I have had the pleasure of reading some of the best (soon to be published) books. The Nature of Fragile Things is absolutely number one! I’ve read Susan Meissner before, but this is maybe her best work. Thank you, Tall Poppy and Penguin Random for allowing me this opportunity.

Sophie Whalen Hocking is from Donaghadee County Down, Ireland. At nineteen she emigrated to New York City, but after two years she answers an advertisement for a wife and stepmother to Martin Hocking and his five-year-old daughter Katherine (Kat) and moves to San Francisco.


The arranged marriage comes with a few rules, including separate bedrooms. Sophie has plenty to eat, a nice warm three-story house, and money to budget; all things she yearned for as a child growing up in Ireland. Kat is a bonus and wonderful child, though she does not talk since the death of her mother. Sophie immediately settles in as Kat’s stepmother and her gentleness eventually warms Kat to trust her.

Martin is an insurance salesman and travels away from home for long periods. Still, the relationship works for everyone. In April of 1906, while Martin is away, there is a knock at the door. The visitor, Belinda Bigelow, a woman about eight months pregnant has come to the Hocking residence in search of her husband, James. As the two women settle into tea, Belinda sees the wedding photo of Sophie and Martin on the mantle. Martin is the spitting image of James.

The earth begins to move for both women both literally and figuratively. That night the famous 1906 earthquake sets both women on a new course and future.

Susan Meissner weaves a tale of these women and the unraveling of the man they both know. Her knowledge of the earthquake of 1906 and how these women slept in tents while San Francisco burned all around them takes the reader directly to the scene. Her description of the food lines, those wounded and dead, the ruble, and the destruction of the city is almost unbelievable. She even cuts to the core of how this earthquake has shocked its victims, but then also recounts how the poor and rich react to the circumstances. Even the over-worked-walking-dead horses do not escape the eye of the author. The experience of Belinda giving birth hours after the earthquake in unspeakable surroundings and bringing life into the world of chaos is miraculous.

Then there is Martin/James. Who is he? The author knits together a bazaar story of a man neither women know. The details of such a cunning man are written in a format that is suspenseful and daunting. Her way with words is exciting and at times thrilling.

I hope you enjoy her work.

It's possible that my favorite thing about this book is that it is not set during WWII.

Sophie moves to San Francisco to marry a man she has never met. She has her reasons, but it also helps that her life in the tenements in New York City is pretty bleak. So she steps off the ferry, meets her new husband, and immediately goes to city hall to get married. Can you imagine being brave enough to do that?

Months later, a pregnant woman turns up on her doorstep and she finds out that her life isn't exactly as it appeared. Then, as if she needs more disruption, the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake happens the next morning and she finds herself fleeing her home with her stepdaughter and a woman that is about to give birth.

This story is so compelling. The author did a great job with this. I was highly entertained.

This book grabbed my interest from the first chapter and I couldn’t put it down. While I’m not normally a fan of historical fiction, I loved this book. The plot was intriguing and I loved the characters, especially Sophie. Fantastic read, I highly recommend, and I’ll be looking for more to read from this author.

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.

The Nature of Fragile Things is a book that you can't put down. I read it in one sitting. I have to admit I was not expecting the plot twist (I don't want to spoil it!) and was completely taken by surprise. I found myself feeling very empathetic and protective of the main female character. Overall, it was a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries and historical fiction!

This was the perfect Pandemic read. It was fast-paced, had a few twists, and kept me turning the pages.. I also enjoyed reading the interesting historical background of the California earthquakes in the early 1900s. I'll look for others by this author. Thanks, NetGalley!

Another great historical novel by Susan Meissner. Story follows an Irish woman with a mysterious past to
the time before the great San Francisco earthquake. She marries a man she meets thru a newspaper ad and begins to build a family with he and his mute daughter. A history lesson about the earthquake and how the people and city went to great lengths for survival and rebuild the city from ashes. Several twists in the story will keep you reading to the finale.

