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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.
Willful and red-headed beauty Taylor is about to come face to face with the most difficult moment of her life — indeed, the most difficult moment for any mother — losing her beloved daughter. For those of you who have read the previous books, the event is not surprising, as you all are familiar with Taylor’s handsome yet incredibly cruel and merciless ex-lover, a charismatic Italian count who is now set on revenge. Since he cannot have her, he will go to extremes to make Taylor suffer.
In this case, he decides to abduct his own daughter with Taylor. Needless to say, the struggle and pain she goes through are unimaginable — hunger, poverty, even being kept prisoner in jail. But Taylor will go through anything in order to save her daughter and re-unite with her — especially now that her daughter is under the clutches of the Count’s wife, who’s set on revenge no matter what.
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 advice 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.
