I just adored this. Most time travel books are terrible, but this was just perfection. It reminds me of Connie Willis.

Review copy provided by publisher.

There was a novel called The Rise and Fall of DODO that was about time travel, and the authors decided they needed to show all the intricacies of a realistic time travel experiment. The result was a tedius, dull, unending montage of people doing the exact same thing over and over and over again with a detailed accounting of every single failure no matter how pointless or boring. It was like being stuck in an endless loop in a video game.

This book approached the time travel experiment the same way, but it shaved off 90% of DODO's monotony to GET TO THE DAMN STORY. What a concept!

As a result, this was a fun time travel adventure. Twists, double crosses, secret agendas, all that fun stuff. I do get annoyed by books with the concept of "This is just a manuscript I found," or "This really happened but I have to call it fiction or people will think I'm crazy." It bugs me and pulls me out of the narrative faster than anything else.

Definitely worth reading if you're interested in time travel or Caesar. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of the audiobook.

I received an early copy of this audiobook from Netgalley and Imbrifex books! All opinions are my own!

When a time-travel experiment brings Julius Ceasar to the present, Cassandra discovers much more than secrets of the past. In order to get Ceasar back to the past, she must find strength she never knew she had, and maybe a bit more love than she had ever expected.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book at first, but I ended up really enjoying it! It did start out a bit confusing because there were a lot of characters that I couldn't keep straight, especially in audiobook format. But after getting into it, I got really invested in the story and the characters!

I really liked the way that Ceasar was portrayed in this book. It didn't focus so much on how we perceive Ceasar, but about making him into a human being with flaws and emotions just like anyone else. The romance did feel a little forced, likely because of the short timeline that the characters are on, but I still found myself invested in it.

I also really liked that the book didn't seem to focus too much on the science. Time travel plots can often get messy and complicated, but I liked that this one kept it simple and made it understandable. It made the story more enjoyable without trying to wrap your mind around this huge scientific theory.

If you're a history buff and/or a sci-fi lover, this might just be the book for you!

A group of scientists conduct a time travel experiment where Julius Caesar is transported from 44BC to 1999. Of course, all things do not go according to plan resulting in an entertaining tale of adventure, romance and drama with the magic of Las Vegas thrown in.

I stumbled on this audiobook while browsing ARCs on Netgalley and was hooked from get go. Written in an easy manner with lots of wit and humour thrown in, the book has well-developed and likable characters and an engrossing story line. An interesting meld of historical fact and fiction, adventure and sc-fi - this one has something for everybody.

Thank you Netgalley and Imbrifex books for the ARC

This is the best book I've read ALL YEAR. It was SO GOOD. I swear to god I haven't read a book this good in so long I actually cried when I finished it. I'm not at all exaggerating. This is a new favorite book of all time for me. Whether or not you were considering reading this book, just do it. It is so enjoyable and interesting and intriguing from the very start. Honestly, my only criticism is that she should have married Alexander and her not doing so makes absolutely no sense. In my head and in my future physical copy this is in fact what happens.

What a fun read this turned out to be! Be aware this is not high literary art here just an enjoyable if implausible ride!
It is 1999 and Andrew Danicek, Nobel Prize winning physicist, leads a team of scientists researching time travel. He has built Tessa a machine capable of transporting an object from the past into the present. Phase one is successfully completed-the transmission of an inanimate object, a coin, to the present day and returning it back to the same spot and time in the past. Phase two just ended with the successful transport of a dog round trip. Now the hard part doing the same with a human. To maintain a high ethical standard the subject must be within minutes of death in case something goes wrong. The exact time and place of subject must be known to history. Andrew decides on Julius Caesar and the story takes off. Expect a lot of action from a car chase to a romance!
I really liked that the novel doesn’t attempt to explain the science too deeply. No in-depth understanding of physics is needed here! Each team member is introduced in their own section. This leads to fully fleshed out characters and gives the reader an understanding of motivations throughout. Some may find all the detail given excessive and unnecessary but I found the side stories interesting so I enjoyed them. This novel is not just an enjoyable read there is some explorations about the ethics involved in disrupting a life, even if just moments from death. No answers are given but it does make one pause to think.
My only complaint is not regarding the book itself rather the audiobook. I really did not like the narrator. I found much of his performance was flat and monotone. This became an issue as the action began, there was no use of his voice to help build tension and a sense of urgency. I also prefer female narrators. They tend to do a better job differentiating gender. This narrator kinda sounded creepy when he was doing a female voice.
Recommended for those who want an interesting take on the SciFi-time travel genre. 3.5 stars.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Imbrifex Books and NetGalley. This fact in no way influenced my review.

My love for Rome is eternal!
If there is just 1 thing you get to name that caught you into reading historical fiction - it's Julius Caesar & Shakespeare for me. That's where it all began in the 9th grade. After reading so many books that discuss the aspects of Julius Caesar's life, the events in the sequence of before and after of what happened in the Roman Empire this by far is the most astonishing one (apart from Shakespeare himself of course)

It is the story of time itself. Of travelling 20 centuries back to abduct one of the greatest people - history has ever known for a research experiment. To have him for 4 days in the present with Latin scholars & move back to the exact time and space from where he was transported. But, even after taking meticulous precautions, things don't go the way they planned...

You move through captivating twists of events with a plot within plot buildup. What kept me pondering even after I finished up the book was the part that was it all really fiction? What is myth - to me it's only a fact with no evidence OR proof of the statement. But in this modern age, it doesn't take time to gather facts and convert fiction to reality. From the days of Galileo to the present every fact was first considered either madness OR a myth. To me, this book presented that capability.

