Trigger warnings: miscarriage, murder, natural disaster, terminal illness, spousal abuse, mail-order bride, gold diggers, polygamy, loss of a home

Irish immigrant Sophie Whalen leads an awful life in her New York City tenement. She decides to answer an ad in the paper that a widower placed looking for a wife and mother to his young girl. Sophie may never have children of her own, so she leaves NYC for California.

Sophie Hocking is content with her new life where she is warm, fed, and can provide for stepdaughter Katherine, who they call Kat. Sophie doesn't love her husband Martin, who is often away for business.

On the night before the disastrous 1906 San Francisco earthquake, a pregnant woman shows up at her door. Her husband is a business contact of Martin's, and she thinks Sophie can help locate the missing man.

The earthquake strikes and the pregnant woman goes into labor. The two women must stay together to help each other survive the disaster. In their search for truth, they discover a third woman whose life will become intertwined with theirs.

The novel begins with readings of a police report in which Sophie Hocking is being interviewed, so the reader knows something will eventually go wrong. The story unfolds at a pleasant pace with police interviews woven in between chapters.

Alana Kerr Collins is a good narrator with a slight Irish accent. Her reading sounds American, although she peppers Irish vowels throughout. Jason Culp reads the police reports interspersed throughout the novel but has to read "question" and "answer" between the dialogue which is distracting.

This novel is so much more than I expected from the brief description I read before beginning. The result was a pleasant surprise -- a women's fiction title that explores complicated relationships and several mysteries about the connections between the women. The twists and turns in the story keep coming until the very end.

Highly recommended for fans of women's fiction, women's historical fiction, and historical mysteries.

Such a thrilling book. Although I was expecting a little more from the way in ended, but I loved the book on the whole.

At first glance, I assumed this would be a World War 2 era novel, but instead was immediately immersed in San Francisco history. This was a smart, suspenseful book set against the backdrop of the 1906 earthquake. It’s emotionally evocative and merges historical fiction, mystery, and family drama in this page turner.
My sister recently suggested I add Susan Meissner to my must read authors list and now I have a backlist to explore!

Wow! What an amazing story that had me gripped with the story and mesmerized by the lead character’s story. Susan Meissner wove a great historical fiction tale with the backdrop of the San Francisco earthquake in the early 1900’s. It’s a story of perseverance, humanity, and love.

I really liked this book! It’s not my usual genre these days but I really enjoyed it! It shows the strength and resiliency of women in the toughest times of their lives.

Taking place in San Francisco in 1906 with a backdrop of the San Francisco earthquake, this book tells the story of a young immigrant looking for a better life. Sophie Whalen answers an ad for a mail order bride and travels from New York to San Francisco to marry a man she does not know. Uneasy about her new husband's odd behavior with his daughter, Sophie begins to dig into his past. In the course of the story, Sophie discovers two other women with ties to her husband. The three women develop a bond that will test them and their relationship with the man in their lives.

This novel is fast, gripping read with memorable characters and events. Highly recommended!

A story of historical fiction and mystery set during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Irish immigrant ready to get out of NYC answers a mail-order bride ad to marry a man in San Francisco with his young daughter. She has no idea what she was getting in to. The beginning of the storyline was a bit slow for me, yet the suspense had me turning the pages. The story was beautifully written, full of friendships, secrets, and redemption. It would of been a good book to buddy read for discussions.

4.5 stars

I loved this book! Sophie is a brave woman and her relationship with her stepdaughter is precious.

The character development is amazing, and I appreciate that! The California setting is very vivid, set in the early 1900's, during a San Francisco earthquake.

If you prefer audio, both narrators were excellent.

Holy moly, a real winner! Loved loved loved this historical fiction, a masterpiece of storytelling. This is a tight, character-driven book that takes place in San Francisco in 1906—when all hell broke loose with an earthquake, then a devastating fire. I was on the edge of my seat for a large chunk of the book. There is plenty of mystery and suspense—way more than you’d usually find in this genre, and for me this was a huge plus. And it’s all doled out in the right amounts at the right places; oh, the story is so well put together! Another way that it’s different from your basic historical fiction: descriptive text doesn’t rule. The pictures are vivid without tedious descriptive paragraphs being thrown in. It’s one of those books you can’t put down.

I don’t want to give away anything; part of the fun is not knowing where the story is going. All I’ll say is there’s a mail-order bride, a stoic man, a knock on the door. Add an earthquake and a fire, and what a situation we have here, folks. A perk was getting a peek of what it could have been like to live in San Francisco during the historical disaster. I felt like I was right there through the chaos and destruction. The grumbling and tumbling of the city was one thing, but we had a whole other drama going on in the middle of it.

You’ll love the three woman who are joined together in weird ways, and you’ll feel like you know them. Great character development. I will say that the language isn’t special; the sentences didn’t pop out and make me tingle. But still, the language doesn’t get in the way, either. It’s a good, swift vehicle for getting us to the places we need to go to.

I want to check out more books by this author; I want to—need to—read another book like this one! In its earnest and urgent pace, this book reminded me of Diane Chamberlain’s Big Lies in a Small Town, which I also loved.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. This book takes place during the devastating earthquake that took place in San Francisco in 1906. This work of historical fiction weaves together a bit of mystery and an emotional family drama with characters I won't soon forget. I highly recommend this book to anyone!

Wonderful wonderful wonderful. I can’t say enough great things about this book and will pass along as a recommendation to anyone who needs one.

Great book! Very intriguing story line. I feel like there isn't too many historical fiction books on the market that deal with this event in history. Very well done!

THE NATURE OF FRAGILE THINGS is an unexpected, captivating novel that I won’t soon forget. Chronicling the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in San Francisco in the early 1900s, this novel follows a cast of strong, complicated women. This story surprised me at every turn, equal parts historical fiction and suspense/mystery. It was much more beautiful and complex than I imagined, and I fell in love with the characters, especially Sophie and Kat. I would recommend this novel to anyone- it is hard to fully describe, but is a wonder to read and enjoy.

I kindly received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book brought the earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco to life. Meissner is an author I have always wanted to try and she did not disappoint. I lived in a flat on Washington & Polk in SF and this makes one understand the history and the trials of those who moved there only to find hardship and challenges.

I stayed up late many nights to follow the story.
Beautiful writing.
Thanks to NetGalley for the free copy.

Unfortunately became a DNF for me after an unexpected sex scene. Disappointing, as I had been enjoying the book to that point.

I received an eARC of the book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book by Susan Meissner was really amazing. I could not put down. I really read whole book in one sitting. Just forgot to review here. I even had to buy print version.

Susan Meissner continues to be a very favorite. Her talent at writing historical fiction is unmatched. This one was so interesting in that not only was it historical fiction, but it was also a mystery/suspense. I was intrigued and left guessing the entire time. I loved the characters and didn't want the book to end, yet I was rushing toward it because I just needed the conclusion. I will read anything Meissner writes.

One of the best books I've read this year! Such a unique story based on true events. So much tension revolving around the secret and lies of the husband--and a beautiful relationship between the heroine and her step-daughter. The Nature of Fragile Things kept me on my toes till the very end. Recommended it for book club and to several friends. Love Meissner's storytelling! Highly recommend.

The Nature of Fragile Things is a page turner and I read it from cover to cover in one long sitting!

The Nature of Fragile Things is a suspenseful read with engrossing characters and enough plot twists and turns to keep you guessing to the very end. Highly recommend.