The Boxer and the Blacksmith (When the Blood Is Up)

Can London's lady champion fight for love?As London's undefeated women's boxer, Bess Abbott has the scars-both inside and out-to prove it. But when one of her boxing students, Violet, needs protection, Bess Abbott's rock hard heart cracks open. And when a handsome blacksmith comes along, giving her compliments and treating her, well, like a woman, Bess doesn't know what to do. She's on the ropes in the face of love. Os Worley was a child when he became an accidental stow-away. He grew up not knowing the family or the island that inflected his accent. His only memory of his mother is a head bent, hands working a stitch, a voice humming a melody. Now that he has his own foundry, and his own apprentice, he's come to London to find the woman attached to this memory. His heart is already tempered and quenched, focused on his goal-but a lady boxer threatens to recast his love in her own image. As Os and Bess face off, will they toe the line or retreat to their corners?*Winner of the Hearts Through History 2019 Legend Award, A Man for All Reasons