The Last Tiara is a tale of mother and daughter. Isobelle's mother never wanted to talk about Russia or her life there. Her mother, Sofiya Petrovitch, past was a secret she didn't want to share. When Sofiya dies and Isobelle discovers a Tiara she is determine to figure out her mother's past and find the answers to her questions. Ioabelle will have to learn to trust the young jeweler if she wants to figure out about why her mother had the Romanovs Tiara.

You will get to bounce back between the two women and discover what happened and how she made it to the US. I enjoyed reading this story and the world MJ Rose gives you a glimpse of.

I love the dual POV and timeframe in this novel. I always enjoy historical fiction and this book was no different. The writing was beautiful and overall I enjoyed it

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel.
I love M.J. Rose's novels and when I got the opportunity to read this novel I was really excited. Set in WWI era Russia and 1948 New York this novel has dual time stories. Centered on the mystery of a tiara it is really wonderful novel. I enjoyed this novel immensely. It checks all the boxes that I enjoy in a historical mystery. There's Romanov tiara, Faberge, romance and mystery. 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley! The Last Tiara by M.J. Rose is a definitely a treasure. So much heart and soul in this novel. I love the dual timeframe. Highly recommend this novel for any fan of historical fiction.

The Last Tiara by M.J. Rose is a duel timeline novel from WW1 era in Russia and 1948 New York. The story alternates between mother and daughter. This is a thrilling book of family secrets. If you like historical fiction you will love this book. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Blue Box Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first net galley as well as historical fiction reading. Being a thriller lover this book, containing historical elements as well as thriller was a cherry on cake. I loved how the author woved the story of Sophia and Isobelle one after another in each chapter maintaining the suspense and thrill till the end. The language was lucid and well constructed. It gave a visual effect while reading and imagining the post war condition. I loved the book. Willing to read more from the author.

Like "The Lions of Fifth Avenue" this dual-narrator novel deals with a daughter unraveling the secrets of her parent's past while struggling with her own career. Isobelle Moon is working as an junior architect in a prestigious NYC firm following WWII, but is mourning the loss of her mother, Sophia, and dealing with the guilt of having built Oak Ridge and her unknowing role in the atomic bombings. Determined to find a fresh start she begins renovating her mother's bedroom and finds a jewel-less tiara hidden within the walls. Determined to uncover the secrets of her mother's past she enlists the help of Jules, the grandson of the jewelry who purchased the missing jewels. Decades earlier Sophia, then Sofiya Pterovitch, meets an amnesiac soldier while working in a hospital alongside her childhood friends the Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana, and falls in love. Carpathian is a jeweler in the famed Faberge studio, but the war, and the Russian Revolution threaten to keep them apart. The two strands blend well and answers are revealed thoughtfully in both stories. The ending is a bit abrupt, and sticklers will notice a few inconsistencies, but overall this is an enjoyable book of two women finding love and themselves during turbulent times.

I just finished reading “The Last Tiara” by M.J. Rose, and honestly can’t remember enjoying a book more than this one! The book uses dual-timeline technique, ranging from WWI-era Russia, where Sofiya, Isobelle’s now-late mother, was a friend and playmate, later fellow nurse, of the Tsar’s daughters—to 1940’s NYC, where Sofiya’s daughter Isobelle works as an architect at a NYC firm. Key to the story is that one of the Tsar’s daughters gifts a jeweled tiara to her friend Sofiya as political instability brews in Russia and the Tsar’s family feels the threat.

After her mother’s death, Isobelle Moon discovers a box with the skeleton of a tiara hidden under wallpaper in her mother’s bedroom, now without the jewels with which it was set. Tracing an old receipt she finds indicating her mother sold the diamonds in the tiara to a nearby upscale jewelry store, Isobelle meets Jules Reed, the grandson of the original owner of the shop as she tries to unravel the tiara’s story and why her mother never told her of its existence.

