Gangland: A Real Chicago Love Story #1 (PB) (2020)

This is the first part of a series written not for the faint at heart. Brace yourselves for a story of love, loyalty and survival on Chicago's Southside.

At 17-years-old, Star can't wait to graduate so that she can make it out the Southside. With dreams of making it big, she is already on the right track to a new life after building a following by doing make-up tutorials and posting sexy photos of herself on her Instagram page. Though a good girl, she's infatuated with the violent and merciless street king, Polo, the head of the city's most notorious gang. She wants nothing more than to help him drop his current girl so that she can be the woman in his life. But Star gets more than she bargained for when a series of events lead her to not only be Polo's main chick but forces her to be the leader of the female counterpart to his gang.

Tragedy strikes when Star's own dope fiend of a mother robs Polo's trap house and the act sends Mink, Polo's baby brother, and Kato, Polo's right-hand man, blasting right through Star's front door. When the night ends with Kato shot and Mink murdered at Star's hands, Polo demands to know who is responsible for killing his brother but she quickly covers her own tracks to save herself from his wrath.

Unfortunately, Star doesn't know there is a witness to her crime. Kato, who she thought she'd killed is actually alive and in a coma fighting for his life. When he suddenly awakes, Star is afraid that her fate will be sealed as soon as he tells how Mink really died. However, Kato is not the same man that he was before and things between the two quickly begin to change. When sparks fly and Star feels she's found true love in the one man she thought she hated more than anyone on Earth, will the real truth of her lies come to light and ruin it all?