I loved, loved, loved this book!! From the beginning I could not put it down and found not only the time frame, but the description of the horrors after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to be very enticing. The action and suspense continued throughout the book as the main character, Sophia navigated her suddenly upturned world. Sophia is an immigrant from Ireland struggling through life working in a New York factory and living in a crowded tenement. She answers an ad from a recently widowed man in San Francisco to marry him and raise his 5 year old daughter. On her arrival in San Francisco they marry and she finally feels like her life is a very satisfactory one. She loves little Kat dearly and gets along well with her new husband. When the earthquake hits about a year and a half after their marriage, more than just her house is turned upside down. The adventure, mystery and suspense of what happens next makes this book a truly great read. I will definitely be reading more from #Susan Meissner
Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
#TheNatureOfFragileThings

What a suspensful tale told in the historic time of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. I don’t usually select suspense tales, but I’m sure glad I did! It’s well written and it kept me reading wanting to know what happens to Sophie!

I have been meaning to read Susan Meissner for a long time, and I’m very glad THE NATURE OF FRAGILE THINGS was my first. It was nice to read historical fiction that wasn’t set during WWII, as so many novels are. I was thoroughly invested in Sophie’s journey, and most of the twists took me by surprise. I loved the friendship that formed between Sophie and Belinda, even though they should have been opponents. Their friendship made them both stronger and that’s a powerful message to send to readers. I look forward to sharing this book with patrons, and am also excited to read the author’s other books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this advance reader copy of The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner in exchange for an honest review.

This book centers around Sophie Whalen, a young, 20's Irish immigrant living in New York in the early 1900s. Her life in New York and her living situation in the tenement housing has left her desperate to escape her circumstances. Sophie comes across an advertisement in the paper for a bride. A man in San Francisco is looking for a wife and a mother for his young, five-year-old daughter. Sophie responds to the ad and soon finds herself arriving in San Francisco, where she is picked up at the train station by handsome Martin Hocking, her soon to be husband. They waste no time getting married, and Sophie is promptly thrust into wife and mother's role. Sophie settles into her new life that feels almost too good to be true, initially. It's not long before her husband's odd behavior, and her new daughter's silence reveals that there is more to the story. Her ideal life begins to crumble, literally and figuratively, when a strange pregnant woman arrives at her door on the same evening that an earthquake rocks the city. Everything begins to unravel, and she discovers that Martin is not who she believed him to be. The unraveling will lead Sophie throughout the southwest as she works to put the pieces of this mystery together. She isn't the only one trying to make sense of the life of Martin Hocking when the US Marshalls bring in Sophie for questioning. All is not as it seems.

I really loved this book. I was immediately drawn into the story and read it in one day. Susan Meissner's writing flows beautifully. She did an excellent job developing her characters and creating the historical setting of the early 1900s. I enjoyed how she interspersed the police interviews among the chapters. This built anticipation as I was eager to discover the extent of the deception occurring and just how many of the characters weren't being honest and what was at stake. This book is filled with unexpected turns; I could not put it down. I recommend it!
#TheNatureOfFragileThings #SusanMeissner #NetGalley

Gripping, emotional story about love, family and circumstance.
Mysterious man advertises for a bride. Leaving behind abject poverty to take this position Sophie finds a non verbal 5 year old as well as two other women.
Add on the San Francisco earthquake and it becomes a wonderful book of historical fiction.
Well researched. Well written.
Immensely satisfying.

Susan Meissner is a go to author for me and this book did not disappoint. This is a historical fiction centered around the 1906 San Francisco earthquake involving three women and one man. A mystery/suspense is at the center of this novel. Within this interesting historical setting the author examines what it means to be a family and the many facets of love. The story is interwoven between these women and one little girl. Interspersed throughout the book are police interrogations that piqued my interest and propelled the story along. #TheNatureOfFragileThings #SusanMeissner #NetGalley

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found myself still reading at 3 AM, wanting to know what happened. . The author did a great job describing the 1906 San Francisco earthquake as well as the emotions a mail order bride would feel. I enjoyed reading this well researched book. Five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for this advance reader copy of The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner. In exchange for an honest review.
1906, San Francisco, the day the earth shook.. Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant looking to escape New York when she comes across an advert for a bride. She quickly figures out that there is a reason Martin wants her for his wife but we soon learn there’s more under foot. With a touch of history and a touch of mystery, 1906 comes alive as Martins story unravels before us.
There are many things I like about Susan Meissners writing, including the pace, length and ease. This is the third novel I have read by her, and her historical fiction novels are always clear and enjoyable. I would say I like each one better than the one before. A solid story and good crossover for a reader who might be wary of a heavy historical novel as this one is more about the mystery of the story than the history of the quake.
4*

This book was a fantastic read. Susan has a gift with Historical Fiction. The twists and turns were amazing. I was captivated the entire book.

So desperate to escape the poverty and squalor of the tenement she’s living in in New York City, Sophie Whalen, a recent immigrant from Ireland, agrees to marry a man she’s never met in far away San Francisco. Her new husband, widower Martin Hocking is handsome but cold. Sophie is drawn instead, to his young daughter, who appears to be locked in her own world. As Sophie tries to solve the mystery surrounding her new family, she gets caught up in the lives of two other women, all on the eve of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Meissner brings one of the greatest disasters in American history to life in this immersive read

Susan Meissner's latest novel is a page turner. I was strongly drawn to the story of a woman whose life intersects with two other women and their children through the secret life of the man she marries the day they met in person. The details of San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and subsequent fires provide the backdrop. There are a few passages that use mild four letter words which I thought were unnecessary, and the plot had a couple improbable twists and timelines, but overall, I thought a good read.