Book Review: Just One Damned Thing After Another

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you’ve ever considered a career as a historian but worry that it might be too dusty, boring, and academic for your snarky personality, there’s hope for you. The deliberately-dull name of St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research hides a secret. The historians of St. Mary’s are bumbling, drunk, horny, foulmouthed history-adoring geniuses. My kind of people!

This first book in the series introduces Dr Madeleine Maxwell, or Max, as she’s called. Written in first-person, she tells the story of her early days with the Institute, starting with her recruitment and first days at the facility. I usually enjoy stories told in this manner when there’s a lot to learn, and this one is no exception.

There’s no doubt that Max is brilliant, passionate about history, and dedicated to the work. She’s also flawed in more ways than I can count. She’s extremely human. She’s also snarky as heck with an expert mastery of speaking Clever British.

Even though this is an introduction book, we manage to get past her training and go on actual time travel missions. Do things go terribly wrong during these? Are these experiences profoundly breathtaking in spite of that? Heck yes.

Do I recommend this book? Does the fact that I immediately dove into the next book in the series answer the question for you? Give it a try! The situations, personalities, bad habits and language can be extreme – but if extreme’s your thing, you’ll feel right at home.