The Last Tiara by MJ Rose, is a blend of historical fiction, romance, and mystery. It has a dual storyline. One is set during the Russian Revolution and the other in NYC in the 1940’s. It tells the story of a tiara minus the jewels. When daughter Isabelle finds it while renovating her mother’s apartment, she decides to investigate how her mother came to have it. Her mother was struck and killed by a car and had shared very little about her life in Russia. Isabelle is on a quest to find out more about her mother and the tiara. I enjoyed this novel as well as Cartier’s Hope, another book by this author.

I received a free arc from Net Galley for an honest review.

Content Rating: 16+
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Mystery
Published: February 2, 2021, by Blue Box Press

The Last Tiara, written by M. J. Rose, is a beautiful story that weaves the touching relationship between mother and daughter while intertwining 1915 Russia and 1948 America. The Last Tiara is expertly research and well written. Ms. Rose writes this book with sharp attention to historical detail but also laced with romance and mystery.

Isabelle Moon is a young architect in post-WW2. She is living and working in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where she is transforming the secrete cities tasked with making the first nuclear bomb back into livable cities. On December 9, Isabelle gets a frantic phone call from her aunt informing her that her mother was hit by a car and has died. Isabelle then rushes home to New York to morn her mother. When she returns to her job, she begins to feel lost. When an opening becomes available in New York, Isabelle jumps at the opportunity. She moves back into the apartment she shared with her mother. While renovating their shared apartment, she stumbles upon a tiara stripped of all its gemstones. This begins her journey of discovering what her mother’s life was like during the fall of the Romanov’s rule.

This story alternates between mother and daughter and between their respective times. I have always been obsessed with all things Romanov, so that part was a real treat for me. I also loved that the author wrote with wonderfully rich historical detail. Although this didn’t necessarily add to the plot, I feel that it added to the enjoyment of the whole book, and I learned a bit of history. I thought the mystery element was well developed and thought out, and it did keep me guessing throughout the whole book. I would have liked to see the author develop the two main characters a bit more. But overall, The Last Tiara is a well-written book that I enjoyed and would recommend it.

So this is a 4.5 upgraded to a 5. I’m a big fan of this genre and I love mid century era novels set in the backdrop of the first or second World Wars. So, I found this story intriguing from early on, when we meet Sofiya Petrovitch, a young woman born in Russia around 1900. With the outbreak of WW1, Sofiya and her friends, who also happen to be Russian Royalty, are conscripted into nursing and they attend to the many wounded soldiers coming back from the front. It is here that Sofiya meets the love of her life, a young Russian soldier who just happens to have amnesia. While their love story is a fairytale early on, nothing can last forever and as war ravages Russia, Sofiya and her beloved are forced apart. She eventually finds shelter in America and her beloved is eventually imprisoned. The storyline shifts forward 30 years and we meet Isobelle Moon, Sofiya’s daughter, who lives in New York City. Isobelle is a woman without a family history because her mother spent her whole life keeping it hidden, and after Sofiya’s untimely death, Isobelle is left to find that history on her own. A renovation of her mother’s room yields one clue that could unlock her past, an old tiara, long picked clean of any gems that could be considered valuable. With nothing else to go on, Isobelle vows to uncover the tiara’s importance and what secrets it may hold about her mother’s past. While the pace can be a little slower at times, the plot is always interesting, weaving important historical events and figures with the fictional characters of this tale. I quite enjoyed this story. If I could wish for anything else to add to this tale, I wish we knew more about what happened to Isobelle’s father. There isn’t much here, and it would have been interesting to know what happened to him. Review posted to Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, Litsy and LibraryThing.

I'm on such a huge historical fiction kick and as someone who is lowkey interested in Russian history more than she thinks she is -- this seemed to sound right up my ally.

It was a little hard for me to get into this title, I'm not sure why. It just started off a little confusing and I found myself having to back track pages to figure out what was happening. I'm not sure if it was the writing style or there was A LOT of info to take in within the first few pages.

I'm sad I struggled with this title the way I did. Maybe down the road I'll pick this one back up because it does sound like something I would really enjoy.

Thank you to the publisher and NG for allowing me to read and review this title!

This isn’t my usual type of read, but I enjoyed it a lot. I liked the different time periods described and was really rooting for both women’s relationships along the way. It was a little overly sentimental but I think it worked for the style and genre.

An entertaining historical fiction story about secrets in the past and a mysterious tiara linked to the end of the Russian dynasty. Definitely recommend for fans of Russian history or a good art heist plot.

Isobelle Moon is searching for answers after her mother dies. She never knew her father, he supposedly died in the Gulag after her mother fled Russia. Isobelle follows a trail left by her mother but to what, she does not know. This story describes the hardships of Russian life during and after World War I. It is a heartbreaking tale of survival and love. Highly recommended.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a story of a young woman discovering who she is by discovering secrets her mother kept hidden. Nice story, nice mystery, satisfying ending.

