A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor

Title: A Symphony of Echoes (The Chronicles of St. Mary’s #2)

Author: Jodi Taylor

Publisher: Night Shade Books 2013

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 307

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Involving travel; I Love Libraries

In the sequel to Just One Damned Thing After Another, Max and company visit Victorian London in search of Jack the Ripper, witness the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, and discover that dodos make a grockling noise when eating cucumber sandwiches. But they must also confront an enemy intent on destroying St. Mary’s—an enemy willing, if necessary, to destroy history itself to do it.

Another great installment of the Chronicles of St. Mary's, although I must say I was worried with the first 25 pages. The entire sequence with Jack the Ripper was extremely unsettling and very open-ended. I hope they revisit the unanswered questions later in the series. Beyond that, I really dove into the book and didn't come up for air until I had finished. Max is just a great main character: flawed yet likable. I couldn't wait to see where the historians visited next. The sequence dealing with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was perfect! Can't wait to pick up the next volume.

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s:

#0.5 The Very First Damned Thing
#1 Just One Damned Thing After Another
#2 A Symphony of Echoes
#2.5 When A Child is Born
#3 A Second Chance
#3.5 Roman Holiday
#4 A Trail Through Time
#4.5 Christmas Present
#5 No Time Like the Past
#6 What Could Possibly Go Wrong
#6.5 Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
#7 Lies, Damned Lies, and History
#7.5 The Great St. Mary’s Day Out
#7.6 My Name is Markham
#8 And the Rest is History

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The Very First Damned Thing by Jodi Taylor

Title: The Very First Damned Thing (The Chronicles of St. Mary’s #0.5)

Author: Jodi Taylor

Publisher: Accent Press 2015

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 74

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR

Ever wondered how it all began? It's two years since the final victory at the Battersea Barricades. The fighting might be finished, but for Dr Bairstow, just now setting up St Mary's, the struggle is only beginning. How will he assemble his team? From where will his funding come? How can he overcome the massed ranks of the Society for the Protection of Historical Buildings? How do stolen furniture, a practical demonstration at the Stirrup Charge at Waterloo, students' alcohol-ridden urine, a widowed urban guerrilla, a young man wearing exciting knitwear, and four naked security guards all combine to become the St Mary's of the future?

Loved learning how St. Mary's was founded. We get bit of time travel adventure, a fun appearance by Max, and more importantly, introductions to most of the major players. A short short story, but definitely a good addition to the series. Now to move on to book #2 in the series.

The Chronicles of St. Mary’s:

#0.5 The Very First Damned Thing
#1 Just One Damned Thing After Another
#2 A Symphony of Echoes
#2.5 When A Child is Born
#3 A Second Chance
#3.5 Roman Holiday
#4 A Trail Through Time
#4.5 Christmas Present
#5 No Time Like the Past
#6 What Could Possibly Go Wrong
#6.5 Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
#7 Lies, Damned Lies, and History
#7.5 The Great St. Mary’s Day Out
#7.6 My Name is Markham
#8 And the Rest is History

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

Title: Just One Damned Thing After Another (The Chronicles of St. Mary's #1)

Author: Jodi Taylor

Publisher: Night Shade Books 2013

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsguar - Set in two different time periods; New to Me

At St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, the historians don’t just study the past, they revisit it.
Behind the strait-laced façade of a conventional academic institution, the secret of time travel is being used for ground-breaking and daring historical research taking the historians on a rollercoaster ride through history: from the destruction of Pompeii to the Normandy trenches; from the Great Fire of London to Bronze Age Troy and even to the time of the dinosaurs…
Meanwhile, within at St Mary’s itself, there are power struggles and intrigues worthy of a book in themselves.

A friend told me I had to read this one and lent me her copy. She was right! This was such a fun adventure story. I loved the main character of Max, but all the side characters were also great. I fell right into the fun storyline in the first chapter and almost couldn't put the book down to sleep. The pace is fast and the twists and turns just keep coming. There are some pretty far out happenings, but the way this book is written, I didn't stop to shake my head at the crazy. I was fully immersed in the world. So much fun and a great needed escape from the events of the past few days. Now I need the second book.

The Chronicles of St. Mary's:

#0.5 The Very First Damned Thing
#1 Just One Damned Thing After Another
#2 A Symphony of Echoes
#2.5 When A Child is Born
#3 A Second Chance
#3.5 Roman Holiday
#4 A Trail Through Time
#4.5 Christmas Present
#5 No Time Like the Past
#6 What Could Possibly Go Wrong
#6.5 Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
#7 Lies, Damned Lies, and History
#7.5 The Great St. Mary's Day Out
#7.6 My Name is Markham
#8 And the Rest is History