D. A. HorncastleRecensioni

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
A very enjoyable read from the beginning to the end. And a good reminder of the madness of crowds in attempting to buy the "sure thing". Good character development, an interesting story line, and a thread of mystery leads the reader through to the (somewhat) expected finish but with enough twists and turns along the way. Well done and worth your reading time.

Kate Francis and her father​ are waylaid by ​a​ notorious highwayman​, and Kate ​is the only survivor of the attack. Harry Collins, the Earl of Brideswell​ is deeply concerned about the perilous condition of the Brideswell estate​. Together, the unlikely pair work together ​to catch the criminal and avoid the lure of easy money of South Seas stock.

This was an entertaining Georgian adventure. Kate is a plucky heroine who does everything she can to keep her independence. Harry is an earl who felt more at home in the navy than a titled man. While their relationship does become one of romance, I thought they worked better as unlikely friends.

At times, the detailed writing did get a little distracting. One such instance was Harry being nervous and uncomfortable. The author describes how the bead of sweat runs between his shoulder blades, down his back and parts in his buttocks. It was difficult to take such a description seriously.

Readers who are looking for a historical adventure with some romance thrown into the mix will no doubt enjoy this one. I received a free copy through the LibraryThing Early Review program.

This is a jolly and engaging romp through C18th London during the time of the South Seas Bubble. It ties together many of the true occurrences of the times into a fast paced novel which I enjoyed. However the text was full of typos and occasionally had missing words which detracted from the flow. If you enjoyed watching the TV series Harlots then this book is for you, although it is rather less bawdy. Overall an enjoyable read. I have also put this revue on Amazon as requested by the Early Reviewer’s scheme.

I received this E book from the LibraryThings early reviewers. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this story. The quick pace helped keep me reading till after midnight to finish the book. The charachers and story line are well developed and I was drawn into the story from the first page. Thank you Mr. Horncastle for the opportunity to read your book.

Though some of the book seems contrived from other novels, the author still manages to keep you wanting to turn the pages to find out what happens next. This historical fiction book has romance, intrigue, and is a murder mystery. Set in the 18th century, England, mostly London. Quick read. The author's name, Horncastle, doesn't seem real, more likely made up for a book like this. Also South Sea has nothing to do with the ocean or other waterways. This is not a book about pirates or sailing, though one of the characters was in the Navy.

Early Reviewer.
This was a typical romance novel. Taking place in 1720. It shows how men and women of the upper classes don't always have a say in marriage. Sometimes, they both had to marry for money and sometimes other reasons.
I liked the heroine very much. She was smart and gutsy. As someone said to her "you have an old head on young shoulders".
I went back and forth liking the two brothers. And some of the other characters were hard to believe. All in all, predictable but not a bad read.

This book couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a romance or a suspense book. Throw in 2 women, 2 men, and a stock offering and you just didn’t know which way it wanted to go. I liked the book but if you are going to read it know your head will be spinning.

South Sea Fever was a slow start for me. The setting of the scene reminded me of an English class assignment on description. It just felt forced. After the main character's father was shot through the forehead and then spoke coherent words to his daughter before dying I was just about ready to give it up. It seemed so unrealistic that he would not have died instantly with a bullet through the forehead. I didn't look it up though to be sure it couldn't happen, so...

But I went on and honestly it was no worse than most Gregorian/Regency/Victorian/Edwardian romances. I imagine this book was written by a man because it was dedicated to a "wife," but I could be mistaken. If it was written by a man that would make it unique among this genre. I thought that the characters reflected a different perspective than normal. The man was less of a perfect hero, always bumbling and flailing about. The woman however was cool, calm, and collected. I especially liked the character Betsy.

The stock market like plot backing was a good layer to the story. It provided the glue so to speak to hold it all together. I felt like the relationship between the brothers could have been better fleshed out. Giving some reasons other than, he was always the older and I was second, would have been nice. Details were lacking.

A decent read if you can get through the first chapter or so. I did want to finish to see how it all turned out but pals in comparison to Heyer, of course, but reminds me of M.C. Beaton romances.

I really did try to give South Sea Fever by D.A. Horncastle a fair reading. By the end of chapter three, I admitted defeat.There were several factors that defeated me.

Firstly, though I have no proof that the author’s name is fictionalized, I could not help but think of it as a mash up between the famous literary character Horatio Hornblower and the television character - mystery writer Rick Castle. Using a nom de plume is all well and good, but this struck me as a bit too contrived.

The second barrier I encountered was justified alignment. It’s hard enough on my poor, aged eyes to read an e-book on screen rather than ink on paper. Adding the irregular, artificial spacing required to force each line into even margins left and right, known as “justified alignment,” makes reading all the more tiring. It’s like climbing a very long flight of stairs which are set at random height one to another. Hard to get comfortable with a pace that is so uneven. Please, printers, for the sake of preserving our collective love of reading by using a clean left margin, standard spacing between letters and words, and let the right margin be reasonably ragged!

The third problem I had was a severe case of de ja vu. Kate the heroine loses her father at the top of the third page, giving me horrible flashbacks to an AP English class reading Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Granted, Tess’s father was killed in a tragic wagon accident that also ends their family milk cart horse while Kate’s father is shot by a highwayman, but my high school experience slogging through Tess is hard to forget.

The bulk of the first chapters was comprised of phrases that can be found in any historic romance paperback. The plot points too are all too familiar as well. The heroine is a classy lady, poor but of admirable character, frequently mistaken for being poor and low class. She inherits a small fortune to become instantly respectable which puts her in the expected-to-marry-well category. By dint of hard work and honest labor, she turns the decrepit tavern she inherited into a respected coffee house… etc.

When I asked for an Early Reviewer copy of South Sea Fever, I expected a nautical adventure. Points for creativity to the author for making “South Sea” a too-good-to-be-true stock offering. If the book does turn to the actual high seas, (still a faint possibility as Harry, the lead male character wistfully recalls his days aboard ship), it will be too late for me.

If you are looking for a light read, South Sea Fever, with its familiar Olde English romance trappings and comfortable phrases, could be just the thing.