From my blog: Always With a Book:

This is the third book I've read by Susan Meissner but it might be my favorite one yet. She has such an uncanny ability to write such captivating historical fiction, and this latest one delves into my newest favorite subgenre - the historical mystery...which just hooked me even more!

I loved the way this story was structured. Having it start with an interview between Sophie and a U.S. Marshall really grabbed my attention and I felt that it never let up. What happened to Sophie's husband, Martin Hocking after the earthquake? I was completely absorbed and captivated by this story the entire time, loving how throughout the book, snippets of the interview would be thrown in, each time giving us just a little more. This just piqued my curiosity even further as I tried to put all the pieces together.

I love how the author uses the backdrop of the San Francisco earthquake to crack open the major fault lines that tie our characters together. This is where we start to see the secrets of our characters come to light. And all along, you know that these characters have their secrets. But there is also good to come of this. There are friendships that are forged from this earthquake, friendships that happen from three women that had no ties beforehand.

This book is a such a unique blend of history and suspense. It is a story about friendship and courage, what it means to love and what it means to belong. I did not know anything about the earthquake in San Francisco in 1906, yet I felt transported there as I was reading. I was completely immersed in this character-driven historical fiction novel from page one and I cannot recommend it enough!

A compelling story of marriage based on convenience and deceit and the great SF earthquake of 1906.


BRIEF REVIEW: Sophie is a young woman who has immigrated from Ireland to New York City in 1906 in hopes of a better life. Her living conditions in NY are deplorable and she is desperate to get out of her current situation. She decides to respond to an ad for a "mail order bride," to a handsome widower with a five year old daughter who lives in San Francisco. Traveling to San Francisco alone, she and Martin Hocking are quickly married.

Martin is polite and provides a nice place for the three of them to live but, her marriage isn't as she had imagined. They have separate bedrooms, he is very short with his answers about his family and work and he is frequently away from home. Despite this, Sophie loves being a mother to young Kat, a girl who rarely speaks and seems traumatized by what has happened in her short life. Just as Sophie begins to piece together secrets about Martin's past, a stranger appears at Sophie's door and she soon realizes that her only option is to leave but, at the same time a massive earthquake hits the area.

Without giving out spoilers, and there are plenty out there if you read the reviews, this is a page-turning, character driven novel with a nice mystery element. Rich in historical detail of early 1900's, S.F., I rooted for Sophie all the way. She is a strong, determined, resilient young woman who has been through so much. She made a beautiful friend, neighbor and replacement mother for Kat. I loved the writing and how the secrets were slowly revealed. Try this one, even if historical fiction really isn't your thing, it's a story that will stick with you

RATING: 4.5/5 stars

This is my second book by this author and I was not disappointed! I am always thrilled when I discover a book set in a place and time that I haven’t read about before and double excited if the plot is also new to me. Surprisingly I don’t recall reading anything set in SF during the earthquake of 1906 and the plot was substantially different than anything I’ve read. I enjoyed the writing, loved the character and plot development around Sophie and was intrigued and guessing regarding Martin. Although I fairly early guessed some of the plot I didn’t figure out all of it. I definitely recommend this book. It’s a fun mixture of history, story and mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Free book in exchange for an honest review. I have no words. I can’t describe the way the book pulled me in. It was so very interesting, partly because it was set during San Francisco’s bad earthquake. I am speechless at the amount of feeling that I felt for Sophie Hocking. I have Such admiration for her resolve and her capacity to love, to accept and move on. This book will stay with me for a long time. It is a thriller and suspenseful in an emotional way. This book is about an evil man and a woman who loves her stepdaughter to fiercely to give up. I put this book up in the top 5 of the year. I’ve read quite a few good ones but this takes the prize. It moves right along ,too. One of those difficult to keep readin books because it plucks at your heart, but at the same time it is too good to set outside for more than a minute. Highly recommend it but be aware that it contains mentions of miscarriage and fetal demise. There is also a background of domestic violence. I will be following the reviews on this book. I can’t praise it enough.

