GIVEAWAY INFO – 1 eBook copy of “Sweet Lenora” (Book One)
Synopsis –
To the Wind
The Journey Continues
In this sequel to Sweet Lenora, Anton and Lenora sail away from trouble in Rio de Janeiro only to encounter new problems. With only half a crew and a first mate that is hated and feared, they venture to San Francisco plagued by threats, mutiny,and illness. As they arrive at their destination, the ghosts of the past come back to haunt them and may prove to be the greatest menace of all. At each turn, the love they have forged is tested. Will it prevail?
Available at:
Goodreads Link – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18456758-to-the-wind
Excerpt
#1 The opening:
The world is a wicked place, full of lies and deceit. A man must stand strong against the force of evil, lest he perish. So I thought before Lenora came into my life. She was an angel, appearing in a moment’s time upon the deck of Sweet Lenora, the ship named for her. The ship I commanded. She seemed so fragile a creature I knew I must protect her from the world. And protect her I vowed to do for all my days on this earth. I had locked my heart away in a box of iron, but Lenora broke the seal and set my poor heart free.
We had gone through much in our brief days together, Lenora and I. As we ran from the trouble that pursued us from Rio port, my heart flew against the wind and I believed again in love. I had my Lenora beside me and where, but a few hours before, I dwelt in the shadow of a hangman’s noose, I was free now to gaze into her green-as-emerald eyes and run my fingers through her long, red-gold hair.
Yet even as Sweet Lenora heeled into the current, trouble had not departed us in its entirety. We left a dead man in our wake. We sailed with but half a crew, a motley lot of rag-tag ruffians assembled from the few willing to sail on with me.
Those among them I trusted could be counted on a single hand. Rupert, my cook, was one. A New Orleans man I had known since I was a child, he had served on the Carmen Anne, where I had been first mate. Maurice, the cabin boy, was another. He was but a child of ten, on his first voyage and the son of a good friend to my mother. I promised her to keep him in my care. And there was my heart, Lenora, to whom I entrusted my very life.
Before I go into my review of To The Wind, here is the link to book #1, Sweet Lenora. Review of Sweet Lenora.
While this is a sequel to Sweet Lenora, I feel like you don’t have to read it to enjoy the continuation of Anton and Lenora’s story. In fact, I liked this installment so much better. The characters are more fleshed out and the story is much better because of it. The story takes place on sea and on land, too. You get a better feel for the secondary characters like Maurice and Rupert while they are at sea and there is sadness, too. Yellow fever has caught up with the ship and its not pretty.
Anton also has to deal with a first mate that is beyond cruel but in the end gets sorta his comeuppance but at what cost to Anton and Lenora? I don’t think this thread is finished and I can’t wait to see how Ms. Carbone fleshes it out more in the next book. 🙂 I also LOVED that a story thread from the first book came full circle for Lenora. I gasped when I read it but in a good way. And no, I’m not going to tell you what it is but it is exactly what Lenora needed to help her come to terms with everything that she and Anton have been through to get to San Francisco. 🙂 Thank you Ms. Carbone.
The other secondary characters that I liked were Doc and Mrs. Mathers. They were their first friends in San Francisco and really helped them get their legs under them from sickness to getting legal married. I hope that they show up in the next book , too. There are still some threads from the first book that weren’t mentioned in the sequel but I found that I didn’t need to know them. I would like to see how the inheritance is going to all play out since most of the players are now gone.
I highly recommend To The Wind for the richness of its characters, the story is flat out brilliant and Anton is still a dream. 🙂
Author Bio
Ute (who pronounces her name Oooh-tah) Carbone is a multipublished author of women’s fiction, comedy, and romance. She lives with her husband New Hampshire, where she spends her days walking, eating chocolate and dreaming up stories.
Books and Stories by Ute Carbone:
For more about Ute and her books, Please Visit:
Web page: http://www.utecarbone.com/
Blog: http://ute-carbone.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ute-Carbone/234417796596443
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wildwords2
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5114798.Ute_Carbone
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ute-Carbone/e/B005G7U8RM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Telling Stories (available daily via Paper Li): http://paper.li/Wildwords2/1355247882?utm_source=subscription&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=paper_sub#
Link to schedule – http://wp.me/p3SVfE-f1
Nice excerpt
Thank you for featuring Anton and Lenora today, Harlie. I’m so glad you liked the book!