When Erin first brought this book to my attention I figured that sounds great since I love historical romances… What I didn’t expect was this book. I was lucky enough to get to read this book before Erin, as she had sadly gotten sick. Unfortunately for her through over the first few days of me reading the book she kept getting text messages from me about how my heart was breaking and how I couldn’t believe this story.

I think part of the reason this story broke my heart and built me up so often is because it is based on events that really did happen. It was the ability to identify with Martha “Patsy” Jefferson (personally Thomas Jefferson was my favorite man of our history) and the role that she played in our country’s development. My heart broke each and every time she had a loss in her family. I rejoiced each time they had a wonderful thing happen to them. Through this story I learned that Patsy Jefferson had a hard life, but she was also a very strong woman who persevered through all the hard times. But there were times while I was reading that I wondered if Martha Jefferson had made different choices would she have suffered what she did. She proved to be able to bring her family through some of the darkest times of not only their lives but the lives of multiple nations. All this time she does it sacrificing love and happiness for herself. I know that there are bits and pieces of this book that are completely fictional and the authors used creative license while writing it based on true facts, but for me its hard to tell which parts were artistic liberty and which are true facts. Regardless its such a captivating story of pain and love. This is a true romance for not only romantic love of a man and woman, but love of family, and country.

Its a beautiful tale told through the eyes of am amazing woman. For this I give this book 5 patriotic kisses.

Happy Reading… Adri

Erin’s Review

When I first started reading romance novels, I started with historical. Since then I have branched in to other genres with my preferred being dark and contemporary, but when I read the synopsis for this book, I knew I had to read it. It was like going home.

The book begins at the end (you will know what I mean when you read it) and we are taken back through Patsy Jefferson’s life as young girl on a plantation with the world at her feet, to a teenager growing up in revolutionary France, to coming full circle back home to her precious country where it all started.

The one thing I had to keep in mind while reading this book was it is true to period. If you didn’t know any better, you would think you were reading pages right from a history book. The tone, the way the characters speak, their actions. While the beginning was a bit slow for me, the book quickly picked up and you get swept up in this amazing story and you can’t put the book down.

For such a young woman, Patsy Jefferson endured more heartache than most of us have up to this point in our lives. As a teenager, she carried herself with such maturity, but we catch glimpses of a precocious young girl who is caught up in the fantasy of love and marriage. This is when I loved Patsy the most. I can’t help but think if she followed her heart instead of her head if things wouldn’t have turned out differently for her. Her devotion to her father I think in a lot of ways was her downfall, so to speak. She sacrificed so much and held fast to the promise she made her mother on her deathbed. As Adri and I discussed, was she truly able to understand the gravity of her promise? I think as she got older, she understood. There were moments where I was waiting for her to defy him. To stand up and be the bratty teenager, but that is something that simply wasn’t done in that time period. She is the very definition of self sacrifice.

As a political junkie, I fell in love with the backdrop of the French Revolution and the beginning of our nation. The scandals of today don’t hold a candle to the scandals, espionage and plight our forefathers endured. This made me enjoy the book even more. I love this kind of stuff.

By far, it is the best historical romance I have ever read. It is romance at it’s finest and historical romance at it’s best.

5 star spangled kisses from me.

About AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER:

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.

About Stephanie Dray:

STEPHANIE DRAY is an award-winning, bestselling and two-time RITA award nominated author of historical women’s fiction. Her critically acclaimed series about Cleopatra’s daughter has been translated into eight different languages and won NJRW’s Golden Leaf. As Stephanie Draven, she is a national bestselling author of genre fiction and American-set historical women’s fiction. She is a frequent panelist and presenter at national writing conventions and lives near the nation’s capital. Before she became a novelist, she was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the stories of women in history to inspire the young women of today.

Website |Newsletter | Facebook |Twitter | AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER Website

About Laura Kamoie:

Laura Kamoie has always been fascinated by the people, stories, and physical presence of the past, which led her to a lifetime of historical and archaeological study and training. 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 genre fiction as the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty books, Laura Kaye. Her debut historical novel, America’s First Daughter, co-authored with Stephanie Dray, allowed her the exciting opportunity to combine her love of history with her passion for storytelling. Laura lives among the colonial charm of Annapolis, Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

Website |Newsletter | Facebook |Twitter | AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER Website

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3 thoughts on “REVIEW: America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie”

Laura Kaye :: Author America’s First Daughter Release Events!

March 4, 2016 at 10:38 AM

[…] Sassy Moms Say Read Romance – 2 5 STAR Reviews! […]
America’s First Daughter Release Events! | Dray and Kamoie

March 4, 2016 at 10:39 AM

[…] Sassy Moms Say Read Romance – 2 5 STAR Reviews! […]
Jessica

March 4, 2016 at 1:56 PM

Thank you so much! ~Jessica, InkSlinger PR

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