Time for Alexander Series by Jennifer Macaire Book Tour, Personal Reviews and Giveaway!

The Road to Alexander

Time For Alexander Book 1

by Jennifer Macaire

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Time Travel

Sex, love, war, & quite a bit of vino - it's a Greek myth come to life...

Ashley is a time-travel journalist who has fought to prove herself in a world that that believes her road in life was paved by her parents' fortune. After winning a prestigious award, she is selected to travel through time and interview a historical figure. Choosing her childhood hero, Alexander the Great, she voyages back in time for less than a day to interview a man whose legend has survived to the present day. He mistakes her for Persephone, goddess of the dead, and kidnaps her. Stranded in the past, cold and aloof Ashley has to learn to befriend, to trust...and to love. 

Join Ashley and Alexander the Great on their fabulous adventure. Fans of Diana Gabaldon, Jodi Taylor, and Diana Norman will enjoy this saga.

What everyone’s saying about The Road to Alexander:

"If you are a fan of Diana Gabaldon and her Outlander Series then you will love this story. The same heart wrenching trials and tribulations that she puts her characters through happen within this gripping tale." Lynda Warnock 

"Fun, sexy and at times incredibly sad, the story held me to the end and the research was incredible." Karen King, author.

"If you love Time travel books then this one is not to be missed. Totally engrossing!!!!" Amazon reviewer.

"A Time for Alexander is a wonderful moving saga. Really more of a historical piece than a romance, there is more than enough heat between Alexander and Ashley to keep the pages smoldering." Goodreads.

"...A delightful read, I'm looking forward to the next book in the series." Amazon Reviewer.

" I found an engaging and light read, fun at times with some beautiful descriptive scenes of the cities, the landscape and life in the vast and growing empire of Alexander the Great in 333 - 330 BC." Amazon Reviewer.

"From the first page, I was intrigued by this story." Conan Tigard

"There wasn’t a piece of this book that didn’t fit, it kept a quick pace, the dialogue was witty and entertaining and the beautiful descriptions of ancient lands entice you into accompanying them on Alexander’s quest to conquer the world." Goodreads

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Alexander couldn’t get over it. My itchy linen robe had been the very finest quality, thanks to the machine that wove it, but my shoes had been a dismal failure and he was disappointed in the god’s choice of footwear. I tried to explain that the gods had nothing to do with my sandals but fell asleep in the middle of my sentence. It wasn’t that important anyway, I thought. There was a new pair of sandals on the rug the next morning. They fitted perfectly. My old ones had disappeared, and I didn’t find out where they’d gone until I went into the village and passed by the temple. There, on the altar, were my sandals. Fresh flowers, a bowl of warm milk, and a small snail made of clay surrounded them. A young girl in temple robes sat next to them murmuring a prayer. I tried to speak to her in Greek, but she didn’t understand me. I pursed my lips and went to find Nassar. Maybe he could explain. Nassar was writing a letter for a tough-looking soldier. They were both sitting on a mat made of reeds, and every once in a while Nassar would throw his pen away and break off a reed. He would sharpen it quickly with his teeth and I realized with a small start that his front teeth had been carefully cut at a bias to trim reeds into pens. It was interesting and I resolved to have him explain how it was done. He dipped the reed into a little clay pot of ink and wrote on a rather cheap piece of papyrus. A dozen rolled-up letters were lying beside him, each one flattened and sealed with a blob of wax. He’d been busy all morning. When he finished the letter he rolled it up, tied it with a piece of grass and sealed it with hard wax. Then he flattened the whole thing with his fist, wrote the address on the outside, and placed it on top of the pile.

“Next?” he called out in his nasal voice. “Good morning, Nassar,” I said as I approached.

