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sapphicsoilscientist's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
It was okay. I came across it to find something similar to Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. The idea is similar, but the execution is very different. It was difficult to keep all the characters straight (I still don't know if the MC is actually called Lucy?) I found the constant failure rather boring, and the interesting back characters were not given as much screen time as the somewhat boring (but snarky) MC. The baddies were very predictable, which was a little bit of a shame and the ending didn't make a great deal of sense. Dinosaurs were lovely. Do heed content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Minor: Vomit, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Child death
ekcd_'s review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Finished it out of spite because i have been DNFing quite frequently. Its all spoilers and rants I will not be tagging, proceed at own risk.
1. Fucking hate first person narratives that try to write purple prose. People do not have thoughts the way Taylor thinks her narrator does. Max also seems very smug and pleased with herself and her humor, its kinda icky. Especially when she rags on other characters hubris.
2. Characters are completely underdeveloped and replaceable. The entire book could have been written with a cast of 10 and instead it had 30. After awhile I stopped consulting the cast section at the beginning of the book because I realized not only did I not care but it truly did not matter which character did what because it was all just about moving the plot forward and centering Max at all times. Literally no other plot point was every made with another character, every single thing was directly tied to her. So obnoxious only seeing the story from one persons - very limited - point of view. She didn't even have an empathy or wondered about others experiences. Just all about her in her head and how the whole of St Marys revolves around her constantly. Main Character Syndrome and I mean that in the most derogatory way possible.
3. Completely out of character development. And not in a "he wouldnt say that" way but in a truly is this person secretly multiple personalities way. Chief barging into Max's room and accusing her of adultery? And then fine two pages later? Absolutely makes no sense narrative and makes their relationship seem weak and unstable (while Max clearly thinks they are soul mates)
4. Jodi Taylor claiming historical accuracy can eat my entire ass. I dont even like history and i know more about the time periods that some of this book took place in.
5. The sex scenes??? Literal wtf moment. Aggressive, harsh, fast, out of place, crass. This wasn't smut it wasn't erotica it wasnt even porn. Crashing the bosses car and then having sex on the hood so aggressively that people notice when they get back? To quote "if this had been one of those books there would have been 3 pages of head banging sex" -- this right after Max and Chief fall asleep after being almost killed. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN. Literally gibberish.
6. Speaking of sex, Sussmans bizarre sexual assault scene and then never mentioned again. What was the narrative point of having Sussman stick his dick in Max face? To prove she can beat someone else? Already done many times by her inflating her own fighting skills. To reinforce how bad he is? Taylor is just using nonsensical, out of left field sexual assault to make a character as bad. Do better. This is Outlander levels of "plot is stale so lets add some rape to move it along."
7. She lost a baby? She was pregnant? She had a cold and went to the clinic? Literal word salad. I was laughing on the bus because I thought I was having a stroke trying to understand what the fuck the author was trying to do with this story.
8. Casual, constant alcoholism, but clearly Jodi Taylor has never had a sip in her entire life. Max would go from black out drunk to writing a 100 page proposal in the same night. She also clearly was written to have an alcohol dependency but literally no one brought it up. This did not age well and Taylors lack of even basic understanding of this instantly pulled me from the story
In short, what an obnoxious, self-important I-am-so-quirky story. Probably the worst book I read all year and I've read a lot of shitty ones. So. Fucking. Weird.
1. Fucking hate first person narratives that try to write purple prose. People do not have thoughts the way Taylor thinks her narrator does. Max also seems very smug and pleased with herself and her humor, its kinda icky. Especially when she rags on other characters hubris.
2. Characters are completely underdeveloped and replaceable. The entire book could have been written with a cast of 10 and instead it had 30. After awhile I stopped consulting the cast section at the beginning of the book because I realized not only did I not care but it truly did not matter which character did what because it was all just about moving the plot forward and centering Max at all times. Literally no other plot point was every made with another character, every single thing was directly tied to her. So obnoxious only seeing the story from one persons - very limited - point of view. She didn't even have an empathy or wondered about others experiences. Just all about her in her head and how the whole of St Marys revolves around her constantly. Main Character Syndrome and I mean that in the most derogatory way possible.
3. Completely out of character development. And not in a "he wouldnt say that" way but in a truly is this person secretly multiple personalities way. Chief barging into Max's room and accusing her of adultery? And then fine two pages later? Absolutely makes no sense narrative and makes their relationship seem weak and unstable (while Max clearly thinks they are soul mates)
4. Jodi Taylor claiming historical accuracy can eat my entire ass. I dont even like history and i know more about the time periods that some of this book took place in.
