"I only need to get through this day. Just this one."

I'm not usually a big fan of historical fiction but this book definitely hit the mark. Set in San Francisco in 1908, Irish immigrant Sophie Whalen has just met and married her husband Martin after answering his advertisement in a New York paper. Sophie quickly falls in love Martin's daughter Kat and is doing her best to make them a happy family. Then a stranger arrives at her door just hours before the massive San Francisco earthquake and fire impact their lives and the city forever.

This book was so good! There was mystery, a significant historical event that I didn't know much about, (despite the fact that I am a native Californian), and a well-written story with great characters. Sophie was a tough, badass female, fighting to do right by herself and her stepdaughter. Highly recommend.

I went into this book fairly blind, but it was wonderful. This is historical fiction with a bit of mystery/suspense. Taking place in the early 1900's, Sophie moves to San Francisco to marry a man, sight unseen. She answers an ad in a the paper from a man looking for a wife and mother to his young daugher. This is exactly what Sophie wants, so she writes back.

Once she gets to San Francisco, it isn't quite what she expects. She gets a surprise visitor... the big earthquake hits, and Sophie has some tough choices to make. Her story is interspersed with an interview with a federal marshal, asking questions. This breaks up the story, but doesn't give any information away until the narrative is provided.

This book was very well done, a nice blend of human story, historical fiction and mystery. I loved the revelations as the book continued, all leading to a very satisfying ending with all the loose ends wrapped up.

What would you do to have food in your belly, a roof over your head, and a warm bed to sleep in every night? Sophie chose to marry a man she did not love. The Nature of Fragile Things tells the story of a young Irish immigrant who marries a widower in San Francisco so she can have a daughter to love and a nice place to live. One day a strange pregnant woman arrives on her doorstep and her content life is changed forever.

As Susan Meissner writes in all her novels, we learn of historical events that challenge human nature and brings devastation to their lives. In this story, we learn of the great earthquake of San Francisco in the early nineteen hundreds. With intense details, she describes how Sophie’s life is shaken and crumbled while at the same time she learns the truth of her husband.

This story isn’t just about loss and destruction, but about friendship, love and compassion. Although there is great mystery and intrigue, this story brings warmth to my heart and reminds me to find joy in your friends and family.


Thank you for the advance copy.

Oh man! Does Susan Meissner know how to write compelling historical fiction! The twist in the middle of this one had my jaw hitting the floor. I wish that same twistiness would have been continued throughout the whole book though because I found the ending to be a bit too predictable (hence the 4 star rating). That epilogue though! *chef's kiss* I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah and Kat's story as it unraveling amidst the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. So many different cultural and historical elements were discussed and it made me appreciate the research the author put in before writing the novel.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks for my gifted copy, @berkleypub!

I enjoyed another buddy read with fellow historical fiction lover @meetmeinthestacks!

While marketed as historical fiction, this one reads more like a family drama/mystery, which was an interesting combo! So many secrets.

Meissner did a wonderful job of setting the scene and helping me picture San Francisco in 1906. I found most characters likeable and definitely found myself invested in their outcomes. There were a lot of characters and names to keep straight so I imagine it would be a little tough on audio.

One scene at the end gave me the heebie jeebies and there were a few loose ends I’d have liked to seen wrapped up better. I wish there was a little more about the earthquake and its aftermath and affect on the city, but instead it felt a little like the earthquake was a secondary plot point. It was also a little long, but enjoyable overall!

I also want to shout out my local bookstore, @hubcitybookshop for hosting a virtual event a few months ago with Meissner herself. It was so enjoyable to visit with her and hear about her research and writing process. I hope to reads some more of her backlist soon!

Trigger warnings: infidelity, domestic abuse, physical abuse, miscarriage, toxic relationship, death of a parent

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant, desperate to get away from tenement life in New York City, so desperate that she answers a mail-order bride ad from a man across the country in California. She meets her soon-to-be husband, Martin Hocking, on the day of their wedding as he meets her at the train station. Martin is a widow, with a young daughter named Kat that is now in Sophie’s charge. As Sophie settles into her new life of being a wife and mother, she begins to develop feelings for Martin just as a knock on her door shocks her world.