My only turnoff point while I was reading this was that I had to wait for almost 50% of the book to really get Julius Caesar talking. After that, it was all butter flow! Loved the ending & wrap-up of the whole story. The way it challenges the written history in the face ca through you off-guard, & that's apparently what I like the most about such books.

An elite team of scientists and a young woman who can speak Latin are gathered to in a secret laboratory where they have been working on a time travel experiment. Nobel laureate Andrew Danicek, who heads the team, wants to make sure the experiment is a success. He doesn't want to just bring anyone into the present from the past. He would like to bring a historical figure. One that they can bring to the present for four days, learn what they can from this individual and send back. They decide upon a historical figure and *poof* Julius Caesar is standing in front of them. What will they make of him, more importantly what will he make of them?

They need to be careful; they don't want to change history - it needs to remain the same! But will it?

Cassandra speaks Latin so naturally she is the interpreter, but things don't quite go so smoothly at first...

No one knows Caesar is there but then things change, and the plan goes out the window....

I enjoyed this book, and this take on time travel. The Ides of March is an important date on the Roman Calendar, and it also marks the assignation of Julius Caesar. How does it change things when you know someone's history? How does it change you? Will it change your history? This was a nice audiobook to listen to as I am often driving her and there for work. I enjoyed the narrator and the story.

It may not appeal to some as it does take on a thriller feel around the middle. But I did find one thing in the book to be very clever. Pay attention to the beginning and ending is all I have to say - No spoiler but if you pay attention, you may be thinking "oh how clever!" as I did.

Thank you to Imbrifex Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for a pre-release copy of this book.

This review supersedes my previous review of this book. I originally tried reading this book as an ebook, and I just couldn't get through it. The start was slow, confusing, etc. However, based on the description, I knew it should be right up my alley. I got a copy of the audiobook, and it made all the difference. Overall, I really enjoyed the book once it got to the premise. If you like Michael Crichton's book Timeline, you'll like this book. Only it's the reverse, what if someone from the past comes to the future. As complex as the story was, changing character viewpoints, plot lines and such, it really added to the richness of the story. I didn't see the ending coming! I highly recommend this book!

In 1999, an elite team of scientists and classicists worked on a top-secret project. They were able to pull Julius Caesar from moments before his murder into the present with the plan to interview him and see what knowledge than can gain during the next 4 days, before they have to return him to the exact time and location from which he was plucked to avoid changing the future. Despite their strict security and preparations, someone has learned of Caesar’s visit to the future and attempts to kidnap him. It is up to Cassandra Fleury, the youngest member of the team, to keep Caesar safe and ensure he can be returned to the Ides of March at the designated time.

This was an intriguing read. The whole time, I couldn’t help but wonder how it would all work out. I would have loved to know about the science behind their project, but the book does not delve into it. While the science is not covered, the story does take the time to get into the background of the main players in the book, and I enjoyed getting to know something of their past and mindset they were coming into the project with. The concept that the team members were pulling someone forward from the past rather than time travelling themselves was unique. Overall, I enjoyed this story; it was engaging. Mark Ashby did a nice job with the narration.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I loved this audiobook! What an amazingly interesting story. Every person who has studied history contemplates which historic personality he or she would like to meet assuming a time machine were available. In this novel, a time machine has been invented for the purpose of precisely dating artifacts.
The author does not bore the reader with the physics of time travel or create silly pseudoscience. I really appreciated that. However, details about the restrictions involved in time travel are presented and all make sense. I found myself not needing to suspend disbelief.
This book caught my attention from the first pages when we meet Julius Caesar in his own time. The book did not let me go until the very end. Julius Caesar was transported to the present day in the first experiment on a living human being. Caesar's character was absolutely believable! He behaved the way one would expect Caesar to behave. The plot was fascinating. Caesar interacting with modern people and the modern world was beautifully done. All of this was enormously satisfying.
All of the present-day characters were well developed. There relationships to each other and Caesar were well developed. Dialogue was well-written and believable.
I had never read this author before, but I would seek out her books and read her work again.
This one is a winner! Recommended for those who enjoy Ancient Rome fiction, time travel, and historic fiction in general. If you like a good story with a complex, engrossing plot; this one is for you!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this, the beginning is a slow burn introducing us to all the characters. Once the second half starts the story gets much faster and becomes hard to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A very unique take on a time-traveling narrative. Lots of hidden "Easter eggs" both in "present day" and in the past.
We all know what happened on the Ides of March - now meet the team of the IDES lab who plan to take the opportunity of that day to bring Caesar - briefly - into our own time! The plan is laid out, the team assembled, and the day arrives. - all will go according to plan, right....?
As I began reading this book, I was definitely taken with the range of characters, their backgrounds, and how they would play into the climax we all knew was coming - Julius Caesar brought to our time, thus the second half of this book threw me for a loop. Out of all the characters, the core of the story is Cassandra and Julius. In many way, this book has something for everyone - drama, sci-fi, historical fiction, action, mystery, and romance. You'll even learn some Latin along the way. A good book that you could easily recommend to anyone.

3.5

First thank you to #Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

For those that are looking to DNF this book- keep reading as it is worthwhile.

Time Machine = find an amazing historical character to bring to the future = wow Ceasar is the craziest and best idea = find someone that can speak Latin = basis of this book.

Regarding the narrator - Rod Sterling. That is who I thought of. The gentleman focusses on documentaries and I am sure I would enjoy those readings. In this case - it was distracting.

