The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter

A Novel

By: Brionni Nwosu

Narrated by: Nicole Cash, Sean Crisden

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 eighteenth-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?

©2025 by Electric Postcard Entertainment, Inc. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“This debut is a testament to the strength of light in dark times, and the necessity of hope. Well-developed characters and a strong sense of place throughout history draw the reader in to the very end.”—Booklist (starred review)

“A love letter to epic romance, resilience, and travel, The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter sweeps readers through time and across the globe with a heroine often relegated to the margins in search of the grandest love story humanity has to offer. An enchanting debut that will leave you forever changed.”—Zoraida Córdova, bestselling author of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

“The Wondrous Life and Loves of Nella Carter is a gorgeous tapestry of love, art, loss, survival, immortality, and travel that envelops readers in unspeakable beauty, profound pain, unimaginable loss, and earth-shattering love. A rich, satisfying Faustian bargain is nestled at its core that will challenge your resolve, making you ponder whether you’d take the same seductive deal as our beguiling hero. A decadent debut and a narrative experience not to be missed.”—Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author