I know that California has earthquakes, but I don’t remember ever learning about the 1906 earthquake and how devastating it was. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was a good combination of historical fiction, suspense, and family drama.

Deftly blending historical drama and mystery, “The Nature of Fragile Things” presents the fresh and heartfelt story Sophie Whalen, a young Irish immigrant who answers an ad for a bride. Sophie moves to San Francisco to marry a complete stranger and recent widower, Martin Hocking, and become mother to his young daughter Kat. As the story establishes itself, the pace moved quickly as Sophie adapts to her new home without neglecting the setting’s development, bustling San Francisco in 1906. Even as the story artfully shifts into the drama and more intense action, readers will not lose the quality of the characters and themes of unconditional love, friendship, and perseverance. In fact, Meissner expertly melds these themes into the ongoing action as Sophie learns surprising truths about her husbands and, while reckoning with this new information, and faces an unexpectedly devastating disaster. Historical fiction and mystery fans alike will be engaged from start to finish in this riveting novel.

This was a truly exception book! I loved so very many things about it that it was a very easy 5 star!!! I would have given more stars if possible!!!
This was one of the very best historical fiction/mystery books I have ever read in my lifetime! The history was incredibly well researched and portrayed, and the relationships were truly complex and well thought out! If I have had experience with this author before, I did not remember. However, I will not likely forget her going forward!
The ending was perfect, but yet a bit open for imagination. I truly loved the timeline of the epilogue, the characters who were involved in it, and how it was carried out! Even though many assumptions have to be made (as it was not tied up with a pretty little bow, per se), there was a sense of true satisfaction! So often, I will feel as though endings of the books I read are so anticlimactic. They might give all of the details of how everyones life turns out, and of course it is all rosy. This is nice for a simple easy read. However, Ms. Meissner gave so much depth to every one of her characters (and there were many prominent characters!) that I just cherished every minute spent reading! I felt like I was completely within the pages of this book from the moment I started reading to the very last line! This takes incredible talent to represent so very many characters, give them such great depth, and leave the reader fully willing and able to complete how they believe the future looked for each and every character demonstrated! Not everything has to be fully described in deep detail. Not everything has to be repeated ad nauseam, as if the reader can not remember or understand events from one page to the next. This author wasted absolutely no writing space with nonsense! I will absolutely be following this author. I truly hope every one of her books are so incredible!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Berkely Publishing Group through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

For Sophie, being in San Francisco during the 1906 earthquake was challenging. But that was actually not her biggest struggle. As a mail order bride, she thought she had found a decent husband. But then she finds out that there was far more to the man she married than she originally thought. This book starts with her basic discovery (so this review is not giving any spoilers), but then goes on to unravel what was happening behind the scenes.

Although this title is not suspenseful or romantic, it definitely does involve a mystery. There were many surprises. What I appreciated most is the fact that no matter what she uncovered, Sophie's goal is making the best of challenging circumstances. This was not a happy read, but it was a meaningful one. I definitely could not stop reading it. Most of all, I loved how the epilogue answered some more questions and added a fulfilling ending.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for allowing me to read a copy of this book through NetGalley. Knowing that I wanted to review it helped me to keep going through some of the sad parts. (Yes, I was glad that I did read this one.) All opinions are my own.

I appreciated how the flow of the story was different than other historical fiction novels. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 had elements of suspense and drama. I was surprised at the twists that were thrown in throughout the book. The historical aspect was interesting, but not overpowering or detailed. Before reading this book I was not aware of what happened in San Francisco during 1906, I have also never felt an earthquake. But as I read the chapters about the earthquake history came to life and I could feel the devastation that the characters felt at the loss of their city.⁣
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You may like this book if you are a fan of historical fiction, female friendship or enjoy a little suspense.