I really enjoyed the story. I believe a reviewer / editor / friend / said "expand on the characters" and that is why the beginning is filled with just a tad too much detail. I was getting lost. I really had a difficult time moving from detailed historical fiction to action packed thriller. I am not even sure that makes sense and maybe I just need to think about it for a few days. (I am sure I will be updating this review).

So WITHOUT spoilers, I move to the last third of the book. There is so much going on it kept me extremely engaged. The author did a great job of tying the questions in the beginning with answers in the end (sorry but you just have to read it) and without that "corny factor".

So to finish - this has the potential for a great book - and geez I hate to say I think it just needs a bit more work to tie it together. Keep in mind I listened to this and it may have been a different experience if I read it.

Pretty low-brow writing with caricature-like characters of little depth, but the story was certainly original and it did keep me wanting to know how it would all turn out. The ending was a fun twist, too.

To be honest, I nearly didn't listen to the whole book. The first 3 chapters came across as juvenile and uneloquent. I'm not sure if it was the actual words "crappy room...crappy trailer...crappy bookshelf", or if it was the narrator's failed attempts at a British accent and what he thought ancient Roman translated into English would sound like.

I persevered and was rewarded with an interesting, if implausible, story and the vast improvement of the narrator.

The story is told from many different perspectives of a team who brings Julius Caesar to the year 1999. We learn pertinent backstories, and follow them from team formation, to planning the transport, and finally a chaotic 4 day visit where nothing goes as planned.

Surprisingly, a Vegas "almost callgirl", a fast food millionaire, a rare coins dealer, a medical doctor, and an adult's childhood pet all make it into this book.

It is a rough start, but worth the listen if you enjoy history.

Time travel and Julius Caeser? Sign me up.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3. I have a lot of mixed feelings on this one. Ultimately, it reads like a first draft. There's lots of bumbling around and it's hard to say what exactly the plot was. There are characters that could've been cut, scenes that could've been shortened (or sometimes extended), and the pacing was strange. However, with that being said, I'm absolutely thrilled with the ending. Since the very beginning of the book I was rooting for the author to really commit and not shy away from whatever story she wanted to tell. SHE DID IT. And for that alone I would recommend this book. The author had a goal in mind and she made it happen and I loved that.

A novel combining ancient Roman figures AND time travel? Yes, please! Love the creativity of the story. Sure, it lacks scientific explanation and I would have liked more character development beyond the two main characters, but it was a pleasure to read. I did not care for the narration, which did not reflect the excitement of the action scenes, so I recommend reading the print version instead.

I am a library paraprofessional and received an advance copy from #NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

A Coin For The Ferryman
by: Megan Edwards
Pub. date: March 1, 2022
Audiobook Review date: January 16, 2022

Many thanks to Megan Edwards, Imbrifex Books & NetGalley, for allowing me to listen to this audiobook. I’m leaving this review voluntarily…
A Coin For The Ferryman is one of the Best books I read in 2021.. It was a must that I request the audiobook version so I could hear Mark Ashby tell the story. I think he did an Amazing job, btw.
I gave 4.5 stars to this magnificent book/audiobook & I Highly recommend. I Can’t Wait to see what Megan Edwards comes up with next!
#ACoinForTheFerryman #NetGalley #MeganEdwards #ImbrifexBooks

I received this audiobook as an advanced readers copy and the following review is soley my own. A Coin for the Ferryman is about a group of elite scientists and scholars working together on a secret time travel project. The team successfully transports the famous Julius Caesar to modern day California where they plan to have historians interact with him for a period of 4 days. Andrew and his team think they have a failsafe plan and will return Caesar safely to the past, but an attempted kidnapping is not the only thing working against the team. A major detour is taken that may change not only history, but the present.
I enjoyed this story. I thought the author did a good job of bringing in all the different characters and giving small back stories on each so you knew why and how they got to where they were in the story. I did feel the story bounced around a little bit to the large # of characters. This may only be because I was listening to an audio version and may not be as confusing while reading the physical book. I really enjoyed the ending of the book, but only wished there would have been a follow up/resolution with Pippa. During the 2nd half of the book the story and excitement really picked up.
Also, I know Caesar wasn't truely convinced he had been transported to the future and he was also trying to put on that "tough guy facade" but there were several situations where I thought, there is no way he would react like that!
I don't think the cover of the book, does the story justice.
Overall, I did enjoy this audiobook and I thank NetGalley, Megan Edwards and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to listen and review it. I give the story 3.5 stars and would recommend you give it a try..

What would Julius Caesar do? An amusing science fiction what-if interwoven with drama, romance, and humor. Be patient with the multiple storylines early on as they quickly come together in the main story. Chapter 3 reads like it belongs in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and pulled me in so I would finish this book. Well-narrated (an especially big challenge with the different accents and languages peppered throughout the story).

While I ultimately thought this was an OK audiobook, I did think several times about not finishing it. The narrator has a tone in his voice similar to narrator Kirt Graves which I don't find appealing. he also didn't put any emotion into it to help the story 'live".

I thought this was going to be heavy on the scifi and historical stuff, but Caesar is almost forgotten in the pages upon pages of detail about the less exciting secondary characters and their backstory and current actions. We don't get any detail, certainly not from Caesar's POV in the first few hours of him being in the 20th century (story takes place in the late 90's). That's the most interesting part, how he would feel and respond to things. There are a few instances of that and a couple of flashbacks to his life, but they weren't the best choice in my opinion to add anything meaningful to the story.

