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Donora Story Collection #4
Boxing Day
Donora, Pennsylvania—December, 1923
It’s Christmastime and twenty-four-year-old Socialite, Wrenly Hawthorne, is teetering between the comfort of family wealth and her risky drive for independence. Feeling estranged from friends and at odds with her parents, she is searching for “something more.” With keen interest in the freedom that the women’s right to vote should have brought, she studies the stock market and plans to attend school. She is sure she can build the life she wants, but will she risk everything to do it?
Enter boxer Cyril Mankovic. He returns to Donora after his mother dies while giving birth to his one and only sister, Olive. He is unprepared for what she and his seven younger brothers need and he is shocked that his father has no plan to care for them. Cyril’s quest to make fast money for his family brings him face-to-face with Wrenly at the moment she is firmly declining the proposal of a very “suitable man.” A WWI veteran, Cyril earns money barnstorming the country, living a life where only his needs matter. But the longer Cyril is home the more his sense of responsibility develops.
Family secrets, a Boxing Day boxing match, an exclusive women’s investment club, and the magic of the Donora holiday season merge Wrenly and Cyril’s paths in unforeseen ways. Is their growing affection enough to overcome their differences? Join them as the wonder of love and family challenges everything they thought they knew.
It’s Christmastime and twenty-four-year-old Socialite, Wrenly Hawthorne, is teetering between the comfort of family wealth and her risky drive for independence. Feeling estranged from friends and at odds with her parents, she is searching for “something more.” With keen interest in the freedom that the women’s right to vote should have brought, she studies the stock market and plans to attend school. She is sure she can build the life she wants, but will she risk everything to do it?
Enter boxer Cyril Mankovic. He returns to Donora after his mother dies while giving birth to his one and only sister, Olive. He is unprepared for what she and his seven younger brothers need and he is shocked that his father has no plan to care for them. Cyril’s quest to make fast money for his family brings him face-to-face with Wrenly at the moment she is firmly declining the proposal of a very “suitable man.” A WWI veteran, Cyril earns money barnstorming the country, living a life where only his needs matter. But the longer Cyril is home the more his sense of responsibility develops.
Family secrets, a Boxing Day boxing match, an exclusive women’s investment club, and the magic of the Donora holiday season merge Wrenly and Cyril’s paths in unforeseen ways. Is their growing affection enough to overcome their differences? Join them as the wonder of love and family challenges everything they thought they knew.
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2023
124 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Kathleen Shoop
49 books1,126 followersBestselling author, Kathleen Shoop, holds a PhD in reading education and has more than 20 years of experience in the classroom. She writes historical fiction, women’s fiction and romance. Shoop’s novels have garnered various awards in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, Eric Hoffer Book Awards, Indie Excellence Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the San Francisco Book Festival. Kathleen has been featured in USA Today and the Writer’s Guide to 2013. Her work has appeared in The Tribune-Review, four Chicken Soup for the Soul books and Pittsburgh Parent magazine. She lives in Oakmont, Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 1, 2026
Hometown Historical Romance
Being a Pittsburgher, not from Donora, but familiar with the town, this book was the perfect Christmas read and I finished it , appropriately, on New Years Eve. The characters are endearing, the story filled with emotion and the attention to detail will delight natives and boxing fans alike. 👍
Being a Pittsburgher, not from Donora, but familiar with the town, this book was the perfect Christmas read and I finished it , appropriately, on New Years Eve. The characters are endearing, the story filled with emotion and the attention to detail will delight natives and boxing fans alike. 👍
March 29, 2025
Very good book, but with a few exceptions
I loved the story, but was disappointed by some glaring grammatical errors. Boxing Day was also a thinly-veiled romance novel; the old boy meets girl, instant attraction by both parties, neither believing the other could possibly care for him/her, back and forth, on and on until marriage and The End formula. The ending seemed a little rushed and the timeline a bit off as well. Despite these things, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. I must admit, however, Shoop's novel The Magician was far superior to Boxing Day.
I loved the story, but was disappointed by some glaring grammatical errors. Boxing Day was also a thinly-veiled romance novel; the old boy meets girl, instant attraction by both parties, neither believing the other could possibly care for him/her, back and forth, on and on until marriage and The End formula. The ending seemed a little rushed and the timeline a bit off as well. Despite these things, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. I must admit, however, Shoop's novel The Magician was far superior to Boxing Day.
December 21, 2025
Good Read
I enjoyed reading the book, but those characters were all so confused. The rich girl falls in love with a boxer who has close to a dozen siblings. His mom dies, his pop takes a hike, and rich girl meanders into the lives of the boxer and his siblings. I could not be a boxer's wife because he would be on the road, training, or boxing all of the time. The boxer and the rich girl marry, and after eighteen years they still question the basics of a relationship?
Thank you, Ms. Shoop, for the read.
I enjoyed reading the book, but those characters were all so confused. The rich girl falls in love with a boxer who has close to a dozen siblings. His mom dies, his pop takes a hike, and rich girl meanders into the lives of the boxer and his siblings. I could not be a boxer's wife because he would be on the road, training, or boxing all of the time. The boxer and the rich girl marry, and after eighteen years they still question the basics of a relationship?
Thank you, Ms. Shoop, for the read.
January 6, 2026
I got this for free, so I wasn’t expecting much. I was very pleasantly surprised that it’s actually pretty good. I appreciate the author’s research that was put into making this a believable story for the time period. She also wrote believable, complex characters. The plot was a bit sappy, but it’s a Christmas time romance, so I expected that even if it’s not necessarily something I enjoy. Overall it’s a good book and I’d be interested in reading more from Shoop.
December 28, 2023
A Christmas Read
I do enjoy reading about Donora, thatvtimeframe, the socio-econo mic differences, and the relationships that upend their standards of that time. Wrenly was thinking and acting outside her "box". Cyril was dealing with so many issues: grief, responsibilities, career,attraction...Wrenly's mother...what a surprise! And the Sycamore Club!
I do enjoy reading about Donora, thatvtimeframe, the socio-econo mic differences, and the relationships that upend their standards of that time. Wrenly was thinking and acting outside her "box". Cyril was dealing with so many issues: grief, responsibilities, career,attraction...Wrenly's mother...what a surprise! And the Sycamore Club!
January 8, 2024
Another great read
Book 4 of the Donors series is another great read. I loved this book as much as I did the previous 3. They can each be stand alone stories, but the history of that era helps the atmospheric feel of the stories.
Book 4 of the Donors series is another great read. I loved this book as much as I did the previous 3. They can each be stand alone stories, but the history of that era helps the atmospheric feel of the stories.
January 13, 2024
Good read, not quite as interesting as the 3 prior books in this series. I would still recommend the set.
December 3, 2025
Great Read
This book keeps you interested and hoping for joy and happiness despite the dreary existence of poverty and loss. A wonderful read.
This book keeps you interested and hoping for joy and happiness despite the dreary existence of poverty and loss. A wonderful read.
December 12, 2025
Enjoyed it although not as much as the previous three in the collection.
December 23, 2025
Enjoyed the story
Love and boxing, what a combination! It is the story about a boy and a girl with them being on ‘either side of the tracks’ but find one another.
Love and boxing, what a combination! It is the story about a boy and a girl with them being on ‘either side of the tracks’ but find one another.
December 31, 2025
This was a sweet story that would make an excellent movie. I enjoyed the story line but the writing was just average.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews