The Reading Radar 10/4/2014

Spotted on Edelweiss and as I'm completely riveted by the blurb alone and of course I must read this one--you'll see why....The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman is on the wishlist.

Some call the prize ring a nursery for vice . . .

Born into a brothel, Ruth's future looks bleak until she catches the eye of Mr Dryer. A rich Bristol merchant and enthusiast of the ring, he trains gutsy Ruth as a puglist. Soon she rules the blood-spattered sawdust at the infamous Hatchet Inn.

Dryer's wife Charlotte lives in the shadows. A grieving orphan, she hides away, scarred by smallpox, ignored by Dryer, and engaged in dangerous mind games with her brother.

When Dryer sidelines Ruth after a disastrous fight, and focuses on training her husband Tom, Charlotte presents Ruth with an extraordinary proposition. As the tension mounts before Tom's Championship fight, two worlds collide with electrifying consequences.

THE FAIR FIGHT will take you from a filthy brothel to the finest houses in the town, from the world of street-fighters to the world of champions. Alive with the smells and the sounds of the streets, it is a raucous, intoxicating tale of courage, reinvention and fighting your way to the top.

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Spotted on Amazon and I'm hoping one doesn't need to read book one to enjoy this one: The White Butterfly by Mary Christian Payne.

Butterflies symbolize hope to Lady Lily Claybourne. They also symbolize transformation from one stage of life to another - a more beautiful one. “The White Butterfly” is a fast-paced romantic novel set in Post-World War I. England. It is the story of one woman’s struggle to find herself and to become self-fulfilled in a society that very rarely recognizes women as equals to men. Lily Barton Claybourne has a deep-seated need to be the best she can be in life. Her compassion and ability to forgive are strong components of her personality. But, the aristocracy isn’t interested in her dreams of a better society and more equality for women.

She has married into a family where the old, tried and true traditions are held on to very tightly. Lily thinks it is all foolishness. Her husband, the Earl of Gloucester, Kit Claybourne is a wonderful man, but he too is mired in the past traditions of his heritage. He was raised by an iron fisted mother, who appears on the surface to be a sweet and charming woman, but who still makes the rules that are adhered to at Claybourne Court. Lily loves Kit, but it is very hard to live with him. In nearly every facet of their lives together there is a dichotomy. Over and over Lily is told that what she wants to do is not ‘the done thing’. She feel she is nothing but an ornament on Kit’s arm. After two very grave illnesses, Lily emerges as a different person. She is tired of being told that nothing she does is right. The primary concern in the Claybourne family is that nothing ever be done to mar the image of that great and ancient name. Yet, Lily discovers that there was one, significant mistake made in 1903, that has now returned to haunt them. With strength and determination, she makes the decision to let go of the ties that bind her to aristocracy’s strict rules, and to follow her own path.

With the support of a sixteen year old, she gathers her courage and makes a radical change in her life. This engaging novel presents the reader with characters who are neither all good nor all bad. They are real human beings facing the struggle that often comes after a war has torn the foundations from the world they once knew.

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The Glassblower (Glasbläser-Saga #1) by Petra Durst-Benning, Samuel Willcocks Translator) made the wishlist after spotting the ad on Goodreads. I don't have the best record with translations, but this is worth a shot, I think.

In the village of Lauscha in Germany, things have been done the same way for centuries. The men blow the glass, and the women decorate and pack it. But when Joost Steinmann passes away unexpectedly one September night, his three daughters must learn to fend for themselves. While feisty Johanna takes a practical approach to looking for work, Ruth follows her heart, aiming to catch the eye of a handsome young villager. But it is dreamy, quiet Marie who has always been the most captivated by the magic—and sparkling possibilities—of the craft of glassblowing. As the spirited sisters work together to forge a brighter future for themselves on their own terms, they learn not only how to thrive in a man’s world, but how to remain true to themselves—and their hearts—in the process.

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A War of Her Own by Sylvia Dickey Smith is a compelling World War II historical novel, set in Orange, Texas, in 1943, about a Texas version of Rosie the Riveter in search of happiness. In the summer of 1943, Orange, Texas, is a sleepy little town overrun with tens of thousands of new workers. With jobs galore at the wartime shipyards, the workers are rich with cash and looking for a good time.

Bea Meade, mother of an infant son, finds her life shattered when her philandering husband announces he is leaving her for another woman. To make ends meet, Bea takes a job at a shipyard as a riveter. Meanwhile, she searches for the love missing in her life.

Life is good for everyone in Orangeexcept Bea, who has to fight her own battles against a no-good husband, the prejudice facing women in the workplace, and the mysteries of her own past.

Bea's journey to discover who she really is, a vibrant woman of her times, serves up an entertaining story of the World War II homefront you'll remember...