He held his arms up in a stiff salute and then bowed, touching his forehead to the mat. “Hail Demeter’s daughter,” he intoned. “Don’t do that!” I was upset. “Who told you that, anyway?” “Oh, everyone knows,” he said smugly. “Well, I’d like you to come to the temple with me to see about a pair of shoes,” I said. “Oh! The Sacred Sandals! I should be honored! May I touch them, oh daughter of Demeter?” I closed my eyes and counted to ten. “They aren’t sacred sandals,” I said. “And of course you can touch them. There’s been a mistake.” “They weren’t your sandals? The captain of the guards took them to the shoemaker early this morning to have a copy made in leather and gave the originals to the temple. It is not a coincidence that the goddess of the harvest, Demeter, guards this town. It was why you were sent here. Now that Iskander has rescued you, the harvest is sure to be fantastic this year.” “But isn’t the village protected by Ishtar?” “It was, but it’s becoming Hellenicised. Now it has adopted Demeter, goddess of the harvest, because of what Iskander said last night in his speech.” “His speech? What did he say?” “You should have asked me to translate,” he said, reproach in his voice. “He said he was glad to be there and that he hoped the play would be entertaining, that he and his soldiers were very happy in the village, and he was honored everyone had made them feel so welcome, and how the two cultures would complement each other.” Nassar took a deep breath, like a swimmer, and plunged in again. “He said that the gods of Greece were stronger than our gods so we’d do well to adopt theirs. He said you had been sent as a sign and that he’d saved you from Hades himself, so Demeter would forever be grateful. He said that as a goddess you would personally see to the welfare of the village.” He finished in a rush and smiled at me. “I’m no longer an atheist,” he said proudly. “I believe in you. Why, if I want, I can actually touch your sandals.” I closed my eyes again and waited for the wave of pain that was sure to come. Pretending to be a goddess must rate among the three top reasons for erasing a Time-traveling journalist. After a few seconds I opened one eye, then the other. Nothing had happened. I was still sitting in front of Nassar, and he was watching me with a rapt expression on his narrow, rat-like face. “Did your mother speak to you?” he whispered, his eyes wide. “No. No, she didn’t. Excuse me, Nassar, but I think I’ll just go lie down. I have to think about all this.” I stood up, shivering with disquiet, and walked back to the tent where Alexander was having a game of dice with a tall man I recognized as the village priest. I wondered if I could sneak away, but they turned and saw me. “Oh! There you are!” cried Alexander, standing up and holding out his arms. “I was worried. Did you find your new shoes? Yes, I see you did. The village priest has come to thank you for your sandals. In exchange, he has agreed to forsake all virgin sacrifices. Isn’t that wonderful? Your mother will be thrilled.” “I’m sure she will be,” I said with the utmost truthfulness. Then I went into the tent and collapsed.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started reading these books - I just knew that I had to check them out because I am a HUGE fan of this type of historical fiction and Alexander the Great is a very elusive character in history.  I definitely did not expect a time-travel series, but it's almost like you just naturally start reading and it's over 3600 years since Alexander was alive.  Immediately we discover that the main character of the books is in a Time-Travel university, and she is going back in time in order to interview the amazing Alexander the Great.  And of course they ask her WHY HIM?  And I feel the same way - he is a very interesting character in history that we don't know a lot about.  We also find out that she has been through a horrible marriage with a husband who was physically abusive, so I wondered how that might play into the series of books.  She obviously is now doing something to better her life and is very fierce in her convictions to meet Alexander and inteview him.  I saw a strong survivor in Ashley, and I couldn't wait to read more about her and her journey to 330 BC.
Since there are 5 books, I am going to do just a short review on each of them, but lump all of the reviews into one for the purposes of the blog tour.  So within the first 3 pages Ashley is transported back in time and I had to laugh because she immediately feels uncomfortable in the Egyptian clothing as they are scratchy and you have to imagine that living 3600 years in the future, her normal clothing has to be pretty darned comfy!  I do love the way the author was able to research this time period and from what I know about it, she did a great job of using 330 BC as the setting for these books.  It felt real to me, and I truly enjoy that out of historical fiction.  Besides that, when the author describes the scenery and especially Alexander's tent, it is rich and beautiful, even though we know back then they didn't have all of the nice things we have today.  I WANTED to be there.
The one thing I noticed was that Ashley called herself an "oneirocritic" which seemed to be perfectly normal for even Alexander, whom she walks up to and just starts talking with him.  She says her first impression is that he is "dangerous".  But she doesn't seem scared, she is more intrigued - and the first thing we really notice is that he is SEXY and he is lustful.  So throw that into the mix and it brings a whole new spin on this series - we are not told what could happen if she engages with him and what it could mean for the time travel world.  We soon find out that somehow she was "kidnapped" in a sense and is not able to return home, and she is in love with Alexander or Iskander as she calls him, and he wants to marry her.  What will all this mean??  He begins to really open up to Ashley and tells her all about his early life, his mother and sister, and everything she really wants to know and more.  But is it REAL?  Is he fooling her?  And why did he have to kidnap her?  I was thinking all of these things while reading the first book and wondering if he had good intentions towards her and really did love her.
I definitely found the first book very interesting and it was sexy, funny, and a really great time-travelling story.  I couldn't wait after that to get onto the second book and find out what happened next.  So onto Legends of Persia, Book 2.  The book starts with a quick recap of the first book and then we find Ashley is still trapped - although she is married to Alexander and has a child and a lover as well.  Their son Paul has been kidnapped by the father of one of Alexander's wives, and he plans to raise an army.  So they are in pursuit of their son, and Alexander is marching with his army of thousands of soldiers while Ashley is trying desperately to NOT change anything in the past.  Because now we have discovered that if in fact ANYTHING changes in history at all, Ashley will be "erased" and will never have the chance to live in the past or the future.  At this point I can't imagine how much stress that has to be for Ashley, it's mind-boggling, because she literally has to overthink every single thing she does.  She even tells the reader a story that made Alexander laugh himself silly one night, and says if he had died from laughing, she would have altered the time travel universe and been erased.  So now we are aware of what will happen if she does alter the history, and she has been labeled as a Goddess who seems to be a lot like Demeter, who was expected to bless the lands to make them fertile and was also the Goddess of the Hearth.  That is a big expectation for someone who is really not a Goddess in my opinion.  But she seems to be happy with her current situation even though her son has been kidnapped, and she obviously is still very much in love with Alexander and she also has Plexis, her lover, by her side now.  She is willing to do anything to get her child back.  And she is clearly okay with being Alexander's third wife.  One thing that I did not consider about the whole time travel ordeal is that she is from the future - so she KNOWS everything that will happen in battles, and she also knows when and how her husband will die.  That has to be heartbreaking, as she is completely intoxicated with him.  Just another facet of the story that I didn't consider in the first book.  I do have to say that I love how the author really gets complex with both characters - Alexander is shown to be strong but we also see his weaknesses.  His entire life story is laid out before us, and his personality really comes out in the books.  And of course Ashley's own personality and her history is a comic relief because she remembers both of her "realities" and we see the differences between her old life and her new life.  She does seem to miss her old life in the future, but then again I think she is pretty happy to be where she is now.  I think she is torn between two worlds, very much like the "Outlander" series.  Alexander is her true love, but there will always be "back home" for her.  