There was a lot of misogyny in this story by the male and female characters. The main character has a rare skill which should have been stressed in this situation in particular, not her looks, over and over.

The action and narration did pick up towards the end and finally got me wrapped up in the story. I also appreciate the few moments of humor in how Caesar responded to the doctor. Since we got so much backstory the epilogue at the end was a nice touch too.

I received a copy of the audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Very interesting look at what might happen if Julius Caesar could be transported to modern times for a few days. I really enjoyed the insights into what made him a great leader and strategist. 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review this advance copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was such an incredibly fun romp! A Coin for the Ferryman is an action packed genre mash-up of sci-fi caper and contemporary fiction which really hit the spot for me.

The story follows a group of multi-disciplinary experts as they build a time machine in the year 1999 with the goal to test bringing a human from the past to the present. They decide on Julius Caesar, planning to scoop him up right before he meets his infamous demise on the ides of March, bring him to 1999 for just under a minute and then pop him back to meet his fate. Of course something goes wrong and it sets off a chain of events that scatters the crew and makes ripples across time.

It takes about 40% to get to the rising action but in the meantime we meet several players including a glimpse of Caesar himself on the morning of his death. I enjoyed how Edwards wove everyone's story together so that by the time we get Caesar to the year 1999 it's fun to watch everyone's reactions to him and how their plans begin to scatter. Some might find the middle a little slow but I enjoyed watching Caesar react to people, places, and things. By the end I was along for the ride and committed to the relationships that develop.

Overall, really cool idea with an amusing execution and heartfelt conclusion.

I really enjoyed this story, the cast of characters, the twists and turns it took throughout. 3.5 stars.

The story centers around a group of elite scientists and classicists at the Ides Lab working to bring Julius Caesar to present day. With the way the Ides Lab is structured, it was interesting to consider how different disciplines would consider the possibility of bringing someone forward from the past - from the changing of the course of time to health considerations.

I liked the narrator’s voice and narration of the story.

The story did drag at some points and Caesar’s lack of reaction to modern day technology (TV, cars, the Vegas Strip) made it hard to suspend disbelief.

However, the characters were great! And the ending and how it connected back to the start was clever.

I’d recommend it to friends who like both historical fiction and sci-fi.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free audiobook review copy in exchange for my fair and honest review.

I'm so very glad I went into this book blind and didn't have any idea what it was about or what to expect. In A Coin for the Ferryman, we follow a team that has built a machine that can transport things through time. They need to know exactly when and where people are about to die in order to do that, as they snag them just before the moment they would die, to lessen the impact on history, and then return them just in time to die. The assembled team is a rag tag bunch of characters that I thoroughly enjoyed, and their interactions were hilarious to witness.

So, when you can bring someone forward in time and you need to know exactly when and where they will be, who do you choose? Caesar, of course! I loved seeing the modern world through his eyes and being along for the ride that was this book! It was a wonderful surprise and I loved every moment of the journey!

The narration is great! I loved the voice acting and the inflection the narrator used, along with the pauses and tone that truly added to the performance. The pacing was great!

A Coin for the Ferryman finally answers the age-old question: "What would Julius Caesar think of Las Vegas?". Actually, that never question occurred to me until I started reading this book, but it is an interesting one!

The novel follows a team of brilliant minds (including a Nobel prize winning physicist, several classicists, a doctor, and a really cool undergraduate student who knows how to speak fluent Latin) who embark on a mission to bring Julius Caesar to the United States just before the year 2000 starts. In addition to being a blast to read, the book also touches on the culture of academia and the role of wealth in intellectual pursuits, especially with ancient fields of study. I think anyone who has an interest in classic Rome history and or time travel would enjoy this book. A book club would likely have fun discussing the ethics of time travel, and perhaps who they would choose to transport to their time. The best word to describe it is a romp!

That being said, I noticed a few minor issues that might deter another reader from finishing this. On the big-picture level, the beginning started quite slowly, with introductions to a large cast of characters taking up the first half of the book. A die-hard science fiction fan would likely note the lack of intense scientific terms and explanations (however, someone who enjoys the historical aspect of time travel narratives, like me, appreciates that!).

A few more granular details: Though this is even acknowledged by the book, the time travel project team completely forgot that Caesar was a tactical mastermind. While this led to some interesting hijinks, I found really implausible that all of the bright minds who can make time travel happen forgot such an important part of Caesar's identity. There was also some uncomfortable sexist language towards the protagonist, Cassandra, actually on the part of another female academic. I would've enjoyed the book a lot more if this was left out entirely.

Finally, as I switched off reading in between the audiobook and ebook, I wanted to briefly review the audio version in particular. I personally did not enjoy the narrator, I found the voices he used for certain female characters to come across as mocking and sexist. Though he read Cassandra, the protagonist, in his natural range, the other female characters were given a falsetto voice for no apparent reason.

However, if anyone is willing to put those issues aside like I did, I think they would enjoy this book greatly. I've certainly never read anything like it!

Thank you, Imbrifex Books and NetGalley, for the early release of this book!

From Goodreads: "In 1999, an elite interdisciplinary team headed by Nobel laureate Andrew Danicek gathered in California to carry out a ground-breaking time-travel experiment. While the rest of the world remained unaware, Julius Caesar was successfully transported from the last day of his life to a specially-constructed covert facility. Four days of conversation with historians and Latin scholars were planned, followed by Caesar’s return to the moment from which he was extracted. But despite the team’s meticulous efforts to maintain secrecy and plan for all possible exigencies, a kidnap attempt plunges Caesar into peril. Fully aware that the future of civilization may hang in the balance, one team member must summon strength she didn’t know she possessed to return Caesar to the Ides of March.

