The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy

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.

Review:

I am so used to reading stories about willowy beauties or curvaceous darlings.... it is not often that your main sweetheart is a circus mighty woman. Mabel is known for her incredible feats of strength - she can literally hold a bridge across her back while the circus troupe waltzes across her back. She is powerful. Very powerful - at least on the outside. Inside though, she is a terrified little girl that is still reeling from the death of her mother when she was just a wee one. The scars of that have torn into the very fabric of her innermost being and have affected every relationship since. 

The only thing that holds Mabel together is her father - her strong-man partner - and her circus family. When her father dies and Mabel is no longer able to face the crowds without him, she is tossed from the circus - and the only family she has ever known. 

Forced to leave, Mabel together with Jake, the cowboy who promised her father he'd keep an eye on her, embark on a new adventure. That adventure is rife with love, heartbreak, betrayal, wonder, and redemption. 

This was a very different kind of story. Mabel is not your typical heroine and at times I found her a little difficult to mentally reconcile all the facets of her, but her sweetness carries the story. I did find the topic of post partum depression and mental illness heavy to read, but it was worked well into the story and truly became the backbone of the entire plot.

Thank-you to Graf Martin for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.