Isobelle and Jules gradually begin a relationship and begin a search for the provenance and history of the tiara which involves a secretive group Jules belongs ti called The Midas Society as well as research trips to Washington, D.C., France and London. Along the way they discover that Isobelle’s father Carpathian did not die in Siberia in 1922 as she understood, but survived. I loved the twists and turns in the mystery of the tiara and was anxious to read each next chapter. I also found the characterizations to be well-drawn.

My thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for providing the ARC of #The Last Tiara

I received a copy of The Last Tiara through NetGalley.

Isobel Moon's mother Sofiya wouldn't discuss her Russian past. After her death, Isobel finds a jewel-stripped tiara hidden in their apartment wall, and begins searching for answers to her heritage.

The story switched from the Russian Empire in the rule of the Czar in 1915, to 1940's New York City in alternating chapters. I enjoyed the historical fiction storyline and details of life in both eras.

I recommend The Last Tiara for historical fiction fans.

Oh my God!
One of the best books I have ever read. I've always been a fan of the Romanovs and Russian history, and I love period stories.
I'm not a big fan of mysteries, but this book is the exception.
It was a book I enjoyed very much. From the atmosphere of the story. I liked very much the trajectory that the characters took. This book played with my mind. .
It was a completely exciting book, with each page I was more intrigued and couldn't stop reading it.
I loved it with all my heart. I loved Sofiya's story, her love story with Carpathian, I really liked the romance in the background, without getting too corny and without deviating from the real theme of the story I loved it completely.
Isobel's evolution and her search for her mother's legacy. I felt quite identified with the character of Isobel, I think she had a great development throughout the book, I like that they show her as an intelligent, determined, strong woman, not as a girl who needs to be rescued.
He how she tried to solve the mystery about her mother's past, how she put the pieces together and learned little by little about her past.
As I mentioned, I am not a fan of mystery, but this book caught me from the very first pages, the story fascinated me. The setting, the characters.
Without a doubt one of the best books I've read, I think it's worth reading if you're a fan of the historical novel and mystery, with a little touch of romance.

I normally do not read adult books. I normally read middle grades books or YA books since I am a middle school librarian. I was drawn to the tiara on this cover. I really liked how the story was told from 2 different points of views. There was the mother's story that takes place in Russia and the daughter's story which takes place in New York in the early 1900s. It was a mixture of a romance, mystery, and historical fiction book. I loved all of the different takes in this one book. It was also a longer book than I normally read, but I enjoyed all of the details included in the story.

This was an incredible story. I was drawn in immediately and I had a hard time putting this book down. I love it when you feel like you're actually there in the story. MJ Rose writing is like that.

I'm going to splurge and give this one 5 stars. Honestly, it is 4.5 stars.

I enjoyed the topic of this novel. I read the book because of my interest in tiaras. I was not disappointed. A Romanov tiara is the central driving force of two parallel stories: a woman in Bolshevik Russia and her daughter, Isobelle, in post WWII America. Bolshevik Russia is an especially interesting setting. As the story progresses, the author reveals the tiara's history as well as the life and relationship of the Russian woman and the man she loved, who are Isobelle's parents.
Isobelle did not find the tiara until after her mother died in a tragic accident. Isobelle is led on a fascinating journey as she researches the tiara and her family history. There are a couple of plot twists that I did not see coming, specifically the intended purpose of the tiara.
I have recently read too many books laced with filler and pointless dialogue. It was refreshing to read a book that I did not want to skim to find the point of the story hidden among the extraneous detail and senseless blather.
This novel is well written. The characters are interesting and the settings are developed without tedious minutiae.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

For the most part I enjoyed this book. I was drawn in by the central mystery of the tiara and found myself interested in both of the main antagonists. I was glad Isobelle found a way to have some romance in her life even though I did find myself annoyed with her self-doubt at times. I thought both historical times were fascinating- especially the Russia portion.

I really enjoyed this one. I really like the author's premise. She takes a well known piece of jewelry and writes a story around it. This is the second one I have read. Cartier's Hope was also really good.

The subject of this story is a sapphire diadem that went missing sometime after the Bolshevik revolution. There is a photo of it from the 1920s and then it just vanished. In the novel, Sophia discovers a tiara hidden in a secret spot in her mother's room. With it are receipts for the jewels that used to be in the tiara. Sophia knows nothing about her mother's past life in Russia and these clues lead her down a path to find out more.

