what is the role of books in our life A Symphony of Echoes: The Chronicles of St. Mary's Book Two
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful. A Solid Follow up to the First Novel -- Please Hurry up with Volume III!By Rose's MuseThis was a lovely, light read with quick dialogue and a fast pace of action. I found it to be a little darker than the first book, with a bit more graphic violence. I bought it in the Kindle version, and found it totally unsuitable for reading on the commute because I simply didn't want to put it down. This second novel is episodic in nature, with a few mini-stories tied together, but I didn't realize this until more than halfway through.For those of you new to Ms. Taylor's series, please read the first book before picking up this one. A Symphony of Echoes is heavily referential to Volume I. There's enough explanation that a first time reader will understand the story, but having read the other first will give better understanding of what's going on.Somewhere along the line, Ms. Taylor has become a bit more repetitive with her St. Mary's tropes than necessary, almost crossing into the annoying... yes, yes, you don't need to tell us yet again that if St. Mary's is involved something must be blowing up, on fire, etc.Those minor criticisms aside, this was an amusing read. Max has grown since the last book, and continues to adapt and change as this story progresses. She realizes some hard truths about herself, relationships, and the consequences of decisions. Importantly, the other characters progress in their life journey, as well -- I can't abide stories where any of the characters, whether primary or secondary characters remain cardboard props -- and Ms. Taylor's writing satisfies nicely on this point.As usual, my recommendations don't deal too much with the plot of a story itself because I don't want to inadvertently give away a spoiler. But I will say that I'm eagerly awaiting Volume III (wherein we travel to Troy!) and pleased to have this book in my collection. It is definitely worth the purchase price!16 of 16 people found the following review helpful. A TreatBy ReaderYou know how it feels when you discover a good author, a wordsmith? That's how I felt when I first read Jodi's "Just One Damned Thing After Another" What a treat! The lady can write! And she can be laugh-out-loud funny. And in "A Symphony of Echoes" she's back to her old game. Another winner! Adventure, mystery, romance, humor... what's not to like!? Funny you should ask. Her stories move along a quick pace and are fun to read until she gets caught up in the past. Things slow down a bit, there, it seems history is a place she likes to wallow. In her defense, these tales * do * involve time-travel adventures so one might expect a bit of history to creep in if for no other reason than to keep things neatly oriented. But for me, there are places where the story slows. Please understand, it's more than worth the few places where historical details get a little thick, and if you're into history I suspect you will welcome the extra fabric she provides in her stories. In any case, I'm a fan, and I eagerly look forward to her next release. Do yourself a favor and check out her work!9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Don't read this one firstBy Paula BermanThis is even funnier than the first one and had me laughing out loud. If you liked that, get this; if you didn't, don't - and if you haven't read that one, don't start here because you'll be hopelessly confused, though probably still amused.There were a couple points where I'd have liked to kick Max for being ian idiot, though. I understand why she's not a trusting person, but if you're not going to give someone the benefit of the doubt, at least use a bit of logic!