Just One Damned Thing After Another

Title: Just One Damned Thing After Another
Author: Jodi Taylor
Genre: Wacky, intelligent fiction
Format in which consumed: Kindle ebook
Rating out of 5 stars: 3.75

This book is smart, funny, and interesting. But for some reason it took me forever to read. There was just no urgency for me to find out what was going to happen.

Max, the main character, is witty and well-educated with some kind of vaguely tragic backstory. And I don't know quite how to put this, but she was made all the more relatable because it's easy to forget she's a woman. I imagine it would be easy for a male reader to put himself in her shoes because she's neither very feminine nor masculine. She just sort of goes about her life, pursuing the bizarre occupation of time-traveling historian and eventually falling in love with a man, thereby providing some of the few reminders that somewhere under those dusty coveralls, there beats the heart of a girl. But other than her awkward love life, there is nothing much to set her or any other female apart from their co-workers other than their education and titles at St. Mary's (hotbed of secret historical research via never-explained time travel pods).

And maybe that's not a good thing. Because I honestly couldn't keep the characters straight, even Max's love interest. Other than Max it was just a blur of snarky, subversive people who were constantly popping out of hallways and making off-kilter statements.

I know that isn't a ringing endorsement, but if you enjoy smart books about history and adventure with a little bit of sci-fi flavor, you will probably love it.