SHADOWED LOYALTY by Roseanna M. White, Reviewed by Rebecca Maney

"Whether we feel it or not, whether we are aware of it or not, He's there. He's present. He's pouring out His grace on us."

Grace. His presence. Feeling it or not.

Right now guilt was about the only thing that Sabina Mancari was feeling. What had possessed her to flirt with excitement, when she should have been perfectly content to bask in a once-in-a-lifetime love? It was too late now, her sins had been exposed for all the world to see, wounding the two men that held her dearest; her father and her fiance. Something should have warned her that the dashing Mr. O'Reilly was a cleverly disguised Prohibition agent, practically salivating over the opportunity to bring down her mob-boss father and using her to do it. Would Enzo demand that she take off his ring, break their engagement? She certainly deserved no less.

" . . . forgiveness isn't a ticket you buy, a one-time thing bought and paid for. Forgiveness is the train you choose to ride through life's journey. You have to stay on it, even though sometimes you don't know where it's taking you."

Dear, sweet, honorable Enzo. Willing and daring to love in spite of . . . and there were boatloads of those. Sabina was the daughter of a powerful Chicago crime family boss and he was the son of a high ranking member; still, he had turned down the priesthood in order to become a reputable lawyer. . . and if the truth were known, so that he could also be free to marry the love of his life. Now they could only offer prayers, prayers that their lives might become an "immortal diamond" of light for their families, for "the job of a candle was to shine despite the fact that the darkness could never comprehend it".

This is the kind of story that movies are made of; good people doing wrong things for what they think are the right reasons, leaving all kinds of collateral damage in their wake. Add in misunderstandings, a woman scorned, a jilted lover, a kind mistress, and a love most tender . . . and what do you have? "Shadowed Loyalty."
*I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher. The opinions stated above are entirely my own. 3.5 stars

 

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BackCover Blurb:
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 turns out to be an undercover Prohibition agent. Ambushes, bribes, murder, prostitution—all her life, her father sheltered her from his crimes, but now she can no longer turn away from the truth. Maybe Lorenzo, the fiancé who barely paid her any attention in the last two years, has the right idea by planning to escape their world. But can she truly turn her back on her family?

All his life, Lorenzo’s family assumed he would become a priest, but he has different ideas—marrying Sabina and pursuing a career in the law. Despite his morals, he knows at the core he isn’t so unlike his mafiosi father and brothers. Has he, in trying to protect Sabina, forced her into the arms of the Prohibition agent bent on tearing her family apart? 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 one could mean losing the other.

Chrism Press, May 2, 2022

Available in digital ebook and paperback at Amazon