#stephanie dray

[perfectionistwannabe]

Book Review: Becoming Madam Secretary

For those who love historical fiction and American politics, I have a new book suggestion for you that releases on March 12, 2024, called Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray. Publisher: Berkley Publishing Synopsis She took on titans, battled generals, and changed the world as we know it…New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Dray returns with a captivating and dramatic new novel…

[wttnblog]

9 March 2023 Book Releases That Should be On Your Radar

In a year of many false Springs, it’s hard to believe that it’s only March. Yesterday I was bundled up to brave below freezing temperatures and the day before I sat outside to read my book in a balmy 70 degrees. Nonetheless, it is only the third month of 2024. There’s quite a few incredible books coming out this month that you should most definitely be aware of. *Bookshop affiliate links allow…

[diaryoftruequotes]

Glory is a bittersweet wreath of both flowers and thorns.

Stephanie Dray, The Women of Chateau Lafayette

[berenike-euergetis]

A friend of mine shared this post with me that she came across on Twitter, and there's something I'd like to break down about it :

As a North African Amazigh, I find it concerning when there are attempts to inaccurately portray our heritage. The Amazigh people have varied skin tones, influenced by regional climates. Generally, the further north you go, the lighter the skin color tends to be among the population. Juba, being a descendant of the Massylii tribe which was located in the northeast of Algeria, would likely have had a Mediterranean skin tone. It would be historically inaccurate to categorize him as black.

I'm tired of seeing him portrayed as black in literature (like in Stephanie Dray's trilogy 🤡) If you're going to write about a certain culture, it's essential to thoroughly research and understand that culture instead of perpetuating stereotypes or misrepresentations.

[rayless-reblogs]

Thank you for the tag, @iffylogic! I'm always happy to talk about books. Conveniently, I have some unread books lined up on a shelf near me.

Rules: In a new post, list 9 books you're planning to read this year!

The Midnight Feast -- Lucy Foley (surprise Christmas gift, a thriller outside of my usual genres)

Lily of the Nile -- Stephanie Dray (a book about Cleopatra's daughter Selene)

The Talisman Ring -- Georgette Heyer

The Corinthian -- Georgette Heyer

Friday's Child -- Georgette Heyer (I usually have a Georgette waiting on the shelf these days.)

Shadowfire -- Tanith Lee (the sequel to The Birthgrave, which I read last year)

Breaking the Magic Spell -- Jack Zipes (a nonfiction book about fairy tales)

Song of the Selkies -- Sarah Pennington (met the author at a book fair and managed to snag a copy right as she was packing up to leave)

Dashman's Tower -- Harriet Esmond (a good old fashioned gothic romance/historical romance by the look of things)

Anyone who'd like to participate should consider themselves tagged!

[litcest]

Hello! Do you have any bipoc incest books? I only know of "the god of small things" and i would honestly prefer the characters to be black or brown because i can barely think of any book that has incest between them

I actually can't recall any incest books with black main characters, neither from the ones I read nor from the ones I saw in passing. A quick google search brought back results of novels featuring non-consensual incest among black characters, which is not what we want.

For indigenous and brown characters:

Aztec by Gary Jennings, which I haven't read but I know that the main character had a past sexual relationship with his sister (both siblings are Mexica/Nahua);

The Blue Bedspread by Raj Kamal Jha, which I have read and although the incest is very important to the story, I wouldn't say it's an incestous romance novel. Like in The Good of Small Things, the characters are Indians (not sure which ethnic or racial group, but I'm almost certain they are not Anglo-Indians);

Lavoura Arcaica by Raduab Nassar follows a family of Lebanese-Brazilians (not sure if skin color is mentioned, but I assume that they are still considered BIPOC by having Lebanese ancestry;

Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray is about Cleaopatra's daughter. Not sure if the book portraits her a Greek or as Egyptian, light skinned or dark skinned, but I'll mention it anyways.

This is what I have for you at the moment. I'll try to find more books that fit the request. Probably some books I haven't read but have compiled in my catalogue have black characters and I just don't know it.

I hope my indigenous and brown rec list doesn't offend anybody. I googled and apparently the Lebaneses don't like to be considered brown, but Lebanese-Americans mostly said they consider themselves to be BIPOC. I actually know a family of Lebanese-Brazilians, and I wouldn't call them "brown", since their skin is the same shade as mine, but TBH, in the US I probably wouldn't be considered "white", even though in Brazil I am.

[yvisoul]

A list of Eliza Hamilton in fictional books.

I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott

Alex & Eliza (A Love Story, Love & War, All for One) by Melissa de la Cruz.

Hamilton's Choice by Jack Casey

The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs

My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie

A Master Passion by Juliet Waldron

Hamilton's Heart & Hamilton's Hope by Mercy Madison

Elizabeth Schuyler: A Story of Old New York by Mary Elizabeth Springer

Sharing Hamilton by Brian L. Porter, Diana Rubino

Hamilton's Battalion: A Trio Of Romances by Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole

The Lace Widow: An Eliza Hamilton Mystery by Mollie Ann Cox

President Hamilton by Lewis Ben Smith

(will be updated if i find more) + (and if you know another book, let me know!)

