THE FEVER TREE Blog Tour

Frances Irvine had no one except for her father after the death of her mother. Her father tried to do the best for Frances, even getting her a governess to teach her how to be a proper lady. However Frances had to figure out what to do with herself after her father's death. He made some bad decisions by putting his money into stocks for the railroads. It went bust and now Frances has nothing. Frances receives an marriage offer to Dr. Edwin Matthews. Frances does not love Edwin but it will get her away to a new location and that is what Frances wants. She travels to South Africa. Along the way she meets the dashing William Westbrook. Frances must decide between her commitment to Edwin or romance with William.

I liked this book. Frances really grew as a person. She did start out weak but with enough time, she blossomed. From the beginning I could not stand William. I found him off putting. So for me I could not believe that Frances could fall for William. In fact, it was kind of awkward when he kissed Frances. Afterwards I kind of skimmed over anything having to do with William. Also, for the first half of the story, Edwin was like the invisible man. So I could not envision him and Frances together either. Luckily for me what I enjoyed the most about this book was not the romance but the location. I liked Frances and everything that she encountered in South Africa.

About the Author:

Jennifer McVeigh, who has herself traveled to remote areas of Southern and East Africa, also drew on first hand accounts of life in colonial South Africa, as well as nineteenth century guidebooks and women’s magazines, in order to infuse Frances Irvine’s experiences with arresting verisimilitude. I hope you agree that the end result is a beautifully-wrought novel that deserves to be brought to the attention of readers. www.jennifermcveigh.com