Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

First Line: There have been two moments in my life when everything changed.

Little did Madeleine Maxwell know, but when she was employed by St. Mary's Institute of Historical Research, she'd just found the perfect job. "Max" becomes a part of St. Mary's historical research team. They don't do "time travel," they "investigate major historical events in contemporary time." The historians of St. Mary's observe and document in order to find the answers to many of history's unanswered questions. But in this first Chronicle of St. Mary's, Max and the others discover that it's not just history they're fighting.

I was in the perfect mood for this book. I've always enjoyed a good time travel tale, and when Max started walking through the venerable halls of St. Mary's and seeing signs labeled "Blast Doors" and "To Sick Bay," I knew I was going to have fun. And this is the major purpose of Jodi Taylor's book-- to have fun. 

To those readers who like plausible explanations and tons of science and techno-speak, you're going to have to look elsewhere. In her acknowledgements, Taylor says, "I made all this up. Historians and physicists-- please do not spit on me in the street." I found Just One Damned Thing After Another to be filled with wit and laugh-out-loud moments. Taylor sets some very simple ground rules for her notion of time travel, and her wonderful character, Madeleine Maxwell, chews through every bit of the scenery with total aplomb. Here's how Max feels about time and punctuality:

Time is important in our organization. If you can't even get to an appointment in your own building on time, they argue, you're not going to have much luck trying to find the Battle of Hastings.

If you're in the mood for something with an intriguing premise and an entertaining mystery, something that's light and loads of fun, you may just enjoy this first Chronicles of St. Mary's book as much as I did. It won't take me long to sample another!
   

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

eISBN: 9781681468822

Accent Press © 2015

eBook, 328 pages

Time Travel, #1 Chronicles of St. Mary's

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.