Just One Damned Thing After Another

Just One Damned Thing After Another

by Jodi Taylor

3 out of 5

Synopsis
"History is just one damned thing after another."

Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. Maintaining the appearance of harmless eccentrics is not always within their power - especially given their propensity for causing loud explosions when things get too quiet.

Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document - to try and find the answers to many of History's unanswered questions...and not to die in the process. But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And, as they soon discover - it's not just History they're fighting.

Follow the catastrophe curve from 11th-century London to World War I, and from the Cretaceous Period to the destruction of the Great Library at Alexandria. For wherever Historians go, chaos is sure to follow in their wake....



Review
Madeline "Max" Maxwell is a historian who travels through history. The danger comes when history starts to fight back.

 I received a free copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

 Max is recruited by St Mary's, a top-secret facility that has discovered time travel, and uses it to research all of those niggling historical questions. Rather than being stuffy and strict, St Mary's is a madhouse, and its historians aren't much better.
Max soon discovers that they're not the only ones with access to time travel, and the other guys are more interested in money than knowledge.

This book is chaotic.
Which is kinda fine, and suits the main character Max, who can be as crazy as a bag of drunken squirrels.
It did mean that it was hard to follow in places, and jumped around a fair bit.
The beginning was slow, but helped to build the background. The middle was crazy, but entertaining. By the time I got to the end, I felt exhausted trying to keep track of everything!

It's a shame, I've never read a book that has swung from LMFAO-this-is-awesome-5-stars to OMG-my-eyes-are-crossed-1-star, and back again. I think I got whiplash.

There were so many parts where I had to go back and re-read stuff. With the way the story read, and how she interacted with her colleagues. I thought that Max had only been at St Mary's for a year maximum; but suddenly its five years since she started, just because.
There were times other characters suddenly changed without warning. There seemed to be a pattern of men Max trusted, suddenly treating her like shit.

Then there were times that I cheered, because she said exactly what I wish I could say to people.

 I loved St Mary's and I want to join the Historians, but I don't think I want to carry on reading the series. At least, not until I've recovered.

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