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A Debt Returned
Three lives. One debt. No escape from time.
Ivy Manning has the chest.
She always dreamed of traveling through time—but now that dream comes with a price she cannot escape.
Marked by lightning scars and bound by ancient magic, Ivy must follow in the footsteps of her great-grandfathers, Robert and James, and fulfill her family’s oldest save three lives lost to history. If she fails, the debt will claim her—and she will be lost in time forever.
But Ivy is not traveling alone.
When two magical chests fused into one, something dark survived the merging. Lucien—driven by grief, rage, and a hunger for revenge—has become a shadow in Ivy’s wake, pulled through time after her. He follows her across centuries, determined to make her pay for the destruction of his father, Alaric.
Each jump brings Ivy closer to fulfilling the debt… and closer to Lucien’s wrath.
As the past closes in and the cost of failure grows heavier, Ivy must prove she is more than a traveler. She must become a steward of time—strong enough to save lives, wise enough to resist power, and brave enough to face the darkness hunting her.
Because this time, the debt is hers.
And time never forgives.
A Debt Returned is the third book in the Ancestral Debt series, a sweeping time-travel fantasy about legacy, responsibility, and what it truly means to earn the right to protect history.
Ivy Manning has the chest.
She always dreamed of traveling through time—but now that dream comes with a price she cannot escape.
Marked by lightning scars and bound by ancient magic, Ivy must follow in the footsteps of her great-grandfathers, Robert and James, and fulfill her family’s oldest save three lives lost to history. If she fails, the debt will claim her—and she will be lost in time forever.
But Ivy is not traveling alone.
When two magical chests fused into one, something dark survived the merging. Lucien—driven by grief, rage, and a hunger for revenge—has become a shadow in Ivy’s wake, pulled through time after her. He follows her across centuries, determined to make her pay for the destruction of his father, Alaric.
Each jump brings Ivy closer to fulfilling the debt… and closer to Lucien’s wrath.
As the past closes in and the cost of failure grows heavier, Ivy must prove she is more than a traveler. She must become a steward of time—strong enough to save lives, wise enough to resist power, and brave enough to face the darkness hunting her.
Because this time, the debt is hers.
And time never forgives.
A Debt Returned is the third book in the Ancestral Debt series, a sweeping time-travel fantasy about legacy, responsibility, and what it truly means to earn the right to protect history.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2026
About the author
Bryan James Beck
8 books1 followerBryan J. Beck was born in Las Cruces and though he traveled all over the country with his family throughout his youth, he ended up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He's lived in over forty homes and attended eighteen different schools before the age of twenty-one. Through it all, one constant kept him grounded... stories. Whether watching, reading, hearing, or writing them, Bryan has always believed that storytelling has the power to transform lives.
After seventeen years in food service and eight in banking, Bryan finally wrote the novel he’d always dreamed of: A Debt in Time, his debut adventure about unlikely heroes, family legacies, and finding your place in history. He holds degrees in business administration, film technology, bartending, and office administration, but his favorite title by far is storyteller.
Bryan lives in Albuquerque with his girlfriend and family, surrounded by books, laughter, and endless conversation. When he’s not writing, he’s probably sharing a story over coffee, visiting a local bookstore, hiking New Mexico’s trails, or plotting his next creative adventure. He can also be found at markets around New Mexico, where he joys in meeting new and returning readers.
After seventeen years in food service and eight in banking, Bryan finally wrote the novel he’d always dreamed of: A Debt in Time, his debut adventure about unlikely heroes, family legacies, and finding your place in history. He holds degrees in business administration, film technology, bartending, and office administration, but his favorite title by far is storyteller.
Bryan lives in Albuquerque with his girlfriend and family, surrounded by books, laughter, and endless conversation. When he’s not writing, he’s probably sharing a story over coffee, visiting a local bookstore, hiking New Mexico’s trails, or plotting his next creative adventure. He can also be found at markets around New Mexico, where he joys in meeting new and returning readers.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 4, 2026
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have been waiting for Ivy’s story since the end of the first book!