What a great book! I love historical fiction and I found myself going to my computer to do additional research on the facts in this book. This book has a dual timeline which I generally enjoy and this time was no different. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters! I couldn’t put this book down!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Shortly after her mother, Sophia’s death, Isobelle decides to remodel her mother’s bedroom and begins to remove the wallpaper. Curiously, she finds a stunning silver Tiara missing its jewels. As she dives into the research to find out how this item came into Sophia’s possession, Isobelle learns secrets and facts that her mother had been keeping from her over her lifetime.

Brilliantly crafted between mother in 1915 and daughter in 1948, The Last Tiara is a beautiful historical fiction novel with intrigue, romance, and sadness. I feel like I traveled to Russia and New York City without leaving my house because the writing is so vivid and descriptive. And the mystery of the Tiara added suspense which kept my interest throughout the story. Highly recommend!!

The Last Tiara is an interesting historical fiction mystery which starts out with some history of the Russian Romanov family. The story is told in alternating chapters by a mother who was friends with the Romanovs, and her daughter.
I would have loved to have more history with the Romanovs, but enjoyed what I read.

History, mystery, and a little bit of romance combine to make this historical novel engrossing! Well told historical fiction narrative with dual perspectives of a mother and daughter brings the world of the Romanovs and post-WWII New York to life.

I'm a sucker for any books about the Russian monarchy and this one sucked me in especially once I learned the Romanov tiara in the book is based on a real one that's still missing! The dual timelines worked well together and I was as interested in Isobelle's story as I was in her mother, Sofiya's. The Last Tiara is a love story and a mystery combined with historical fiction, all of my favorite genres rolled into one!

Thanks to NetGalley and Blue Box Press for a copy to review.

This was such a beautifully written historical novel. I loved the dual timelines, usually when reading a dual timeline there's one that you're more invested in but I honestly loved both POVs. It was sad reading Sofiya's story knowing that she would never share it with Isobelle

Although this is my first M. J. Rose book, I will be looking up her backlist. I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction exploration of a daughter in late 1940's New York City investigating her mother's past from 1915 through 1922 in St. Petersburg/Petrograd, Russia. Of course, any connection to the Romanovs is an interesting story element, and Sofiya does indeed have a personal link. When Isobelle finds a tiara missing its gems in the wall when stripping wallpaper after her mother's death, she is motivated to learn more, especially since her mother had never been forthcoming about her early years. Each chapter is told either in Isobelle's voice or that of her mother in her younger days, and I could not put the book down. Recommended.

This was such an amazing historical fiction book. I absolutely loved it! This book is going to transport you back in time. You will be hooked right from the beginning. There’s also a mystery in this book, which I loved. I recommend checking this one out!

I thought this dual timeline story was an enjoyable read. I liked the historical fiction focused on Russian history. It's something that I enjoy reading about. I thought that the story had great high points where I was really interested, but also had points where I felt it dragged a lot. Overall, it was an interesting historical fiction mystery, and I would recommend it for readers that are interested in Russian royal history.

This was obviously a well researched novel but some of the details early on distracted from the story and I felt were unnecessary. I also had a hard time initially connecting with the characters. That being said, I enjoyed learning about the Russian Revolution and the history and mystery surrounding the Romanov Jewels and Sofiya's mother's hidden sapphire and diamond tiara given to her by her dear friend Grand Duchess Olga right before the Tsar's fall from power.
The story is told from a dual POV and timeline, daughter and mother narrating alternate chapters, which works well in this narrative.
Isobelle is an architect living in the NY city apartment she shared with her mother. After her death, she discovers a Tiara with missing jewels. This opens the door to her research concerning her mother's life in Russia and eventual answers to questions her mother never would discuss about a father she never knew.
Her mother said, "America is our present and our future. The past needs to stay there."
I love historical fiction that educates me, so I did eventually end up finding this a satisfying read.

Thank you for the opportunity NetGalley

I loved this book but it definitely had an unexpected ending! Ms. Rose has an amazing way with words. She is able to weave a story into such an amazing visual depiction. I was so drawn into this story.

Isobelle discovers a tiara hidden in the walls of her home after her mother dies. She is desperate to learn the history of the tiara and why her mother has it. While she was alive, Isobelle's mother was never forthcoming with her life before she came to America so Isobelle has very little information to use to solve the mystery. Can she solve the mystery and learn why her mother chose to keep her past so secretive?

I highly recommend this book for those who love mysteries and a very well-written story!

This was a fun, dual timeline historical fiction mystery. While I enjoyed it overall, I did find myself getting annoyed with Isabella at points - she had so much going for her and so little confidence. I also thought the middle dragged just a bit.