20181124_132104.jpgHappy Thursday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Rough Passage to London by Robin Lloyd! Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours and Get Red PR for the invitation and to the author for the book.

My Thoughts:

Rough Passage to London: A Sea Captain’s Tale is the second book I’ve read by Robin Lloyd in the past month! That should speak volumes as to my thoughts on his writing! 

By the way, before I get started, Robin Lloyd discovered that he is related to Elisha “Ely” Morgan and that is where his interest in this story began. In the early 1800s in Lyme, Connecticut, Ely Morgan is a young farm hand who unfortunately was not immune to the War of 1812 happening right before his eyes. His home life is hectic, and his father rules with an iron fist, which pushes his older brothers to leave home to seek life at sea. 

A letter arrives to the home announcing that one brother is dead while the other is lost at sea. Ely saves every penny he has to leave on a ship to look for his brother, Abraham. One day his ship literally comes in, and he is on his way from New York to London learning the rough life of a sailor. His mission is only to find his brother, but a much bigger mystery unfurls in front of him. 

Ely never gives up and climbs the ladder of success to captain, rubs elbows with Queen Victoria, and meets Charles Dickens! What a life! What an adventure. 

Yes, what a thrilling adventure this story of Ely Morgan is. Steeped in the history and atmosphere of the time, I thoroughly enjoyed Ely’s discovery of life at sea, his endless search for his brother, and his devotion to his new career. The mystery is fun to piece together and left me guessing with some nice tension, and Ely’s chance encounters are extraordinarily fun. I never forgot the personal connection the author has to Ely, and that just added to the fun. I would love to have had such an adventurous relative to research. Well-done, Robin Lloyd! I hope you are already at work on another adventurous historical novel. 

Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours and Get Red PR for the invitation to the blog tour, as well as to the author for the copy of the book. All opinions are my own. 

Synopsis:

Lyme, Connecticut, early nineteenth century. Elisha Ely Morgan is a young farm boy who has witnessed first-hand the terror of the War of 1812. Troubled by a tumultuous home life ruled by the fists of their tempestuous father, Ely s two older brothers have both left their pastoral boyhoods to seek manhood through sailing. One afternoon, the Morgan family receives a letter indicating that one brother is lost at sea; the other is believed to be dead. Scrimping as much savings as a farm boy can muster, Ely spends nigh every penny he has to become a sailor on a square-rigged ship, on a route from New York to London a route he hopes will lead to his vanished brother, Abraham. Learning the brutal trade of a sailor, Ely takes quickly to sea-life, but his focus lies with finding Abraham. Following a series of cryptic clues regarding his brother s fate, Ely becomes entrenched in a mystery deeper than he can imagine. As he feels himself drawing closer to an answer, Ely climbs the ranks to become a captain, experiences romance, faces a mutiny, meets Queen Victoria, and befriends historical legends such as Charles Dickens in his raucous quest.

Have you read Rough Passage to London, or is it on your TBR? Do you have any favorite adventure tales? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR