~BLOG TOUR with REVIEW and EXCERPT ~ Run For Freedom by Angela Kay Austin

Run For Freedom

By Angela Kay Austin

Blurb:

The choice was to run for freedom or die never having been valued as a human -- as a woman. The penalty was the same -- death!

Freedom and her brother, Triumph, would fight for their lives and the lives of the ones whom they loved no matter the cost. Escaping bondage meant they must RUN! Run to Moses. Run to the Promised Land.

Watson Brown knew all too well the struggle to survive. The fight to live. He had been given a second chance to do what he had failed to do in life -- as a human. What he and his father could not do before the Harpers Ferry Raid.

The runaway slave and her brother were a distraction.

He could afford no interferences with his mission. He nor his family could risk exposure.

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Excerpt

They had been discovered. It did not matter how, but someone

noticed the Negro servant and the white man. They did not know she was a woman

dressed as a man, nor that the man with her was her brother. But, they knew

something was wrong. Why would a white man walk into the woods with a Negro?

They should have planned better. Anger filled her as she scolded

herself for her oversight. She and Triumph ran faster as more gunshots rang

out. He was bigger and stronger, but slower. She demanded her legs run faster.

“Faster, brother. Faster.” Her neck ached as she peered over her shoulder.

Men with dogs were quickly catching up to them.

A bullet whipped through the air, next to her ear, and buried

itself deep into the trunk of a great old tree. She glanced toward the heavens,

and then at the trees. The branches pointed to the path they must take, and the

wind at her back pushed her. She knew that she and her brother were running in

the right direction.

They ran faster.

Branches popped and snapped as they ripped at the sleeves of her

jacket. As her brother tossed his jacket, she tossed hers and her hat. The dogs

might be confused for a moment. Her brother touched her shoulder, and she knew

what he was about to do. He ran ahead of her and cut through low bushes away

from her. He veered his path away from hers, not because he was leaving her,

but because it would split the pack of dogs chasing them.

She kept running.

Running to the hidden river.

The woods thickened, the sun began to disappear, and the sky above

her darkened. They had not read the signs incorrectly. She stopped to take a

long deep inhale. The scent was stronger. Moist earth. Water. She ran, harder.

There had to be water somewhere, but as her legs tired, and her breaths

shortened, she began to doubt her instincts.

Before her eyes saw the water, her nose told her it was there.

Without thinking, she ran toward the smell of fresh wet earth. She stepped into

the low water, and stopped. Glancing up and down the hidden creek, her eyes

ached from the strain of searching through the trees for her brother.

Her chest tightened at the distant sound of dogs barking. Did

their loud growls and snarls mean they had captured Triumph? Were they

celebrating their kill? Instead of swimming to the other side, she turned to

run back to the spot she had last seen her twin.

Her brother burst through the thicket…

My Review

~~4 out of 5 stars~~

Admittedly, this story was difficult for me to rate.  Based on the first half of the book, I almost rated it 3 stars. For me (and this is purely my opinion), it felt like a very slow start, and there wasn’t very much action. 

However, the second half of the book did finally start to get better.  The second half had much more action, and without giving too much away, we started learning there was much more to all of the characters than we realized; their some of their back stories, many of their abilities, how much more difficult things would become for them, and that sometimes even the toughest warriors have their weaknesses.

By the end of the story, we find this is just the beginning, and there is more to come for those that we have come to know in this story.  When deciding if I would give the story 3 or 4 stars, it came down to whether or not I would read the story that comes next.  And although I can’t say for sure, I’m intrigued enough to see what happens that it’s very likely, so I gave the book 4 stars.

About the Author

Angela Kay Austin has always loved expressing herself creatively.  An infatuation with music led to years playing several instruments, some better than others.   A love for acting put her in front of a camera or two for her thirty seconds of fame before giving way to a degree and career in communications.  After completing a second degree in marketing, Angela found herself combining her love for all things creative and worked in promotions and events for many years. 

Today, Angela lives in her hometown in Tennessee with her really really really old dog, Midnight.

You can find Angela at 

            

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