The shocking details of Caesar's visit and its effect on subsequent events have been protected by draconian nondisclosure agreements....until now."

My Opinion: I love books about time travel and books about Julius Caesar and ancient Rome, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this book, and boy was I right! First off, the narrator did an excellent job with the voices and tone of the different characters. It was easy to switch back and forth between them without being yanked from the story, which is a pet peeve of mine.

As for the story, and I never thought I'd say this, but there was just a bit too much back story for me. Not enough to dislike the book, but enough that I felt sort of bogged down by it. But the characters were written well, so this wasn't a huge problem. The setting was well described and the pacing was good. I absolutely loved Julius Caesar in all of his arrogance because you just have to figure that if you ever met him, that's exactly how he would be! Nice twist at the end, too, although I'll leave it at that.

In summary, I enjoyed this book very much and can definitely recommend it, especially the audiobook version.

5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this audiobook free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I requested this because I was intrigued by the concept of this book and it did not disappoint! I enjoyed the storytelling by the narrator and I liked that although majority of the story was told via main character, there were multiple POVs happening too. With a background in Science myself, I was particularly interested in seeing how the project was going to work and definitely curious to see if the team would be able to pull it off. And again, it did not disappoint! I assumed that the account that we got was from Cassandra, the main character, in real time but by the end of the book it's revealed that she wrote a book. So now I don't know if it's her book that I read or her actual account. I guess that's up to the reader to decide.

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this. A plot to bring Julius Caesar to the future to learn from him? Very strange. But the way this was written -- I absolutely loved this book. It took a little while to get going. We see Caesar for a second in the very beginning, then it moves to present-day and introduces the modern characters. At first, I was impatient for Caesar to come fully into the narrative, but once we got to Cassandra's backstory I was sucked right in. She is such a wonderful character, and following her story was engrossing. I liked the way Edwards weaves all the modern characters together so we get the full picture of how this whole wacky project came to be, and then we add in Julius Caesar and it becomes a ride.

I think if you are going into this book looking for a serious, literary take on what Julius Caesar thinks about the modern world, this book will not be for you. If you go into it to see the absolute chaos that unfolds if you bring a famous general from 2000 years ago to modern LA/Las Vegas, then you will enjoy this book.

The audio narration was very well done, with only a dew places that I could tell had been weirdly spliced together. The voice actor does a great job of bringing these characters to life, which is no mean feat when one of them is literally Julius Caesar. I sometimes had trouble distinguishing his voices for the different male characters, but I made it though okay.

I am so glad I listened to this book -- I finished it in one day and it made my trips to and from work (as well as one grocery shopping trip) very delightful. There are some laugh-out-loud (and maybe worry some other grocery shoppers whoops) moments, which is just the icing on the cake for me. Highly recommend.

Historical fiction meets scifi. It's the late 90s, and a team of scientists has developed a time machine with the intent of bringing Julius Caesar to the present for a few days, moments before his death on the Ides of March. I really enjoyed the concept and the second half of the book when there plot moves a bit quicker. The first half of the book felt a little bogged down with unnecessary side characters' back stories and relationships. There were also a couple plot points that didn't feel realistic to me (even within the novel's world, accepting time travel). Overall I liked this book and would recommend it to someone who likes both history and science fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley for this Advance Reader Copy.

If you could pick anyone dead or alive to have dinner with, who would it be? In A Coin for the Ferryman, that person is Julius Caesar.

This is a time travel novel that takes place in the recent past – 1999. A Nobel laureate physicist has cracked time travel, the only catch is they must know the exact time and place the person they want to bring to the future has died. There are quite a few options that would make sense, JFK, Lincoln, but none spark the same fascination as Julius Caesar. This novel tells the story of Caesar’s travel to 1999 for 4 days, and as one would expect, things don’t go to plan.

This is an interesting novel to review, because it has a lot going for it, but it does have its pitfalls. First, I could tell a lot of time, effort, and research went into this novel, and upon my own curiosity I found out the author has a degree in classics and has been working on this book for 20 years. The love and passion shows, and I’m very happy for this author getting her novel published.

With that being said, I think the novel is a bit too long. It’s 540 pages and I think it could be edited down, maybe taken 100 pages out. There are a lot of POVs – essentially every character we see had at least 1 POV chapter, but I don’t think it was all necessary. I will say, Edwards ties each character up in the end, but I didn’t think it all impacted to the primary arch of the story. There was a large section in the beginning of the novel that gives backstory to the physicist Andrew Danicek and team members with smaller roles, but it took a while for me to figure out how it connected to the larger story and I almost DNF’d it if I’m being honest. I’m very glad I continued reading this story, but I wish some of that would have been taken out. I did feel some satisfaction once I got to the end, but again it would not have missed it if it had not been there in the first place.

Once we get into the meat of the novel and encounter our main character, Cassandra, and Caesar I was really into this book and got through it so quickly. It reads very cinematically, and I could see it easily being adapted into a movie – think the likes of Angels and Demons or The Da Vinci Code. We have a fun historical character, an attempted kidnapping, romance – it has a lot going on, but I ate it up and would LOVE to see it on screen!

Another thing I loved is the chapters are really short. This novel is long, but the short chapters make it move pretty quick. I’ll also say this is 100% a plot driven novel. That isn’t normally my cup of tea, but again, I was into it, and it’s probably because I’m interested in ancient Greece and Rome. If you’re looking for huge character development, or not interested in Caesar, move along.

