Welcome to First Line Friday!
Today I’m featuring

Shadowed Loyalty by Roseanna M. White.

Sabina Mancari never questioned her life as the daughter of Chicago’s leading mob boss until bullets tear apart her world and the man she thought she loved turned out to be an undercover Prohibition agent. Now she sees how ugly the underworld can be. Ambushes, bribes, murder, prostitution—she thought her beloved Papa was above all that, but clearly he isn’t. What does that mean, though, for her and their family? Maybe Lorenzo, the fiancé who has barely paid her any attention in the last two years, has the right idea by planning to escape their world.

All his life, Lorenzo’s family assumed he would join the Church, but he has different ideas—marrying Sabina and pursuing a career in the law. But despite his morals, he knows at the core he isn’t so unlike his father and brothers, which has always terrified him. Has he, in trying to protect Sabina from his flaws, in fact harmed her? It sure seems that way when he realizes he all but forced her into the arms of the Prohibition Agent now bent on tearing her family apart at all costs. But how can they rebuild what has so long been neglected…and do it in the shadow of the dark empire of the Mafia?

Shadowed Loyalty, set amid the glitz and scandal of the Roaring Twenties, examines what love really means and how we draw lines between family and our own convictions, especially when following the one could mean losing the other.

From Goodreads

Author Information

Discover more information about Roseanna M. White at: roseannamwhite.com.

First Line

[Graphic Text]: June, 1922, Chicago ~ The wind tore down the alley, forcing Sabina Mancari to hold her cloche hat in place with one hand as she stepped around the corner.

My Review

Shadowed Loyalty by Roseanna M. White takes us to 1920s Chicago and the mob wars.

I loved this story. The internal battle over right and wrong. Family and conscience. Forgiveness and sin. This is a deep read that nudges one out of their spiritual comfort zone, just as Sabina and Enzo must wrestle with the difference between theory and practice.

I also loved seeing the power of prayer exhibited in the book. Not as a plot prop, but as a real tool in the characters’ experiences. We also get a picture into the other characters’s lives, and the motivations behind actions that might be considered sinful. Truly, this book doesn’t shy away from topics of murder, prostitution, and illegal activities. Nor does it paint characters in simple black and white caricatures. I loved that!

This would make a great book discussion read because it forces readers to ask questions. Those are my favorite types of reads and this one wrestles with so much. For that reason, too, this book might not be for a reader looking for a lighthearted read. However, if you’re looking for one that will challenge you, then this is a fantastic book to dig into. I highly recommend it.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Retail Links

Amazon | Indiebound
Goodreads | BookBub

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Pull out the book beside you and leave a comment with the first line.

First Line Friday is hosted by Reading is my Super Power.

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