Time for Alexander by Jennifer Macaire is the first book in the Iskander series.

Ashley is a journalist who has fought to prove herself in a world that that believes she has made her way through life on her parents' money and her title.  After winning a prestigious award she is chosen to travel through time and interview a historical figure of her choice. Choosing her childhood hero Alexander the Great she is sent back in time for less than a day to find and interview a man whose legend has survived far into the future.

Arriving back in the past Ashley quickly locates her subject and immediately finds herself falling under his charismatic spell.  She is not prepared for him to fall under a similar spell and stop her from returning to her own time.  For Alexander the Great is a man of his time and when he witnesses Ashley disappearing in a blue light he believes her to be Persephone returning to Hades and pulling her back he believes that he is saving her from that fate.

This places Ashley in a position slightly higher than merely one of Alexander's women although she does try to stop the rumours.  However events seem to collide with her intentions and soon she settles down to the fact that no matter what she says people will believe what they want to.

Ashley makes a place for herself in the past, although not without difficulty.  The device she had been fitted with to enable her to speak and understand languages shuts down when she fails to return to the future.  Also she finds that her authentic clothes, wig and footwear are not exactly appropriate for the journey ahead of her.

Ensuring that she does not do too much to interfere with the past Ashley is always fearful of being erased forever if she does anything that jeopardises the course of history. 

But intentions aside Ashley finds that her life is taken out of her hands when she is kidnapped for nearly a year and imprisoned.  Her newborn son stolen from her she escapes from the prison during an earthquake and sets out to retrieve her child.  Reunited with Alexander and his army they travel after the kidnappers.

Told in the first person point of view we follow Ashley's struggle to find a place to belong.  Hard and skilled at hiding her emotions she is shocked to find that it is her attitude more than anything else that gives her a goddess like appearance to others.  Ashley finds herself opening up more as the story progresses and finding love with not only her hero Alexander but also with his best friend Plexis.  A love triangle which has great potential in the future books of the series.  I for one can't wait to see how it plays out for whilst Ashley is learning more and more about Alexander the man, as opposed to the legend, I feel it could be Plexis who will be the love of her life.

Full of little historical facts the era is brought to life with precision and care. 

In Time for Alexander Ms Macaire has begun a series which is set in a unique time, sadly not well covered in the romance industry.  And the best news is that there will be seven books in the series in total. 
 

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Heroes in the Dust by Jennifer Macaire is the second novel in her Iskander series which began in Time for Alexander.

The story picks up seamlessly where Time for Alexander left off and continues Alexander and Ashley's quest to find their son Paul who is being held by Bessus, satrap of Persia. 

Ashley has settled into her life with Alexander and his army and has found her place at his side and has friends within his army camp who are as dear to her as Alexander himself is. 

Travelling through the mountains they find themselves welcomed as gods and an amusing interlude in their journey occurs when they are expected to perform a ceremony to ensure a good harvest.  I won't spoil it for those who have not read the book yet but it is a very light interval in a book that is somewhat darker than the previous novel.

There is one particular disturbing scene which portrays Ashley's rape by Roxanne's father.  Thankfully it is not too graphic and is quite pivotal to the story to show that Ashley's hatred of Roxanne and her father is not unfounded.  However this and losses of a number of characters to war and illness make the whole story much less light hearted than the previous novel.

In Heroes in the Dust Ashley meets another future wife of Alexander she finds that not all of his wives are as friendly as Barsine was.  Roxanne is murderous and is determined not to share her new husband with anyone, including Ashley.  Ashley meanwhile knows that she cannot alter history and that Alexander must marry Roxanne as it was recorded and she must bear him two sons.  When Alexander weds Roxanne, Ashley finds herself turning to the equally upset Plexis and their relationship continues to grow.

The love triangle of Ashley, Alexander and Plexis takes on a new twist and their friendship grows stronger with each challenge they face.

The quest for Paul however is far from over and when they finally find Bessus it is only to discover that Paul still eludes them and their quest must continue into India.

This instalment sees the growing of Ashley into a loving woman and less of an ice maiden and the growing of Alexander from an enthusiastic youth to a more subdued man.  The hero and legend prove themselves to be human after all as he suffers injuries and makes mistakes like everyone else.  But at his side is Ashley who grows to love the man himself as opposed to the legend she had been fascinated with before her trip through time.

Another riveting instalment in this promising series.

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Children in the Morning by Jennifer Macaire is the third book in the Iskander series and continues the story which began in Time for Alexander and Heroes in the Dust.

Children in the Morning picks up where Heroes in the Dust left off.  Alexander the Great and his time travelling lover Ashley have now arrived in India searching for their lost son Paul.