Oh this book was so good! Sophie is all alone in New York when she answers a mail order bride ad. She quickly falls in love with Martin’s daughter Kat. Right before the California earthquake happens, she discovers some shocking news about Martin. This book was so suspenseful. And the final twist I did not see coming!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

THE NATURE OF FRAGILE THINGS had so much potential, but it fell far short for me. In my mind, the book's failure came down to lazy storytelling.

I don't like writing long, negative reviews, so here's a quick rundown of why this book didn't work for me:

1) The author obviously researched and read firsthand accounts about the 1906 earthquake. But despite having characters that were living through it, she chose to share the events like a book report. Very nearly everything we learn about the quake is overheard by Sophie, read by Sophie, or told to Sophie. She experiences almost none of it herself. Downright lazy storytelling.
2) The police interview snippets interspersed through the book spoiled the plot and killed my desire to keep reading. Probably an editor's mistake.
3) Sophie is meant to be Irish. Most of the time she speaks as an American, though. Except when the author decides that she needs to sound more Irish and so sprinkles a few 'tis-es in her dialogue. Either go all in with accented speech or leave it out. The half-hearted effort is just distracting.

I'm sure loads of people will like, maybe even love, THE NATURE OF FRAGILE THINGS. I found it amateurish. I probably won't be reading anymore from this author.

Title: The Nature of Fragile Things
Author: Susan Meissner
Genre: Fiction, historical fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5

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.

This was a very good read! I know almost nothing about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, so finding out more was very sad. I cannot imagine how terrifying that must have been!

Meissner is superb at sprinkling tiny hints and clues throughout the novel without giving away the truth: I only had vague ideas about the truth of Sophie’s past and the secrets she was hiding—and I was never sure exactly what happened with Martin. I will say, I loved the ending and thought it very appropriate, tying up all the lose ends at once. Definitely a solid read!

Susan Meissner is a bestselling author. The nature of Fragile Things is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Berkley in exchange for an honest review.)

Blog link live 2/23.

This book was so much more than I expected. It’s my favorite book of the year so far, and one of my top favorites of all time so far! The writing was captivating and it kept me hooked. Each time I wanted to put the book down for a bit, I’d finish the chapter and had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. I had no clue how this story was going to play out until the end. I loved every minute of it and I’m excited to check out Susan Meissner’s other books!

I've read a bit about the San Francisco earthquake before but nothing like this. Excellent job done by the author. I very much enjoyed it.

After reading another one of Meissner’s books, I knew I wanted to try another, although I found the first one lacking I knew that I enjoyed her writing. This book lacks absolutely nothing.

It’s 1906, seven months after the incredible earthquake and subsequent fires have destroyed San Francisco and Sophie Hocking finds herself being interviewed by a U.S. Marshal about the whereabouts of her husband who went missing the time of the earthquakes.

While a historical fiction novel, this book doesn’t feel weighted down by details of history, although the setting is interesting in and of itself. It’s much more about the resiliency of women and what makes a family a family. With some mystery/suspense elements that kept me turning pages and having to know where the story was leading, this was a completely satisfying read and one I recommend! Would make a great book club pick.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of this novel.

This book was definitely unique to me compared to my regular historical fiction reads. First, because it was set in the US and about a historical event that I knew nothing about - the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Second, because this book had such a great element of mystery to it and I was intrigued right from the start - it’s one of the things that made this book so great for me.

But the main reason I loved this book was because of the beautiful friendships of the women in the book and how much I came to love all of them. It was so amazing how Susan wove their stories together and I really enjoyed watching how their relationships were formed and how these women really became a makeshift family. I really, truly did just fall for each of these women and was so happy with how everything turned out for them, it made my heart happy!

I think that even those who aren’t fans of historical fiction would enjoy this book! It was mysterious, engaging and just a beautiful portrayal of female friendships, I really enjoyed it!

CW: miscarriage, infant loss, infidelity, terminal illness, abuse.

It's been a long time since I sat down after work and read a book cover-to-cover in one night (and early morning) but that's exactly what I did last night, and it was time well spent.