This novel sits somewhere between a 3.5-4 star for me. It originally was more like DNF-2 star, but it got a lot better as it went and I can appreciate the way the author ended it. If you can suspend your disbelief, hang with a little corniness in the ending, and like a lot of plot, this novel could be for you!

I wasn't sure about the narrator at first, but his performance grew on me and I really enjoyed it by the end. I think since our main character was a woman, I would have enjoyed a female narrator in addition or instead though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. There were a lot of connections that were nice and added a lot of layers to the story. However, because it was so long, and it's hard to go back and find places again with an audiobook, some of the early details are forgotten by the time they are relevant again. I liked the multiple perspectives, but would have liked to see more of Faith's perspective as the book went along. I think she had a lot of good points about time travel but was pushed to the side after the fallout with Andrew.
I really liked how much thought was put into how time travel would work, with people speaking different languages, having different immune systems,, different ways of life, etc. In a lot of scifi that's not the important part, which can lead to plot holes, but that was avoided very skillfully in this book.
Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

I am so delighted that my request to listen to this book was granted! It might be one of the best books I’ve ever read. I do not say that lightly. I honestly didn’t have much of a thought about this title other than, that premise seems cool.
If you could bring back any historical figure, would you? And who would it be? Apparently the space/time continuum was cracked in 1999 w/ The IDES project. And Julius Caesar visited the modern world for 4 days. This novel is an account of those 4 days and the events leading up to those 4 days. But is it actually a work of fiction or could this have happened? Has Megan Edwards let us in on an amazing scientific & historical secret OR has she just crafted one of the most brilliant works of fiction to date? Full of heart, history and humor, I cannot recommend A Coin for the Ferryman enough. An absolute pleasure to read.

*Special thanks to Imbrifex Books and NetGalley for this early audio version.*

I am not generally a fan of books on time travel; I find them so steeped in science and theory that it’s hard for me to appreciate the rest of the book. Not so with A Coin for the Ferryman, an enjoyable story that focuses more on the characters and events across time than on the scientific aspects of getting Julius Caesar to the present day and then back to the Ides of March.

The story built slowly, and for a while I wondered if A Coin for the Ferryman would live up to my expectations. There are a lot of characters introduced at the beginning of the book, which was somewhat difficult for me to keep track of with the audio version. While I don’t mind solo audiobook narrators, I think this one could benefit from a cast. I did go back and listen again, to help me remember each character’s story (this is the only point where I found myself thinking that print would be better, but it’s an important one). Getting to know more of Cassandra’s story was a turning point for me, then I became invested in the rest of the book and eager for any opportunity to listen. There was some general explanation of the development of the IDES program, how time travel would work, and why Julius Caesar was chosen, but again it was not so heavy on the theory that it was inaccessible. Overall, I chose not to question any of that for my own enjoyment of the story.

I was disappointed to initially find Caesar an easy character to dislike. There are other unlikeable characters, but I really wanted more from Caesar. There were also seemingly eccentric characters, of course the super intelligent ones, and the kind characters it is easy to adore. Some of them, like Caesar, earn multiple of those distinctions.

The story is helped along by telling parts of each character’s history, mostly in the recent past, that link to the “present day” part of the story as well as a good dose of action and suspense. The brain tingles really begin as the story nears its conclusion and the disparate parts start to come together and reveal some surprises. I started a second listen almost immediately and discovered even more details that I missed the first time through. It is definitely an enjoyable listen, and I will be interested to pick it up in print, as well.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I love anything ancient Greece or ancient Rome. A Coin for the Ferryman's premise appealed to me. The beginning of the book was slow. You're getting to know the members of the group that is trying to bring Julius Caesar to contemporary times. Some of them were interesting, the rest were uninteresting. After character introductions and setting up the project, the pace quickened. The focus on the cast of characters dwindles down to a handful then really focuses on Caesar and his translator, Cassandra. The second half of the book hooked me and I had to see it to the end. Cassandra was an intriguing character and glad that she played a prominent part of the book.

It has always been intriguing for me to imagine having the opportunity to meet and talk to anyone from the past. How would all the parties act? How would the interaction go? Megan Edwards clearly thought about when writing this novel. Caesar was very similar to how history has depicted him, which in turns makes the whole situation quite plausible. I liked that Edwards sprinkled Caesar's thoughts and memories throughout the story. It was an adventure like if one would take Caesar out for the day, weaving past and with the present. The action made the story more interactive then just having Caesar over for dinner and talking to him. I appreciated the smaller details Edwards incorporated like using roman numerals for labeling the chapters and Caesar saying phrases that were eventually associated with him.

All those classicists and Julius Caesar buffs, who enjoy sci-fi and fantasy books, this is the book for you. The audiobook narrator, Mark Ashby, did a fantastic job too.

