Note: Thank you to Netgalley & the publishers for allowing me access to this arc!

My review
Overall, this is a good read. I may not have loved it, but you might! I think it is important to say this because the author clearly worked hard on this book, which shows in writing.
However, after reading the intriguing premise, I really wanted this book to be great as a history major. Unfortunately, I was a tad disappointed. It was good, but it didn't blow me out of the water as I had hoped! The book's first half was good, but the second half, not so much. I've read many books that are the opposite, so I was surprised that I was forcing my way through it.

The Good Things
1. The title: talk about CATCHY!
2. The premise is extremely creative and has the potential to be a FANTASTIC story once edited to avoid over-bloating.
3. I tend to be picky about writing styles, and the author is skilled. The book was devoid of any clear writing errors.
4. The climactic event - I don't want to go into too much detail and end up spoiling anything- is great! If the rest of the book read in the same manner, I'd have given it 4-5 stars! 


The Bad Things
1. I feel like there were things at the start of the book that sort of, spurted out?
2. There are many parts of the book that are SLOW. And I have both a history and an English degree, so I've taken part in many slow reads.
3. It COULD use a better cover. I only say this because I have many friends who refuse to read books that don't have a great cover.
4. The climactic event I mentioned above was GREAT, but following it? Not so much. It was a tad too underwhelming for my taste.
5. I feel like Caesar's reaction -or lack thereof- to time traveling isn't as realistic as I would have liked. Obviously, this is a work of fiction, but I would have preferred the character's reaction differently.
6. Around halfway through, I started getting a little bit confused. I feel like the author was almost trying too hard to push an exciting story without focusing on things that don't necessarily help the story. 


My Final Rating:
☆☆☆ (Goodreads)
☆☆☆ (Blog)
☆☆☆ (Amazon - will post the review as soon as the novel is released)

Like many, I was intrigued by the premise of A Coin for the Ferryman. The idea of time travel to interview a historical figure - it's the age-old question of "if you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?" I'm sure a lot of people choose Caesar.

I tried to get through this, but for me, it seemed like there was too much build-up at the beginning. I struggled to power through the initial chapters of scene-setting and character development that only scratched the surface. There just wasn't enough emotional depth to them for me to get invested.

DNF at 17%. Thanks to Imbrifex Books for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a great premise! I wanted to love this book - the story of a group of scientists transporting Julius Caesar to the present for 4 days only, and a beautiful Latin-speaking coed brought in to speak with him/translate. Unfortunately, it didn't quite hit that mark for me. The beginning was quite slow, as all the characters were introduced, and it seemed to take forever to get to the part where Julius Caesar was transported. Parts of this book were very entertaining and parts were just a little too far-fetched. And I wanted to hear more about ancient Rome. For the most part, though, this was a very interesting and entertaining read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for the e-arc - a solid 3.5 stars.

What would Julius Caesar, one of the most famous ancient Romans, think about modern society? A Coin for the Ferryman is a creative and entertaining mingle of Greco-Roman History and science fiction that will delight any fan of both. Pinky swear. But, don’t worry, I will explain further.

The narrative involves nearly a dozen characters whose lives intersect because of the dream and will of one determined scientist. Nobel laureate Andrew Danicek hires an elite team of academics, plus Cassandra, a young woman who can speak Latin, to work on a time travel experiment. But he doesn’t want to just bring anyone into the present from the past. He would like to meet Julius Caesar right before his death in the Ides of March.

The start was slow-paced but enjoyable, with fleshed-out characters and interesting backstories. One of the introductory chapters might feel unnecessary, but everything will make sense in the end. We just have to wait for the bigger picture. And, personally, I really liked to see all the little pieces getting together as the story progressed.

When things were established, it read like an action movie, with plenty of suspense and, more or less after 60% of the book, even the blossom of a romance. Most of the story takes place in 1999 and is set between California and Las Vegas. There’s a lot of different POVs, which I thought it was cool and well-executed. I didn’t dislike any character in particular; Faith seemed insufferable for most of the book, but there are actually a lot of good reasons for it. My favourite chapters were probably the ones that focused on Cassandra and Julius Caesar. And, I really have to say it, Caesar was endearing as hell. I loved his cunning side.

About the sci-fi part, I didn’t expect the author to show us all the intricacies of a time travel experiment, but I would have liked to know more about the science behind the project. Despite that, the characters were vividly drawn, as I already have highlighted, and it was a fun adventure. There were enough twists, double-crosses and secret agendas (though I would have liked to know more about people's intentions behind it).

