Shadows of the White City ~ Review

Shadows of the White City

The Windy City Saga #2

By Jocelyn Green

Sylvie Townsend never thought she'd have a family of her own until she opened her home to four-year-old Rozalia Dabrowski. She promised Rosa's father to provide his daughter a loving and safe home. But thirteen years have passed and now Rosa is trying to find her place. With the World's Fair now in Chicago Rosa sees this as a chance to connect with her Polish roots. But when Rosa disappears Sylvie doesn't know what to do.

Turning to Kristof Bartok is her only option when the police dismiss her concerns due to Rosa's age. Kristof has the language skills necessary to talk to those who are temporarily in the Windy City for the Exposition, at least those who may have knowledge of Rosa's whereabouts. 

I have to admit I was a little surprised with how everything played out in this story in regards to Rosa. The need to find connections. To find a place that feels like home, of belonging, of family, is the driving force in this story. It is sad that Rosa felt as she did, that the family her in all those years ago wasn't enough and yet if I was in her place I too would want to know who were my people, who my parents were. To gather memories of others, to have something to cherish. 

I also can understand Sylvie's position of wanting to control everything (there are references to Sylvie's past that explain some of her insecurities). But this need for control can also be seen as smothering. And when you combine Rosa and Sylvie's needs tendencies one can understand why everything occurred as it did.

This is the second book in the Windy City Saga series and it is able to be read as a standalone book. I have not yet read the first book and was able to easily follow the story. I have since purchased the first book just because I enjoyed this one as much as I did. This is for fans of Historical Fiction as the vast majority of the story is set in 1893 Chicago. I was intrigued about what Ferris Wheels were like - not an open seat with a safety bar but a cage in which one could walk around.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion - All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

She promised a dying father she would keep

his daughter safe. She can't fail now.

The one thing Sylvie Townsend wants most is what she feared she was destined never to have--a family of her own. But taking in Polish immigrant Rose Dabrowski to raise and love quells those fears--until seventeen-year-old Rose goes missing at the World's Fair, and Sylvie's world unravels.

Brushed off by the authorities, Sylvie turns to her boarder, Kristof Bartok, for help. He is Rose's violin instructor and the concertmaster for the Columbian Exposition Orchestra, and his language skills are vital to helping Sylvie navigate the immigrant communities where their search leads.

From the glittering architecture of the fair to the dark houses of Chicago's poorest neighborhoods, they're taken on a search that points to Rose's long-lost family. Is Sylvie willing to let the girl go? And as Kristof and Sylvie grow closer, can she reconcile her craving for control with her yearning to belong?