Editorial Content for The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
Pamela Kramer
With her debut novel, THE WONDROUS LIFE AND LOVES OF NELLA CARTER, Brionni Nwosu presents a stunningly beautiful story about a woman who makes a deal with Death. Read More
Teaser
Born enslaved in 18th-century Georgia, Nella May Carter still believes in the will to survive amid the most untenable of conditions, in the glory of life, and in the ultimate goodness of the human race. She asks that Death, doubtful and curious, allow her to live long enough to prove it. He’s giving Nella all the time in the world. Challenged, Nella embarks on an epic journey across the globe and centuries. Each new incarnation records the joys and losses, and the friendships and heartbreaks, throughout her lifetimes. When she meets handsome and passionate professor Sebastian Moore --- the first man to whom she has ever revealed her secrets --- Nella yearns for the mortality that escapes her. She can’t bear to leave this love behind. As Death keeps watch, has Nella’s journey come to an end? Or is a new one just beginning?
Promo
Born enslaved in 18th-century Georgia, Nella May Carter still believes in the will to survive amid the most untenable of conditions, in the glory of life, and in the ultimate goodness of the human race. She asks that Death, doubtful and curious, allow her to live long enough to prove it. He’s giving Nella all the time in the world. Challenged, Nella embarks on an epic journey across the globe and centuries. Each new incarnation records the joys and losses, and the friendships and heartbreaks, throughout her lifetimes. When she meets handsome and passionate professor Sebastian Moore --- the first man to whom she has ever revealed her secrets --- Nella yearns for the mortality that escapes her. She can’t bear to leave this love behind. As Death keeps watch, has Nella’s journey come to an end? Or is a new one just beginning?
About the Book
A young woman at the crossroads of life and death embarks on an extraordinary journey across time in an epic novel about beauty, hope, endurance and endless loves.
Most humans cower in the face of Death. Not Nella May Carter. She sees him. She doesn’t hide. Instead, she bargains.
Born enslaved in 18th-century Georgia, Nella still believes in the will to survive amid the most untenable of conditions, in the glory of life, and in the ultimate goodness of the human race. She asks that Death, doubtful and curious, allow her to live long enough to prove it. He’s giving Nella all the time in the world.
Challenged, Nella embarks on an epic journey across the globe and centuries. Each new incarnation records the joys and losses, and the friendships and heartbreaks, throughout her lifetimes. When she meets handsome and passionate professor Sebastian Moore --- the first man to whom she has ever revealed her secrets --- Nella yearns for the mortality that escapes her. She can’t bear to leave this love behind.
As Death keeps watch, has Nella’s journey come to an end? Or is a new one just beginning?
Audiobook available, read by Nicole Cash and Sean Crisden
December 19, 2025
“Bookaccino Live” Special Event: Bookreporter Reviewers Share Their Favorite Books of 2025
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On Wednesday, December 10th, we hosted our year-end “Bookaccino Live” event featuring eight Bookreporter reviewers: Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Harvey Freedenberg, Pamela Kramer, Bronwyn Miller, Rebecca Munro, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman. Each talked about two of their favorite books of 2025.
Kate Ayers and Ray Palen, who have appeared on previous programs, were not able to join us live. But we showed Ray’s presentation on video, and we shared Kate’s picks, along with brief excerpts from her reviews of those books.
How many print books and e-books did you read in 2025? How many audiobooks did you listen to?
December 19, 2025, 506 voters
We wrap up this year’s Holiday Author Blog series with Terah Shelton Harris, whose latest work of fiction, WHERE THE WILDFLOWERS GROW, releases on February 17th. This poignant story of survival and redemption questions what it means to stop existing and start living. In 2023, Terah gave her friend a copy of her debut novel, ONE SUMMER IN SAVANNAH. Read on to find out why she considers it to be the best book she has ever gifted.
December 19, 2025
What a fast year it has been! Seriously, I feel like I just wrote a year-end note. But at the same time, it has been a fabulous year of reading.
Something interesting happened this year that surprised people. A book called THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans built its way onto bestseller lists and skyrocketed in sales because of “word of mouth” from readers. It was never a media pick, and it didn't receive a massive amount of publicity, though Ann Patchett did champion it brilliantly. But it was built by one reader after another talking about it. I learned of it from one of our readers. Books used to build like this, with one reader telling another. But in these days of social media and online conversation, it’s rare for something like this to happen via actual conversation.
Bookreporter.com's Holiday Cheer 2025 Wrap-up
THANK YOU to all who subscribed to this Holiday Cheer newsletter and entered our contests! We appreciate your enthusiasm and participation.
This Bookreporter.com SPECIAL Holiday Cheer Wrap-up newsletter brings you a look at all of the titles that were included in our Holiday Cheer feature. We shared five books with you this holiday season, and we thank our publisher sponsors who made this possible.
Below are this year's featured titles, and a list of the prize winners is here.
Stay subscribed to this newsletter so you can participate in our 2026 Holiday Cheer contests, which will begin next November.
Set amongst the glittering backdrop of London's iconic Savoy hotel, LAST CALL AT THE SAVOY is Brisa Carleton’s debut novel and a Bookreporter.com Bets On selection. In it, a young woman is forced to confront her troubled past as she uncovers the story of the hotel’s first female bartender who has been erased from the history books. In her holiday blog post, Brisa explains how reading THE NUTCRACKER and performing in her town’s ballet production of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s classic tale ignited her passion for the theater and led to an award-winning career as a Broadway producer.