The story A Coin for the Ferryman by Megan Edwards took place in 1999. Scientist Andrew Danicheck created a way to bring things through time. He selected a team of the top minds to run his program. After success with non-living and animal subjects, they moved on to a human subject. Their human subject was Julius Caesar. They reached back to that fateful day on the Ides of March and pulled him into the present. With a small team that studied Latin and ancient Rome, they hoped to gain some insight into these times and the famous man. However not everything goes as planned, things quickly spiral out of control. They are left wondering what will happen if Caesar doesn't return to the past?
This is a very character driven book. Almost the first half of the book is background on the characters and the project. However, once Caesar arrives Megan Edwards does not disappoint. She finds a way to bring him to life in a simple and believable manner. She presents him as highly intelligent, confident, and bold. However, as the story progresses, we see other sides as well, playful and inquisitive. The man she builds encourages readers to both hate and love him and feel a whole gambit of emotions along the way!
A Coin for the Ferryman also addressed the implications of changes in the past and their effects in the future. Edward finds a way to make this heavy topic intriguing. She places little nuggets in the story and implies these situations only happened because of the project. Leaving readers to wonder what would have happened if the project never existed.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a refreshing take on time travel. Her choice of Julius Caesar really added an interesting spin to the book. The characters were well developed, so readers could understand all their actions. The merger of facts and opinions of Caesar's character was both thought provoking and entertaining.
My only dislike of the book was that the first half dragged for me. I felt like some of the character background stories could have been left out without really taking away substance from the book. There were a few backstories of characters which did lead to an understanding of their present actions, but they were often drawn out, uneventful and ultimately unnecessary. I really felt like the book would have been better off shortened with less backstory. Despite being a book about time travel, the science is not there. The focus is on the characters and history. It would have been nice to have some type of weak scientific explanation for time travel.
Mark Ashby narrated the book. His voice sounded professional and brisk like a journalist exposing a story, which was perfect considering the premise is that the book was written as a true story released as fiction for legal reasons. He does a great job bringing out the various characters in the book. His pace is steady, and his tone and inflection only add to the feelings brought out by the characters dialog in the book.
I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. It is well written and highly engaging. However, as I mentioned previously, part of the book seems to drag. I would highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction and time travel.

Wow I liked this book way more than I thought I would. I don't know anything about Julius Caesar other than what I learned from watching HBO Rome. This was a great sci-fi story, history lesson, thriller, and a little bit of romance all wrapped up in one great story. I really felt by the end that Caesar was actually brought to life in the story. The Ides of March definitely hit differently now.

My real criticism of this book is how long it takes to really take off. For me, the first half was a 3/5 and the 2nd half a 5/5, hence my final rating of 4/5. It was very frustrating listening to hours of set-up for the event we all knew was coming.

But overall I would definitely recommend this. I actually already recommended it to someone before I even finished it.

Thank you netgalley and Imbrifex Books for giving me an advanced review copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Imbrifex Books Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘A Coin for the Ferryman’ by Megan Edwards in exchange for an honest review. The audiobook was narrated by Mark Ashby.

I read this book without prior knowledge and was surprised when it opened with Julius Caesar waking on the morning of the Ides of March 44BC and being warned frantically by his wife, Calpurnia, of danger.

He reaches the Theatre of Pompey and is approached by someone who begins to speak then nothing “not only silent, but gone—along with the stench of garum and garlic. In his place was Venus, gazing into Caesar’s eyes and reaching her hands toward him.” Definitely an intriguing start.

In 1999, 26-year old classics student Cassandra Fleury is plucked from her life in Las Vegas to become the youngest member of the IDES Project, an interdisciplinary team engaged in a groundbreaking experiment involving time-travel.

Their plan is to snatch Julius Caesar moments prior to his assassination, hold him in seclusion and involve him in discussions with historians and Latin scholars. Cassandra, who is fluid in Latin, is to serve both as the translator and as hostess. Indeed, Caesar initially mistakes her for Venus. After four days they will return him to the moment he was extracted in order to preserve the timeline.

What could possibly go wrong? These folk have clearly not encountered any time travel fiction! No further details to avoid spoilers but it certainly proved an interesting plot with some great action sequences, twists, a compelling lead in Cassandra and a fascinating portrayal of Caesar.

‘A Coin for the Ferryman’ was clearly a labour of love as Megan Edwards writes in her Acknowledgements that this novel has taken twenty years to write. In addition, she was a Classics major and had taught Latin for many years so knows her subject.

With respect to the audiobook, while Mark Ashby is an experienced voice actor, I initially found his American accent jarring. This faded once I got further into the story though on occasion it still felt out of place.

Overall, I found this an enjoyable ‘what if’ time travel novel with an informed portrayal of Julius Caesar at its heart and some fascinating ideas throughout. I definitely will be interested in reading more of her writings.

Definitely recommended for readers seeking something a little different.

I absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed the narration, the story, the things I learned and the ending. Cannot stop talking about it to everyone.

A Coin For The Ferryman by Megan Edwards is a wild out there time travel story that involves an archeological dig, Latin translator, Roman Emperor, and Las Vegas chips.

The one rule of time traveling is don't change history but when Julius Caesar is involved all bets are off.

I thoroughly enjoyed this action packed very clever story brought to life by narrator Mark Ashby. Pay careful attention to the first chapter because it comes full circle at the end and always Beware The Ides of March

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

A Coin for the Ferryman by Megan Edwards, narrated by Mark Ashby

Thank you to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books Audio for an ARC for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this time travel book! I found the characters were well-developed and quite interesting. Who wouldn’t want to ask questions of someone from the past. The first part was a bit slow while developing the characters and then the action really took off with the arrival of the first human time traveller.

A very enjoyable book!

#NetGalley #ACoinForTheFerryman

Written by Megan Edwards, this novel dares to answer “What would you ask Julius Ceasar if you could talk to him?” by bringing him to our time, right before he is murdered.

This is a long novel, but the narrator kept me engaged throughout the whole story. This is a long novel, for anyone who isn’t prepared, but it has a good pace and I think explores something that we have all been asked ‘what would you ask a person from history’?

And they do just that. Personally, I have no idea what kind of person Julius Ceasar was, but I think the author really captured what someone in his position could have been like. Someone who was always having to look to the future and make very big decisions and take others into consideration.

