This is a book I won on a Goodreads Giveaway Competition
As it is also on many bookcrossing friends wishlists I intend to send it on a bookring journey around the world

1878. South Africa. A country torn apart by greed. Frances Irvine, left destitute by her father's sudden death, is forced to travel from the security and familiarity of her privileged English life to marry Edwin Matthews, an ambitious but penniless young doctor in South Africa. They are posted to a smallpox station on the vast, inhospitable plains of the Karoo but she is so caught up in her own sense of entitlement and loss of status that she cannot recognise its hidden beauty nor the honour and integrity of the man she has married. All her hopes for happiness seem destroyed when her husband exposes the epidemic that is devastating the native community in the diamond-mining town of Kimberley. Here, the gleaming houses of the rich disguise the poverty of a labour force under coercion, and Frances is drawn into a ruthless world of wealth and opportunity, where influential men will go to any lengths to keep the mines in operation. Passionately caught up with the man her husband is fighting to bring down, she must make a fateful choice. "The Fever Tree" is a powerful and moving novel set against the raw backdrop of nineteenth-century Colonial South Africa, its deprivation and beauty alive in equal measure. Above all it is an achingly poignant love story, saving the best and most profound moments of truth and redemption until the last pages.

In process of setting up bookring for The Fever Tree so that once book arrives and is read by myself it can go on to travel around the world

Currently reading myself so more details to follow
Interest so far
Icila - France (ship anywhere)
Miss Sunshine - Egypt (ship anywhere)
DubaiReader- Dubai (ship anywhere)
Penelopewanders - Switzerland (ship Europe)
rodespringbal - Belgium (ship ??)
RonOren -UK (ship Europe/anywhere)
Alexispapa - Greece (ship Europe)
Chremajora - Germany (ship Europe)

********Check for lower shipping order**********

27th March 2013
Received a free copy of this today as I won this book through GoodReads First Read program (giveaways)

Review as left on Goodreads
As well as reading this myself I plan to send this onto others as a bookcrossing book the link to which can be found here http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11760439
Will edit once read as to what I think of book but I am not the quickest of readers so bear with me.

Edit 28th March
Part way through another book but stopped to read the first few pages of this to get a taste of what will be my next book; after reading the first three chapters I can safely say I look forward to finishing my current book to return to this one. The text is smoothly written and easy to read I was drawn into the story from the first couple of pages and turn the pages with anticipation as to what will happen next as the story enticingly unfolds one snippet at a time to hold the readers interest.
I look forward to returning in a few days once current book is finished to read further. I still have much to read but as a debut novel so far it is as gripping (and in some cases more gripping) than many highly published authors I have read and the descriptive narrative and attention to detail is outstanding without being over the top and off putting.

Edit 11th April
After a break from reading over Easter I have managed to get back into reading this, still enjoying the story and finding the short chapters a bonus as a mum of two small children it makes it easier to dip in and out of without having to find my place on a page however the short chapters in some ways are a disadvantage as by the time I reach chapter 14 or 15 in most books I'm almost finished yet with this book I'm only a third way into it don't think this would bother many people though.

Edit 28th April
Well after the busiest month ever with very little reading time I am ashamed to say I am still reading this!!!!
I have found the twists and turns of the story during the boat trip across to Africa and Frances adjusting to life on a new continent have dragged me through many emotions including intrigue, frustration, anger, empathy and many more. I have found myself liking characters one minute and hating them the next and it has been a roller-coaster of a ride.
I have about 50 pages left and I am looking forward to putting the kids to bed tonight to be able to finish this book and complete the journey it has taken me on, yet at the same time I will be sad to come to the end.
I have found myself recommending this to others throughout my time reading it and have a selection of bookcrossers eagerly awaiting me finishing this to send on a bookring journey which they will read and review here http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/11760439

Finished this this evening and went through a range of thoughts in the last few chapters which somehow seemed longer than through the rest of the book, not sure if the ending was what I expected or not but again my feelings towards different characters changed back and forth, feelings of both despair and admiration surfacing in my already full mixture of emotions.

When I entered this giveaway I was in two minds as to whether I would enjoy the story or not but I was drawn to the write up and in all honesty thought it's a free book if I win and chances are I'm not likely to be picked out as a winner anyway!!
I am so honoured to have been a winner for this debut book, I thought it would be heavy going and serious underlying issues would drag the story along and I couldn't have been more wrong. I was gripped from the start and will be thinking about this story and the issues it portrayed in such a captivating manner for some time. I am pleased that I offered this to others on bookcrossing even if it was initially a back up plan to get a review in case I didn't like it or was unable to read completely as it will be nice to share such an enjoyable read with friends and promote such a worthy debut author.

Finally finished and ready to set off in the next few days on bookring will order participants and post off shortly, hope you all enjoy as much as I did
Sarah x

Going off on travels will post a journal entry if shipping changes so always go by most recent shipping list

The book was safely waiting for me at home along with a few fellow BC books while I was in Provence. As it's a bookring I put it on the top of the TBR.

