Footsteps in Time: A Time Travel Fantasy

The After Cilmeri Series, Book 1

By: Sarah Woodbury

Narrated by: Laurel Schroeder

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

In December of 1282, English soldiers ambushed and murdered Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, the Prince of Wales. His death marked the end of Wales as an independent nation and the beginning of over seven hundred years under the English boot.

Footsteps in Time is the story of what might have happened had Llywelyn lived.

And what happens to the two teenagers who save him.

Footsteps in Time is the first book in the After Cilmeri Series.

©2011 Sarah Woodbury (P)2014 Sarah Woodbury

Could have been good

Found the writing jerky. The narrator needs a lot of work. Read like this was her first reading. Wanted to quit listening the first hour in but was working and didn't take time to change books. Also I don't feel I should review something I didn't complete. Won't bother with the rest of the series. And will steer clear of Ms Schroeder.

slow down narrator!

What would have made Footsteps in Time: A Time Travel Fantasy better?

There was a lot unexplained, and the story jumped around a lot and was difficult to follow. But as the first of a series, I figure the author will get better as time progesses. However, the narrator made it very hard to listen to. She needs to slow down and relax. She sounds breathless and high-strung, like she's just about to break, and talks WAY too fast. Tried 1/2 speed, and that helped, but that made strange echoes.

What do you think your next listen will be?

??

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator needs to slow down. She sounds breathless and high-strung, like she's just about to break. Made it very hard to listen to. Tried 1/2 speed, and that helped, but that made strange echoes.

Kudos to Narrator for some hellish welsh but...

Would you recommend Footsteps in Time: A Time Travel Fantasy to your friends? Why or why not?

Interesting story but other than her ability to pronounce so many welsh words.. the narrator was so very flat and NO edits for "he said" "she said"

Do you think Footsteps in Time: A Time Travel Fantasy needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

The author provides the first chapter from second book but... I probably won't be listening for it...

Any additional comments?

Really disliked the "Author's Note" about the real history.... let me pretend it is sci/fi/fiction -- there is no remote possibility that the time travel part could have happened that way... I go INTO the story wanting to believe the alternate history -- don't tell me how it "really happened" ... I really can find out that information myself !!

Narration is not good

The story is creative and interesting way to learn Welsh history. The narrator did nothing to help make the experience enjoyable.

Narration too fast

Frequently the narration is too fast and gives a sense of anxiety even in calm peaceful parts. Story not strong

An excellent, well done tale.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. Aside from the fact that I enjoy the book itself (and have gifted it to a few friends already), the audiobook is fantastic for those who either want to hear the words pronounced (seriously unless you speak welsh, reading it is a challenge at times *grins*) or who do not have enough time to physically read it. The narrator reads beautifully so that is always a plus.

What did you like best about this story?

Oh, tough call. David, Anna, and the Prince's (seriously I will butcher his name if i try to spell it) official father - daughter and son meeting. That was a tearful thing. When Meg showed up. Waterworks there. I think my absolute favorite part though was the end part of the story.... which I'll leave you to wonder about. Trust me though, it really has that satisfying "thank god" and "about d*mn time" feel to it though. I cheered, reading and listening.

Have you listened to any of Laurel Schroeder’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I listened to her reading Daughter of Time previously. In comparison to that one, this one is more fluid I suppose? Which is understandable as she's more familiar with the characters, the writing style, the language, ect. The voices are far more varied because they need to be. Not as many characters to "meet" in this one as in the previous one, but the ones you do meet speak more often. I would imagine it was a challenge to keep them all straight. She did an amazing job doing so.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

A lot of this book made me laugh and cry. Almost every chapter in fact. Both reading and listening, there was absolutely no way to not get involved with the characters and feel emotionally involved with them. Ms. Woodbury writes an amazing tale.

Any additional comments?

I did notice a bit of a difference in reading while listening with this one as opposed to the other one. Nothing that would really harm the story at all, but I figured since I was making a review I might as well include it. While reading and listening, some sentences were missed, some words were too. Just in case anyone is completely anal about that sort of thing, here's your warning that yes you will see a bit of variation with reading and listening at the same time. Not a lot of variation mind you but some. Other than that, enjoy the story! It's fantastic! I adore this audio book just as much as I did the first one.

Great read

This story captured my full attention right from the start well written and well narrated, I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series

Enjoyed it!

Good continuation of the story! Time travel stories are interesting on their own, but this one has a lot of historical detail of the time. The audiobook helps with learning the pronunciations of the Welsh names and geography. I have previously read the book and enjoyed the audio version! A great medium to enjoy the story.

Hard to get past the narration but decent

I am enjoying the story, but it's hard to get past the narration. It's slow - I speeded it up but that only helps so much. Also she's really stilted in her reading. Some of that is maybe a just plain stilted writing - especially the dialog - but the narrator brings attention to the negative rather than softening it. The overall effect is plodding and uncomfortably uptight.

I suspect that I would like the book better if I read it, but given I don't have time anymore, I'm stuck with the audio. I'm not sure I will continue if this narrator stays with the entire series.

Outlander for Kids

The story begins just like Outlander, but that's not really a bad thing. It takes some time to care about these characters, but eventually, you do. They aren't very deep, and I would love some more character development, but it was a nice way to spend some time, and I will try the next one.