I guess it's just me, but I was not a huge fan of this one. It was so hard to care about the main character, Sophie. Yeah, we knew she came from Ireland and decided to become a mail order bride to get a better life. Other than that . . . nothing. And I wanted more from the mail order bride part of the store. But Sophie's new husband was gone ALL THE TIME. I finished this book several days ago and can't even remember the name of the guy. That's how much of an impression he left. So it was basically like a story about Sophie and her new stepdaughter (Kat), who was pretty freaking adorable. The premise indicated this would be about the major earthquake in San Francisco, but that didn't happen until much later in the book.

I thought the first half of the book moved way too slow and then after the earthquake, things moved way too fast. The author didn't show Sophie's husband for most of the book, so I didn't really care about their marriage, but then all of a sudden, there were all these twists about him. While the twists were interesting, I thought they revolved around a one-dimensional character, so I just didn't care very much. I wasn't a fan of this one. (

This story starts out in the tenements of New York City where Sophie Whalen lives with her family. Her answer for escape is to respond to a letter from Martin Hocking that she saw in the newspaper. He pays her way to San Francisco to become his wife. At first things seem okay but Martin is distant, he never makes any attempt to consummate their marriage and leaves town every few days for weeks at a time. Then one day a women knocks on her door, pregnant and looking for her husband. It becomes obvious that Martin is not what she thought. It's an interesting story of how people reconcile their lives when the most unfortunate circumstances come their way.

It sure didn't take me long to get into The Nature of Fragile Things! It is about three women who lives become intertwined because of one man. Sophie, who is originally from Ireland, has moved to New York but after hardship and factory work there becomes a mail order bride to Martin Hocking in San Francisco, Over time she comes to love his daughter Kat but is wary of him. Belinda, Martin's "so-called cousin," comes to find him in San Francisco as an 7.9 earthquake is about to hit. There is a lot of deceit and mystery surrounding Martin and you will journey with Sophie and Kat to Tucson to meet another lady before we get to a satisfying ending.

This is my first book by Susan Meissner and will not be my last. I've seen her name pop up over the past few years and have wanted to read her books but for some reason just never got around to it. I am now adding the rest of her books to my TBR list!

Special thanks to NetGalley for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Sophie Whalen answers and ad to be a mail-order bride to Martin Hocking, a businessman and widower. He needs a no nonsense woman who will help him raise his child and understand that his business often requires him to be away from home for days at a time. All Sophie wants is to have a fresh start. She thought her life in New York was going to grant her that away from Ireland but that was proving to be much more difficult and she needed to run away as soon as possible.

As soon as Sophie starts her life in San Francisco with Martin and his daughter, Kat, she is willing to overlook not having her family and friends if it means she now has what she’s always longed for with a home of her own. She had always wanted children so she is determined to be everything to Kat who is a child who doesn’t speak and withdrawn ever since her mother’s death. Sophie hopes that in time she may even have a loving relationship with Martin.

Weeks pass and Martin’s trips away are more unpredictable and it is during one of Martin’s absences that a woman will come knocking on Sophie’s door and their lives are upended. However a bigger threat will force the women to forge a bond and flee to safety as they escape a city rocked by a terrible earthquake and which is going up in flames and crumbling before their eyes.

If you enjoy historical novels and those featuring strong women then this could be the book for you. Sophie is strong, loyal and caring but she also harbors a secret that has kept her on the run. And, of course the backdrop of the great San Francisco earthquake is very much at the center of the story and it made me think of just how chaotic it must have been with no modern day rescue operations. So between that and the theme of friendship, this book was an overall enjoyable read.

I loved this beautiful story about women supporting women! Susan Meissner’s latest is set against the backdrop of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and is a powerful story of resilience and friendship. I absolutely loved Sophie and the way that she cared for those around her, despite being so hurt herself. I also loved that this story was more character driven and while we got a good taste of the damage the earthquake caused, the details didn’t weigh the story down. This book had much more of a mystery and twists than I had expected and I loved every minute of it! If you haven’t read this wonderful story, I highly recommend that you do so.

