Review: On to Angola: Race to Freedom by Sharman Burson Ramsey

Title: On to Angola: Race to Freedom 
Author: Sharman Burson Ramsey
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Create Space
Publish Date: February 4, 2018
Source: Author

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: ""Towards the end of the month of April last, some men of influence and fortune, residing somewhere in the western country, thought of making a speculation in order to obtain Slaves for a trifle. They hired Charles Miller, William Weatherford [and others], and under these chiefs, were engaged about two hundred Cowetas Indians. They were ordered to proceed along the western coast of East Florida, southerly, and there take, in the name of the United States, and make prisoners of all the men of colour, including women and children, they would be able to find, and bring them all, well secured, to a certain place, which has been kept a secret." "Advice to Southern Planters" in Charleston City Gazette. This novel, historical fiction, reunites twins Cato and Andro, ripped apart at birth, one raised as a slave, the other as the adopted son of a Duke. Their quest to find their mother leads to a race against the Coweta raiders. They deal with slavers, unscrupulous English men, pirates, and the untamed frontier. In this adventure they join Red Stick survivors of the Creek and First Seminole War in a joint race for survival."

My Two Cents:

"On to Angola" is an exciting tale of twins Andro and Cato as they try to find their family without getting separated once again. This is the third book in Ramsey's Creek Indian Family Saga but this book very much works as a standalone book and so you can dive right in to Ramsey's world of Native Americans, slaves, chases, and raids.

Being a twin mama, I loved the story of Andro and Cato. The fact that these twins were separated really tugged on my heartstrings and made it sweeter to see them reunited and on a mission to find the rest of their family. One was a slave, the other led a fairly privileged life as the son of a Duke. You see markers of their very different lives throughout the book but they still have a lot of similarities and the same will to survive in what proves to be a very dangerous world.

This book is action packed and nicely paced. I loved following the twins' adventures as they try to survive and outrun everyone that seems to be after them. You are rooting for them the whole way and I loved the way that Ramsey was able to show just how high the stakes were so that you root for the twins even more.

Another part that I loved about this book is all of the historical detail that is not only included throughout the narrative itself but both in the foreword and afterword included in the book. It is clear how much research that Ramsey did. Because this book is so high action, the detail never seems to bog down the narrative. I loved getting a taste of Ramsey's research process and the story behind the story!