I have not been able to finish the other 3 books yet, so my review is not completed and I apologize, but I hope that what I have written so far compels you to check out the series!

Legends of Persia

Time For Alexander Book 2

When Ashley Riveraine jumped at the chance to travel back in time to meet her hero Alexander the Great, she never thought she would end up staying there…

Following Alexander the Great’s army on its journey across Persia, Ashley is walking the knife edge of history. As a presumed goddess, Ashley is expected to bless crops, make sure battles are won and somehow keep herself out of the history books.

Can Ashley avoid the wrath of the Time Institute while keeping the man she loves alive?

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Son of the Moon

Time For Alexander Book 3

Can you face the consequences of cheating the Fates?

Alexander the Great journeys to India, where he and Ashley are welcomed with feasts and treachery.

With their son, Paul, being worshiped as the Son of the Moon, and Alexander’s looming death, Ashley considers the unthinkable: how to save them and whether she dares to cheat Fate?

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Storms Over Babylon

Time For Alexander Book 4

From the scorching plains of Persia to the opulent city of Babylon, Ashley and Alexander continue their sensuous and passionate journey through history. 

Alexander the Great is now king of Persia and Greece – but his reign will be short.

Time-travelling Ashley knows when her husband will die. She’s determined to cheat Fate and save Alexander and her children, even if it brings the gates of time crashing down.

Following Alexander on a tour of his new kingdom, she plans her moves and bides her time. She must, however, convince Alexander to abandon his crown and his kingdom.

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 In the month of May, the weather took a turn for the worse. Thunderstorms boomed over the city and there were swarms of hungry mosquitoes at night. Alexander had to oversee religious celebrations, some lasting until very late, and one evening he came back with a slight chill. I didn’t think much of it. Usse gave him some hot tea, and we lay down in bed. Plexis was already asleep, lying in his own bed next to ours. The mosquito netting moved slightly in the breeze. It was much cooler than it had been all week; the rain had cleared the air. During the night, Alexander developed a high fever. The next morning he could hardly move, his muscles cramped and he was drenched in sweat. It was malaria.
‘How do you feel now?’ I asked him for the hundredth time that day, after Usse gave him his medicine. Alexander opened one eye and stared at me. It was his blue eye, I noticed. ‘I would feel better if my head stopped hurting,’ he admitted. ‘The fever is making me thirsty. Do you have any water nearby?’ ‘Of course.’ I poured water from the pitcher into his golden cup and held it for him as he drank. The muscles in his throat worked as the water went down. Then he lay back on the bed with a sigh. ‘Do I die of malaria then?’ he asked. He tried to grin, but his mouth trembled suddenly. I leaned down and kissed him on his lips. They were hot and dry despite the cool drink. ‘Are you afraid?’ ‘I thought I wouldn’t be.’ He took a shaky breath and let it out slowly. ‘But that was when I thought the only thing that counted was my kingdom.’ ‘And now?’ I asked him. ‘I’ve had time to think. When you saved Plexis that’s when things began to change for me. I realized something I hadn’t known before. I want to stay with you. I love you, Ashley of the Sacred Sandals. I have told you that twice before. I should have said it more. Now, with this fever making my bones ache, I will tell you a third time. I want to see the babe you carry. I want to grow old surrounded by my loved ones. I no longer want to die. Does that answer your question? Yes, I am afraid.’ ‘Don’t be afraid. I love you too, Alex.’ ‘So why do you cry?’ He reached a hand to my cheek and brushed tears away. ‘Because I never dared hope that you would let go of your dream.’ My tears fell faster now. Teardrops sparkled on his hands like diamonds. ‘It took me long enough to understand that my dream was an empty one without you and Plexis by my side, and that my future was an illusion. Ashley, don’t cry. Please. I feel as if I’ve woken up from a long nightmare. All the battles and bloodshed, all the good men who died following me, they will lie on my conscious for ever. Only you will be able to ease my mind. You have seen the future, so you can tell me that it was not all futile.’ ‘Of course not, Alexander. Nothing you did was futile.’ ‘It feels that way now,’ he said. His eyes were very bright. I frowned at him. He was starting to sound distinctly un-Alexander-like. I put my hand on his forehead and jerked it back with a muffled cry. He was burning up.

