A Second Chance

The Chronicles of St Mary's, Book 3

De: Jodi Taylor

Narrado por: Zara Ramm

The third book in the best-selling Chronicles of St Mary's series which follows a group of tea-soaked disaster magnets as they hurtle their way around History. If you love Jasper Fforde or Ben Aaronovitch, you won't be able to resist Jodi Taylor.

History happens all around you. And, occasionally, to you.

I could have been a bomb-disposal expert, or a volunteer for the Mars mission, or a firefighter, something safe and sensible. But, no, I had to be an historian.

It began well. A successful assignment to 17th century Cambridge to meet Isaac Newton, and another to witness the historic events at The Gates of Grief. So far so good.

But then came the long-awaited jump to the Trojan War that changed everything. And for Max, nothing will ever be the same again.

With the bloody Battle of Agincourt playing out around her, Max risks everything on one last desperate gamble to save a life and learns the true meaning of a second chance.

©2014 Jodi Taylor (P)2014 Audible Studios

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Ramm deftly takes listeners through Taylor's temporal shifts, emphasizing Max's dry wit and sense of the ridiculous.... Ramm's smooth voice pivots to a tone of regret and loss as Max confronts the consequences of dabbling in time. Ramm portrays Max's complex nature in all its flawed humanity." ( AudioFile)

A very good addition to the St Mary's series

First of all, read the stories in sequence. This is number three, after Just One Damned Thing and A Symphony of Echoes. There are also 3 very "short stories" that are fun and just add to the quick trips through time that can be read pretty much any time. There is too much prior "history" that you will need to understand to truly enjoy this installment.

I did like the book, but the story is a little disappointing. Although Jodi Taylor's flowing and descriptive writing continues beautifully in A Second Chance, the story seemed to jump around a bit (literally and figuratively!). As one reviewer states, the author can't make up her mind as to the type of story she wants to write. But don't get me wrong, I still recommend it as a must listen in the series.

As we follow the adventures of St. Mary's, we find the H&H in another fantastic point in history (The Trojan wars). Unfortunately, as the story unfolds and as the jumps are made, I did not really like the progression of the love story between Max and Leon. It seems to me the author can't decide if the romance should carry on and for how long. However Max does experience the same conflict within herself and her commitment to Leon. The stolen moments between the two leave the reader wanting. Also, the position Max takes in one major event depicts her unyielding adherence to the law of jumping through history damn the emotional consequences. I found it unbelievable. But admittedly that is likely because I selfishly wanted a different result to the confrontation between Max and Chief Ferrell. In the end, there are some unexpected twists, and the book pulls at a few heartstrings. I will definitely keep me reading this series.

There are introductions of new characters, one of which is Prof. Peterson. I felt his back story needed more explanation and development. Some events at St. Mary's, like the blue historians were head scratchers, but most of the high-jinx of the crazy historians and residents bring forth Taylor's dry wit and humor at which she is so talented. I will never tire of her pure mastery of the English language and ability to draw a vivid picture for the reader of what each place in time could have truly been like. She has strong structure and pacing in the story as told in the first person. That for me is tantamount to the small story flaws in this case.

The narration by Zara Ramm, as in the other installments, is superb and adds immensely to the story. So, overall, a four star rating instead of three.

Very well worth a read, especially for St. Mary's followers.

Loved It!

Wow...wonderful story and narrator. An emotional roller coaster. I can't wait to listen to the rest of the series

Loving this series!

Great characters, exciting stories, humor sprinkled here and there, all delivered by a perfect (for this series) narrator. I can't stop listening!

Ending in the air

I do wonder if I have read the St. Mary’s books out of order. But I do love the series and characters. Definitely worth the listen.

Always good fun

This is a little more convoluted in the overarching theme than some, but still good fun and I really enjoyed it.