[gracehosborn]

🍄Decriscribe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

and

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

Hi!! Thank you for the ask!! The original ask game can be found here.

🍄Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

This seems quite fun and vague. I feel like Ink of Destruction might best be suited for this.

“Vengeful Alternative Universes + Found Family = IOD”

♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

Shifting gears to my other major project: when I had started The American Icarus, I had agonized over the opening to this ambitious project and ended up rewriting it about eight times before coming to its current opening chapter.

One of the ideas I had was that the book would open in present tense from Hamilton’s first-person point of view and depict the beginnings of his duel with Aaron Burr, but abruptly stop right before Hamilton would pull his trigger. The rest of the story would be placed after this moment, and follow in chronological order the events leading up to the moment just shown told in past tense from Hamilton’s first-person point of view, then towards the end (having been shown all the context) the final pages of the story would wrap up the duel and its aftermath, and therefore the end. I think I had gotten this idea from Laura Kaye and Stephanie Dray’s My Dear Hamilton, which utilized this framework in telling Eliza’s story from her perspective and using a family legend of Eliza in her old age talking to James Monroe to do so. However, I realized that this idea, while interesting, didn’t feel right as this wasn’t the right approach for the story and items of interest I wanted to explore. I am also not the biggest fan of My Dear Hamilton, but that’s another post for another day.

Instead I decided to scrap this idea entirely, in favor of framing the story as Hamilton sitting down to write his posthumous memoirs, opening with him directly talking to the reader in explaining his reasonings as to why this is being done. Then having the story continue in chronological order from there.

That got longer than I expected. Hope these are enjoyable—and that you’ve had a good start to the new year!

[ouiouixmonami]

Thanks for the tag @my-deer-friend and @chaotic-history! :)

Last book I read: Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor by Willard Sterne Randall (more on that here...!)

Book I recommend: The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray

Book I couldn't put down: America Afire by Bernard Weisberger

Book I've read twice: Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - both times were assigned readings with about a decade in between, and I appreciated it much more the second time around

A book on my TBR: The Highland Scots of North Carolina, 1732 - 1776 by Duane Meyer

A book I've put down: Arcadia by Ian Pears, although I'd like to give it another go

A book on my wishlist: Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution - Selected Letters and Papers (all volumes!)

A favourite book from childhood: The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn - a book about raccoons to help children deal with separation anxiety, my beloved 🥹

A book you would give to a friend: This question is impossible for me to answer because it really depends on what they like

A book of poetry/lyrics you own: None, surprisingly

A non-fiction book you own: So many...!

Currently reading: Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan

Planning on reading next: The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff

Tagging: @frenchiefraise, @dearxtallxboy, @samar-arijjj, and anyone else who would like to participate!

[diaryoftruequotes]

Grief is like thick morning fog. You breathe it, swim in it, drown in it—or at least you want to drown, but for some damned reason, you keep living, breathing, walking. One foot in front of the other even though you can’t see the path ahead. You tiptoe, and so does everybody else.

Stephanie Dray, The Women of Chateau Lafayette

[royal-hair]

Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg visiting the exhibition "Sub umbra alarum. Luxembourg, Fortress of the Habsburgs 1716-1741" at Drai Eechelen Museum in Luxembourg - 07.03.24

[rootsandwingsboutique]

I have been SPEEDING through America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. The #historicalfiction #novel takes us back to the days when Patsy Jefferson, daughter of Thomas Jefferson, was growing up. She saw more of the world than her children ever did, even living in #paris for several years. She lived through wars and tough times but endured through it all and showed those that may have disliked her and her father that she was not going to give up. I highly recommend this novel.

.

Please Support my small business today at https://www.rootsandwingsboutiquehandmade.com

AND

https://rootsandwingsboutiquehandmade.com

[binch-i-might-be]

I, Eliza Hamilton by Stephanie Dray. Martha Washington: An American Life by Patricia Brady. Martha by Susan Holloway Scott. And George and Martha Washington: A Revolutionary Marriage by Flora Frasier. I'm not sure if any of these will be good, but they mostly revolve around Gwash (save for the 1st one). Enjoy! :)

thank you!! keeping these in mind for when I finish Washington's Lady :))

[coloursofunison]

I'm welcoming a returning Rachel Brimble and her new book, Dressing the Countess, to the blog #historicalfiction #blogtour #newrelease

I'm welcoming a returning Rachel Brimble and her new book, Dressing the Countess, to the blog #historicalfiction #blogtour #newrelease @rararesources

Here’s the blurb Fans of Kristy Cambron, Stephanie Dray, and Julia Quinn will adore this Victorian romance from historical fiction dynamo, Rachel Brimble. Seamstress Rose Watson cannot believe her good fortune when she’s plucked from obscurity to work for Lady Christina, the Countess of Bath. Despite her parents’ distrust that the position will come with conditions, Rose accepts the unexpected…

[ceo-of-kcwt-college]

26 and 38!!

26: What is your favorite novel(s)?