The conundrum about the moral and ethical problems involved in disrupting a life was probably one of the key themes of the story. And I think Caesar's last scenes with Cassandra and the rest of the IDES team give us a lot of food for thought on that matter. But I was also expecting a lot more focus on it. I really wouldn’t mind if Megan Edwards wrote another hundred or two hundred pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I first want to say how much I appreciated the premise of this book. It's such a clever and fun idea and the story that follows is an immensely fun thought-experiment of sorts that imagines Julius Caesar coming to the future for a few days. With that, I largely enjoyed reading this book. I do feel that it could've been a bit shorter, with the story occasionally offering up too much backstory or other flashbacks that felt like it slowed down the plot at times. Overall though, I did have fun reading it, and it tells a good story.

I saw, I read, I LOVED this book. Imagine, if you can, traveling back in time or better yet being able to bring someone from the past to the present time. A Coin for the Ferryman allows you to do just that in a very convincing way. What I loved about this book, primarily, is that all the ethical questions I had were answered by characters in the book who had the same questions. The scientific questions I had - how can a person survive in this time period - as one example were answered. It was amazing how easily I believed that Caesar had actually stepped from the past into the future. And, he reacted exactly as I thought he should but even better. He acted like someone who ruled an empire, he acted like a survivor. The only negative or drawbacks was the amount of people that I had to keep track of in this book. I actually had to start from the beginning (twice) to keep up with the names, and the dates. Some of the people and events, in my opinion, were merely fillers and not necessary. The characters with similar names (Alexander and Andrew) were a hindrance, and the side stories although not annoying got in the way of the read. I enjoyed the romance with implied versus graphic sexual content, I liked the friendship, and I really appreciated that the protagonist finally realized what I had realized all along - the experiment with someone else's life without knowledge or consent was cruel, and no better than kidnapping. I loved the way the story ended, and if possible would love to see a time-travelling sequel.

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.

A Coin for the Ferryman has all the makings of what could be a fantastic novel. However, it needs a heavy-handed editor to make it into such a book. A Coin For the Ferryman is a novel about time-travel in the veins of The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.. There's a heavy scientific lean, though not much description is actually given of how anything works. (Which is fair bc time-travel isn't real!) But despite that, there could have been slightly more time spent on the mechanics, rather than describing all the women characters eight million times. BUT I DIGRESS.

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.'s faults were that too much of the novel was taken up working up TO the time-travel, and unfortunately, the same thing happens in A Coin for the Ferryman. I don't think anything really interesting happens until maybe 40% of the way into the novel. I actually debating DNF-ing the book a couple times. The first half of the book is basically spent setting up the characters, when it really, really didn't need to.

The best parts of the book were when Caesar was on page. I had a hard time putting the book down at that point -- I really, really wanted to find out if anything was going to go wrong with the mechanics there. I won't spoil, of course, but it is definitely worth reading.

In the end, the book is decent, it just needs more polishing, in my personal opinion. In the first 40% of the book, the time jumps around and it is confusing as hell. It needs to be more obvious what's in the present and what's in the past. The 'notes' at the end of the book are unnecessary as well. They didn't add anything to the novel.

HAIL CAESAR.

(4/5) A time machine brings Julius Caesar into the present for a four day visit, but things never go exactly to plan when you're dealing with the most well known Roman citizen in history. This book is perfect if you're a fan of both time travel and Roman history. I felt like the pace of this book was overall well done, and it didn't get bogged down in small scientific details/explaining every possible loophole or potentially disastrous outcome. There were some slow points, especially early on in the book, but after I reached 50%, I couldn't put it down. I also appreciated having many narrators (though I found some more compelling and well-rounded than others and at some times the characters and storyline felt two-dimensional). Overall, a fun read to start 2022!

If you could bring one person back from the past, who would it be? In 1999, the science team behind the IDES Project perfect a time machine called the Temporal Episode Signatur Actuator and bring back Julius Caesar. His stay will be short, a mere four days, before he must be returned to his own time line. A young student named Cassandra Fleury is recruited for her excellent Latin skills and her pulchritude to become both interpreter and body guard to Caesar. A spanner is thrown into the works when news of the experiment is leaked and Caesar is kidnapped.

There are several enjoyable moments in this book, such as Caesar's introduction to Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, and some clever Latin flourishes, like a Lupercal Cafe. The characters are very two-dimensional, however, and the pace is slow in the beginning. This is a beach read which would be fun for anyone interested in Roman history or Latin, but a disappointment for any reader who wants more complexity or exploration of time travel. Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

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.