This book grabs you from the beginning with an interview between the main character Sophie and the US Marshal and keeps you guessing until the end. As the book unfolds you learn about Sophie’s difficult background as well as her hope for the future. Unfortunately, Sophie connects with another man who is not living up to his promise, but this time her new husband brings along baggage of his own. Sophie is resilient and turns a chance encounter with a stranger into a deep friendship that helps her cope with the challenges of raising a stepdaughter who communicates very little. When the 1906 Earthquake hits San Francisco, the devastation offers new beginnings for the survivors in a way that was not predicted.
“The Nature of Fragile Things” is a combination of historical fiction and mystery with themes of the true meaning of family and friendship woven throughout the story. The characters are well defined, and the reader will fall in love with the little daughter “Kitty Kat” as she is much wiser than her years. This book reminded me of “Escaping Dreamland” by Charlie Lovett as it is well researched, and the events are described in a way that makes you feel like you are living during these times. The sights, sounds, and smells of the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco come to life and jump off the page. In the midst of all this excitement is a touching story of how women leverage their strengths and bond together to overcome insurmountable obstacles in the time of crisis. Susan Meissner has a gift of weaving beautiful prose to bring light to the darkest of times. This is historical fiction at its best.

Writing: 3/5 Plot: 3.5/5 Characters: 4/5

Unusual family drama (with an element of mystery) that takes place before, during, and after the big San Francisco Quake of 1906. Irish immigrant Sophie Whalen answers an ad for a mail order bride. The husband? A handsome widower with a young, motherless, daughter. Things are not as they appear, however, and one morning when her husband is away, a knock on the door changes everything. And then … the big one hits.

Decent writing, likable though somewhat two-dimensional characters, and some interesting surprises in the plot. The best part is the detailed, historically accurate descriptions of San Francisco and the Bay Area (eg San Mateo) during and after the quake.

I love everything I've read by Susan Meissner. She's a gifted storyteller who creates wonderful, believable, easy to connect with characters, heart touching stories, and vivid historical settings. What more could you ask for? Gorgeous writing.
I received a complimentary copy of this book.

A historical novel involving one women that takes place before, during and after the Earthquake and fire of 1906 in San Francisco.
Sophie , an Irish immigrant living in New York City, answers an ad for a mail order bride. She travels to San Francisco where she is met and immediately marries a man named Martin. Martins wife died leaving him with a young daughter, Kat.

Sophie tries hard to make a new life now that she has everything she wanted, a home, a child, security. However, Martin is a secretive man who travels for business, while Sophie has a secret of her own.

The night before the earthquake, a woman appears on Sophie's doorstep who will change everything.

The setting and history of the novel were very good. I did not feel that Sophie's character every really came to life, she was very one dimensional.. There was enough foreshadowing that I was able to predict exactly where the novel was going which was somewhat disappointing. Fans of historical fiction will certainly enjoy it.

Historical fiction is so great when done well, and Meissner's books are the perfect examples. This is a thoroughly researched and skillfully written novel. The US Marshall transcripts throughout are a neat way to break up the chapters and draw readers in, not that their attention would wane with this novel anyway. The San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires provided an interesting setting, and I kept drawing parallels with the hurricanes I've been through living in Florida, and the crazy 2020 weather phenomenons we're facing. Easy, light reading, not too heavy, but still suspenseful and interesting--this is the perfect read!

I’ve read several books by Susan Meissner and they are all fantastic. Must-reads, if you haven’t already. The Nature of Fragile Things is coming out in 2021 but I can’t wait that long to rave about this story.

Sophie is an Irish immigrant, dirt poor, living in a tenement in New York City in the early 1900s. She feels like there is no way out of her hard life so when she sees ad from a widower in California looking for a wife and caretaker to his young daughter; she doesn’t think twice about applying for the position.

When she arrives in San Francisco, she is immediately married to Martin Hocking. It doesn’t matter that he’s cold and aloof, he provides generously for her with plenty of food, new clothes, a beautiful home. What a contrast to her life in New York. She adores Martin’s daughter Kat, who refuses to speak after the death of her mother.

Martin travels for work and is away for many days in a row. She doesn’t question it until a woman lands on her doorstep looking for her own husband. Who sounds an awful lot like Martin. Suddenly, an earthquake rips through San Francisco, complicating everything including what Sophie knows about her new husband.

I absolutely loved this book, the plot, the characters, the writing style. I am already waiting in anticipation for Susan’s next brilliant novel.

April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin’s silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin’s odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn’t right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.

Susan Meissner's The Nature of Fragile Things is spectacular. Meissner always excels at crafting a compelling plot within a historical framework. Here, she sets a domestic thriller in 1905-06--before, during, and after the San Francisco earthquake. While I would be loathe to give away any of the plot, the novel is full of compelling twists and turns and features characters steeped in mystery. It is a page-turner in the best sense of the word. The quality of Meissner's research is top-notch and the atmosphere bleeds through every page. Highly recommended.

