*3.5 stars rounded up.

M.J. Rose is an expert at writing lush, romantic historical fiction and this time her story is set in New York City during the Gilded Age. At the heart of the story is the magnificent Hope diamond that Pierre Cartier offers for sale in his new American jewelry salon. The legendary gem has a history of bad luck that Cartier is only too happy to exploit to pique the interest of potential buyers.

Rose's novel is told in first-person narrative by the character of Vera Garland, a young woman of society who dearly wants to be an investigative journalist. Her mother is dead set against that so her father suggests she use a disguise and the pseudonym Vee Swann while on the job. She is most interested in writing articles that expose great social injustice, especially for women and children.

After her father's untimely death, Vera concocts a complicated plan to get revenge. Is it wrong for her to deceive and use people if her motives are pure? And what price will she ultimately have to pay for her dishonesty?

With Vera's two personas, Rose depicts both sides of life in the early 1900s, revealing the gulf between the haves and have-nots of that era, between the extremely wealthy and the struggling poor--the gulf that has widened again today with the decline of the middle class.

But what I found most interesting is the rise of feminism portrayed here, even before women were given the right to vote, as Vera and other female journalists struggle to be accepted in 'a man's world' and be given equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work. Rose even touches on abortion back then and how a desperate woman might have no choice but to seek out risky back-street doctors willing to perform such an operation.

This is an enjoyable read, filled with lovely descriptions of the dress, homes and entertainment of the wealthy, but also touches on some of the era's great prejudices and injustices. Nicely done! Lovely cover design too.

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks!

Forget the little blue box, any true jewelry connoisseur knows the way to a woman’s heart is the red box with the gold trim! When I learned MJ Rose was writing about Cartier & the Hope Diamond, I knew I had to get my hands on this book! ⁣
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A 5 star read for me, Rose takes the reader on a journey of early 1900s in New York into the world of undercover journalism, beautiful gems and shady businessmen. I couldn’t turn the pages of Vera Garland’s story fast enough, needing to know more, and of course, planning to pop by the “maison de Cartier” in NYC after finishing! ⁣
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Future husband, if you’re out there, don’t forget what I said about the red box!

I loved Cartier's Hope. This amazing novel will bring you back to the gilded age in 1910 NY. I love the setting and enjoyed this great story about Vera Garland and the hope diamond. I loved all the facets of this story from the exciting meetings with Pierre Cartier and the romance between Vera and Jacob. So many twists and turns to keep you enthralled. I loved the message that Vera's father tried to tell her and the twist at the end made it all worth while. I'm looking forward to reading more of this Authors work.

I give Cartier's Hope 5 stars for its amazing story.
I would recommend this book to Historical Fiction Fans.

Good story set in the Gilded Age of New York and featuring the Hope Diamond. The story was very well written and plenty of emotions and twists. The characters were realistic. I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc!

A new M.J. Rose novel is an absolute delight to read. This is a historical fiction novelist who is at the very top of her game. I loved the mix of jewelry, legend and lore, and a young woman in her 30s who goes undercover as a reporter (and regularly!) ... this time to avenge her beloved father's death. I loved the father-daughter relationship, and I loved all the scenes about libraries and old books. A great book to read if you're seeking an "out of the box" heroine.

I must admit that the beginning is very broody and down, and I almost put it down. But I forged on through and it got better. A fictionalized side tale of the Hope Diamond, Cartier Jewelers, and the plight of female news reporters In early 20th century, it subtly asks the question if revenge is worth what you may gain, or will you lose more in the end. Also, can love trump revenge? A brooding, emotional read but a good story. I received an ARC of this book.

It’s 1910 in NYC and the Gilded Age is in full swing as the Hope Diamond arrives amid its reputation of bad luck and superstition. MJ Rose placed me right in the midst of the times with her vivid pose that I have come to love. As an undercover reporter, Vera Garland highlighted some of the women’s issues of the time, poverty and march for equal rights, to name a few.

What I struggled with was the development of the plot, while Vera's goal/mission took root early on at about the 70% mark I was still left wondering when anything would transpire in that department, the story seemed to meander. It was like the author forgot about the direction and left this reader wanting. I wasn't a big fan of the ending for reasons I can't really explain without spoiling the ride for someone else.

