The Force of Fate, by Seth Hunter, is the 9th installation of a book series about a naval officer, Nathan. While I was reading the book, I had forgotten that it was part of a series, so was disappointed with how the book ended. However, upon remembering it being part of a series, then the way the book ended makes total sense.

Mr. Hunter does a nice job rounding out the characters so the reader feels like they truly know the lead personalities of the novel. I was able to pick up and read this book without having to have read the eight books published prior to this one. Therefore, the author did a fine job providing enough background information to the novel to stand on its own.

There were some very good qualities to this novel; however, compared to other historical fiction novels I have recently read, this particular book falls a little short of a perfect rating. Although a conspiracy involving Aaron Burr is promoted in the book synopsis, I felt this was a very minor piece of the tale. I was hoping Mr. Burr’s part of the novel would be a bigger piece of the storyline, and he would be directly involved with Nathan’s character.

This book is different than any other naval fiction I've read. For lack of a better word, it has a lot of personality. It's a bit cheeky, and a bit of a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" style of narration. I really enjoy it when the main character doesn't take themself too seriously. I jumped on in, not even have read the other books in the series. I can tell you that Nathan has had quite a life up to this point, and a lot of it sounds like it wasn't the traditional or conventional way of getting there.

My favorite quote is pretty spoilerish, so beware:

Tully’s eyes definitely grew wider. ‘By God. The woman you met on Jersey. The beautiful sculptress.’‘Well remembered.’ At least he did not call her the beautiful assassin, Nathan reflected, as Sir Sidney Smith had. Tully had known that Nathan was much smitten at the time, and quite devastated by her sudden departure for France. But it was two years since then. ‘We met again when I was a prisoner in Paris,’ he said . ‘In fact, she helped me to escape. And as a result, became pregnant.’‘Ah.’ Tully nodded to himself a few times as he absorbed this intelligence. ‘As one does. And how old is the child?’‘Oh, getting on for two weeks now.’

Great book. I love it when I discover a new to me author!
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Seth Hunter is a new author (for me), and I had not read the first books in the Nathan Peale Series before reading The Force of Fate. The author is an excellent writer whose prose initially captured my imagination and held it throughout the novel. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. The settings were vivid, taking me right into the story's heart. I will read the other books in the series, with a possible reread of this one for continuity. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about this historical period.

I received this book as an ARC from Net Galley. This is a voluntary review and is mine alone. Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to get to know and enjoy another author.