I wasn't sure where this book was going to go. St Mary's? Time Police? Sure, safe bet it would be in that universe but where would it fit best? Turns out, and I shouldn't have been surprised, it did its own thing. Told from Lady Amelia's perspective, it started at the beginning and worked it's way through to their present. We find out how they meet, how they manage, and where they end up. Lots of stops along the way for crime and margaritas as you would expect. A few nudges toward their future within the timeline as we know it and some very interesting questions remaining to be answered.

This review is based on an advance copy that I received for free.

I’ve not read everything by Jodi Taylor but what I’ve read so far I’ve really loved and this book continues that trend. I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

I am continually astonished at how much this author manages to pack into her books whilst keeping them tightly edited and with nothing that feels superfluous. Her books move at a phenomenal pace, taking the reader across jumps in time without ever feeling confusing or making you feel lost. I feel like this is some serious skill as a writer.

This book follows a girl in a noble family who is forced out of her life in her beloved home Starlings by her brother’s loathsome new wife (and oh how I loathed her!) This gives her a sense of wanting to create a bit of chaos, to live life intensely and to not do what’s expected of her. At a party she meets a man who is there for thievery but ends up taking her away into the future. We see echoes of the time travel I learned about in an earlier book Just One Damn Thing After Another. While you should definitely read that incredible book, you don’t need to in order to enjoy this. It exists as a standalone though it references events and characters from other work by the author.

I absolutely loved this book. Our main character is morally grey and yet I felt supportive of her due to the intense injustices she had suffered and her desire to help those from her home village, suffering under the selfishness of her sister in law. I was absolutely raging at some of the actions taken by Caroline and the calm and clever way our MC navigated this monster was fascinating.

I feel I need to go and read every Jodi Taylor book I haven’t already read now! A wonderful reading experience.

I loved getting to see the origin story of Smallhope and Pennyroyal. They are both brilliant characters in the Chronicles of St Mary's series.

Packed with Jodi's brilliant humour and plenty of shenanigans. A must read it you're a fan of the St Mary's crowd.

Let me start by saying this is a prequel, and like all good prequels it’s best if you’ve read/watched the series first, despite it technically being 1st chronologically. That being said, even if you haven’t yet read any of the series, you will still enjoy book, you just won’t get as much out of it. This is a mildly comedic sci-fi novel; I say mildly as it’s not laugh out loud, but this are dashes of humour added in. I would recommend this book as it is well written and very enjoyable for lovers of time travel books

“The Ballad of Smallhope and Pennyroyal” is an offshoot of Jodi Taylor’s hugely popular series, The Chronicles of St. Mary’s. Smallhope and Pennyroyal are bounty hunters who travel backwards or forwards in time to catch criminals who use time travel to escape justice. 

This is a rollicking adventure tale with good guys, bad guys, outlaws, and time travel. 

While technically not part of the Chronicles series, it might be useful for readers to read one or two of those novels to get a sense of the universe Taylor builds. But with or without that background, this is a funny, engaging read. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Jodi Taylor is one of my favorite authors, and a new St. Mary’s or Time Police book is always cause for celebration. I was so engrossed in “Smallhope and Pennyroyal” that I couldn’t put it down. I hope this is just the first of many S and P books. The humor, the adventures, and the backstory were all so enjoyable. I want to go back and read all the books that Smallhope and Pennyroyal appeared in, just so I can continue to savor their presence.

I wasn't overly thrilled when I first heard Jodi Taylor was writing a book about recovery agents Smallhope and Pennyroyal. Why couldn't we have more St Mary's or more Time Police instead? But then I remembered that everything Taylor touches turns to gold so gave it a go. This is such a wonderful, outrageously fun adventure, delving into the back story of the titular characters. As always there's a breathtaking ride of laughter, danger and excitement, with some very moving moments worked in. How did our Lady heroine meet her butler/partner-in-crime and what brought them into partnership? I don't want to spoil anything but you will have great fun finding out.

First in a fantasy series.
A slightly feckless young royal sneaks off to follow his dream of finding a legendary assassin. In doing so (and finding him rather too easily) he becomes involved in a battle against evil that threatens the whole world.
Lots of familiar tropes but in fairness to the author there are slight twists. Our hero doesn’t become a skilled warrior overnight, his companions are suspicious of him and our assassin is not that great a guy. So not a tight band of warriors!
There is slightly confusing world building where you have to accept or assume lots, but once it gets going this is a fun read.

A fantastic book, telling the backstory of Lady Amelia Smallhope and Pennyroyal, It fills in so many holes but it is still amazing as a standalone. I was absolutely hooked from the start, just couldn't put it down. The imagination required to write a book like this is incredible. Loved it.

Smallhope and Pennyroyal make their first appearance in The Chronicles of St Mary's universe at the Battle of Bannockburn. The team of bounty hunters, Recovery Agents, soon turned up in further St Mary's adventures as well as in the Time Police novels. Fans hoped for a short story about the team, how they met and started their business together. In true Jodi Taylor fashion we didn't get a short story, nor a novella, we got a whole novel about how Lady Amelia Smallhope met Pennyroyal. We learn how Pennyroyal got Smallhope addicted to margaritas, how they first forged a friendship and then their business together and see a lot of the duo outside of St Mary's and TPHQ.

I thoroughly enjoyed the novel when it was published in 2024. I have read the book and listened to the audiobook, narrated by Zara Ramm, several times since, and am hoping we get to see more of the duo in future stories.

I am a total Pennyroyal fangirl. What would I have for his scarred knuckles to slide down over my cheeks...
OOF. I loved this. Almost got through it in one sitting, but realised it was a quarter to five in the morning and I really needed to go to sleep. So I finished it up when I woke up, and it is SO GOOD!
It is the history of these two that we needed so much. Some references to Things That Gone Before but nothing out of order.
I can't recommend this enough. WONDERFUL!

"From the globally bestselling author of the Chronicles of St Mary's and Time Police series - the origin story of bounty hunters extraordinaire: Smallhope and Pennyroyal.

Meet Lady Amelia Smallhope, for whom there is no problem that can't be solved by a drink and a think.

And Pennyroyal, for whom there is no problem. Ever.

Everyone's favourite bounty hunters. Sorry - recovery agents. No bad guy they can't handle. No expense account too flexible. No adventure too outrageous.

Join them as they settle scores, break every rule in the book and take the world by storm.

Fasten your seatbelts. The timeline doesn't know what's hit it."

I'd like to be the type of person where there is no problem ever.

This was so so so good. I love this world, and all of the books that bring me to it. But Smallhope and Pennyroyal's story might just be the best yet. While it reads WONDERFULLY on its own, having read the other series make it that much better. You get the behind the scenes feel as the story fills in gaps for stories you have already read. Perfection.