PLEASE NOTE UPDATED SHIPPING ORDER

Icila - France (ship anywhere)
sedna5213 - currently in France PM for address to post to (ship anywhere)
Miss Sunshine - Egypt (ship anywhere)
DubaiReader- Dubai (ship anywhere)
Penelopewanders - Switzerland (ship Europe)
rodespringbal - Belgium (ship ??)
RonOren -UK (ship Europe/anywhere)
Alexispapa - Greece (ship Europe)
Chremajora - Germany (ship Europe)<------currently on way here

Thanks x

It travelled with me across France, Spain and Portugal and back but I didn't have time for a single line.
I read it as soon as I got some time since I came back home and enjoyed it. I agree on the term "roller-coaster" about emotions.

PMing sedna5213.

A little journey in France for this book.

Picked up the book from the post office today. Have to finish one book before I'll get to it, but it won't take long.

Thanks for sharing foxy737 and merci beaucoup pour l'envoyer, Icila!

Enjoyed reading the book although, although it was too much of a happy ending for me to be realistic.

The book is travelling to Miss_Sunshine in Egypt via the UK.

Happy Reading!

Received today which is perfect timing as ive almost finished my current book :)

Hmmm ... i was really torn on what to say about this book and to sum it up - hated the characters / great story line!

I found all the characters really unlikeable and didnt jell with any of them ... however .... i didnt really feel like they were that important and it was the story line that held my interest. I found life back then very interesting and though horrified at the treatment of the workers it was actually that that held my interest the most.

Thank god its not like that now!

Will be posted on to the next reader in a few days :)

Thanks for sharing Foxy737

And its off on the next leg of its journey :)

With all the problems in Egypt at the moment, along with many other things the postal service has shut down. The book is currently on a plane to the UK with a friend of mine who will post it out to Dubaireader on Monday morning.

Thanks to everyone who has got the book this far.

Happy reading Dubaireader :)

Thanks for taking such trouble sending me the book Miss Sunshine - ironic that it had to go back to UK to travel to Dubai from Egypt! I've been loking forward to reading this for a while, I hope it lives up to expectations :)

I have PM'd Penelopewanders for an address to get this book on the move again.
Many thanks, DR

This has just arrived in the snowy Alps - thanks so much for sending (cool stamps too...). As I am flat out workwise at this time of year it may be a bit before I can pick it up, but it looks like an interesting read so I suspect once I have the time to open it, the reading will go quickly. Thanks so much for making it available and sending - and happy holidays everyone!

Although somewhat grim at times, I very much enjoyed this and was glad of the slightly optimistic ending. I was thinking how our perspective on things and people is so colored by our own impressions and sometimes prejudices... This was a book I found myself mulling over while in the midst of other books, a few days after I'd finished reading it. Very strong imagery, and the extraordinary coincidence is that this term I've been teaching a course with the theme of sickness and health, and we've just read Code Orange, a novel in which smallpox plays an important role. I will keep my eye out for other books by this author, and was grateful for the ring which drew my attention to it (not to mention my long time bookcrossing buddy!). I hope to post it on soon, thanks!

Now headed from the Swiss Alps down and over to Belgium. Enjoy and happy holidays everyone! Thanks for making this one available.

This book arrived yesterday. I think it finally survived the holiday packagerush :-)

The best lovestory written in the years around 1880. So moving... a real growing in a relationship and in beeing human. Finding your own way and expecting the best but getting the worse by making stupid choises. To forgive and to hold... the values of marriage written in a beautiful way.
Thanks for letting me join this ring.
Will pm RonOren for the address

On it's way to RonOren!

This just arrived, so I'll get stuck in immediately. Very much looking forward to it!

First of all, my apologies for taking so long to journal this book! I finished reading it some time ago, but it got left in my old apartment while I stayed with the girlfriend.

This was a bit different from what I expected. I thought it would be mainly historical fiction, but it's quite chicklit-y; especially in the early parts of the book, when Frances is on the boat to South Africa. As the book carries on (and as Frances gets less annoyingly naïve), it becomes a bit more gritty. As I got further into the book, I enjoyed it more and more. I kept vacillating between my interpretation of the blurb - for quite a while I couldn't quite make out which of the two men was the "good" and which was the "bad" one. I guess that's the point of the book - Frances clearly can't make that decision either (or at the very least, doesn't want to), so neither should we.

Despite it taking a somewhat different approach than I had expected, I did quite enjoy the book. It's certainly not one that I would've picked up on my own, so thanks very much for sharing it, foxy737! I'll get it on its way to Alexispapa as soon as I can.

Thank you for sending it my way! :)

I found the book very interesting as it had plenty of details about the specific way of life. Emotions, mistakes and changes of plans that reminds you that at the end we can choose the right course.
Sent to the next participant in the list. Enjoy :)

I've had this book for quite a while. I couldn't really get into it but I lent it to both my stepmother and also my student Marita who both enjoyed it.

I contacted foxy737 and the ring has finished now so the book can be released. Now looking for a new reader!

Left in my garage and collected by Camperfan to take home to the Netherlands.

*****

Happy travels! Don't forget to write home every now and then, little book!

From the stock of Chremajora, with thanks.

This book is part of my dutch March challenge:
Door de bomen het bos zien.
And part of the dutch 52/52 2018 challenge by Joanazinha

In the LFL.