For the beautiful writing it’s 4 stars but the story was just 3 stars, averaged out to 3.5.

My thanks to Atria Books for an advanced copy (via Netgalley) in exchange for honest review.

3,5 stars

Vera Garland is grieving the loss of her father. When she is clearing her father’s things, Vera finds some letters that reveal a family secret. While trying to get revenge, she befriends Jacob Asher, a jeweler, who has secrets of his own.

Born to a privileged life, Vera wants to work as a journalist and feels strongly about the suffragette movement and women getting the right to vote and getting paid the same as men. Vera has a troubled relationship with her mother, a society matron, who doesn’t understand her choice to work.

Vera was an intelligent, sometimes impulsive feminist who was ahead of her times within her circles. I liked her but didn’t always agree with her decisions. I would have liked to learn more of a fellow journalist, but I liked Asher and Vera’s lawyer cousin Stephen.

While I enjoyed the book, I feel it didn’t live up to her previous books. But I haven’t read a book by her that I didn’t like.

t is a very colorful well written story circa 1910, about the Hope Diamond and it's curse and events that surround a family. The characters are complex and interesting with a lot of secrets. I love the detail of the surroundings and characters. Vera is a reporter with an alias and is determined to find out the secret of the curse. The book also has a controversial story regarding homosexual intolerance. I found this a wonderful read! I received an arc from netgalley and this is my honest review. I loved this book! This is one I will consider reading again!

Lyrical, magical and heart wrenching. Just when I thought her last book was her best she outshines herself as brilliantly as the diamond in the story. I wish that I could give it more than five stars. It deserves a prominent spot on your keeper shelf. Happy reading!

Set in the Gilded Age of 1910 in New York City, the daughter of one of the wealthiest merchants Vera is also an undercover journalist using the name Vee Swann.

The story combines the glitter of the Age through Cartier’s jewelry store, their well to-do customers and the Hope Diamond against the corruption of the less privileged and the injustice they suffered.

Early in the book Vera’s father dies leaving her bereft and propelling her to investigate her father’s death and destroy the man she thinks caused it.

I love how the history and curse of the Hope Diamond is interwoven within the story. Vera’s character is feisty, strong -willed and pushes back against the oppressive social structure for women of the era.

This is a great book for those who like historical fiction combined with mystery.

I picked up Cartier’s Hope because I loved the author’s Tiffany Blues. Both feature artists. This time the medium is gems.

While Tiffany Blues described a lot of the art and influences of Louise Comfort Tiffany, Cartier’s Hope fell short of my hopes in that area. Art was replaced with gem lore and history. The history of the Hope Diamond figures largely in the story, so if you are a gem lover, you will find that information fascinating.

Like many of Rose’s novels, this book is about rich people acting rich. The main character, Vera Garland, works trying to right social wrongs and advance the status of women – as a reporter writing under a pseudonym. However, when the job is over, she goes back to her rich life style. Though she does not share the prejudices of her wealthy family and friends, she does share their expensive taste in pretty much everything. I believe the author was attempting to point out the extreme differences between the rich and the poor, but the poor were poorly represented.

As reporter Vee Swann, Vera plots to expose a blackmailer. Doing so will involve Pierre Cartier, so she much also act as Vera Garland. Her plan seemed iffy at best, based on a low odds that it would pan out like she wanted. I kept thinking ‘Really?”

There is a little bit of a romance, but I didn’t embrace it. There were too many secrets between Vera and Jacob. While all secrets came out in the end, I did not feel the connection between the two.

Usually, I love this author’s books. While Cartier’s Hope is a well written novel, it fell short for me. But if you like M.J. Rose and/or gems, you might like this one.

Read Cartier’s Hope for the history of suffrage, women in newspapers, Pierre Cartier, the Hope Diamond.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am such a fan of M.J. Rose's books and this is quite possibly one of her best. A true delight of a book. I was pulled in from page one and did not want to stop until The End. Great cast of characters and setting. A true delight of a book. Definitely 5 stars for this one.

I have read and enjoyed this author for a long time. She excels at taking you back in history and making you feel as if you are there. This story is about Vera, who is struggling against society norms and what her mother expects her to do. It is 1910 in New York City and Vera is a strong, smart, complicated woman who wants to enact change and make better lives for women.