Another great historical novel by Susan Meissner. This engrossing tale takes place during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. A young Irish immigrant girl trying to better her life in America answers an ad from a widow to become his wife and help take care of his young daughter.
At first it seems like she made a great choice, but she soon learns that her new husband is not the man she thought he was. Things escalate from there, and she is forced to make some difficult and heart wrenching decisions.

WOW
I am unable to find words to describe this book

I could not stop reading, I was wrapped tightly that I could not stop to jot a note or a thought.

Sophie is a young immigrant from Ireland struggling to live in New York. She answers a newspaper ad to be a wife to a man in San Francisco and mother to his young daughter. Her husband is distant and keeps most of his life private but Kat is happy to have a safe place to live and she loves her new daughter Kat. One night a pregnant woman shows up at her house. They share stories, find Martin's incriminating documents and are stunned with what they learn. Early the next morning an earthquake damages most of San Francisco and changes all of their lives. Throughout the story, chapters from the future have Sophie explaining the events to a US Marshall. I admire Sophie's character, she is brave and selfless and I so wanted a happy ending for her and Kat. The fictionalized account of the women is set against factual accounts of the earthquake's damage.

This is one of those books where I wish reviewing systems allowed 1/2 stars because while 3 stars doesn't feel adequate, 4 stars is too high. I adored the first three-quarters of this book. Sadie was a strong, likeable character and the mystery behind her husband had me turning pages, eager to know how it turned out. I also loved how the book focused on a bond between three women, who, injured by the same man, came to love and respect one another. It's a terrific tale of how hardship and trauma can bind people in strong, inexplicable ways.

I should also add that Meissner's recounting of the San Francisco earthquake as fantastic.

But as I neared the last fifty pages, it felt as though the author ran out of steam. Storylines were wrapped up quickly, with little drama. Even Sadie's secret, which should have played a much larger role, in my opinion, was wrapped up in one chapter. As a result, I found myself dissatisfied.

In the end, I'll give this book 3 1/2 stars. While I won't handsell this book as vigorously as others, I will recommend it to readers who are tired of reading World War II and are looking for something different.

Meissner is truly gifted at writing historical fiction. I was excited when I saw this new one was coming out and it did not disappoint.

The story grabs you from the beginning with the US Marshall transcript. What? And then the mail order bride mysterious start with Martin. As we move through the story and more characters are introduced it’s pretty hard to put down. Once Belinda shows up it had me hooked.

I love the sisterhood between the female characters and the love of all for poor, sweet Kat. The recounting of the 1906 earthquake is done in such an effective way, without the textbook feel that some authors can take. Being a CA native, I’m familiar with the earthquake stories but Meissner was effective in really bringing it to life.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I will most definitely be recommending this one to historical fiction fans!

I appreciate NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an opportunity to read and review Susan Meissner's newest book - The Nature of Fragile Things. The book was amazing and I couldn't put it down. I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Spohie. Sophie agreed to move to San Francisco and marry a man she had never met to escape working in a factory and living in a tenement in New York City. She arrives to meet Martin and his daughter Kat, who barely speaks. Sophie is content to be in a loveless marriage as her attachment to Kat grows an the girl begins to come out of her shell. There are small things with Martin that just don't seem to add up, but he has provided her with a nice house and a little girl to love so Sophie doesn't really go too far to figure out his secrets. Then one night another woman arrives at the house with a story that will change Sophie's life forever. Throw the San Francisco earthquake and fires into the mix and you have a story you won't be able to put down.

Susan Meissner has done it again! Another terrific historical fiction novel, this one set around the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. This is the third or fourth novel I’ve read set in this time period, and I have to say this was one of the best! The setting of the earthquake, fires, and mayhem afterward always lends itself to a good mystery, with people disappearing, and those who are up to no good getting into really no good. This book did not disappoint. The story just kept getting better and better from mail order bride Sophie going to San Francisco to marry a man sight unseen, right to the last page, and really satisfying ending, I loved everything about this book! A great story, with wonderful character development and detailed description of San Francisco before, during and after the earthquake, I loved the way the story unfolded with its twists and turns and couldn’t read fast enough to find out what was happening. I would highly recommend this to lovers of historical fiction, book clubs, and anyone who loves a good story!