In the valley of the gods they are finally reunited with their firstborn son but their journey is far from over and a prophecy surrounding Paul means that Ashley must choose between staying with her son or leaving with her husband when he continues his journey into the unknown lands.

A hard decision is made somewhat easier for Ashley because of her knowledge of just how much time she and Alexander have left to them.  She has already been living in the past for some years and their time in already running out. 

Leaving her son behind Ashley knows that he will be safe and is relieved at which decision she came to when Alexander's fourth wife, Roxanne reappears unexpectedly in their lives with the same murderous intent she always had.  Her target is any rival and Ashley and her second son Chiron are right in the firing line. 

On her guard Ashley is none the less in grave danger and when she is poisoned Alexander vows not to touch Roxanne again, even though Ashley knows that history says he will have another child with her. 

Meanwhile Ashley's other lover, Plexis's prophecy seems to draw nearer as he sees the sacred river and the twelve temples.  Becoming withdrawn and quieter he recalls that once he has seen those he will die.  But unlike previously, when he had joked that he almost wants to be on his death bed because that is when all his questions about Ashley will be answered, now he is far from eager to face the fate that awaits him.  (I couldn't help wondering if he has already figured out exactly where Ashley is from and what she knows, especially considering the close quarters in which they all live).  Ashley realises that the world as Plexis knows it is falling apart and although they are still close a gulf has grown between them that may never be breached. 

As the dangers around all of them increase Ashley begins to wonder which of the historians is correct and whether she can help Alexander cheat fate.  After Alexander is gravely wounded she broaches the idea of changing the past with him even though she knows it may not be possible at all and could ultimately result in her existence being wiped out entirely. 

Children in the Morning is certainly my favourite book of the series so far for a number of reasons.

Firstly we see that Ashley's presence, and her son's presence, in the past have been foretold which opens up all sorts of possibilities for the rest of the series.

Secondly, Ashley finally speaks with Alexander about the weapons in the time she came from.  Considering that Alexander was a soldier it was only a matter of time before he insisted on knowing what modern weapons of destruction were invented.  By finally speaking with him about them I felt that Ashley was seeing Alexander as more of an equal than she previously had, trusting him not to want to recreate those weapons before their time.

And thirdly I was pleased to see Ashley questioning whether the past can be changed.  Knowing how many records of the era survived and the uncertainties of the historians Ashley appears to be ready to take the plunge and risk everything to keep her family together and cheat fate.  This takes the series to a whole new level as a world of possibilities emerge.

Knowing there are four more books left in the series and not much time left to them we are left with a great cliff-hanger as to whether Alexander will go along with Ashley's plan and whether it will succeed or not.

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A Taste of Ashes is the fourth book in Jennifer Macaire’s Iskander series and picks up where Children in the Morning left off.

Ashley, the time travelling journalist, trapped in the past by Alexander the Great knows that time is running out for Alexander and now finds herself with a dilemma.

On the one hand she can try to alter the course of history and keep the man she loves with her, but in doing so she will risk losing everything. She knows that if the course of history is changed in any way the entire portion of history will be erased, including herself and her children.

She must also deal with the fact that Alexander may not wish to go along with her plan. She knows she is asking him to give up his kingdom and all he has worked for – to turn his back on his life.

She also has to accept that she may not be able to save him at all. She knows that most historical records indicate that he died of malaria, and there may be nothing she can do.

But as time is running out for Alexander, so to is it running out for Plexis, whom Ashley loves just as much. With his nickname unfamiliar to her Ashley was unprepared for the shock of a memory returning to her at his wedding. Hephaistion, according to history, would die soon after it from an unknown cause.

The Oracle who she visited back in Time for Alexander had told Plexis that the answers to his questions would only be revealed on his deathbed. Ashley knows that time is now almost there.

She doesn’t want to lose him any more than she wants to lose Alexander so she concocts a plan to try to save them both.

Her plans are hindered however by the fact that she is no longer travelling with the army and after the relative freedom she had enjoyed, she is now trapped by the protocol of the age in which she is living. Men and women live separately and although the palace she is living in is not the cold stone of the prison she once endured, she is nonetheless trapped.

Ashley is prepared to risk everything in order to keep her family safe, not only from poison attempts by the scheming Roxanne but also from being erased by the people who sent her back in time.

She also knows that if she cannot save Alexander her life, and the lives of her children will be in grave danger as the empire Alexander built is fought over by those he left behind. A fact that is made painfully clear to her when she discovers her eldest son Paul has been removed from the safety of the sacred valley by Roxanne and Olympias and could well be another victim of the murderous Roxanne.

And perhaps the hardest choice of all – Ashley must make the decision about whether to return to the future or remain in the past.

