This was a Kindle First free book and looked like the most interesting of the four that were offered. It is a historical family story/romance set in Germany during the Victorian era. The three Steinmann sisters, Johanna, Ruth, and Marie, are left alone when their father, Joost, dies unexpectedly. He was a glassblower, as are most of the men in the town of Lauscha. The three sisters have no work experience but a neighboring glassblower hires all three of them out of pity. Johanna soon gets fired for mouthing off, but finds a job in another town with a really creepy boss. Ruth "falls in love" with one of the boss's sons, and Marie discovers she has a lot of talent for designing and decorating glass objects.
The book follows the three sisters as they grow into adulthood and learn to take care of themselves. There is some sex, and a pretty disturbing sexual assault. The book is obviously very well researched as far as the glassblowing industry, and shows women in a positive light for the most part. Ruth is a bit of a doofus though and makes some terrible choices.
Maybe something was lost in the translation, but the book didn't really draw me in. It was interesting enough to keep reading, but not emotionally engaging. It is very well written though.
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