Reviews for The Pawn               Calvani and Brady and Anita
Reviews for Belonging               Click Here
Reviews for Separate Worlds    Click Here
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

 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.
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

Nancy Minnis Damato, Wings ePress, Inc, ISBN: 1-59088-434-5, Historical Fiction
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.
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?

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
 
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

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.         Buy Here

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Separate Worlds

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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