Review by amberlk -- Hearts Set Free by Jess Lederman

[amberlk]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Hearts Set Free" by Jess Lederman.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Hearts Set Free by Jess Lederman was an exceptionally well written and edited novel. This is one of the best books I have read this year. It combined a love story with a mystery along with science and Christianity all in one. I would recommend this to any adult or young adult to read.

Hearts Set Free takes place in multiple time periods and locations but most of it was during the early 1900’s in the Las Vegas area. The very beginning of this book made you think as there were a lot of characters introduced all at once. A boy (Luke) and his mom (Yura), who lived in Alaska, travel down into the lower 48 looking for the boy’s dad who ran off with another woman a couple years before. After traveling all over the United States they finally end up in Las Vegas still looking for his father.

In the mean time a Christian man (David Gold), who was a boxer, was approached by a young woman in the Las Vegas area after the pastor of the church she attended was murdered. She was sent by the church congregation to try to convince the boxer to come to the church and become the pastor. The pastor was met with several people who tried to run him off, but he stayed despite getting hit unconscious, being thrown in jail, and his church being set on fire.

The book also talks about another group of people (Tim and Joan) from the 21st century who created videos. They were in Las Vegas and they talk to Luke about Georges Lemaitres, who Luke personally knew, and his scientific findings in the 1900’s. While in Las Vegas Tim and Joan both got caught up in more than they thought they would.

I give this book a 4 out of 4 stars. It was a great read and I didn’t want to put it down. There were several mysteries and love stories all in one novel. Several scenes that had so much description that I could see, feel, and smell everything around me in the novel.

I liked most the multiple mysteries in the story. Every time we got the answer to one, another mystery popped up and it kept me guessing until the end. What I disliked most was keeping track of the different characters. There were a lot of characters, locations, and time periods to keep track of and it made it difficult to keep them straight without reviewing the previous chapters.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who loves a good mystery. There are several deaths in the story, but also a few love stories. It is a good description of some historical events such as the building of the dam in the area.

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Hearts Set Free
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[LauraLeeWasHere]

I read this book too and you're right when you say you didn't want to put it down. There is so much happening here and the stories will affect everyone in so many different ways that hundreds of people could review it and all have different things to say. The one thing we probably do all agree with is that it is no ordinary book. Someday it will be a classic and we can say we were among the first people to discover it!

Sincerely, Laura-Lee