5. The sex scenes??? Literal wtf moment. Aggressive, harsh, fast, out of place, crass. This wasn't smut it wasn't erotica it wasnt even porn. Crashing the bosses car and then having sex on the hood so aggressively that people notice when they get back? To quote "if this had been one of those books there would have been 3 pages of head banging sex" -- this right after Max and Chief fall asleep after being almost killed. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN. Literally gibberish.
6. Speaking of sex, Sussmans bizarre sexual assault scene and then never mentioned again. What was the narrative point of having Sussman stick his dick in Max face? To prove she can beat someone else? Already done many times by her inflating her own fighting skills. To reinforce how bad he is? Taylor is just using nonsensical, out of left field sexual assault to make a character as bad. Do better. This is Outlander levels of "plot is stale so lets add some rape to move it along."
7. She lost a baby? She was pregnant? She had a cold and went to the clinic? Literal word salad. I was laughing on the bus because I thought I was having a stroke trying to understand what the fuck the author was trying to do with this story.
8. Casual, constant alcoholism, but clearly Jodi Taylor has never had a sip in her entire life. Max would go from black out drunk to writing a 100 page proposal in the same night. She also clearly was written to have an alcohol dependency but literally no one brought it up. This did not age well and Taylors lack of even basic understanding of this instantly pulled me from the story
In short, what an obnoxious, self-important I-am-so-quirky story. Probably the worst book I read all year and I've read a lot of shitty ones. So. Fucking. Weird.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, War, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Medical content, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
andloveistoolong's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual violence, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War, Child death, Pregnancy, Excrement, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
ylba's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I hated it. Hated how they handled abuse. The main character is bland and shit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
lucyselim's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I am so confused. The premise of historians and time travel sounded right up my street, which is why I gave this a go. However, I spent the first half of the book in literal agony about how bad the writing was and that the plot was not being executed fully. Ironically, I could not keep up with the jumping of time. One moment she had been at the institute a week and the next it had been years.
One of my biggest problems was the terrible writing, but also the treatment of female characters. The main character is a classic Mary Sue who has all the men at her feet despite being average at best. She immediately clashes with the other female character who also has red hair for no real reason. One of her 'friends' leaves the institute during their training and she is really upset about it, despite having never been seen speaking to her before. In short, I was ready to give up on this book.
But sometime happened just after halfway through.I believe it was when Leon reveals he is from the future Suddenly the plot became interesting enough for me to want to continue. I actually even enjoyed the last 50 pages or so.
Overall, this book definitely needs some work, but having realised it is the authors first published novel, I can understand where the writing may fall down. I will be giving the next book a go, but only because my boyfriend already bought it for me. Otherwise, perhaps I would be giving this lengthy series a miss.
One of my biggest problems was the terrible writing, but also the treatment of female characters. The main character is a classic Mary Sue who has all the men at her feet despite being average at best. She immediately clashes with the other female character who also has red hair for no real reason. One of her 'friends' leaves the institute during their training and she is really upset about it, despite having never been seen speaking to her before. In short, I was ready to give up on this book.
But sometime happened just after halfway through.
Overall, this book definitely needs some work, but having realised it is the authors first published novel, I can understand where the writing may fall down. I will be giving the next book a go, but only because my boyfriend already bought it for me. Otherwise, perhaps I would be giving this lengthy series a miss.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
With such an incredible set up for time travelling historians, you'd think they would think a bit further out than Europe/Mediterranean. Sure, a good chunk was in dinosaur times, but even history mentioned in passing was limited. Despite that, this was a really fun read! Super fast, fun characters, and some surprisingly realistic heavy moments. Gotta say, I liked the romance because it made sense that those characters were good for one another, BUT (present) time passed so quickly it felt super rushed. Like, yeah they'd get there eventually, but it feels a bit soon, what do you mean it's been 5 years? I'd kill for more focus on the Wardrobe department and the Research & Development team (those mad scientists are gay, change my mind). I couldn't stand that all the women had negative attributes to them (she's a bitch, she's not friendly, she's stuck up), and most of them got better developed throughout, but would it kill the author to give Max some female friends? Or at least give her and Kal more on screen friendship development. Overall, ups and downs for this whole book, but it was exciting and I own the next 3 so I'm sticking around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cursing, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Medical content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, and Miscarriage
tnociti's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Hilarious but not silly. A wonderfully perfect romp. Loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Grief, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
poffalina's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I expected this to be a more lighthearted romp through history with misadventures and disasters around every corner. While that is somewhat what the book was like, the misadventures and disasters tended to have much more serious ramifications than I was expecting going into the story, making the overall book feel more dark even though the writing is in a lighthearted style (if that makes sense).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Abortion
drakonreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I liked the style of writing, it was whimsical and funny at times but there is a lot of gruesome moments (but you tend to get that will battles). It was relatively fast paced.