Set in San Francisco in the early 1900's, just prior to and just after the great earthquake and fire, the book follows Sophie through the days of her marriage to Martin and through her relationship with Martin's daughter "Kat". One of my secret vices is trashy Kindle Unlimited romances and a bunch of them are "mail order bride" books--the spunky (or fearful) woman from back east travels across the country to marry a man almost sight unseen and of course before the end of the book they fall in love. This book is a reminder that the reason many of these women answered those ads was lack of other viable options. While I'm sure many of those relationships were at least somewhat satisfactory to both parties, I'm also rather sure that some of the men weren't completely honest about their circumstances and that others were abusive in one way or another.

I find the title of the book to be interesting: The Nature of Fragile Things. With most books I'm pretty sure how the title relates to the story before I start reading, or, if not then, by the time I'm done. With this one, I'm pondering.

What is the nature of fragile things? Well, they break, that's practically the definition. Usually if I think of something "fragile" I think of something with some value, even though it is easy to break. I just googled "fragile" and it means easily broken or damaged, flimsy or unsubstantial, easily destroyed or (of a person) not strong or sturdy, delicate and vulnerable. So how does the title relate to the book?

While I'd never call Sophie "fragile", her marriage to Martin certainly was. We don't consider buildings to be fragile, but the earthquake broke many of them. Sophie develops a relationship with Kat that is anything but fragile. Kat's mother has tuberculosis and is very fragile--but also very strong. Sophie also develops a strong relationship with the woman mentioned above.

Is this a book about being broken? I don't think so. Actually I found the women in the book to be strong, despite their circumstances. The three main adult female characters were all fooled by Martin, so in some ways I suppose he broke all of them, though he didn't end up getting what he wanted from any of these three.

If you read the book, why do you think it has the title it does?

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. Grade: A

I couldn't put this book down as I was swept up into the life of Irish immigrant Sophie as she begins her new life in San Francisco as a mail order bride right before the earthquake hits the city, which causes a chain of reactions that both reveal and hide secrets.

A fabulous historical fiction mystery.
Well-paced! Memorable, strong, smart, compassionate female characters! Interesting premise! Well-researched! (Not boring).

Special thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC, via NetGalley, in exchange for my review.

Recommend listening on audio.

The earthquake and subsequent fires make for an eventful story on their own. Add in multifaceted characters each with their own agenda and the book gets really exciting.

Drama and deceit seem to carry on regardless of whatever else is happening in the world. The historical setting for the realization of the evil deeds of one man against several women both multiplied and helped erase the coping and revenge that followed. A lot can be disguised during a major earthquake and the burning of most of a city.

This book had interesting characters from all walks of life. Sophie obviously had a past the reader didn’t know everything about. Martin was an adequate husband, but where did he go for a few days at a time, over and over? Poor nearly-orphaned Kat was the most tragic—a five-year-old who had already stopped talking over the loss of her mother—was there something more in her past she wasn’t telling? These were the only three main characters for the first half of the book, but on the night before the earthquake, a stranger shows up at their door and everyone’s stories start unraveling.

Overall, I’d give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The historical part of the fiction was so revealing of what living through the earthquake and subsequent fires in 1906 may have been like. The intrigue and story of the women’s lives and their connections was also so interesting. The book was impossible to put down until all the storylines were untangled. I’d recommend this for any reader who enjoys historical fiction or drama stories. The epilogue was also quite tidy about wrapping up the loose ends. I love when that happens!

Meissner is a queen of historical fiction with stellar books such as As Bright as Heaven (set in Philadelphia during the Spanish Flu pandemic), Secrets of a Charmed Life (set in London during the Blitz), and A Fall of Marigolds (set in NYC after 9/11). The Nature of Fragile Things is one of her best yet, a taut thriller that opens just months before the 1905 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The story begins with Irish immigrant and mail-order bride Sophie Hocking being questioned by a detective concerning the whereabouts of her husband Martin after she reports him missing weeks following the earthquake. She left home under mysterious circumstances, lived briefly in the tenements of New York, then married the very handsome Martin in order to have a good life like she had in her childhood with “a warm house and clean clothes and food in the pantry,” someone to share it all with, and the opportunity to be a mother to his daughter Kat.

However, she soon finds that Martin is a very dispassionate man who pays little attention to her or Kat other than amply providing for them. He’s gone many days a week for his insurance business, but Sophie doesn’t know the name of the company or exactly what he does on his trips. When he tells her he’s going to be storing and helping sell a hair tonic made by his cousin, Sophie becomes suspicious, but she can’t begin to comprehend the depths of his deceit until she receives shocking news when a stranger appears at her door on the eve of the earthquake.

