Dr Madeleine Maxwell, a historian at St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, has returned to her department after a days absence to find every single member of staff has turned blue. Well, apart from Mrs Enderby and a couple of others from Wardrobe, they’re still pink. Or black, in one case, of course. As much as this is an annoying problem, Dr Maxwell or Max as she’s better known, hasn’t got the time or inclination to deal with it. She’s busy preparing a long awaited jump to Bronze Age Troy to witness its’ fall and demise. As well as that, there’s a jump to Cambridge to grapple with Isaac Newton, an unplanned visit to the Cretaceous Period and a simple fact finding assignment to see an ancient cheese rolling ceremony.

I loved, loved, loved this book. It’s quirky, entertaining and funny and although it’s the third instalment in the St Mary’s series, I found it to be fine to read without having read the first two. That said, I will definitely look out for them. The series is described as Jasper Fforde-like and I can absolutely see why this comparison has been made as Jodi Taylor’s writing is casually funny and she has included great characters within her stories. All in all, a very excellent book.

Headline and NetGalley

Book 3 of the Chronicles of St. Mary's took no prisoners. I read this in less than a day and damn. I came to this series for the sass and the not-time-travel, but I stayed for the whirlwind adventures and emotional gut punches, and will doubtless continue because that ending!!??

Content warning: violence, including within romantic relationship (two-sided, in heat of moment)

While the trademark escapades and humour of the St Mary's series continues, Book Three really takes a turn for the darker side of things, with Max's turbulent relationship with Leon becoming front and centre as their timelines get ever more messy, with life-changing consequences. There are wonderful historical set-pieces, too (Troy, Agincourt, a rather disastrous run-in with Isaac Newton), but the larger arc of things is starting to come together, which gives more weight to the book. I would not recommend starting here for new readers, as far too much has happened in previous books, but as a piece of the puzzle, I love this book.

~ I was given a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review, I'm not associated with the author or publisher in any way and the views expressed are completely unbiased and entirely my own. ~

My rating: 4.5*

'A Second Chance' is the third book in the madcap time-travelling series 'The Chronicles of St. Mary's' written by Jodi Taylor.

While being utterly addicted by this series, I've nonetheless had frustrations with the first two books regarding the convoluted plots, as well as the confusion created by the revolving door of secondary characters. I'm pleased to say that in this installment those issues are largely resolved and is the best book in the series so far in my opinion.

The plot feels much more cohesive, and while Max and her collegues still travel to many time periods, I feel like overall it made much more sense and we got to spend enough time with Max on each of her missions for it to actually seem worthwhile, whereas previously they've jumped from time peroid to time period fleetingly with not much understanding as to why.

I also enjoyed the exploration of Max's romantic relationship, as we've started to explore the consequences and logistics of having a relationship with someone from a different time period, and I'm intrigued to see how this will progress.

'A Second Chance' was absorbing from beginning to end and fraught with emotional tension. I truly never knew what was coming next and once again I'm dying to jump into the next book in the series since we ended this one on something of a cliffhanger!

~ Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this title ~

I adore this series. It can only be described as pure escapism! The time travel / investigating history concept had me hooked but the fun characters and story development has made me a life long fan! I re-read the whole series every year before the next book comes out!

I really loved the development of this book and I can’t wait to read the entire of this series! Full review up soon!

Am really enjoying this series, this was a brilliant installment - well paced, funny and full of twists.

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

The speed with which I am devouring this series of books is matched only by the speed of events as they happen to the hero. Max hurtles through time from one disaster to the next. This is the third book in the series and despite the humour events are getting darker. From a prologue foreshadowing a disastrous turn in an already bloody retelling of the Trojan war. Desperate decisions made in this book impact on Max’s life in unforeseen and heartbreaking ways.

We are told in all the books so far that Max had a terrible childhood, but the details remain hidden from us. We do know, however, that a book on Agincourt that she found her wardrobe as a child, started her down the path to being the historian we know and love.

Reading Jodi Taylor is a little like watching a Joss Whedon series. Small moments ricochet through the story popping up later at unexpected moments. The big arc is subtle but unmistakable and draws the reader in for the long haul.

I am a little sad that we’re three books in and Max’s terrible childhood is still just a vague reference. It’s as if she doesn’t trust us enough to tell us yet. Not that I want revel in the details but it’s like a hole in the character that hasn’t yet been filled.

With a cliffhanger ending, I can’t wait to see what happens in book four.

