When Helen bequeath's her youngest granddaughter a diamond brooch, Beck dismisses it as costume jewelry. When she later discovers that it contains the famous Florentine diamond, she feels obligated to share the information about the diamond as well as any proceeds from a sale with her siblings and mother.

Straightforward, right? Not on your life. They have to first establish that the jewel is rightfully theirs.

The historical aspect of the novel was intriguing, just how did a middle-class Jewish woman come into the possession of such a rare diamond? The search for the diamond's provenance kept me on the edge of my seat.

The family dynamics, however, I really found annoying. There was way too much bickering and mud-slinging for my liking. It was hard to say that I found any of the characters really likeable.

That being said, I felt compelled to finish the book and was pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson is a contemporary novel with an interesting historical element. The mysterious Florentine Diamond and how it came into the family’s possession makes the book intriguing to read. However, the intrigue becomes lost due to the large number of characters and slow moving plot.

The concept of The Imperfects is really unique and I was immediately drawn in to learn more about the Florentine Diamond and how it came into Helen’s possession. The details about the diamond and its history give the story some compelling moments. It is enjoyable to read about the author’s ideas of what might have become of this infamous diamond after its disappearance in 1918.

❀ QUITE A FEW CHARACTERS

As there are quite a few main characters and side characters in the book, it takes a bit of time and energy to keep track of them all. This really affected my enjoyment of the novel because it took a lot of effort to remember who is who. There isn’t one character that really stands out as a favourite, but there are a couple that are more likeable than others. Helen is definitely the most intriguing of the family members, as she has such an mysterious history.

❀ SLOW-PACED

This book moves at a very slow pace and there are very few chapter breaks. If not for my interest in the story of the diamond, I may have given up on it entirely. Also, the ending just didn’t seem to satisfy me for the effort that I made to stick with it.

❀ UNIQUE CONCEPT

The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson is a novel that has a unique and engaging concept. The historical component to the story is interesting, although there are far too many characters and a slow moving plot. That being said, this book might be enjoyable for those who are interested in historical fiction.

I am a sucker for dysfunctional families. And siblings Beck, Ashley, and Jake have plenty of dysfunction to go around, at least partially seeded by their flaky mother Deborah. When Deborah’s mother Helen dies, her will seems pretty straightforward: house to Deborah, and everything else to be divided equally among the grandchildren... except for a brooch, which goes to Beck. But the brooch, which Beck originally takes for garish costume jewelry, is anything but: it holds a 137-carat yellow diamond, the Florentine Diamond, which hasn’t been seen since the Habsburg Monarchy collapsed. Helen was never forthcoming with Deborah or her grandchildren about her past, and now, with claims against the diamond from both the Austrian government and the Italian government, the dysfunctional Miller family is going to have to work together if they have any hope of making peace with Helen’s shadowy past and their own heritage.

In turns humorous and wrenching and wise, this novel has a lot of heart.

Thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley for the electronic ARC.

A super interesting premise - I would have loved for the focus to be on Helen and the history - but it was still a well told tale despite the main characters being unlikable.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free read in exchange for an honest review.

Another book about estranged siblings and a mystery - except this one is inspired by the true story of the real and still-missing Florentine Diamond.

The three Miller siblings are under the same roof for the first time in years and they have a work together (and through their own issues) to solve the mystery of their grandmother's life.

Amy Meyerson writes about siblings in a real way. She understands the nuance of estrangement and a shared history. It's refreshing to read - because it is such a delicate balance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

I wasn't too interested in the premise of this book, and I think I overlooked it a couple times, then i read the first chapter in Buzz Books and I was hooked.

The book opens with the death of a grandmother, a grandmother who had three loving grandchildren, some more devoted to her than others. When a 137 carat diamond is found among her possessions people come from all around the world to claim it.
Determined to prove they have a legitimate claim to the diamond, and more importantly prove their grandmother is not a thief, the three grandchildren look into their family history, uncovering the dark secrets their grandmother kept from them, and some she may not have known herself.

When I write it all out, it doesn't sound great. But it really is.
This is not only a story about a diamond, in many ways its more so a story about family.
The absentee mother, the dynamic between three siblings who don't seem to have anything in common.
A father who left and the ever present grandmother who picked up the pieces.

Off to a slow start, once the story got going I could not put it down. When Helen dies, her granddaughter, Beck, calls the family together. Dysfunctional is not even close to the crazy relationship between Deborah, her children, Beck, Ashley and Jake and their relationships to each other. The will is read and Beck discovers a brooch left to her might contain the long lost Florentine diamond. As Helen’s history is unraveled to discover how she came in possession of the diamond, some history about Austria in the early 1900’s and Vienna in the time of WWII contributes to the depth of the story. I highly recommend and thank Netgalley for the ARC.