Still on the other hand, there were minor things that really annoyed me:
1) "History" seemed to be discussed like an entity for some reason like a few times. It's not. It's the best reconstruction of the past we got but it's not "fate" or something, it's just the culmination of humankind's goals waring with each other. Also "prehistory" is it's own thing (stuff before the pre-invention of writing). Eventually she did use the phrase "time continuum" (p. 272) but like the 3 (?) times she addressed "History" as some kind of entity grated on me. It may be because the Kleio thing that might be expanded in later books but still what average historian talks about history that way?
2) sources. It gets better, but initial stuff just wouldn't fly with historians. Where you getting you're sources? Who would pay for that? They might as well believe they made it up on the spot or paid a fiction writer. It does get elaborated later on but for the majority of the book I didn't really see how their work was applicable since it's basically unusable to historians because who is going to buy the 'time traveler' as a valid way that the information was acquired? Beyond the person who hires them, the information is useless. At best they could try using it for further experimental archeology but otherwise no historian would be able to cite this stuff.
Beyond that the book was great. I liked it. Definitely a lot of adventures, a little something for everyone.
Still on the other hand, there were minor things that really annoyed me:
1) "History" seemed to be discussed like an entity for some reason like a few times. It's not. It's the best reconstruction of the past we got but it's not "fate" or something, it's just the culmination of humankind's goals waring with each other. Also "prehistory" is it's own thing (stuff before the pre-invention of writing). Eventually she did use the phrase "time continuum" (p. 272) but like the 3 (?) times she addressed "History" as some kind of entity grated on me. It may be because
2) sources. It gets better, but initial stuff just wouldn't fly with historians. Where you getting you're sources? Who would pay for that? They might as well believe they made it up on the spot or paid a fiction writer. It does get elaborated later on but for the majority of the book I didn't really see how their work was applicable since it's basically unusable to historians because who is going to buy the 'time traveler' as a valid way that the information was acquired? Beyond the person who hires them, the information is useless. At best they could try using it for further experimental archeology but otherwise no historian would be able to cite this stuff.
Beyond that the book was great. I liked it. Definitely a lot of adventures, a little something for everyone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Cursing, and Miscarriage
Minor: Animal cruelty and Vomit
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is no less enjoyable upon reading it for a second time... though I really, really must move forward in the series. The first time I read this, it made me laugh out loud, which was exceedingly awkward on a cruise ship full of refined patrons. The second time, it still made me laugh out loud, because I'd legit sit just long enough that I'd forgotten some of the funny bits.
It's a quick-paced book, but I think that is to its benefit. There are some high highs and some low lows and it makes you run the entire gamut of emotions for Max. I maintain that St. Mary's is exactly the sort of career I would like. And that this book is just fun enough to be an absolute joy and a comfort read for me. I still wholeheartedly recommend it, and honestly, I may just go order A Symphony of Echoes because zany time travel is exactly my cup of tea.
__________
Original Review: 5 Stars (April 26th, 2018)
St. Mary’s is a historical research facility attached to Thurst college. It’s a small institution, remaining under the radar. The application process is quite rigorous. The training doubly so. These historians aren’t studying archaeological evidence. At least, not in the traditional way. St. Mary’s is in possession of six time machines, and it is the job of the historians to go back in time and observe history, then report their findings back to Thurst in the form of extraordinary presentations supported with technical evidence.
History occasionally disapproves of this process, of course, and there is the odd casualty.
Erm. Okay, the very common fatality. But the historians know what they’re getting into from day one.
This novel absolutely captured my imagination. There’s not many people captivated by history, but those of us who are, are very passionate. Max is a new trainee with St. Mary’s, but she is by no means a green student. She has a doctorate in history with a focus in Ancient Cultures (have I mentioned I love Max? I love Max.) She is a bit of a loner, but not a Rebel Without A Cause. She gets in so many scrapes and tumbles throughout the novel that I spent a lot of time in high angst, scratching my head and wondering how the bloody hell she was going to get out of this one. She’s smart, but horribly unlucky. She trusts too easily and acts a bit rashly.