Overall, for a history nut, this was a really fun and interesting book. And I really like the premise of who/when/how/why they are able to do this form of time travel.

I 100% recommend this to anyone who is thinking of reading this book.

This book was one of the best books I read in a long time. The characters’ backstories at the beginning of the book made me fall in love with all the characters in different ways. Cassandra is one of my favorite female protagonists in a while. She’s smart and beautiful but will work hard for every thing she has. Her and Caesar’s adventure keeps me listening to this fantastic book and waiting to see what will happen next for the due. The set up for the book is a bit longer than necessary but it was fun and entertaining so it was worth the long wait to finally meet Caesar.

Are you ready to time travel with Julius Cesar? I wasn't either, but Megan Edwards makes it worth your while in her new novel, A Coin for the Ferryman.
I have been here for all of the recent books that have come out with a nod towards ancient Greek or Latin history. Edwards nods at Julius Cesar and then teleports him into a modern day science lab. What could go wrong?
We are served fancy dinner parties, car chases, and rides across the sky on spiral wings... and i didn't roll my eyes once. There are a few distracting side stories and unnecessary romances, but I was impressed with Edwards ability to keep me believing in this ridiculous story. Classic literature this is not, but if you want to time travel with a hero from the classics, buckle up and don't forget your coin!

Thanks to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for the opportunity to read A Coin for the Ferryman by Megan Edwards and narrated by Mark Ashby in exchange for an honest review.

A Coin For The Ferryman combines a visceral love of history, time travel moral questions, and "like ,what do you think Caesar would make of Las Vegas?"

When Cassandra, a borderline prodigy in Latin, hits her version of rock bottom after discovering the guy of her dreams is actually happily married and lets her friend talk her into taking a paid date at a Vegas casino – her whole life changes. One benevolent billionaire later Cassandra finds herself involved in quite possibly the biggest scientific discovery ever – time travel.

As you can, probably guess - things do not go as planned.

With a premise like “bringing Caesar through time a few minutes before he dies just to see what happens”, expectations are high.

But is it good?

Primarily yes… but a few ‘no’s.

There’s a lot to love about A Coin For The Ferryman – it’s genuinely funny. Like laugh out loud on the bus funny, especially for classicists and ancient historians.

Megan Edwards does a really good job of discussing the moral issues around time travel, live experimentation, the human propensity to act first think later, and the fact that every historical figure is actually a person.
The most central ‘no’s for me are a few practicalities that can largely be excused by the fact that it is, after all, fiction.
- An astonishing number of people are told time travel is real and Caesar is either here or coming, and their response is, “Whaaat? No… Really? You know what, actually, I totally believe you and don’t think you’re having some kind of crisis.”
- That *time travel* is solved scientifically from zero to a hundred in one lifetime, and the hardware is so successfully built that you can go from proof of concept to moving a coin, a dog, and a whole person so quickly.

I don’t have major issues about the 48 hour love that develops between Cassandra and Caesar. Cassandra might be a Latin Genius TM but she’s not exactly street smart. Not to mention that the heady cocktail of trauma bonding, guilt, rebound romance, and overt daddy issues make for a – in my opinion – pretty realistic representation of a person blindly thinking they’re in love.

Similarly, I’m on Faith’s side. Her concerns are legitimate and her treatment as the company villain is bullshit. What I hate more though, is that it makes perfect sense. New female colleague has relationship with powerful project director, he’s an ass, relationship over, she’s treated like shit by everyone while boss man gets an eyeroll and the same level of respect as before.

The writing itself is clean and engaging, I liked the various characters – even the ones I wanted to punch, and I read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down. There is a lot of detail, backstories and context and foreshadowing – it’s an immersive story. I did enjoy the audiobook, the narration was a little slow for me but that’s what playback speed is for.

I did enjoy this book. To start there were one or two points that threw me off the journey, but it is worth listening to.

Through Cassandra's interest in the Classics and her gift in linguistics, she leaves her childhood home and enters a world of power, money and living history. Whilst attempting to earn enough money to go through college she makes contacts that rocket her into a world of intellectual intrigue, science fiction and romance.

The book starts slowly with an interesting pre-story that introduces the motives of one of the main protagonists. The story wanders a little at the beginning introducing some of the other actors in the story but persevere because it becomes more interesting. Although the ending isn't completely unpredictable, the journey there is full of action and interesting historical facts.

Initially, the narration felt robotic but it grows on you.

This book was fantastic

I was unsure on whether it was for me but as soon as I started it I was hooked, the time travel, the science, the drama and the history. So so good. I also loved the little twist at the end.

I'm happy to finally report that the NetGalley audio app is improving! It's a tiny bit distorted as the speed increases but not like previous reads.

This novel starts with an appropriately vague framing narrative and inexplicably ends by going back to it. The premise is fun - move someone (dead) from a known moment in history, hang out for a few days, and send them back to their imminent death none the wiser. It's a historical heist set in modern times with a very exciting glimpse into Caesar's political strategy. Maybe it's just my cynicism, but a lot of the plot could have been avoided by involving someone with any knowledge of psychology in the Ides Lab. Instead, awkward circumstance after awkward circumstance led to misunderstandings and high speed chases. The book unraveled pleasantly, like an episode of Seinfeld, where Caesar is George Costanza. It was fun escape reading.

I have to say, I caught the major spoiler about halfway through when I remembered that the first of the book spoke about someone's family in the current day. This book had an interesting enough premise, though there was a lot more exposition than was necessary.