Beck, Jake and Ashley Miller. What can I say? Well Helen, their overbearing, eccentric grandmother passes away and they find themselves under the same roof. Past fights, betrayals and all different craziness from their past all under one roof is crazy itself. But something even crazier happens. They find a rare gem in Helen's belongings. This 25 carat gem still missing (nonfiction) this part is truthful) today they scramble to try to find out how on earth their grandmother had this rare gem. And who gets to keep it. What should they do? How can they find out without alarming suspicion and the authorities. It's wild.

I really liked this book, however, the fact that this rare priceless gem is worth A LOT OF MONEY and is in fact really missing in real life was what intrigued me even more!

A special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC of this book!

I highly recommend this twisty family drama. Read along as they discover surprising secrets about their grandmother and how it affects and changes them. Very well told. It's a must read. Don't pass up this gem of a book. Happy reading!

This story is a fictional story based on a missing historical object: The Florentine Diamond.

This book starts of with an estranged family; three children (Ashley, Jake, and Beck) and their mother (Deborah) who just learn about their grandmother Helen's passing. All are forced to come back to the house they grew up in to sit for Shiva and discuss the will. The children are angry that Helen leaves the house to Deborah, but they question Beck even more about the yellow diamond brooch that was left to her. Through Beck's friend Viktor, she learns that is the Florentine Diamond that went missing from the fall of the Hapsburg Empire. The family does not think it is fair that Beck was left something worth millions. Beck agrees to share the profit to be made on the Florentine Diamond if they can figure out its history and how Helen came to have it in her possession. It isn't long until other countries and parties come forward saying the diamond belongs to them and they end up in court. Who does the Florentine truly belong to?

If you are looking for an intriguing story with a bit of mystery thrown in this would be a great read for you. The story follows more than just the search for the history of the diamond and Helen's past. It also incorporates the struggles each family member is currently facing during this time. I was a bit upset about how the book actually ended, but I can see how it was a suitable closing to this story.

This book was just what I needed to hold my attention right now. This read was equal parts family drama and historical fiction, which was a pleasant surprise to me. When a distressed family comes across an unexpected gem in their inheritance, they are led down a path of discovery, exposed secrets, and necessary growth.

The characters were well developed and I loved seeing how they brought their own perception to the unfolding story. I especially loved the ending of this book...while it a bit predictable, it ended in a very satisfying way.

Thank you to Harlequin, Park Row, and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

An exciting tale of a found historic diamond and some of its background

Three estranged siblings and their scatterbrained mother are called together to sit shiva for their recently deceased grandmother.

During this three days of mourning they find out the contents of the grandmother's will including that she left a very large diamond to the youngest of the siblings who has been closest to her grandmother.

The appearance of this diamond is a total surprise to all of them and they find they must work together to find out how it ended up in the grandmother's possession.

I love stories about gems, jewelry, lost treasures, and robberies that include these. This was a bit different than other books I've read and has a strong historical background but it made for interesting reading.

I recommend this to readers that enjoy stories about jewels, about World War II, about the Austrian Empire, or about dysfunctional families.

I received this book from Park Row Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

‘The Imperfects’ by Amy Meyerson, tells the story of the dysfunctional Miller family who are brought together by the death of their grandmother Helen. When Helen leaves her granddaughter Beck a brooch in her will, the family are forced to work together to uncover the truth about the brooch’s jewels and the secrets of both their grandmother and great grandmother. This novel combines family drama with historical fiction and even a little touch of mystery. I found the character of Helen to be so, so interesting and I wish that the book had focused more on her rather than on the three siblings. I enjoyed this book and really liked the premise of it but I did find the incessant fighting of the siblings a bit much. I actually really liked the character of Deborah and couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. A good, interesting read. A solid 3.5 stars from me.

The IMPERFECTS manages to pack just about everything into one good story about a dysfunctional family struggling to find equilibrium. And they haven’t just been struggling recently; their issues are multi-generational and so pervasive that individual members lack enough information to even process the origins of their dysfunction. Author Amy Meyerson has created a layered mystery hinged upon the sudden appearance of a gem-encrusted 1950’s-era pin in the family matriarch’s bedroom and subsequently mentioned in her will. While at first her granddaughter assumes the pin is costume jewelry, she has it appraised and learns it is a missing famous jewel. Suddenly a larger mystery appears, did her thrifty grandmother steal the jewel, how else did she happen to own it? As it turns out, the family members know little to nothing about the grandmother who raised them and neither does their dippy mother. Their quest to learn more is a great tale, even as they bicker and claw their way through their hunt. This is a quick and engaging book, filled with historical details that enrich and color this wonderful book. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I received an electronic ARC from Harlequin through NetGalley.
Meyerson weaves history with family secrets to create this tale of three siblings and their mother. Definitely a dysfunctional family who has to figure out how to connect after their grandmother dies. They've inherited a historic diamond and have no idea how/why Helen had it. They have to learn about the mother/grandmother (Helen) and her mother (Flora)'s lives to establish their claim to keep this historic diamond. In order to to this, they also have to learn to let go of past pain and figure out ways to connect with each other.
The story flows smoothly and the historical references to the Hapsburg dynasty and peripherally to the Holocaust intertwine well with the fictional characters and their family's history. The Miller family has not learned to cope with disappointment and hurt so each member is frozen in some state of anger and unforgiveness.
As expected, by the end of the book, this family is beginning to heal and understand each other.