It's engaging and well written. I really like the premise. A lot of authors write about paintings or other artwork. Jewelry is also artwork, but this is a bit different and I liked it a lot. I hope that she write more of them.

I’m a huge fan of M.J. Rose and devoured this new one. Her style is so unique it defies categorization., deftly blending gothic mystery and romance with hints of magic realism which can’t quite be defined as such. Intriguing characters and storylines always meticulously researched and woven together in a way that builds drama and keeps the pages turning. How on earth does a writer imagine combining the fall of the Romanov dynasty in the early 1900’s with the secret city at Oak Ridge Tennessee in the 40’s? So creative and inspired. I like how most of her books are linked with common elements like secret societies and the Etoile family of perfumiers, even if just in passing or secondary plot lines. And speaking of perfumiers, there’s always a strong sensuality in Rose’s stories, fully engaging the reader with the lives of her characters. Imagine being wrapped in a cozy blanket, your favourite scented candle burning, a glass of rich red merlot to sip, and let yourself be carried away to a beautiful place. Perfect book for doing exactly that.

New York City, 1948 – Sophia Moon kept her past from her family and now, after her death, her daughter is left with unanswered questions about the tiara she found hidden in the wall of her mother’s room. With the help of a local jeweler Isobelle is determined to find out more about her mother’s past and how she came to have a missing Romanov artifact.
Russia, 1915 – Sofiya Petrovich is discovering first love in the midst of simmering unrest. As things start to deteriorate in her beloved city all she has to live for is her job, the man she loves, and the hope that she will see her best friend, the Grand Duchess Olga, again.

This is beautiful historical fiction. The story is very original and interesting. It’s such a fun concept to take an actual historical mystery and make your own story out of it. The beginning of the book does start a bit slow as you get used to the back and forth time periods and read a lot of details and backstories. But once the tiara mystery is introduced into the story you get sucked in. The going back and forth to different time periods really tugs at your emotions because one time period is healing and thriving as the other is falling to pieces. It’s a bit of a roller coaster all the way to the end where you have both a satisfying and slightly sad ending. But it definitely works for this story. Sometimes you just need an imperfect ending.

I really enjoyed this book. These are two time periods I’m quite interested in and I liked having a bit of romance among all the history and sleuthing. And for those who want to know, there is some very mild sexual content.

If you like historical fiction with a bit of mystery and romance then this is a book for you!

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book. The opinions are all my own.

I became acquainted with M J Rose years ago when she was writing about perfume and "perfume organs", and have enjoyed her versatility through the years. This is yet another branch of her tree, dealing with Russian aristocracy, stolen jewels, and imposters. Another winner, for sure.

I read this EARC courtesy of NetGalley and Harper 360. pub date 03/30/21

The Last Tiara was so enjoyable. MJ Rose did a great job with the slow reveal. I liked how the story went back and forth between Sofiya/Sophia and her daughter Isobelle. We got to see the two different relationships unfold and bloom. There were times I worried about some of the characters and even cried a little bit at one point. I loved all the twist and turns and surprises. I can't wait to read more by M.J. Rose.

I wish to thank NetGalley and the Publishers Blue Box Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a great story told from two eras. The first begins in 1915 during the time of the Russian Czar and the second part is 1948 after World War II in Manhattan. The two parts are masterfully woven together as the daughter discovers her mother’s secret about her father that she never knew and a mysterious tiara the daughter finds hidden in the walls of their apartment after the death of her mother. The search takes her to the famous Faberge jeweler with more questions than answers. The reader learns about life for the Jews in Europe during those hard days and the life at court before the war. It then moves to New York and Oak Ridge as the young daughter serves as an architect on a team developing that important war city. This is a brilliantly written romance, historical fiction and a mystery all woven around a gemless tiara and a daughter needing to learn more about the lives of parents that lived before her.

I am not new to M. J. Rose and once again she did not disappoint. Thank you for another great story. This is as good as it gets. It is one you will read and remember.