In 1910, New York is seeing its Gilded Age, and Vera, the daughter of a large department store owner, is lucky to be one of The Four Hundred. But she has a secret. She moonlights as a both a society page and investigative writer, sometimes risking life and limb to uncover the seedy underbelly of the city. Plus, Vera is woke. It’s almost unrealistic how woke she is, but she makes for quite the heroine. In a society where women are expected to marry and uphold the good reputations of their families, Vera has completely flipped the script. She’s a spinster, starts a protective rights group for female reporters, and wears disguises. There’s even more serious topics that would make a genteel 1910s lady faint, like abortion and extramarital affairs.

Our woke heroine, and everyone else in New York, has learned the Hope Diamond is currently for sale by its owner, Mr. Cartier. She has the ability to use her high-society privilege to see the diamond up close, and even consider- and this is so unbelievable in this day in age- buying it. But it’s not just for the prestige of owning such a bauble, or even it’s beauty. She’s hatching a plan to use her position to write a story that will avenge her deceased father’s near brush with social ruin. Despite the dodge, it caused a  grief that drove him to his grave. This roving reporter will go undercover – as herself.

Notwithstanding the high improbability of the story, (Vera is just too darn perfect) it still has a realistic feel- it’s the epitome of historical fiction. Rose has penned such a fun and intriguing story, writing about the glitz and glamour of New York while reminding the reader that sometimes, there’s only tin under all that gilding.

Cartier’s Hope by M J Rose is both historical fiction and a romance story.
The protagonist is Vera Garland a daughter of a New York wealthy merchant. She works incognito as a working class journalists using pseudonym, Vee Swann . She investigated the story and legend about the Hope diamond that jeweler Pierre Cartier has created to increase the interest and sell the diamond. During her research Vera falling in love with the jeweler’s assistant..
I enjoyed this book but feel it had too many topics : homosexual, abortion, women’s rights, journalisms, gemology...at times it feels more like a textbook.
Thank you Netgalley, Simon &Schuster/Atria Books for the opportunity to read and give an honest review.

Summary: Vera Garland’s family is very wealthy. Her father was the owner of Garland’s Emporium, a very prosperous department store in early New York. As the daughter of a socialite, Vera was raised to be a fine lady of leisure, but she wants more than her mother’s lifestyle. Vera works as a reporter and newspaper columnist under the pseudonym Vee Swann. As Vee, she disguises herself as a common woman, so she can write about the social issues of the day. Children are working long hours and women are marching to get the vote. Charlatans fleece customers in elaborate ruses during seances. Newspapers publish gossip and salacious stories to attract readers.

Women working in journalism in the early 1900’s were most frequently relegated to fashion and society columns. Vera is determined to write more serious articles and exposes. After her father dies, she discovers a huge, shocking secret about him and another close relative that lead to their deaths. She decides to seek revenge against the sleazy newspaper owner who threatened to expose the men.

Vera’s investigation into the stories Pierre Cartier is telling about Hope Diamond in his possession gives her an opportunity to kill two birds with one very expensive stone.

Comments: I was drawn to reading Cartier’s Hope because of the story line involving the Hope Diamond. I’ve seen the famous blue stone many times at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History. I’m also a fan of early 20th century America historical fiction.

I actually liked this book a lot more than I expected to. First, it had more than one unexpected twist. Second, during the first incarnation of The Brown Bookloft about 12 years ago, I was sent a very early M.J. Rose novel. I didn’t care for it and haven’t read anything by her since then. She’s obviously honed her writing skills since those early days!

I acutely related with plucky Vera Garland. I had many fights with my own mother, who overly valued societal expectations. She tried in vain to “raise me to be a good housewife” (her own words). I wanted more for myself, too. The book also made me consider the issues that faced women one hundred years ago–some of which we still face today.

Recommended for readers of General Fiction, Women’s Fiction and Historical Fiction (especially early 20th Century New York.

My Rating: 4 STARS

A Reporter Seeks to Expose the Hype about the Hope Diamond

In 1910 New York City is a study in contrasts. The very wealthy enjoy balls, expensive shops, and live in extravagant mansions. In contrast, the very poor, many of the immigrants, live in tenements eking out a living often making clothes for the wealthy.