Have I mentioned the dinosaurs? There are dinosaurs in this book. I won’t discuss that more, because I was *delighted* when I discovered there would be dinosaurs and I don’t want to give too much away. Think all the best of Michael Crichton’s imagination with the charm and spark of a witty British heroine.
One of Jodi Taylor’s strengths is that she follows through on her choices. As a writer, I appreciate the fine line between dictating the direction of your story letting the pieces fall in place. As I listened to this audiobook (small aside, excellent narration on this one), I felt like Max kept leading the story herself and I would imagine Miss Taylor in front of her computer downing glass after glass of robust red wine and violently cursing her headstrong characters as she struggled to make them follow her outline. I *adore* books like that. You feel an internal struggle, and since this book has comedic elements, it was perfect.
Along with that, the writing was shocking and funny. There were moments of great stress, but there were also moments that made me laugh out loud. Which wasn’t awkward at *all* on a bus filled with edgy Americans en route to Paris.... I loved it, even if I felt a bit foolish.
Just One Damned Thing After Another falls within the range of New Adult. Max is just post-doctorate, but the tone is light (a la Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams) and doesn’t feel properly like an adult book. It has a few mature themes - there’s a brief, tasteful sex scene - but nothing too gruesome or graphic for the YA audience.
For what it’s worth, I loved this book. I’m so glad there’s 8 more in the series so far (not including short stories). Also, I’d like to be Max when I grow up. That is all.
It's a quick-paced book, but I think that is to its benefit. There are some high highs and some low lows and it makes you run the entire gamut of emotions for Max. I maintain that St. Mary's is exactly the sort of career I would like. And that this book is just fun enough to be an absolute joy and a comfort read for me. I still wholeheartedly recommend it, and honestly, I may just go order A Symphony of Echoes because zany time travel is exactly my cup of tea.
__________
Original Review: 5 Stars (April 26th, 2018)
St. Mary’s is a historical research facility attached to Thurst college. It’s a small institution, remaining under the radar. The application process is quite rigorous. The training doubly so. These historians aren’t studying archaeological evidence. At least, not in the traditional way. St. Mary’s is in possession of six time machines, and it is the job of the historians to go back in time and observe history, then report their findings back to Thurst in the form of extraordinary presentations supported with technical evidence.
History occasionally disapproves of this process, of course, and there is the odd casualty.
Erm. Okay, the very common fatality. But the historians know what they’re getting into from day one.
This novel absolutely captured my imagination. There’s not many people captivated by history, but those of us who are, are very passionate. Max is a new trainee with St. Mary’s, but she is by no means a green student. She has a doctorate in history with a focus in Ancient Cultures (have I mentioned I love Max? I love Max.) She is a bit of a loner, but not a Rebel Without A Cause. She gets in so many scrapes and tumbles throughout the novel that I spent a lot of time in high angst, scratching my head and wondering how the bloody hell she was going to get out of this one. She’s smart, but horribly unlucky. She trusts too easily and acts a bit rashly.
Have I mentioned the dinosaurs? There are dinosaurs in this book. I won’t discuss that more, because I was *delighted* when I discovered there would be dinosaurs and I don’t want to give too much away. Think all the best of Michael Crichton’s imagination with the charm and spark of a witty British heroine.
One of Jodi Taylor’s strengths is that she follows through on her choices. As a writer, I appreciate the fine line between dictating the direction of your story letting the pieces fall in place. As I listened to this audiobook (small aside, excellent narration on this one), I felt like Max kept leading the story herself and I would imagine Miss Taylor in front of her computer downing glass after glass of robust red wine and violently cursing her headstrong characters as she struggled to make them follow her outline. I *adore* books like that. You feel an internal struggle, and since this book has comedic elements, it was perfect.
Along with that, the writing was shocking and funny. There were moments of great stress, but there were also moments that made me laugh out loud. Which wasn’t awkward at *all* on a bus filled with edgy Americans en route to Paris.... I loved it, even if I felt a bit foolish.
Just One Damned Thing After Another falls within the range of New Adult. Max is just post-doctorate, but the tone is light (a la Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams) and doesn’t feel properly like an adult book. It has a few mature themes - there’s a brief, tasteful sex scene - but nothing too gruesome or graphic for the YA audience.
For what it’s worth, I loved this book. I’m so glad there’s 8 more in the series so far (not including short stories). Also, I’d like to be Max when I grow up. That is all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
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