I loved this book. Definitely one of my favorite Christian fiction reads so far this year!
Mabel MacGinnis has grown up in the circus, and is considered the "strongest woman in Europe". When her father dies suddenly, she decides to search for the mother who abandoned her long ago. By her side is Jake Cunningham, a friend and fellow circus performer who is battling his own demons.
I loved how Mabel was so strong and yet still so feminine. Her loving heart was quick to forgive and so beautifully pure. Jake's story felt realistic as he comes to recognize his love for her in a gradual way.
It was incredible to see the way Kimberly Duffy tackled heavy themes like postpartum depression, suicide, abandonment, body issues, and grief, and wove them together in a story filled with hope and strength. I especially loved how she dealt with the complexities of a difficult mother/daughter relationship.
Highly recommend this to anyone who wants a story filled with characters that are complicated and real, hopeful and strong. We need more books like this. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
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Overall: 5/5
Age: 16+
Content warning: Post partum depression, mention of suicide, death, grief, sexual intimacy inferred (in marriage) but closed door. No language.
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Find it at your local Christian bookstore or buy it online.
From the back cover:
Two women--bound by blood, torn apart by circumstance--find together that true strength comes in many forms.
In 1911, Mabel MacGinnis is Europe's strongest woman and has performed beside her father in the Manzo Brothers Circus her entire life. When he dies unexpectedly, she loses everything she's ever known and sets off in the company of acrobat Jake Cunningham in hope of finding the mother she thought was dead.
Isabella Moreau, America's most feted aerialist, has given everything to the circus. But age and injury now threaten her security, and Isabella, stalked by old fears, makes a choice that risks everything. Then her daughter Mabel appears alongside the man who never wanted to see Isabella again, and she is forced to face the truth of where, and in what, she derives her worth.
As Mabel and Isabella's lives become entangled beneath the glittering lights and flying trapeze of Madison Square Garden, their resiliency and resolve are tested as they learn the truth of what it means to be strong.
*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.*
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