Oh I have too many to count! But with a basic genre breakdown it would be:

Romance: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Classics: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Children's/YA: Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Thriller: Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Historical Fiction: ooh. I also want to put Outlander here but I will put Dear Hamilton by Laura Kay(e) and Stephanie Dray

Nonfiction: I don't read this much but Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks was fantastic

38: How many books have you read this year?

I've read 36 books this year so far!

Thank you for the ask 😊😊

[musingsofabookworm1]

My Last Six Reads

As the school year wears on and the weather fairly gloomy, I'm dreaming of summer days filled with sunshine and good books. Meanwhile, I'll when I have time among the dreary spring days.

Monsters We Have Made by Lindsay Starck - This author grew up in Milwaukee, and Lake Superior plays a role in the book; so I was hoping it'd be a winner right off the bat. And it was! 5 stars! I read most of this, loosely based on the Slender Man, on a snow day we had early in the month.

Sylvia's daugher, Faye, murdered her babysitter when she was 11. Now 21, Faye has abandoned her own daughter, and Sylvia is afraid history will repeat itself. Faye blamed the murder on the Kingman (this is the Slender Man tie), and Sylvia tracks down Faye's childhood friend to try to squeeze out more of the details from the decade-old murder to prevent it from happening again.

This one hooked me immediately, moved quickly, and had the perfect prose-to-dialog ratio.

Children of Exile #1 by Margaret Petersen Haddix - When I take my students to the school library, I always try to show some restraint and not check out any books. It's worked fairly well this year, but when I saw this trilogy by one of the best middle grade authors of our time, I couldn't resist. I got it right before spring break, but then have had a plethora of regular library holds come in. So I've only had the chance to read the first.

It, too, grabbed me from the beginning. A group of children aged birth to twelve have been raised by people known as "Freds" and told their biological parents and home are unsafe. Abruptly, the children are all forced on a plane to return to this unsafe place with unsafe parents. And unsafe it is. We follow Rosi, 12, as she and another older child try to figure out exactly what is going on. The end of this book was unexcepted to say the least! And where it's headed is not my cup of tea. Despite that, 4 stars. And I will finish the trilogy. When the library holds are done.

Murder Road by Simone St. James - She's really pumping out books quite fast! I feel like I just read a newer one by her. I also got sucked into this one quite quickly. It got a little long in the middle, but it was worthwhile overall: 4 stars.

It's July 1995 and Eddie and April are driving north from Ann Arbor for their honeymoon. Close to their destination, they get lost and come upon a hitchhiker on the side of the road. Upon letting her in the car, they pivot and head to the hospital as said woman is shocked and bleeding. When she dies at the hospital, April and Eddie are the prime suspects in her murder. They must stay in Coldlake Falls while being investigated, but they do some digging to find out that this death is not the first of its kind in what appears to be a quaint, quiet town.

If you've read St. James before and enjoyed her work, you'll like this one.

Become Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray - 4 stars for this novelization of Frances Perkins' life. I teach about Frances Perkins when my class does a unit on the Triangle Factory Fire, and as I've learned more about her, I can't believe she's not more a part of history curriculums. But, alas, she's a woman! No room for her when talking FDR even though his biggest reforms are her ideas and stem from her hard work.

This book is long - over 500 pages. But it didn't drag. Its covered important parts of her life mixing personal with business. Definitely a worthwhile read to commemorate the life of a pioneer who changed America for the better.

American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden by Katie Rogers - I heard about this one during an MSNBC interview with the author on the way to school one day last month and immediately put it on hold. 4 stars only because it was a lot shorter than I thought, but it was a solid read. Rogers did cover some earlier first ladies, but focused on the title span and mostly Biden. I knew most of what she wrote about Hillary and Michelle Obama from reading their own autobiographical work, but I didn't know too much about Jill Biden. It focused a lot on how she's kept her day job as an English teacher. And kudos to her for that! She supports her husband and his campaign but not at her own expense.

Rogers moves her nonfiction along a good clip which I appreciate. It's not a heavy nonfiction. She is a storyteller but gets to the point rather than drags things out.

I think you can tell by the lengthy title yourself if this one's for you!

She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubica - It's been a great weekend of reading thanks to, for once, having no schoolwork or other obligations. I started this one around 3:00 yesterday and finished before bed at 10:00 with some Yahtzee and dinner mixed in between.

The book opens with protagonist Meghan getting a call that the caller is holding her teenaged daughter hostage. This is about three pages long and then begins Part 1 of the book.

Meghan is an ICU nurse recently divorced learning how to live just her and her teenaged daughter. She begins care of Caitlin: a patient who survived, barely, an attempted suicide which found her attempting to jump to her death near train tracks in Chicago. As Caitlin lies unconscious, Meghan becomes close with her parents who rush to her side once she was identified. Meghan tries to help the police with their investigation when she sees a man, who is not family, staring in the entrance to Caitlin's room.

Meanwhile, Meghan is dealing with said divorce and what is becoming a rocky relationship with her sixteen-year-old.

And then Part 2: a twist. One that I didn't see coming.

4 stars for this one.