I appear to be well and truly hooked on Ms Taylor's St Mary's books. This is my third-in-a-row and I'm just about to order number four.

In this outing for Max Maxwell and the disaster-magnet time-travelling historians of St Mary's we visit Troy, both before the siege and during, take a quick trip back to the Cretaceous and mix up two realities following a similar timeline. Max manages to deal with an old enemy, but because this is time travel there's nothing to say that he's gone forever. This is a very difficult book to review without spoilers - even the book's own blurb gives more than a clue that there will be a calamitous event for Max, and indeed there is, but not at the end of the book. This deals with the event and the aftermath and then piles on another calamitous event that occurs at Agincourt… and resolves it in a way that's entirely unexpected.

Did I say I was hooked on these books? Highly recommended, but read them in order.

Spoiler note: In which Leon dies in Max's timeline and Max dies in another timeline, giving the Muse of History time to bring the two bereaved lovers together at the end.

I’m being pretty generous in giving A Second Chance two stars, and the only reason I’m doing that is because there is a slight hope that the next book will be better. In other words, I’m giving this series a second chance. Admittedly the main reason for this is that I’ve been sent the next two books by Netgalley and therefore am obliged to read and review them, but I can’t say that I’m looking forward to it.

The other thing that just pushed this book up to two stars was the starting off short story. Just as with the previous book, A Second Chance begins with an adventure which takes up about a fifth of the book and has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story – in other words, what we have here is once again not a novel but a short story plus a novella. Anyway, that story was sheer unadulterated fun and very intriguing. I wish, frankly, we’d had a whole novel exploring it rather than the crap that comes later.

The rest of the book… well, it started off pretty uninteresting. I never believed for a second that Max and Farrell were going to leave St Mary’s and start a new life, so I was irritated by what seemed like a very ineffectual attempt at deceiving me. And again, although the characters were all so thrilled at going to Troy, I have to confess that I wasn’t engaged by that entire episode at all.

And then there was the fact that this book made me loathe Leon Farrell with a fiery passion. First he acted completely out of character and for no good reason. The rest of the reasons I hate him will have to be saved for the end of this review, which I’ll hide behind spoiler warnings.

Not only do I hate Leon himself, but I don’t like the relationship between him and Max. Can it even be described as a relationship? Sure, they sleep together and have some nice times, but as soon as anything goes wrong they just stop talking to each other. This is a terrible way to conduct any type of relationship, romantic or otherwise. They seem unable to cope with any conflict between them at all. This is shit that could be cleared up with – well, maybe not one conversation, but several, and some time, and some work. But neither of them makes the slightest attempt – yet we’re supposed to believe that they’re passionately in love. Ugh.

Another thing I’m having a problem with – and this is something I’d just roll my eyes and overlook if I were enjoying the rest of what was happening, but I’m not, and so it isn’t – is the way the author likes to telegraph that something Exciting is going to happen in a few pages’ time. She does it practically every time. Does she think we’re just going to put down the book if there isn’t any action for a few pages? Come on, we’ve made it to book three and we’re not stupid. We know it’s all going to go wrong. It makes me think she really doesn’t trust her readers very much (and perhaps she suspects we don’t trust her very much? Which at this point I do not, so…). Similarly, she ends the book on a flat out cliffhanger, which is rather lazy and again suggests that she really doesn’t trust her readers.

The rest of my comments on this book are going to be hidden behind a spoiler warning, and I will be spoiling a lot, so click at your own peril!

[rest of review is hidden on Goodreads and only viewable if you click 'spoilers']

If you've been following this series (this is #3), then you'll know Max has always wanted to travel back to Troy - yes, Trojan war Troy. But we can pretty much guarantee that things won't go as she plans...

Another fun installment in this series which mixes gravity with a romping sense of humour. Great characters, wit and some intriguing historical set pieces.

A Second Chance is the third instalment in the St. Mary’s series, which follows a maverick bunch of reprobate historians as they travel through time, studying major (and minor) events in history, while trying not to die in the process.

This book feels like a turning point for the stories to date, and you can see a marked improvement in the writings structure, while maintaining all of the wit, humour and wonderful characters as before. Jodi really comes into her own here, describing the biggest ‘jump’ to date as our historians visit Troy and try to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Helen, and a certain wooden horse. The descriptions are wonderfully vivid, incredibly detailed and well researched. There’s a passion in the writing that you feel through the words, as Jodi wants us to experience everything about Troy, which cumulates in it’s epic destruction. There’s also a hint of the mysticism too, with a certain Greek prophetess warning Max about the awful future that awaits and some difficult decisions she’ll have to make.

