Reviews
The Liberty & Property Legends, Volume One
HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels
'Wow, I really enjoyed Heartland.......ready for the next one!' Keith
'I've just finished Heartland - turned the last page a couple of minutes ago - couldn't put it down towards the end! I wanted to let you know how much I loved it! I'm so impressed by the way you actually 'write a picture' in that you write in such a way so I almost feel as though I'm in the same room/space as the characters. You are very talented - a creative, insightful and 'poetic' writer.'
Nuala, Director at Keystone Creations
'A rollicking tale of The Wild West. Gun-slinging cowboys, romance, murder and passion abound.' Louise
'I read Heartland and enjoyed it very much. In fact, the book stays with me, in my mind in many places and in experiences that happen to me. I can't wait for the next instalment! I loved the tension between the characters and how unpredictable each part was.' Nina
'Heartland had me from page one! The story was riveting and I virtually devoured it in one sitting! I honestly felt like I was there, in Wyoming, with the characters. Terri is an amazing writer and I can’t wait for the next book.' Jane
'What a great story! A thoroughly enjoyable book. I was intrigued every step of the way. Loved the attention to historical detail. Can't wait to read the next book in this series.' Five Stars. Anonymous on Barnes & Noble
‘In true frontier style, Ms Sedmak skilfully guides the reader on a tremendous adventure. She has done a superb job in setting the scene for the reader to travel back to a time in 19th Century Wyoming.’
ReviewtheBook by Diane Lunsford
(26 August 2012)
Heartland On the Side of Angels is the first novel in the Liberty & Property Legends by new author Terri Sedmak. She has done a superb job in setting the scene for the reader to travel back to a time in 19th Century Wyoming. An accomplished story teller, Ms. Sedmak wastes no time in her opening as she grabs the reader and immerses him into the lives of the Taylor and Keaton families. They are frontier men and women committed and devoted to their deep-rooted Alliance who will fight and die for the land and water that is rightfully theirs. The setting is Wyoming and the place is the Diamond-T ranch; the select target of 19th century land wars and water rights.
​
Ms. Sedmak superbly developed her male and female characters and cast a light of heroism on each of them in their rightful, respective moments. She toys with the reader to presume the obvious between Luke Taylor and Kelley Keaton; only to surprise them with the outcome.
In true frontier style, Ms. Sedmak skilfully guides the reader on a tremendous adventure. At no point in this novel is it a labor to turn the page. She artfully keeps the story moving forward through her knowledge of revolutionary American history. Without question, there is a clear balance between tragedy and celebration which makes her first novel in the series a great read.
Hands down, Terri Sedmak saved the best for last as she ends her first novel. She has left her readers with a craving for the continuation of the ongoing saga of the Liberty & Property Legends series.
WaveCloud.com included HEARTLAND On the Side of Angels in its 2012 Top 10 Summer Reads:
HEARTLAND, On the side of Angels by Terri Sedmak: An Aussie author with better insight into our western past then most Americans. This book takes you back in time on an adventure that meshes well with a trip to the lake or campsite. Her writing is so descript it is easy to imagine life 125 years ago, all the while swiping your e-reader for the next page… love her writing and hear the third book in the series will be out this fall! - Tara
'It was an "on-going appreciation of American history, and an idea that wouldn't go away" that propelled Australian author Terri Sedmak to write this sweeping historical fiction.'
PS News Book Review by Rama (June 2011)
It was an “on-going appreciation of American history, and an idea that wouldn’t go away” that propelled Australian author Terri Sedmak to write this sweeping historical fiction. Wyoming, 1883 is no different to the 21st century: themes in the book apply even today. One of them is the threat posed to democracy and basic rights from two main sources, capitalism and terrorism.
Heartland is about “liberty, freedom, how to get it, fight for it, understand it, use it … the abuse of it, and ultimately, its effects and the cost of it”. It is the first novel in the Liberty & Property Legends series that takes you on a journey of intrigue, loyalty, love and a fight for freedom. You will live and breathe the lives of 20-year-old Kelley Keaton, who finds lots of changes at home after five years in New York. Her brother Mart is behaving mysteriously and she now has an intriguing connection to her childhood nemesis Luke Taylor. It’s only after a cold-blooded murder that sensibilities are touched, distrust sets in and the fight for truth unfolds.
Along the way, this adventurously brave novel tests loyalties in the most trying circumstances. Being a part of the so-called “Gilded Age”, it’s interesting to note that people in the 1880s were doing what we are doing now - they just did it all without software and hard drives. Technology has changed our world, but not the people to a great extent. Heartland is meaningful, entertaining and high-spirited.
Terri Sedmak paints a lucid picture in the course of her writing: stories are revealed through the characters who live in a contemporary world – and the readers are there with them.
​