Meissner deftly weaves together the horrors of the SF tragedy, the mystery of Martin, the friendship between three women thrown together by circumstance, and the love of a mother for her child. Her descriptions of the earthquake and fire are alarmingly accurate, making readers feel as if they’re there experiencing it with Sophie and Kat. The adrenaline spikes as the mystery unfolds, and leaves us on the edge of our seats. Masterful and epic! Highly recommend.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Sophie is a young Irish woman who immigrated to New York in hopes of a better life. After a few years living in squalor in an awful tenement, Sophie answers an add for a wife and mother needed in San Francisco. Martin Hocking has lost his wife and his young daughter Kat hasn't said a word since her death. He needs someone for Kat and to make a respectable home for Martin in his insurance business. Martin meets Sophie at the ferry, takes her home to his mansion and introduces her to Kat. Sophie takes over the running of the household. He seems to have little affection for Kat and not much at all for Sophie, which is alright with Sophie who has her own problems. One day many months later, when Martin is away on business as usual, Sophie answers the door to a hugely pregnant young woman looking for her husband, a colleague of Martin's. That is until the woman, Belinda, spots Sophie's wedding photo and recognizes Martin as her husband. This is not the end of the intrigue and secrets surrounding Martin Hocking, but the devastating earthquake of 1906 puts everything on hold and has Sophie and Kat fighting for survival. The Nature of Fragile Things is an excellent, well-researched novel, full of suspense and intrigue. The story is good, but once it reached the earthquake I could not stop reading. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction will love this book, as will anyone who enjoys a well-plotted, perfectly paced novel. I appreciate the advanced copy from Net Galley and look forward to reading other books by Susan Meissner.

Wow. This book was so good. It sucked me in and I flew through it.

Sophie has immigrated to the US from Ireland. She is living in squalor in New York City when she sees an ad from a man in San Francisco looking for a bride. He is widowed and has a child who needs caring for. Sophie sees it as her only way out of New York, as well as a promise of comfort and a potential of love. Until a pregnant woman shows up on her doorstep and everything she thought to be true is upturned.

The idea of Sophie marrying a stranger intrigued me. How bad must your life be that you’re willing to move across a new country to marry someone you’ve never met and immediately become a mother to a 5 year old? Martin, the man that Sophia marries, is a mystery and immediately untrustworthy. I was curious from the start why he wanted to marry Sophie because the reasons he gave were not believable.

When Belinda shows up on Sophie’s doorstep 8 months pregnant, her world is shaken. Then it literally becomes shaken by a massive earthquake. The mystery element of Belinda, Martin, and Sophie added in with the action of a city falling and burning to the ground made me unable to put down this book. The book opens with Sophia being interviews about reporting Martin’s disappearance after the earthquake, so I needed to know what happened to him, how Sophie and Kat (the daughter) survived. There were so many questions that needed answering and every page kept me intrigued.

I think what surprised me the most about this book was the pace. It moved quickly and I flew through it. a lot of the time with historical fiction novels, even though I enjoy every minute they take me a little longer to get through. This one I continually forgot it was even set in the early 1900s. Every bit of the story wan engaging and I grew attached to Sophie and Kat.

This book was a great balance of mystery, action, and history. It was a story of empowered women in a time when they were not given much power. This may be my favorite book that Meissner has written. It sucked me in and I couldn’t put it down. I’d probably lean more towards giving it a 4.5/5 than a true 4. If you are stuck in a reading rut or need a well written palate cleansing book, I highly recommend checking this one out.

Absolutely a beautiful story with tragedy, family and love! As all of Susan Meissner's books, this one is so beautifully written! Just before the earthquake so much is revealed to Sophie Hockings and then to Belinda. Kitty Kat is such a sweet character that draws me in only wishing for the best! This is a must read, snuggle down and let it snow kinda of book!

I wasn’t expecting a mystery/ crime novel when I opened this one but I was pleasantly surprised. Natural disasters have a way of highlighting or maybe covering up man made disasters but they do always come to light.