last parts with Emilie Sainte Amaranthe's story, which is totally heartbreaking as well as the epilogue with Sophie...well, I have to say I was crying

These authors are all supremely talented, in that they created such wonderful stories that put together make this a phenomenal book.

Rating: 5 flowers

TLC Book Tours Book Review: My Dear Hamilton

About My Dear Hamilton

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (April 3, 2018)

“Not since I read Erik Larson’s Dead Wake have I had such an edge-of-my-seat immersion into historical events. [...] No study of Alexander Hamilton would be complete without reading this book.”–Karen White, New York Times bestselling author

From the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton—a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. In this haunting, moving, and beautifully written novel, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before—not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal—but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.

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…

Purchase Links

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Review: I don't think I've fangirled much about American history before. When I was growing up, I devoured books about European royalty. America's First Daughter was the first book about American history that I really got into. 

I've been anxiously awaiting My Dear Hamilton since I heard about it and it did not disappoint. Its a long book. VERY LONG. Anyone that knows me, knows that I usually avoid books that I call "chunkers" But not these ladies. It took me over a week to read. It isn't a fast paced novel by any means. Its a long lingering tale.

This is the story of Alexander Hamilton through the eyes of his wife Eliza and how she strove to preserve his legacy, even as the country he gave so much too, tried to let his memory fade.

Eliza is a character you can easily come to love. I believe she was a woman that anyone would have been proud to know. You will cheer for her and your heart will break for her. When Phillip Hamilton dies in a duel, I cried. In fact, there were many times in the last part of the novel that I found tears in my eyes. There aren't many historical novels that have brought about that kind of emotion from me, that's how well Stephanie and Laura brought Eliza back to life in this book.

Then there's Hamilton. He is definitely an enigma; a man that you can love and hate. There were so many friendships that came and went. What was terribly sad was learning how few of the founding fathers really got along as the nation started coming together.

I easily got immersed in the history of the time and I learn things, which is kind of the point of books like this.

This is a must read book for 2018

Rating: 5 flowers

About Stephanie Dray

Stephanie Dray is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her award-winning work has been translated into eight languages and tops lists for the most anticipated reads of the year. Before she became a novelist, she was a lawyer and a teacher. Now she lives near the nation’s capital with her husband, cats, and history books.

Find out more about Stephanie at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

About Laura Kamoie

Laura Kamoie is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. She holds a doctoral degree in early American history from The College of William and Mary, published two non-fiction books on early America, and most recently held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time career writing fiction. Laura lives among the colonial charm of Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband and two daughters.

Find out more about Laura at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

TLC Book Tours Book Review America's First Daughter

About America's First Daughter

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 1, 2016)

In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph—a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.

From her earliest days, Patsy Jefferson knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter, she becomes his helpmate, protector, and constant companion in the wake of her mother’s death, traveling with him when he becomes American minister to France.

It is in Paris, at the glittering court and among the first tumultuous days of revolution, that fifteen-year-old Patsy learns about her father’s troubling liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age. Meanwhile, Patsy has fallen in love—with her father’s protégé William Short, a staunch abolitionist and ambitious diplomat. Torn between love, principles, and the bonds of family, Patsy questions whether she can choose a life as William’s wife and still be a devoted daughter.

Her choice will follow her in the years to come, to Virginia farmland, Monticello, and even the White House. And as scandal, tragedy, and poverty threaten her family, Patsy must decide how much she will sacrifice to protect her father's reputation, in the process defining not just his political legacy, but that of the nation he founded.

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review: I totally fell in love with this book. I don't usually read books involving American history. I have a fondness for European history. I picked this book because of the subject matter. I've always been interested in Thomas Jefferson.

We see Patsy from the time she was a very young girl until close to the end of her life. She is more than a dutiful daughter. She was her father's protector. She put just about everything aside for her dad.

I really felt I learned a lot about the Jefferson family after reading this book. I found myself reading next to the computer so I could google/fact check the authors. (Yes, I do that) And though the romance of this story was something that can't be confirmed, though biographers seem to think there was a real romance between William Short and Patsy Jefferson.

Jefferson's personal life is definitely interesting, when it comes to his relationship with Sally Hemings. I knew of this relationship but never realized the relationship she held with Jefferson's wife, Martha. Yeah, she was her half sister. (At that time, that was actually considered incestuous. Now, I think it could just be considered a little creepy)

Patsy is truly an incredible woman. Her marriage was not an easy one, in fact is is quite turbulent and that's shown clearly in the pages here. Most of the time I found myself feeling sorry for her. Her own marriage could be described as abusive, and she had a daughter whose husband was abusive.

The most interesting part of the book are the years in Paris before Jefferson's presidency. You get American history with a touch of French history just as the revolution there is about to start.

If you enjoy stories about the early days of America or just historical novels. You will definitely come away from this book feeling that you've learned something.

Rating: 5 flowers

About Stephanie Dray

Stephanie Dray is a bestselling and award-nominated author of historical women’s fiction. Her work has been translated into six different languages, was nominated for RWA’s RITA Award, and won NJRW’s Golden Leaf. She is a frequent panelist and presenter at national writing conventions and lives near the nation’s capital.

Find out more about Stephanie at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

About Laura Kamoie

Laura Kamoie has published two nonfiction books on early America and most recently held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time career writing genre fiction under the name Laura Kaye, the New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books.

Find out more about Laura at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.