Rebecca Lewis moves from a rich lifestyle in the USA to a rich lifestyle on an Italian villa—what can be more glamorous?

Well, considering the reason she moved from one lifestyle to another, just about anything.

Carlotta’s Legacy, by Betty Thomason Owens, covers the years 1921 through 1932, an era that includes the stock market crash in America and Mussolini’s rule in Italy.

Rebecca’s father lost everything in the crash and ultimately killed himself. She herself lost her job. No more independence for her or her mother. What are women of that era to do to survive? Marry wealthy men.

Fortunately, Rebecca already has a man who loves her, someone she met on the Swiss ski slopes during better times, someone who has already proposed. But does he really love her? Will he love her still upon learning of her impoverished state? Will his mother, Carlotta a strict Catholic, accept her?

Many components make up this tale of love and acceptance—political turmoil, a psychotic stalker, a series of miscarriages—all carefully interwoven to keep the reader turning pages.

Betty captured the beauty of Italy and the allure of its people in this, the second book in the Legacy Series. Although it’s book 2, it stands alone just fine and is worth the read.