About the Book

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.

“Kimberly Duffy not only delivers a beautiful escape, but she also adds layers of emotional depth to build a captivating story readers will love.”–JULIE CANTRELL, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Perennials

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In My Opinion

The thing I liked most of all in Kimberly Duffy’s The Weight of Air was the depiction of how outside appearances and masks people wear hide the true heart of a person. This was the case with so many of the characters in this book.

Mabel is a strong woman in the circus. She’s tall, stronger than the average man, beautiful yet her heart is fragile. She feels unloved and unseen to the people who matter most to her. Then there’s Jake who lives in the past and Isabella (Mabel’s mother) who has hidden her bouts of depression for many years.

Duffy explores all of these angles while also giving readers a love story to root for. Seriously, from the moment Mabel decided to leave the home she’s always known and go in search for her mother and Jake said he was going with her, I was rooting for these two to find love. Isabella is a little tougher to like, though. At first she comes across as a little selfish, fame-seeking, and manipulative but as I got to know her history, her fears, her struggles, and her heart for her daughter, I wasn’t as opposed to her.

The story setting is so unique and at times I felt like I was sitting in the audience watching the performers and enjoying the show right along with the other spectators or standing in the middle of the ring with the circus family.

Disclosure statement: I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.