Chants to Persephone

Time For Alexander Book 5

In the fifth book in the Time For Alexander series, the Oracle of Amon tells Alexander he must go to the Land of Ice and Snow, so they leave their home in Alexandria and head north, to Gaul. 

But the Thief of Souls not only captured Alexander’s soul. He also wants Paul, and the druids have raised an army to capture him. In the heart of winter, in ancient Gaul, a terrible sacrifice is made to Persephone, goddess of the Underworld – and Ashley finds herself taking part in a deadly ceremony.  

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Thirty priests stood in a line to greet us as we rode down the dusty path, and they prostrated themselves. ‘Welcome, Alexander, Son of Zeus, to the oracle of Amon,’ said the head priest, when he’d raised himself from the ground and brushed off his robes. ‘Ptolemy must have sent a messenger ahead,’ I declared. Alexander nudged his camel with his whip, and the elegant beast knelt down. Alexander hopped off lightly. ‘How did you know I was coming?’ Then he added, ‘Hadn’t you heard I was dead?’ ‘The oracle said you would arrive,’ the priest said. ‘And we did hear the rumours, yes. Apparently they are false.’ Alexander flushed, something his skin did easily. However, it wasn’t to be confused with a blush of shyness. He flushed with pride or pleasure. Any emotion could change the colour of his skin. Now his eyes glittered with something I didn’t recognize. He turned away from the head priest and helped me descend from my camel. I hated when it pitched forward and backward as it knelt down. Even Cleopatra squealed loudly.

‘I’ve got you,’ I said to her reassuringly. Then I was in Alexander’s strong arms with my feet on the sand. ‘And I’ve got you,’ he said. ‘Where do we go from here?’ I asked. ‘I don’t think you will be admitted.’ ‘Baloney,’ I said hotly. ‘I have no idea what you just said, but if it’s anything like ‘holy shit’, I think you should be ashamed of yourself. You’re in a sacred sanctuary here.’ I looked at him sternly. ‘Baloney is not a bad word. It’s a kind of meat and also a bunch of nonsense. It means I don’t believe that I can’t consult the oracle. Tell them I’m a goddess’s daughter.’ Alexander made a choking noise. ‘What’s the matter with you?’ ‘It just doesn’t seem right. You drag your identity out and only use it when you need it.’ ‘I’m tired of being a second-class citizen. Women have just as much right as men to …’ ‘Fine, fine. I’ll tell them. Let’s not get into another argument about what men and women can and cannot do.’ He spoke to the head priest, and the man, after dubiously consulting his colleagues, shrugged. ‘You will be allowed into the adyton, which is a restricted area. It is a great honour, but you have to take off your clothes,’ Alexander translated for me. ‘Oh, really?’ My voice turned icy. ‘Or is that a rule made up just for me because I’m a woman?’ ‘No,’ Alexander spoke hastily. ‘Everyone takes off their clothes. And we bathe in the sacred spring before going to the Temple of the Question.’ I was mollified. ‘All right. I believe you.’ ‘I thought you never wanted to see another oracle?’ Alexander asked me. ‘This is an Egyptian one. I know nothing about their gods. It’s going to be very educational.’

Jennifer Macaire is an American living in Paris. She likes to read, eat chocolate, and plays a mean game of golf. She grew up in upstate New York, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. She graduated from St Peter and Paul High School in St Thomas and moved to NYC where she modelled for five years for Elite. She went to France and met her husband at the polo club. All that is true. But she mostly likes to make up stories..

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