As well as Troy, we also visit Isaac Newton, the ancestral gates of grief and the legendary battle of Agincourt. Throughout, there’s a sense that something big is going to happen, something which Max will never be able to come back from. And it does. As usual, Jodi smashes your love for these characters into the dust, taking no prisoners over who she kills off. And this time it’s a big one. One scene in particular, played out in the Cretaceous period (yes, again) is particularly moving, well written and touching. Emotions, grief in particular, are hard for Max to convey given her closed off nature. However, when she finally lets go it’s overwhelming and messy and real.

I know I keep harping on about these characters, but honestly I’ve never felt so at home with a group of people as I have with the St. Mary’s crew. Markham starts to shine here, providing glimmers of light relief (chicken stealing, painting his privates blue) amongst the angst and he’s such a delight to read. He’s the counterbalance to the more stoic Leon and Dr Bairstow, and fits in well around the always lovely Peterson, bossy Max and fearless head of security Guthrie. It was also nice to see the development of these secondary characters like Guthrie, providing a bit of backstory with Elspeth that brings out a more vulnerable side to his personality.

As always, a fun and heartbreaking addition to the St. Mary’s series that will change everything for Max and our fellow historians moving forward. A second chance indeed.

I'm binge reading this series and I love them!
This is the third book and it's as good as others. I love time travel books, as they have 2 timelines in them and usually history, which i love to read about. This is a great example with humour at times and fun characters.
I'd definitely recommend them.

"The silence was deafening. The weight of the heat was unbearable. The world held its breath. The gods were poised."

* * * 
3 / 5

A Second Chance was a solid four star read right up until the end when I put the book down and wanted to tear my hair out. Ugh. Definitely threw me for a loop. I'm currently approaching the next book in the series with extreme caution.

"I've never seen a city die before. I never want to again."

The big boy of this book is Troy. Troy of the Trojans and the Mycenae, of Patroclus and Achilles and Hector and Paris and Helen. Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships. Virtually everyone knows the story of Troy, it's a huge chunk of our history, a story that has resonated down the ages. St. Mary's wants to find out how much the famed battle of Troy is just that - a story. This is Max's long-held dream and now she's in charge and I delighted in it. They take a huge team to spend nine months in the city of Troy before the war broke out and it's such a lovely few chapters - Taylor communicates this foreign-ness, of being in a city built thousands of year before your birth, drinking wine that isn't wine.

I love how Taylor writes about the historians doing the every day parts of their jobs. It isn't all gunfire and limbs being hacked off. It's looking at commerce and trade and politics and setting up a dusty camp and never being clean and worrying that that chicken in the road is really a temple offering and can't just be taken. Then they flash forward to Troy itself and Taylor just brings these people to life, their small intimate moments. I particularly loved (and hated, because that poor, poor woman) what she did with Kassandra, daughter of Priam. 

"Troy was the end of many things and the beginning of others. For everyone in that part of the world, after Tory, nothing was ever the same again."

Aside from Troy, there's a number of smaller and exciting missions including Isaac Newton, Gloucester cheese-rolling, Agincourt, and the Gates of Grief. We also go back to the Cretaceous period and Ronan shows up for about ten pages, which is great because I think it was about time he vanished. 

A Second Chance is just as witty and funny and intriguing as its predecessors. The only big point of contention for me was the ending, which I found both ludicrous and frustrating. 

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of A Second Chance.

This is easily the greatest time travel series I have ever read. I love Taylor's combination of humour and gravitas, the rich historical detail and of course the characters - Max, Leon, Markham, Peterson and many others. In this episode, Max finally gets to fulfil the ambition of a lifetime; document the fall of Troy and the Trojian war. Of course it's a long term trip and impossible not to get somewhat attached to the people whose lives the time travelling historians know will come to a horrific end. This places great strain on Max and Leon's relationship which resulted in one heart breaking moment that had me almost rage quitting! I'm glad I didn't. The lore of the time travels and Cleo's mysterious presence were not to be missed, nor was the way the problems were resolved. While Taylor occasionally includes random plot actions that don't seem to go anywhere - Isabella Barclay here for instance - I've learned to go with it because it's almost always resolved at a later date. These books are fun, exciting and very satisfying. Excellent time travel sci-fi. Can't recommend it highly enough.