Ithaca Bound (The Ithaca Trilogy Book 1)

Written by Kirsten McKenzie
Review by Bonnie DeMoss

Present day.  When an altar and human skulls are discovered on Lillian’s farm in Northumberland, she is unprepared for the repercussions.  Archaeologists, tourists, treasure hunters, and conspiracy theorists suddenly all want access to the site. But something else lies underneath Lillian’s farm, and it puts her loved ones in danger.  To save them, Lillian must journey back in time to ancient Rome.  Pursued by the cruel and power-hungry, will she be able to save those she loves the most?  This is book one in the Ithaca time travel trilogy. It is a spinoff of The Old Curiosity Shop time travel trilogy, and characters from that series make appearances in this one.

This mashup of time travel and historical fiction is well-written and compelling.  The characters are complex but easy to connect with, and the plot is a fascinating wild ride to the past. We visit Britain during ancient Roman times, learn about the way of life, and meet some ruthless leaders.  In the present day, the farm holds important secrets, and some would do anything to possess them. The thirst for power and prestige, and the consequences of that, is an important theme.  This is an adventure that hurls us from the present day to ancient Rome and back again.  Anyone interested in the history of Roman Britain will enjoy it.