This was an interesting story of a very dysfunctional family and the fallout of the death of the secretive grandmother. One of the granddaughters inherits a 137 carat diamond -- something unheard of. There is mystery involved: How did their grandmother get the diamond? Did she steal it? Who does it really belong to?

All the while, there are family squabbles of an authentic sort. The 3 grandchildren are all very different. They could each use some money. They each have their secrets. Then there is their mother who has not been a model parent.

I like the play on the title, The Imperfects. The diamond is imperfect, which is how they can authenticate it. Also, the people in the family are imperfect.

This is a well conceived family drama that looks back to the war, trying to piece together the grandmother's life. The characters feel well rounded. There is also a certain almost thriller like tension around who the diamond actually belongs to and who will claim it in the end.

That being said, the ending is clever (and that's all I'll say so as not to give anything away).

Thank you to Netgalley and Park Row for the review copy.

I thought this was just going to be another family drama, and let's be honest, there are SO many of those lately. I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book.

While it was a family drama, and a good one at that, it was so much more. I really enjoyed the mystery story revolving around the Florentine diamond. I had never heard of this diamond, and I know that this isn't a true story by any means, it was fun to learn the history of it and speculate about what may have happened to it. I wish the ending was a little more resolved in terms of the diamond, but the ending for the family was so satisfying.

I ended up flying through this book in just a couple of days. I would recommend it to those who want a family drama with an added layer.

This opens in 1918 Vienna and then flashes forward to the present and the death of Helen. Helen's will was clear- Ashley, Jake, and Beck, and their mother Deborah, were all left something. Yes, this is a dysfunctional family; they don't like each other at all. They pick pick pick. All of them are more or less underachieving. Beck is left a specific item-a brooch with a large stone that's in Helen's jewelry box. Imagine her surprise (and the family's) when it turns out that this is a 137 carat diamond- and that it might be the mysterious missing Florentine Diamond. How the siblings (and their mom) navigate the effort to find the truth (especially so the diamond can be sold) is engaging and entertaining. Each of the characters will grate on you at times- you'll want to tell them to grow up and get over thenselves- but this is because they're so well done. It's a good tale with great storytelling that kept me turning the pages. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A very good read.

The matriarch of the Miller family, Helen, passes away, and leaves an ornate broach to her granddaughter Beck. Beck, her two siblings, and her mother are forced together for Helen's funeral and have decades of resentment to work through. Although each individual family member had a relationship with Helen, none of them were aware that Helen had been holding on to the 137 carat Florentine yellow diamond hidden within her broach. The Florentine diamond has been missing since 1918 so how did Helen get this diamond in her possession?

Amy Meyerson's book goes through the lives of the Miller family as each member is dealing with their own set of challenges and setbacks. When they find out they could potentially make millions off of this diamond, their focus turns to proving their legitimacy to the diamond and that Helen obtained the diamond legally. Can they make their case in time or will another claim win out on top?

Although I really wanted this book to focus on the Helen, the diamond, and its history, the book focuses more on the lives of the Miller family. Unfortunately, I found all 4 of them to be annoying and very unlikeable. Each character was a different stereotype that never changed and constantly created more and more drama for themselves and their family. As a lover of historical fiction, if the book went back and forth between the lives of the Millers and the life of their grandmother and great-grandmother in Austria, I would have found this book much more enjoyable. I also found the ending to be completely unsatisfying and made me feel like what I had read had been a waste of time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Park View Publishing to granting me an ARC of this novel in exchange for my unbiased review.

After the death of their grandmother, estranged siblings find a treasure hidden among her belongings - a 137-carat diamond. Now they must dive into their grandmother's history to figure out if they are the rightful heirs. More than anything, The Imperfects is a tale of dysfunctional family relationships and the struggle to forgive and understand those closest to you. In all, the book was 3 stars for me. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable. I failed to empathize with any of the characters, and without that connection, I'm likely to forget I ever read this book.