A very interesting book. I studied Latin for 4 years in high school and loved classical civilizations so this book is exactly what I enjoy. I love the details about Rome and all the historical facts. Love the insights into Roman history as well. I enjoy the twist at the end too.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an arc.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Imbrifex Books for the chance to read this book . I am sucker for time travel stories. I read any that come my way, and so I have read some good, some bad and some ugly. This book doesn't fit easily into any of my categories. The first part was very good, as the characters were introduced and set up, the middle was a but vague and muddled, and the end was quite satisfying. There are a lot of characters, some of which we meet with a lot of exposition , and never see again. There are others that I really wanted to learn more about. The basics of the story are that in the late 1990's, a team of scientists and latin scholars meet to collaborate on a time machine, the purpose of which is to transport Julius Caesar from Rome, moments before his death, to modern day Pasadena,to spend 4 days talking to him, and learning from him , and then return him to Rome, and his death. Cassandra Fleury is a beautiful blond who lives in Las Vegas and who wants to return to college to continue her Latin Studies. Through a series of events, she is given that chance after a meeting with a billionaire philanthropist. While she is pursing her studies, she is recruited for the time travel project.I enjoyed this early part of the book, as it set the stage , gave us information about the participants and the project in a straightforward manner. The middle part , however, after Caesar comes to America, is a bit confusing and more than a bit ridiculous. There are car chases, double crosses, helicopter shootouts- really more befitting a James Bond movie . I found it hard to believe that Cassandra would immediately become a master at evading criminals through the streets of Pasadena. The end was good , if a bit predictable. There was an epilogue which was clever and satisfying.I am giving it 4 stars, because it was clever and audacious. It did not adhere to "conventional" time travel stories , which have all things changed to due a visitor from the future. The people who met Caesar, were changed, which is explained at the very end. I enjoyed it.

I chose this read because of my love of both time travel and alternate history literature. In this different spin on time travel efforts the experimenters chose as their first human trial one of the most famous historical personalities, Julius Caesar. Their decision was made without prior certainty that Caesar can actually be returned to his time without detriment to our time. Julius Caesar when provided the opportunity to communicate his own version of his historical accomplishments instead develops a romantic attachment to his interpreter. After their heroic time travel technical accomplishment, the scientific cadre loses their focus entirely enjoying social events, and useless attempts to monetize the presence of Caesar even at the horrific risk of destroying our entire time fabric. I felt the trivialization of such a monumental time travel event lessened the thrill of reading about the achievement.

The first chapter of this book really intrigued me. It was quite an interesting read. If you like historical fiction with a bit of fantasy this might be worth giving a shot.

I was out of my comfort zone while reading this story, I enjoyed the connotations I understood from Shakespeare's telling about Julius Caesar and I understood much of the references and foreboding.

I was very excited to read this book because of its description, as I love classics & Latin, however, I found it almost impossible to get through. It was quite slow at the beginning, and I found myself not wanting to read it. It got better mid-way through when the story pieces started to come together but I was confused and could not keep everything oriented inside of my head.

Thank you NetGalley for a pre-releast. I was really excited to read this book. It sounded like a new, fresh take on going back in time - this time to the Romans. As much as I love reading, I really struggled to get into this book. From the beginning, it wasn't clear what the beginning storyline had to do with the time hop, Rome, etc. I really wish the author would have gotten to the point faster.

really well imagined? i'm not sure how to describe it, maybe i liked it so much because it reminded me of the librarians from tnt. classics fans are gonna love it.

I listened to this auto-book while also reading the eArc Netgalley has of the book. I found that this book just wasn't to my tastes, I liked the characters but found the plot lacking. I'm unsure if this is because I am haven't read many books like this one or if it was just the writing itself.

I really liked this book, and it was different to most of the other books I’ve been reading lately. In this book we follow Andrew after he builds a time machine and starts to experiment with it. He sets up the IDES project and after multiple positive tests he decides to bring a historical figure to present day, the one and only Julius Caesar. The experiment is successful and they transport Caesar to present day mere moments before he was supposed to be assassinated, but now that he’s here, how on earth are they going to get him back? If Caesar stays in the present day what consequences will there be for the past, and how will it impact on the future?

Although the start was slow, this book was a really fun read and I ended up flying through it from around chapter 10. Definitely recommend this one for a bit of light reading to break up a longer book.