A Taste of Ashes was long awaited by myself and it didn’t disappoint. The urgency of Ashley’s mission leaps from the pages as the war comes to an end and time begins to run out for the men she loves.

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The Queen of Ice and Darkness is the fifth book in Jennifer Macaire’s Iskander series and picks up where A Taste of Ashes left off.

Ashley has done the impossible and faked the deaths of both Alexander and Plexis.

The world believes that they are both dead and only a small group of trusted friends know differently.

Most of this same, small group are now also aware of where Ashley comes from and who she is.

But the adventure is far from over.

Alexander is not himself as he watches his empire fall apart and the battles over his legacy begin. He feels that he has lost his soul and together with Ashley they go to consult an Oracle.

Ashley finds herself once again speaking with Apollo, despite her still disbelieving attitude in the ancient Gods. He tells her where to go to recover the soul of her husband and a new journey begins.

Leaving the three children in Alexandria with Plexis, Ashley and Alexander begin their journey north towards the land where the sun never rises and never sets…the land of the Eaters of the Dead.

At least they thought they had left all their children behind. However a few days out at sea their eldest son Paul revealed himself as a stowaway. Perhaps knowing better than Ashley herself how important it was that he travel with them.

Travelling by boat (with an extremely seasick Alexander) and later on foot, Ashley and the rest of their group make their way north through Gaul towards the land of her ancestors and into danger once more.

Danger now comes in the form of the Druids who seek to control Paul, the Child of the Moon. In particular the mysterious and terrifying Voltarrix, also known as the Thief of Souls.

As they travel through Gaul they meet new friends, make new enemies and suffer losses.

They also discover that keeping the secret of Alexander’s survival may be harder than they thought. With a presence that drew people to his army he is now recognisable by anyone who met him and they will have to trust that no one will betray what they have done.

And so they journey north in search of Alexander’s soul.

In this book we learn a lot more about Nearque (For some reason in this book several of the names of characters change. Nearchus becomes Nearque (for both this book and the final one), Statiera becomes Satira and Iskander becomes Iksander). Nearque is travelling with them and pursuing his love of ships and the sea and we see him in a new light now that he is no longer with the army or competing with Plexis for Alexander’s attention. We also meet Demos, a former enemy of Alexander and see how Paul has grown from the quiet young boy they left in the Sacred Valley to the older and more rebellious boy who now travels with them.

The tone of instalment is somewhat darker than the previous books. We follow Ashley as she discovers more and more about the time she is now living in and tries to reconcile herself to the fact that she cannot do anything to change the religions that still have human sacrifice as part of their ceremonies.

She knows she cannot change the world, but it is becoming increasingly hard for her to stand by and watch things that are so abhorrent to her. There is a chasm between her own beliefs and those of the people around her.

My one complaint would be that there is no real marked change to Alexander in this book. For a man who believes he has lost his soul he is little changed from the man portrayed in the previous books. Maybe the differences were meant to be subtle, or perhaps it was all in his mind – whatever the explanation Alexander in The Queen of Ice and Darkness is largely unchanged.

Despite this, it is a riveting read with a twist and a cliffhanger at the end that will leave you begging for more. Thankfully I read the final four books one after the other and didn’t have to wait for the publication of any of them.

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The Thief of Souls is the sixth book in Jennifer Macaire’s Iskander series and in my opinion is the darkest of the series.

Ashley and Alexander, accompanied by their son Paul and various other friends travel to the land of the Eaters of the Dead. They are searching for Alexander’s soul at the same time as being herded north by Voltarrix, the Thief of Souls.

Ashley isn’t sure what Voltarrix’s agenda is but she fears that what the Thief of Souls is intending to do is to take Alexander’s soul and place it into the body of their son Paul. They can then control the child who should not exist in that world to unite the Druids and defeat the Romans before they gain their true power in Europe.

Ashley knows that this will change the course of history beyond repair and destroy everything she has spent the last decade working to save.

As they travel through ancient Scandinavia towards the Arctic Circle they know they are being followed and although they are in no immediate danger. As long as they are heading in the direction the Druids want them to go they will not attack them. They know that if they cannot come up with a plan before they reach their destination and before the Summer Solstice all will be lost.

Splitting from the group up Ashley finds herself travelling with an injured Plexis several hours behind the rest of the group, the plan being to lose the men who are watching and herding them northwards. That way they will be free to form a plan to rescue Paul and Alexander who the Druids are focused on.

It is during this time that Plexis feels the need to confide a secret in Ashley that he has kept for over a decade. Perhaps not the most appropriate time to do so, he tells her that he was the one who organised her kidnapping which had resulted in her separation from Alexander for a year shortly after her arrival in the past.

