The Nature of Fragile Things

 

GIVEAWAY

MEISSNER, SUSAN

THE NATURE OF FRAGILE THINGS

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 set in motion a transformaing 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 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.

From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.

My Review:

I'm gobsmacked speechless! This is hard to review because there are so many intricate plot twists it's difficult to comment without giving something away which I don't like to do. What I can say is that the story is compelling. Artfully written, the author shows exquisite restraint in the way key elements of the plot unfold. Had me perched on the edge of my seat frantically reading into the night. And there's more than one (aka a dozen or more) gasp-out-loud moments that thrilled me to the very core of my bibliophile being!

I really liked Sophie...and one of her major selling points was the way Alana Kerr Collins' narration brought her to life. (I listened to the audible edition.) I find that, no matter how good the story is, I can't keep listening if I don't like the narrator. Alana Kerr Collins enhanced my 'reader' enjoyment tenfold!

Please note: while not a Christian Fiction selection, this book is a clean read.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for an ebook copy

If you would like a chance to win a e-copy of The Nature of Fragile Things, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winners announced on Saturday February 27  2021. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!