Dear Maude

The Dear Maude Trilogy, Book 1

By: Denise Liebig

Narrated by: Daniela Acitelli

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

Emily thought her college scholarship was a step forward...But it turned out to be a step backward...in time.

An unforgettable time travel adventure:

• 2017 Readers’ Favorite Awards Bronze Medal Winner, Fiction-Tall Tale Category 
• 2018 New Apple Summer eBook Awards, Official Selection

Emily Stanton, a sociology major, graduates from college and is obligated to work for the mysterious company that funded her education. But a job with Evergreen Research Corporation is not what she expects.

From fancy balls and operas to corsets and kid gloves, Emily learns to be a specialist in 1910 society. In the process, she finds herself fully immersed in the lives of wealthy aristocrats and industry leaders, whose thirst for power leads them to manipulate everything, including time. Thrust into this strange and dangerous world, Emily becomes their most important asset.

Unable to trust her coworkers or her surroundings, however, Emily finds herself alone - with her very survival in the hands of a handsome stranger, Wendell Beringer. Unfortunately, Emily soon discovers that he has a few secrets of his own.

Can she trust this man or the feelings she develops for him? Only time will tell.

Follow Emily's unexpected journey, where journal entries to her deceased aunt and the powerful secrets they contain, become her only link to the life she once knew and the future she must choose to follow.

©2014 Denise Liebig (P)2019 Denise Liebig

Fantastic Time Travel Book

I love time travel books and the way they make my mind think. I also love to see how other people's minds react to the thought of time travel, which makes time travel books so much fun!

Dear Maude was an amazing story in that I never quite knew what to expect next. I felt as clueless or as informed as Emily was, lending itself to the adventure. I have very strong feelings to each of the characters in the story, which I quite enjoyed. I could relate to Emily in the beginning in the sense that I would have been the student to sign up to work for four years after college for this mysterious company. I would have found the prospect exciting. I feel all the characters were very intentional, and I have a feeling many will be back in coming books. I also get nervous when Emily interacts with characters. I feel no one can be trusted, even the "good guys." My favourite aspect of the time travel is the journal that Emily keeps to Maude throughout the story. The ending of the story (along with the journal) is interesting and I am excited to see how that affects the next couple of books. The story was not totally what I was expecting, but I cannot wait to hear the rest of the series.

I did find the start interesting but a little slower than I was expecting. With time travel books, I sometimes find the start a little slow only to find out later how important that world building in the beginning really is.

Daniela Acitelli does an amazing job with her voices. Her voices are distinct, but her female voices are superior to her male voices. I found her very interesting to listen to and I hope she narrates the entire series. I found myself feeling a bit more in parts of the story because of her inflection, tone, and emotion.

I did receive a copy of this book at my request, and I have voluntarily left this review.

Very interesting

After reading the blurb for Dear Maude, I was intrigued. It’s been awhile since I have read or listened to anything in the sci-fi genre, and the time travel aspect is what lured me in.

The first few chapters we get to know Emily as she getting ready to graduate from college and start her job working for the company where she obtained her scholarship. This is where the plot really picks up and we are taken back to 1910. Emily manages to to keep her journal with her where she writes to her Aunt Maude. The real kicker is, who can she trust? Will she ever see her family again? The author keeps us guessing at ever turn! I highly recommend this book!

Daniela did an outstanding job with the narration!!! All of the characters, and accents from different years, she nailed them all!!!

🎧 AudiobookObession 🎧

Great Narration!

Calling All Time Travel Fans! This book was so much more than I expected. I was constantly left guessing. I was intrigued by the different characters and would love to learn more of some of the side characters. What a fun, captivating story!

Daniela did a fantastic job with the narration. She made the different character voices distinct yet made it all sound effortless. It was a wonderfully enjoyable experience.

🎧AudiobookObsession🎧

Great listen with an Amazing Narrator!

This was time travel story had me hooked from the very beginning. I found myself guessing what was going to happen next throughout the entire book and it kept me wanting to continue listening rather than returning to the real world. I felt the story was captivating and has left me wanting the rest of the series to come right away! Denise Liebig has definitely gone above and beyond with this story!!!

