Taylor Lynne (The Women of Merryton #2)

Taylor Lynne took her toddler and left her cheating husband 14 years ago.  In that time he has had very little to do with either of them, but now he is divorced and asking her to move her 16 year-old daughter back so she can get to know him and his second daughter.  There is nothing in the world Taylor wants less but she finally agrees for her daughter's sake.

Once back in her hometown the reality of having to deal with him every day hits home and Taylor must figure out a way of dealing with the hurt and betrayal without ruining her daughter’s chances of loving the father she never knew.

What an emotional ride of a book!  Ms. Peel is an extremely gifted author at tapping into the emotions of a character and drawing out the universal feelings we all experience.  This gift makes for some incredibly great reading.  Unfortunately, it can also be a great drawback if the character’s actions don’t coincide believably.  That happens with Taylor.  The hurt and struggle she goes through is felt deeply by readers but her actions betray those feelings.  From the minute she sees her ex-husband, she is saying yes to everything he asks!  What begins as perplexing behavior, progresses to just plain infuriating as the story continues.  Unfortunately it stunts the character’s growth and leaves the believability and her forgiveness suspect.  Even so, one cannot miss the beautiful writing style and warmth of the story.  With a little more back-bone, “Taylor Lynne” could have warranted an easy 5 stars!

Ruth Lynn Ritter