I’m incredibly excited to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for Hard Time, second book in Jodi Taylor’s new Time Police series, which is a spin off from the always brilliant St Mary’s Chronicles.
Thank you to Antonia from Headline for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fantastic book. I absolutely loved it!
About the book:
Team Weird are back causing havoc in the Time Police in this irresistible spin-off series by international bestseller Jodi Taylor, author of The Chronicles of St Mary’s. If you love Doctor Who, Ben Aaronovitch and Jasper Fforde, you’ll love the Time Police.
The Time Police do not have problems. They have challenges.
Idiots who want to change history have always proved ‘challenging’. But now temporal tourism is on the rise – highly illegal but highly lucrative. If you’re prepared to take the risk.
To face down this threat the Time Police will despatch their toughest undercover agents. Which is fine until the unthinkable happens. Replacements are needed fast and who better than three young officers who don’t even look the part?
Step forward Jane, Luke and Matthew. They may be about to graduate, but there’s still plenty of time for everything to go wrong. Throw in the Versailles time slip, a covert jump to Ancient Egypt and a race against Time itself and you’ve got yourself an assignment worthy of Team Weird.
About the author:
Jodi Taylor is the internationally bestselling author of the Chronicles of St Mary’s series, the story of a bunch of disaster-prone individuals who investigate major historical events in contemporary time. Do NOT call it time travel!
Born in Bristol and now living in Gloucester (facts both cities vigorously deny), she spent many years with her head somewhere else, much to the dismay of family, teachers and employers, before finally deciding to put all that daydreaming to good use and write a novel. Nearly twenty books later, she still has no idea what she wants to do when she grows up.
My Review:
As a huge fan of Jodi Taylor’s The Chronicles of St Mary’s series, I was beyond excited to be invited to take part in the blog tour for Hard Time, second book in new spin off series The Time Police.
I first discovered these amazing books a few years ago and devoured them all in the space of a couple of weeks, barely even coming up for breath, they are that good! Fun and entertaining reads that are full of adventure, romance and time travel, The Chronicles of St Mary’s are escapism at its very best and I simply adore them. And now Jodi Taylor’s spin off series The Time Police has risen through the ranks to become every bit as wonderful as the original series is!
Once again the focus shifts from St Mary’s and on to the Time Police, so instead of investigating important historical events with Max, Leon et al, we are back with Time Police recruits Jane, Luke and Matthew, now known as Team Weird, as they try their best to keep the timeline straight. Each recruit had their own reasons for joining up and are very far from the usual type of Time Police members we are used to seeing, but now on the cusp of graduating this often disaster prone trio are about to be given the opportunity to prove themselves at last.
Hard Time is every bit as good as the first book in the series and continues the story of the three recruits as they learn and grow, becoming well rounded characters in their own right and not just as an extension of The Chronicles of St Mary’s. Having said that, though, I love how ties to St Mary’s are very much apparent, including guest appearances by some of the characters we already know and love, including new recruit Matthew’s mother, the infamous Max. But you don’t need to have read The Chronicles of St Mary’s to enjoy The Time Police series as it stands up very well on its own, although the marrying together of the two storylines is a nice touch for those of us who have been with St Mary’s from the very beginning.
Full of Jodi Taylor’s trademark humour and brilliant characterisation, Hard Time is a fast paced caper through time that keeps you engaged from beginning to end. At times moving, often hilariously funny, this is a book that has mysteries to be solved and lots of twists and turns along the way. A light hearted, fun and fabulous read that is the perfect antidote to this strange new world we find ourselves in right now!
If you’re looking for a series of books that offer pure escapism then The Chronicles of St Mary’s and The Time Police could be exactly what you’re looking for. Opening a new Jodi Taylor book is like being a child at Christmas, full of wonder and anticipation at what delights are about to be unwrapped. And I have yet to be disappointed! These books deliver on every level and I’m already eagerly awaiting more. Simply wonderful!
Highly recommended.
Hard Time by Jodi Taylor is available to purchase from 15th October: Amazon UK
Check out what these other fabulous bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 