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| The Pawn
Reviewed by Mayra Calvani |
| The Pawn By Nancy Minnis
Damato Wings ePress, Inc.
www.wings-press.com 403 Wallace Court Richmond, KY 40475
Copyright 2005 ISBN: 1-59088-602-X Trade Paperback, 384 pages
General Fiction/Historical |
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First book of
the Taylor Family series |
| The Pawn is an intricately
plotted historical novel about ambition, greed, deceit and
revenge. It is the story of Josefine Taylor, an intelligent,
willful, beautiful woman who pays dearly for her ambition and
dreams of richness. |
| Though Josef Taylor,
Josefine’s father, is an extremely wealthy man who belongs to
the Council of Elders and partly owns Worldwide Bank,
sixteen-year old Josefine lives a strict, Spartan life where
parties, fun and luxuries are rejected, and where daily prayers
and hard work are strongly imposed. The problem is, she wants
much more. She dreams of magnificent ball gowns and diamond
jewellery, and, more importantly, of taking an active role in
her father’s banking business. Josef Taylor, however, has other
plans for her. He wants her to marry a much older man to
consolidate the family business, never taking into account that
Josefine is completely in love with another man. |
| Rebellious and inexperienced,
and blinded by greed, Josefine makes the mistake of her life
when she accepts Francois duc LaFevre’s “indecent” proposal. Her
mistake sends her into a vortex of misery, suffering and pain
like she couldn’t possible have imagined in her wildest dreams.
She loses everything, including those most dearest to her.
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| Only two things keep her
moving—her absolute adoration for her small daughter, and
revenge. Using her banking knowledge and talents, she develops a
careful plan to take control of Worldwide Bank while keeping her
identity incognito. |
Will she be able to rise to
the top and make everyone who hurt and deceived her pay?
If yes, at what cost? |
| The novel, which mostly takes
place in St. Louis during the late 1800’s and moves across the
span of almost two decades, draws the reader immediately into
its suspenseful web and interesting cast of characters. Like a
Scarlett O’Hara, Josefina comes across beautifully as a genuine
human being with both admirable and damnable qualities. The
narrative and dialogue are engaging and always keep the story
moving at a fast pace. Some aspects of the plot will affect the
reader at an emotional level. This is the kind of novel that, in
spite of its length, most readers will want to finish within a
few days. |
| Readers of historicalfiction
will thoroughly enjoy this book. Highly recommended.
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The Pawn
Reviewed by Tami Brady |
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Nancy Minnis Damato, Wings ePress, Inc, ISBN: 1-59088-434-5,
Historical Fiction |
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Josephina Taylor must make a decision that will determine her
future. Francois ducLaFevre has chosen Josephine as the mother
of his heir. Life with Francois would ensure Josephina a life of
luxury, a life of power, wealth, and status that would make her
father proud. |
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But Josephina is torn. She is in love with Jacob Levinia
Broderick. Life with Jacob would ensure that Josephina would
have a passionate love affair, a life of near poverty, and the
wrath of her father. Should Josephina choose her family or the
love of her life? |
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The Pawn is a complexly woven web of power, privilege, scandal,
and intrigue. Though at first the storyline seems pretty
simplistic (girl has to choose between love and money), the
plots becomes quite complex as the reader begins to learn about
the various characters and their intentions. The various
interactions (hidden and outright) create a really well crafted
story with depth that quickly draws the reader into the action.
The reader can’t help but wonder who is actually being genuine
and who has a hidden agenda not yet revealed. |
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Reviewed by Anita
The Pawn
Nancy Minnis Dimato
Historical Romance
Available from
Wings ePress
ISBN: 1-59088-434-5
August 2005
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Our story begins in the year 1852 during the French
Austrian war. Josef von Taylor wants to marry Louise
and take her to America where he is in the business
of banking. Louise agrees to marry Josef if he will
help her young French friend, Francois duc Lafevre,
get to safety in America. Many years later Josef and
Francois are partners in banking. Louise and Josef
have two sons and a daughter, Josefina. Josefina is
fifteen years old and even more beautiful than her
mother. Francois has waited a long time to get
revenge for Josef marrying the woman he loved. Now
that Josefina is of an age Francois sees his dreams
of revenge about to come true.
Josefina hates that in the Dutch Apostolic
community that she lives in that fine things are
frowned upon as a waste. New clothes are not bought
unless absolutely necessary. They do not believe in
waste or vanity. They also believe women are to be
under the control of the men. Women are not
intelligent enough to work in business. Since
Josefina has been educated in law and finance she
chafes at all the constraints. She is looking
forward to her trip to St. Louis with Francois and
his sister Marianne. Marianne is turning sixteen and
Francois has planned a come out for them both. She
can hardly believe she will be out from under the
watchful eye of her father and the church.