The narration was absolutely amazing! Daniela Acitelli did an amazing job with everything this book threw at her. All of the accents that she had were well executed and and fit the characters perfectly. Her work was clear and well timed. I look forward to listening to more of her work!

🎧AudiobookObsession🎧

Great Story - Rough Beginning

I was suffering a book hangover when a friend suggested I read this next. I wasn’t really sure in the beginning, because like others, I found the two roommates very annoying and frustrating in the beginning of the book. My friend urged me to read on and I’m so glad I did! I’m now suffering from a new book hangover and I can’t wait to read the next one in the series.

I originally thought it might be similar to an advice column, but I was wrong, and it is SO much better. I am not one to give away things in my review, but if you are a fan of time travel novels read past the beginning frustration and immerse yourself in the fascinating world that Ms. Liebig has created.

I felt that Daniela Acitelli did an excellent job narrating the book, especially with the different accents for eras which likely do not come naturally. Switching on a dime between current colloquial language to that of the early 1900s could not have been easy. Not only does she pull it off but the skill with which she does leads to some additional hilarity as well.

I can’t wait to start the next one and I may even reread this one again before I do.

I was provided with a free copy of this audio book for my honest review. The views expressed here are entirely my own.

Entertaining story, so so narration

Entertaining story, but the narrator made some characters sound so robotic, the leading lady had me upset, sounding so child-like, whining, and just out right irritating to me. I struggled to finish the story.

Not very good

The book doesn’t get mildly interesting until you’re around mid chapter 8. The narrator has a droning voice and sounds to old for the main character.

boring

This book was to Juvenile. I could get over the 2 main characters. I really wanted to like it but I don't

great time travel read

I received this book for free for a honest review. This was a sweet good time travel read. The storyline flowed and stayed together. The narrator did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life.

different

Excellent story, the audible voices were fantastic. I enjoyed this story very much. I would recommend this story.

Time travel

The beginning of this book is more about Emily and her life getting up to the point where she is blindly recruited for time travel. The story keeps you on your toes as to what will happen next, and I liked that. The narrative was excellent and it kept me interested in the story.
🎧AudiobookObessionReviewer

Dear Maude

As this story starts out I find myself wondering if its ever going to get to the time travel part. Only to realize the author has decided to tell us a beautiful story that is not rushed, but one to sit back relax and enjoy. I will say I did end up feeling the end was a bit rushed. I felt as though things could have been handled differently knowing time was on their side.

Emily has to be the most trusting person to go into every stage of this blind. I'm not sure even I would have this kind of faith in something so secretive. Although like Emily I wanted to see the good in these people until they showed their true colors. And its like no one in this story is who they appear to be. It gets to the point you wonder who belongs in the past and who is from the future pretending. Fantastic over all story I can not wait for the rest of the series to come out on audio! Daniela Acitelli does a beautiful job bringing this story to life. Thanks Audiobook Obsession for the recommendation.

Intriguing idea, great narration

This is the first time I have listened to Daniela Acitelli, it was easy to tell which character was which throughout the book.

I loved the idea of this story and didn't see where it was going at all and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So intriguing. Several spots where I just went 'huh'. I loved the way all the bits connected up through various means throughout the story. Some of the links I saw and some I didn't. Where it was left just leaves it open for the next book...

easy read w/ time travel & romance!

FEEDBACK

I found this story to be so intriguing. At first I was a little confused about everything that was going on because I wasn’t expecting so much of Emily’s life before her time with Evergreen. However, as the story goes on the significance of why the beginning happened is important. I really liked the mixture of traditional story telling with the “Dear Maude” journal entries. This gave the book a little more personality to it, which was very successful. I’m glad that the journal entries weren’t extremely long either as it was a repeat of what we just read. It could have completely ruined the pacing of the book but Liebig crafted it in the perfect way. One of the thing with time travel books is that as much as I try to predict the plot, I am always surprised. It usually doesn’t go the way I expect it to because there are so many variable. Dear Maude was no different. There were some parts that were predictable but then others that I would have never guessed. Throughout the entire novel, I was anticipating on what would happen next.