When Book One ended, I was convinced that Book Two would finally send Ivy on her own adventure through time. Instead, we got Great Gampy’s travels. I enjoyed getting his story and learning more about the history of the chest, but it also meant I had to wait even longer to find out what would happen when Ivy finally got her turn.
She was SO worth the wait.
One of my favorite things about A Debt Returned is that it changes the formula we’ve become familiar with in the series. We still have the three lives that need to be saved, but this time Ivy has another problem following her through time: Lucien.
Adding an actual antagonist gave this book a completely different feeling. In the previous adventures, so much of the danger came from the time and place the characters landed in and figuring out how to save the person they were sent there for. Ivy has all of that to deal with, but now she also has someone actively working against her.
And I have complicated feelings about Lucien!
I didn’t like him—which I suppose means he’s doing his job as the villain. 😂 But I could understand him. He and his family have been through a lot, and knowing that history made his obsession with getting the chest understandable, even when I was completely against what he was doing. I appreciated that there was more behind his actions than simply being the bad guy. I could sympathize with how he got there without actually rooting for him.
I also really enjoyed the variety in Ivy’s travels. Her trip to a high school in the 1930s was probably my favorite. After visiting so many war-torn places during previous saves, there was something really fun about experiencing a completely different piece of history. It reminded me that history isn’t only made up of wars and major world events—sometimes getting a glimpse of ordinary life in another time can be just as interesting.
And then came Ivy’s final jump.
I am NOT spoiling this one.
I loved the twist at the end. The only way I can describe it without saying too much is that it felt like time folded in on itself. Suddenly, I was thinking about the story—and the series—from a slightly different perspective. It’s one of those reveals that is much more fun if you don’t know it’s coming, so that’s all I’m going to say!
After waiting two books for Ivy to finally get her adventure, I would have been disappointed if her story had simply followed the same pattern we’d already seen. Instead, A Debt Returned expands on that pattern. We finally get Ivy, new kinds of historical settings, an antagonist with his own motivations, and a twist that plays with the time-travel element in a way I really enjoyed.
Ivy was absolutely worth waiting for. Five stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I have been waiting for Ivy’s story since the end of the first book!
When Book One ended, I was convinced that Book Two would finally send Ivy on her own adventure through time. Instead, we got Great Gampy’s travels. I enjoyed getting his story and learning more about the history of the chest, but it also meant I had to wait even longer to find out what would happen when Ivy finally got her turn.
She was SO worth the wait.
One of my favorite things about A Debt Returned is that it changes the formula we’ve become familiar with in the series. We still have the three lives that need to be saved, but this time Ivy has another problem following her through time: Lucien.
Adding an actual antagonist gave this book a completely different feeling. In the previous adventures, so much of the danger came from the time and place the characters landed in and figuring out how to save the person they were sent there for. Ivy has all of that to deal with, but now she also has someone actively working against her.
And I have complicated feelings about Lucien!
I didn’t like him—which I suppose means he’s doing his job as the villain. 😂 But I could understand him. He and his family have been through a lot, and knowing that history made his obsession with getting the chest understandable, even when I was completely against what he was doing. I appreciated that there was more behind his actions than simply being the bad guy. I could sympathize with how he got there without actually rooting for him.
I also really enjoyed the variety in Ivy’s travels. Her trip to a high school in the 1930s was probably my favorite. After visiting so many war-torn places during previous saves, there was something really fun about experiencing a completely different piece of history. It reminded me that history isn’t only made up of wars and major world events—sometimes getting a glimpse of ordinary life in another time can be just as interesting.
And then came Ivy’s final jump.
I am NOT spoiling this one.
I loved the twist at the end. The only way I can describe it without saying too much is that it felt like time folded in on itself. Suddenly, I was thinking about the story—and the series—from a slightly different perspective. It’s one of those reveals that is much more fun if you don’t know it’s coming, so that’s all I’m going to say!
After waiting two books for Ivy to finally get her adventure, I would have been disappointed if her story had simply followed the same pattern we’d already seen. Instead, A Debt Returned expands on that pattern. We finally get Ivy, new kinds of historical settings, an antagonist with his own motivations, and a twist that plays with the time-travel element in a way I really enjoyed.
Ivy was absolutely worth waiting for. Five stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review