The Pawn - the title refers to Josefina who is
used as a pawn in this story. First by her father
who wants to contract her marriage for business
purposes and then by Francois who uses her as a tool
for his revenge. This is a story that is based on
greed, lust, and revenge. Marvelously written this
is a creative tale filled with intrigue. The story
involves the reader ‘s emotions as we see how greed
leads to the downfall of each character involved.
First we have Louise who used feminine wiles on
Josef to save Francois. Josef who will help Francois
on if Louise will marry him. Later Francois will use
Josefina’s greed to lead her into a situation that
will be used to hurt Josef. This story involved
several generations and the reader gets to see how
people’s decisions have affected their lives. There
is a lot of sadness in this story but there is also
admiration for the struggle Josefina will have to
endure to survive. The dialogue is well written and
communicates the thoughts and emotions of each
character. There is very little romance involved in
the story although there is a time Josefina will
truly fall in love. Through the writing of Nancy
Minnis Dimato we watch as the character of Josefina
develops. She goes from the greedy, vain young woman
to a woman that will do anything and live anywhere
if it means her family will survive. ‘The Pawn,’ is
a marvelously written innovative epic of a family
involved in banking during the days of the
California gold rush. It is thought provoking and
emotionally engaging. I look forward to the sequel
where we learn more about Josefina’s daughter. I
feel all readers especially those that enjoy
historical fiction will enjoy this book.
Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Sweet Reviewer: Anita May 23, 2006 |
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Belonging |
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Belonging -
Reviewed by Mayra Calvani Nancy Minnis Damato
Wings ePress, Inc.
ISBN: 1-59088-556-2
Fiction, Historical Fiction
Talented author Nancy Minnis Damato continues the exciting Taylor family
saga in this latest installment to the series, Belonging.
This time the strong protagonist is not Josefina Taylor (from Book I)
but her willful, beautiful redheaded daughter, Taylor. The story begins
as mother and daughter have a terrible argument and Taylor, only
thirteen years old and feeling betrayed, goes to live with friends and
makes the first serious decision in her life-getting married. The reader
follows Taylor as the young protagonist becomes a wife, mother, and
businesswoman. In spite of the big deception about the identity of her
father, Taylor doesn’t give up and is intend on finding the truth......
......But the search for who she is guides her path and her actions.
Will she eventually find her father and her real family, the one her
mother denied her all her life? If yes, at what price? Will Taylor ever
reconcile with her mother?
A strong heroine and a forceful plot are the landmarks of this novel
that spans over a decade during the late 1800’s. Damato does an
excellent job with descriptions, especially with food and fashion. The
prose and dialogue are engaging, and the relationship between Taylor and
the Count is electrifying, making this book very appealing to historical
romance fans. The quick pace will keep readers turning pages until the
dramatic conclusion, which is deeply satisfying yet leaves enough
unanswered questions to look forward to the sequel. Though the book may
stand on its own, I strongly recommend reading The Pawn, the first book
in the series, before reading this one in order to avoid some confusion. Highly recommended.
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Separate Worlds |
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Separate Worlds
By Nancy Minnis Damato Wings e-Press, Inc. Copyright 2007
SBN:1597058203
General Fiction/Historical Series (Book III)
The story of the Taylor family saga continues in this the third
and final installment, Separate Worlds.
Under the skillful pen of talented author Nancy Minnis Damato,
the tale reaches a heart-wrenching and fully satisfying
conclusion.
Though the mother-daughter line is the main plot, there are many
subplots that revolve around the First World War taking place in
Europe. Taylor's son is away as a soldier, and so is the Count
himself. With yet other characters in other parts of Europe,
the reader cannot help but wonder. will the family ever unite?
Will the pain and struggle go away so they can become a happy,
united family after so much darkness and betrayal?
It is impossible to fully enjoy this novel without having read
the first two books in the series first. I strongly advise
readers to do so in order to understand the characters and their
dark legacy. The novel seems to be extremely well researched,
grabbing the reader into an imaginary world. The characters are
compelling and the storyline interesting. The book also has some
intriguing twists and turns. What really stands out, however, is
Taylor's struggle as she goes in search of her young daughter.
Some passages were so poignant they really brought tears to my
eyes. Heart-wrenching, stirring and thoroughly enjoyable,
Separate Worlds is a story fans of historical fiction will
devour. |
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