It is a secret he has kept from everyone except Olympias (who was the mastermind behind the plan) and one which will have far-reaching consequences. Both Alexander and Paul have indicated they would take revenge on the person responsible should they ever find out who it was. Paul especially has the determination that only a child could have to want revenge for the past. Despite having Ashley as his mother he is very much a child of the times in which he was born. Growing up with stories of heroes and their quests for revenge and honour he wants revenge on the unknown person.

Ashley however still loves Plexis and will risk her own life to protect him.

Risking her life is the least of her problems however when she comes face to face with Voltarrix and finds out what she must do to defeat him. She wonders if it is something she will ever recover from or whether her actions will haunt her for the rest of her life.

In some respects this book is a wonderful read, however there were some aspects that unfortunately left me a little confused.

Although I understood what was happening in the here and now with the Voltarrix, the Thief of Souls, I found it a little hard to follow just exactly what it was he hoped to accomplish with his plans as Ashley thought them to be. Were he to succeed in placing Alexander’s soul in Paul’s body I doubt that he would have been able to control the formidable warrior that Paul would no doubt become. I could also see no reason for them to believe that Paul would unite the Druids at all. The prophecies that surrounded him wouldn’t seem to indicate that he would do this. I was also a little confused as to just exactly how Voltarrix discovered that Paul was special and how he took Alexander’s soul in the first place. As I am someone who is forever questioning things these loose ends did rather leave me wondering what was happening.

However the repercussions of the rescue, Plexis’s part in her kidnapping and the growing hints that Ashley has done nothing to change history, but instead was always a part of it, made the book on the whole a very good read despite the loose ends.

RATING : 
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Banquet of the Gods is the seventh and final book of Jennifer Macaire’s Iskander series.

With Alexander’s soul restored Ashley and the remaining members of their party begin their long journey home to Alexandria.

There are some light-hearted moments which are a welcome relief after the darker aspects of Thief of Souls. In particular I found the scene with the newsreader early on in the book especially amusing. I laughed out loud several times during the course of reading these few pages.

But as ever, the journey was not without its own problems which become life threatening for all of their party in Carthage.

Ashley, never entirely happy to let things progress as they should have, finds herself bringing danger on everyone when she instinctively rescues a young boy who is to be sacrificed to the Gods.

This time however she realises what her actions have done when she must face the father of another boy – the one who must be sacrificed instead if he cannot find the boy Ashley has hidden.

Her actions, impulsive and ill-thought out, now endanger everyone as they have another boy to save, whilst keeping the first one hidden.

After a daring escape from Carthage they sail on to Rome to deliver the sacrificial victim to his aunt and uncle.

In Rome there lies more danger. Beneath the exterior of a civilised city with rules and regulations for the population and visitors there lies a brutality that makes the Romans appear as barbaric as any of the other people Ashley has encountered on her travels.

Whilst visiting the city as tourists Ashley and the rest of the party were delighted with the progress the city had made and were eager to see about utilising some of ideas back in Egypt.

However things take a turn for the worse when Alexander is recognised once more and finds himself in the Roman Arena. Although most people do not believe that he is Alexander, it is a popular publicity stunt for him to return from Hades to fight to the death, he can only be released if he competes in the game of Phersu…and wins.

There is nothing that Ashley can do at this point apart from watch and wait and hope that Alexander can find a way to defeat his opponent.

If he does they will then be on the final stretch of their journey home and to where the rest of the children await them under the protection of the ambitious Ptolemy who has decided his son should marry their young daughter Cleopatra. And has announced it to the world, knowing that Alexander cannot stop the engagement without revealing that he is still alive.

In this final book Ashley discovers that once again history has a habit of working around her. To the reader it would seem that Ashley was always a part of the history and her actions and those of her children were always there to be found in the records, had she only known where to look for them.

Most of the loose ends are eventually tied up in this book, although not the ones referred to in my review of Thief of Souls. Nor do we ever hear Alexander’s side of the story about what exactly ended his father’s life. After quite a bit of build up on that particular point we are unfortunately left to wonder as to what his involvement was.

Other than that though the loose ends are tied up, and Ashley and her family find their places in the world and in history.

An excellent series and one which I will certainly be re-reading at some point in the future.
 

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Now I was going to include a link to Lulu here - the online service which earlier this year had the entire series available.  Unfortunately none of them are available there at the present time.

I believe that they will be being released again in the Autumn with the opening of Calderwood Books and will update here when I find out for sure.

Links to  Online Stores

Also by Jennifer Macaire: Angels on Crusade

Read an Interview with Jennifer Macaire.

Visit Jennifer Macaire's website and the Iskander pages here.