Emily’s character was a great one to follow. I loved the quips she used when responding to some of the other characters – even if they were just in her head. Her personality was an easy one to attach to and it really made it easier to root for her to escape the clutches of Evergreen Research. Each of the supporting characters fit perfectly within this plot and world. I was a little surprised that it didn’t have more of a 1910 feel to some of the characters but it’s okay.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, Dear Maude by Denise Liebig was an enjoyable read. I really enjoyed the flow and set up of the book. The journal entries with the traditional novel setting was perfect for this story. It brought just enough of a personal touch without creating a boring pace because of repeating the previous events. I also enjoyed the way the story went. With time traveling stories it’s hard to predict what will happen next and this book kept me on my toes. Emily was a great main character to follow and I really enjoyed reading about her. I definitely want to continue this story to see where it leads. I highly recommend this story if you are looking for an easy read about time travel with a hint of romance.

AUDIO REVIEW

NOTE: The narration does not affect my rating of the book

I absolutely loved this narration. Daniela Acitelli did a fantastic job brining this story to life. Her inflections were perfect and the intensity she gave to certain scenes were spot on. I mentioned in my review that the book was missing some 1910 feel to it which could really be felt in the narration. However, I highly enjoyed this is audio format and would suggest it!

Great listen with an Amazing Narrator!

This was time travel story had me hooked from the very beginning. I found myself guessing what was going to happen next throughout the entire book and it kept me wanting to continue listening rather than returning to the real world. I felt the story was captivating and has left me wanting the rest of the series to come right away! Denise Liebig has definitely gone above and beyond with this story!!!

The narration was absolutely amazing! Daniela Acitelli did an amazing job with everything this book threw at her. All of the accents that she had were well executed and and fit the characters perfectly. Her work was clear and well timed. I look forward to listening to more of her work!

🎧AudiobookObsession🎧

Couldn’t take the headphones off!

I loved this book 1, it is written with such imagination and right to the end I’m not totally sure who to trust! I can’t wait for book 2!!!
I thought Daniela Acitelli’s narration was spot on, her characterisation perfect for this book.
All in all it had me hooked, got me liking and disliking characters and very thought provoking, can’t wait to see if I’m right (although I do keep changing my mind 🤣)

Great book! An easy recommendation from me.

🎧AudiobookObsession
🎧AudiobookHeaven

Brilliant

I absolutely enjoyed this book very much. I felt like I was a part of it. I didn't want the story to end! There were a few pieces that I felt got rushed over and not explained fully, but not that many. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy!!!!!

Loved the narration!

Calling All Time Travel Fans! This book was so much more than I expected. I was constantly left guessing. I was intrigued by the different characters and would love to learn more of some of the side characters. What a fun, captivating story!

Daniela did a fantastic job with the narration. She made the different character voices distinct yet made it all sound effortless. It was a wonderfully enjoyable experience.

🎧AudiobookObsession🎧

Time Travel Romance

Dear Maude by Denise Liebig is book one in The Dear Maude Trilogy that I listened to on audio narrated by Daniela Acitelli. This is the first book by Denise that I have read/listened to and it definitely won’t be my last. I was not really into the start of the book but I was glad I pushed through because it got better after the initial ground work was laid on how Emily ended up time traveling and falling in love. This was a great twist on a Time Travel Romance. Daniela did a good job narrating. I did find the reading a bit slow so I did listen at 1.25 – 1.5 speed and it was still easy to keep up with the storyline. I feel the book ended in a way that it could stand as standalone. But I am looking forward to reading book two For The Love Of Maude to get the next chapters of Emily and Dell’s love story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Time Travel Romances.

#AudiobookObessionReviwer #AudioBookObsession

omg

The story was intriguing and unexpected, well written by Denise Liebig but Daniela Acitelli brought it to life
10/10 really enjoyed this audio book can't wait for more books but keep the narrater please