I am a fan of MJ Rose and I usually enjoy her books. While I was checking the books on my netgalley list, books I've not left a review for, I was somewhat shocked that an MJ Rose book was listed. I looked up the book and began to reread it. Then I realized why I didn't originally leave a review. This was a book I was unable to finish. Something about it did not appeal to me. Sorry to the author, I usually love her stories.

The Last Tiara is an epic novel by M.J. Rose. Just an amazing story about Russia before WWI and then New York City after WWII. After Isobelle's mother passes away she uncovers a tiara among her possessions. The jewels in the tiara are gone and she has no idea what to make of it. The story is told in dual timelines going back to give the history of Isobelle's mother Sophia and her life in Russia before coming to America. The history in this book is incredible! A must read!

Nicely atmospheric dual time line historical fiction that moves between 1915 and 1948, The characters are well drawn, the settings unique, and the storytelling is fine. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Interesting historical fiction novel. I loved the back and forth POVs and time periods. I've always found the Romanovs fascinating and this different look at that time was cool.

From St Petersburg Russia to New York City, The Last Tiara tells the tale of mother-daughter Sofiya Petrovitch and Isobelle Moon.
Sofiya is a young woman in 1915 St. Petersburg, a friend of the Grand Duchess and a new nurse tending to soldiers, Isobelle is an architect in 1948 New York when she finds a jewel-less tiara hidden in the apartment she shared with her late mother.
The dual timeline expertly weaves their stories together while giving glimpses into the lifestyle lived by the royal family, the difficulties of being a career woman in the '40s, and of love that never fades.

I received an early copy.


I am not sure if this book was right f9r me. The Romanov family as always been an interest of mine, but I could not keep focused on this book, I will try again to read it, but I just couldn’t stay engaged.

Of all the beautiful Romanov tiaras, the Sapphire Wave has always been my favorite and the mystery surrounding its disappearance has always intrigued me.
MJ Rose's book was a wonderful telling of what "might" have happened.

The only CON I have is the obligatory sex scene at the end of the book.
That should have been completely omitted or treated more gently as it was in the earlier pages of the book. It's a shame it was in there as it spoiled the ending of the book for me.

It's why I gave this otherwise 5 star book only 4 stars.

First, this book reminded me of Anastasia the movie. We have a lot of time travel, and it can be a little overwhelming, but I really like the mystery and the history we get to see in the book. It was a little slow but I like it.

When sorting her mother's possessions after her death, a young woman discovers a tiara. Alternating between 1915 Russia and 1948 New York City, the stories of both women unfurl to explain how a Romanov treasure came to be in their possession. Filled with history, the emotional journey held this reader spell bound. MJ Rose has shown conderable skill in meshing the historical past into the fictional present with no obvious gaps. It is always a pleasure to read a story so well written.

If you like your romance/fantasy with a healthy dose of historical fiction, this one's for you! While I appreciated the beautiful world building and the prose, I was underwhelmed by the character development.

The Last Tiara is a dual-timeline novel, about a mother and daughter in their 20s. This book will be of interest to historical fiction lovers and is set in both Russia and America, and touches on the Romanovs.

The Last Tiara is a dual timeline book that follows a mom and grown daughter making their way through their early 20s. The book did have several twists and turns but also dragged in places. Overall I liked the book but would have liked it better if the ending wasn’t so rushed. It seemed like the author got tired of writing so just threw a lot of things together to confuse the reader. I’m not sure why she put one random paragraph about time travel in, it made no sense. I would have liked a little more information on Isobell’s life after she found out the story of the tiara. It was a 3.5 star book for me.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blue Box Press for an advanced reader's copy of this book for my honest review.

Alternating between 1915 Russia and 1948 New York City, The Last Tiara tells the story of a daughter learning about her mother's past through a mysterious tiara she found in her apartment after her mother dies in a mysterious accident.

I always enjoy a story told in two vocies, one in the past and one in the present. This book is no exception. Part mystery, part romance, part historical fiction. The characters are interesting and well written.

I received this book as an ARC, but it has since been published and is available now!

I've always been obsessed with learning about the Romanovs. This book is a beautiful historical mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat! I loved how Rose made everything feel so realistic and historically accurate...I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading fiction. If only some of the events in this amazing story could turn out to be true!

The Last Tiara by MJ Rose

429 Pages
Publisher: Blue Box Press, AuthorBuzz
Release Date: February 2, 2021

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Russian

Sophia Moon has never wanted to talk about her past in Russia with her daughter Isobelle. After Sophia’s death, Isobelle is trying to make the house her own. She begins removing wallpaper and finds a small hiding spot with a box inside. When she opens the box, she is surprised to find a tiara. Now she has more questions but no one to ask. She begins a search that will bring strangers to her doorstep. She will have to determine if they are friends or enemies.

The book has a steady pace and goes back and forth from Sophia’s past to Isobelle’s present. The characters are well developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. I enjoy reading about the Romanov family and the House of Faberge. The author did a wonderful job bringing history to life in her writing. If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy this book.

M.J Rose' books are always good recommendations. I liked the characters and how she portrayed their relationships. I feel like the story and plot-line could have been achieved in half the pages that this book took to get through though.

M.J. Rose is one of my favorite authors. She wrote the spell-binding Daughters of La Lune trilogy. I was excited to read about the Romanovs lost Tiara. However, it was very slow moving, and I really was interested in both storylines. The writing really became repetitive. Thus, this is a novel that will appeal to fans of the Romanovs but is not her best work. Still, I recommend this for fans of The Tsarina’s Daughter!

I am usually a huge fan of M.J. Rose and also a huge fan of any of Russian fiction dealing with Nicholas II and his family. So the premise of this book was very enticing to me.

Sofyia is a young friend to Olga, daughter of Nicholas II, when she is sent away from the family. She begins work as a nurse during WWI and meets a man who captivates her and she can't but fall in love with. Unfortunately, she loses tracks of him and doesn't learn the outcome of his injury. Years later, she takes a tiara that was a gift from Grand Duchess Olga to renowned jewelers to have it appraised to get money, which is in short supply. Whilst there, she comes across her former love. Years later, her daughter Isobelle in post WWII New York is left with many questions about her mother's life. She's also struggling to find her way in a male dominated profession as an architect.

I am going to just be straightforward about this. I was expecting most of the story, for some reason, (because of how it was marketed) to be Sofyia in 1910's Russia. And I was excited about a faux connection story with the Tsar Nicholas II and some royal intrigue/majesty. We didn't even get a 1% of that in this book. I was heartily disappointed by that. I feel like Olga was used as a prop because her name is well known. That is truly unfair to her.

And honestly, not to be a jerk, but I really wasn't interested or invested in Isobelle's storyline. Because honestly everything she wanted to know? Rose was telling us in Isobelle's mother's alternate storyline. For the most part at least.

I'm sorry! I usually really love M.J.'s books, but this one just didn't do it for me. Super bummed.

Thank you for the ARC.

Definitely a book that had such excellent world building but fell a teensy bit flat with characters and character relationships. The plot and background to this though was lovely!

Sadness pervades this novel from start to finish. There is a dual timeline storyline involving the history of the tiara and how it played a part in the lives of Sophia, the man she loves and afterwards her daughter. It's an interesting story but slow-moving.