This is the first book I received from www.booksneeze.com to review. I was not financially compensated. I received this book for free and agreed to review it.
Notice: Since publishing this review back in 2010, the author has passed. Golden Keyes Parsons passed away on February 16, 2017, as shown in this link.
Where Hearts Are Free by Golden Keyes Parsons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was better than I could have ever imagined. I did not realize until the end that this was the third book in a series. My early reservations of the book finally made sense since I had not read the first two books in the series.
Let me say first that this book is definitely able to stand on its own two feet. The only thing I noticed was that the mother and father of the hero were not what I would call round characters. I realized that their characters were dealt with more in the first two books. And as I continued in the book, those characters grew on me. I began to understand who they were, so they no longer detracted from the enjoyment of the book.
You will notice my five star rating. Yes, this book touched me in a way a fiction book had not since I was in high school. I loved the main female character–Bridget. She drew me in from the first page, and she was the reason I continued to read. I only read a chapter or two at a time at first, but that all changed once I got about halfway.
I read this as I was substitute teaching in classes this week, and the past couple days I could hardly put the book down. I had to know how the story would end. And I will not hint in this review at the end–no spoilers from me!
I was impressed with how the author handled the history of this book. I love historical fiction, and I knew nothing about the French Huguenots. I had heard about them before, but I had no idea about the persecution they faced. I was greatly intrigued with the way the author brought her history into this book.
I was also impressed that the author, though Christian, made the story realistic. There was a point in the book where I believed that something had to happen, but I figured the author would sugarcoat it since it was a Christian novel. No, my friends, she wrote the story as it had to be written.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend this book. I plan to look up more by this author. I appreciate the fact that she writes excellent Christian fiction where the people have to face serious situations. Without the Lord, the characters in the book would never have fared as well as they did. I was reminded that the Lord can do anything He wants, and no one can thwart His will.
