Where Hearts Are Free by Golden Keyes Parsons

Where Hearts Are Free is the third book in the Darkness to Light Series. The setting is Philadelphia, PA in 1681. Bridget is from a well-to-do family, and when she informs her parents she is in love with their indentured servant,Phillipe, her father sends him away and quickly arranges a marriage with an older wealthier man that she does not love. Bridget feels trapped into doing what her parents expect of her and feels like God has deserted her. Phillipe was royality in France, until his family came to America where he had to work as a servant to pay for their passage to the New World. Bridget shares with him her secret of witnessing a murder as a young girl and when he finds she is in danger, he sets out to rescue Bridget. I learned about the early history of PA, with the Lenape Indians, and also the history of the religious persecution in Europe that led families to flee to America. Though the story seems to start slowly, it quickly gained my interest. I had not read the first 2 books in the series, but the author reviewed the supporting characters enough that I could understand what had happened in the past novels. I think the author gives a true picture of what life was like for Americans in the late 1680's. The novel is based on her ancestors who were persecuted as French Huguenots and later moved to Bushkill County PA.