The Nature of Fragile Things got some great buzz around release day. It was just shortly after I heard friends mentioning how this one isn’t all historical and how it centers around a mystery which had my very intrigued. It was even featured in @barnesandnoble as a mystery and well, they’re not wrong! I’d highly recommend this for a wide audience of readers whether you like mystery, historical fiction, or for something a bit lighter to dip into #historicalfiction… this one is for you!

Set during the earthquake of San Fran in 1906, but very much a back seat element to the main plot of the book. I do wish we had gotten a little bit more action of the actual earthquake, but regardless this was such a quick read and I loved how it ended. I couldn’t stop talking about that in particular. I also thought the the inclusion of the interviews were such a great way to flash back and keep you on the edge of your seat.


At times, The Nature of Fragile Things seemed to be a little too easy, sweet, and far out, but I also really enjoyed all the themes of friendship, family and motherhood, and ultimately the love and family we find. Susan’s writing flowed so well and will continue to be an auto buy author for me. I definitely need to pick up more of her backlist books because I’ve also read and enjoyed The Last Year of the War.

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner is a great story about an immigrant in San Francisco that experiences the 1906 earthquake. Nicely written that you feel you are in the fires and earthquake yourself. Great book.

What drew me to this book was the time period. The story is set in San Francisco right around the big earthquake of 1906, and the book really does a great job describing how it must have felt during the earthquake and how San Francisco looked like at that time.

Interestingly enough, I was able to experience how the earthquake of 1906 felt at the TECH Museum in San Jose. It's mind blowing how long 42 seconds can feel when the earth shakes so hard that it makes you fall down if you aren't prepared for it, or holding on to something. I personally only experienced one "bigger" earthquake in all of my years in California. It was a 5.6 tremor compared to the 7.9 in 1906, and it only lasted a few seconds. And that was scary enough, the walls were actually moving like a wave.

The story itself was easy to follow and kept my attention. I was intrigued by the suspense, and the secrets, and was rooting for the women. Overall the book didn't quite match my expectations, BUT I'm also not the a typical historical fiction reader, and my exceptions are often not realistic. In the end I enjoyed most of the story, found some parts a bit dragging and rambling, but loved the focus on SF and the Bay Area. Also, the ending was just right.

I can see why this book has been such a popular, and if you love historical fiction I would definitely recommend it, just because of the time period and where the book is set.

Susan Meissner never disappoints. This story centers on San Francisco just at the time of the massive earthquake and fires of 1906. Young Irish immigrant Sophie Whalen arrives to marry a man she's never met, who has promised her marriage. She was happy to leave the derelict tenement housing and back breaking work of New York City behind for a chance to become Mrs. Martin Hocking and mother to his daughter Kat. Martin is a widower and he needs a mother for Kat. Once Sophie arrives and she and Martin marry at the courthouse, she realizes that life as Mrs. Hocking is very different than she imagined. Martin is very secretive about his job and is often on away and on the road seeing "clients". On the evening of the big earthquake Martin is away and a stranger shows up late at night telling Sophie a shocking story about how her new husband may not be what he seems. I loved how feisty Sophie is as she and the stranger and Kat set off as the city is literally turned upside down.The story illustrates perfectly what it must have been like during the disaster with so many people displaced. The story shows how strong women can fight for what is theirs. #NetGalley #TheNatureofFragileThings

This was my first Susan Meissner and it did not disappoint! It was a great historical fiction/mystery story! The back and forth with the US marshal interviews and Sophie’s story kept me intrigued and some cliffhanger chapters made this a real page-turner. It was a lot more suspenseful than I anticipated with some twists and turns and a few jaw-dropping moments.

The character development in this novel was fantastic and I loved all of these strong female characters! Parts of the story were truly heartbreaking, but the final message of owning mistakes and doing good whenever and for whoever you can was very uplifting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It is a wonderful story about the bonds of friendship and the love of a mother and I highly recommend reading it!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for this digital copy in exchange for an honest review!