the following is the summary from the publisher:
After the death of her beloved husband and becoming a single parent to her nine-year-old son Alexander, overworked scientist Helen desperately needs an escape. So when Alexander proposes a trip to Greece—somewhere he's always dreamed of visiting—Helen quickly agrees.

After spending several days exploring the tourist-filled streets, they stumble upon the ancient city of Mystras and are instantly drawn to it. Its only resident is Elias, a mysterious tour guide living on the city’s edges…both physically and temporally.

In 1237, Elias’s mother promised his eternal service to the Profitis Ilias in Mystras in exchange for surviving a terrible illness. But during his 800 years of labor, he’s had one common enemy: the noble Lusignan family. The Lusignan line is cursed by a deadly disease that worsens with each generation, and a prophecy hints that Elias’s blood is their only hope for a cure. He has managed to survive throughout the centuries, but the line has dwindled down to the last Lusignan and he is desperate to avert his family’s destiny.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Net Galley for an advance copy of this book in return for a review. I did feel that in some parts this dragged a bit....Going through Elias' different lives might have been a bit shorter. however thats a minor critique compared to how the book reads. Its a good story, kept my interest from the beginning. I found it very interesting how the author wove Huntington's disease throughout , as the basis for the story. Very clever and still maintained that historical feel. Having never been to Greece I felt like I was on vacation right along with Helen and Alexander. If you enjoyed this authors first book you will enjoy this one as well. I highly recommend it!.

Honestly - I couldn't even finish this one. I normally love historical fantasy but this one just didn't do it for me.

Wise, many-layered, a pacy thriller and so much more!
This wise, many-layered novel made me fall in love with Greece all over again. I could taste the cheese and spinach pastries, and see the cloudiness of fresh lemonade. And I was taken back in time to the blood-stained stones of Mystras, once a Byzantine capital.

On one level, this is a pacy thriller, a historical tale of pursuit and murder across the centuries. On another level, thought-provoking questions drive the action and the modern trio – widow, lively son and seven-hundred-year-old Elias all have depth. What would reincarnation really be like, I wondered while reading. The experience in this novel is so convincing!

Rich and complex, Anticipation’s dual timeline interweaves the present day with key historical moments for Mystras as experienced by Elias. Bound to serve the Profit Ilias in Mystras from 1237 to modern times, through many lives, Elias’ old enemy is closing in on him just at the moment when Helen – and love - enter his life.
The real villain is Huntington’s Disease, a genetic malady affecting the Lusignan family through the ages and infecting their values with the hope that killing Elias will allow his life blood to cure their inherited physical corruption. Both Professor Lusignan and Helen seek a cure for HD but their motives and methods are contrasted. The author’s neurology expertise adds credibility to all Helen’s professional dilemmas as a specialist in HD and makes the reader wonder what’s right as opposed to what’s possible: something so important to humanity now.

While engrossed in a page-turning story, I also found myself re-considering my views on medical ethics, reincarnation and military occupation, specifically in Greece. Despite his French father, Elias is passionate about his Greek identity and in fighting for ‘freedom or death’. This sense of roots and rights to a place is vividly conveyed and the historical oppression gives a context to the bloodshed. Like Elias, I am sickened by the violence but through his eyes I see the historical roots to modern conflict. Does any place belong to any nation ‘forever’?

The spirit of place is evoked with love and calls to Helen as much as her affinity with Elias. Helen’s son Alexander is real to me and the spiky relationship between them as they grieve could be my favourite relationship in the novel, so true to life. ‘The kid is himself, he’s not a window into someone else.’
Before reading Anticipation I knew nothing of Mystras or its history but am now inspired to learn more! I was also ignorant of the scientific meaning of the title but you’ll have to read the book to find out. I’m glad I did and I highly recommend this novel, which would provoke lively discussion at Book Clubs.