Vera Garland, scion of a wealthy family, is struggling to make a name for herself as a reporter. This is the era when women reporters were relegated to society news. As Vee Swann, Vera strives to expose the abuses of poverty. She’s injured working on one story which puts her on sick leave. In that interval, her beloved father dies. She is devastated and even more so when she learns that a blackmailing editor was responsible for hastening his death.

Vera knows Cartier, has seen the Hope Diamond, and heard the stories with which Cartier markets the jewel. She hatches a plan to take down the editor using the hype surrounding the diamond.

As usual in M.J. Rose novels, the background is lush and the details accurate. You get a superb view of the contrasts in New York in the early 1900s. Vera is emblematic of her age. She wants to succeed in her profession and doesn’t want to be forced into a marriage that would bar her from the working world.

The Hope Diamond is famous for it’s mysterious past including rumors of bad luck for the owners. Rose deftly uses this background to give Vera a plan to avenge her father’s death. Surprisingly, in the process she finds love.

I received this book from Atria Books for this review.

I've enjoyed the books I've read by M.J. Rose, so I decided to give this one a try (despite the off-putting cover). It's not really about the Hope diamond, and that's okay. It's about Vera Garland/Vee Swann, a wealthy department store heiress/female reporter. The presence of the diamond in the city ties into the plot, but it also could have been worked another way. Anyway, you can tell Rose does a lot of research, which I appreciate. It was a bit weird that the reporter and the heiress were the same character, because that seems historically unlikely. Also she threw in a plot line involving homosexuality and a character who had escaped the Odessa pogroms, which just seemed a bit too much for such a slim, light novel. Rose is a good storyteller, and I enjoyed this story. It just didn't blow me away. She introduced lots of big ideas that were either new to me or made me ponder a bit, and I guess I would have preferred a bit more meatiness, at least at the time I was reading. Still, worth a read.

Cartier’s Hope by M. J. Rose manages to bridge several genres and subjects. Part historic fiction novel, part confidence story, part romance, and even part social justice piece, the novel covers a lot of ground and does so pretty deftly. While there were times it felt like what was coming was obvious and the narrator was being unbelievably naïve or obtuse, the story managed to subvert my expectations just enough that I found myself charmed instead.

As the daughter of a department store magnate, Vera Garland is a member of high society in early twentieth century New York. Her mother wants nothing more than for Vera to find a husband and settle down. But Vera doesn’t want to bow to society’s whims. With her father’s encouragement and a handy alter-ego, she works as a reporter for one of the city’s papers, going undercover like her hero Nellie Bly to expose injustice and inequality in the hopes of helping to change the world. But after a series of misfortunes, including her father’s death, Vera is struggling. While going through her father’s things, Vera discovers a secret about him that gets her back to work but in ways that brings her carefully separated personal and professional lives closer and closer. With deception coming so easily, Vera has to figure out if there is a line she won’t cross to get what she wants.

Having the novel narrated by Vera from a point clearly after the events of the story have occurred is an effective, if occasionally annoying, choice. There’s a remark one of the characters makes about the role of exaggeration in fiction and I had to chuckle when I read it because it encapsulated a lot of how I was feeling about the novel. It’s obvious a lot of research went into the novel, especially the historic New York City setting. Mostly because it felt like some of the details Vera mentioned were included to show just how much research had been done. Repetitious details like the street addresses of common locations, the mentions of Nellie Bly, etc. reached a point where it felt almost like I was being dared to go double check the facts. So, while I enjoyed the story and the characters, I personally would have preferred if certain elements had been handled with a little more subtlety.

One theme that resonated for me was imperfection and flaws being a part of life. Vera’s growing awareness of her blind spots where certain people she loves are concerned pushes her to grapple with acceptance and trust — which also force her to confront some of the things that happened in her past. Confronting the secrets and shortcomings of others also forces her to examine what she’s doing (and why) more closely.

So, much like the characters learn to accept the flaws in life and people (and gemstones), the flaws are part of the story and Cartier’s Hope remains worth the effort it takes to read it.

Cartier’s Hope will be available for purchase tomorrow (January 28, 2020).