For the last couple days, I have spent every spare minute at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, where I witnessed an unforgettable story unfold.  How did I travel back in time?  Jocelyn Green’s new release from Bethany House Publishers, “Shadows of the White City”, was my time machine of choice, and as is always the case with her books it completely immersed me from start to finish.  This story is the second of “The Windy City Saga”, and takes place almost twenty years after “Veiled in Smoke” occurred.  All my favorite characters return in these pages, but this time it is Sylvie Townsend who is featured in the spotlight, as uncomfortable as it may be for her. . .

There are two distinct elements that are the foundation for “Shadows of the White City”: first, wholly engrossing characters who hold so many layers of scars, emotions, and growth in their stories; and second the fascinatingly-described setting of the Chicago World’s Fair that wholly captivated me.  Both combined to make this my favorite Jocelyn Green story yet – and that is saying a LOT!  

As decades-old hurts come to the surface, secrets begin to unravel, and people from around the world arrive in Chicago for the experience of a lifetime, this story swept me away and held my imagination captive.  I don’t know how Jocelyn Green does it, but she always manages to give her characters so much depth, and guides them through such journeys of growth, that you simply cannot come away from any of her books without being changed in some way.

If you enjoy epic Christian Historical Fiction, I highly recommend this incredible story of loving and belonging, trusting and letting go.  And, thank you Ms. Green, for another unforgettable story – I’m not sure if “The Windy City Saga” will continue with more stories, but irregardless I will always count Meg and Sylvie, and all their family, among my dear literary friends. 

“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.”

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