Cover Image: The Last Tiara

The Last Tiara

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Member Reviews

After her mother dies, Isobelle finds a tiara hidden inside a wall in her mother’s bedroom. Sophia never talked about her past in Russia before the Russian Revolution. All Isobelle has ever heard about her father is that he died and haven’t even seen a picture of him.
The book follows two timelines: Isobelle in the 1940s after her mother’s death and Sophia just before and during the Russian revolution.

I love M.J. Rose’s books, and this was no different. It’s not often that I like both timelines as much, but both worked here. The jewellery house Faberge has been featured in previous books too so there is a theme in her books it seems. Really enjoyable historical book.

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The Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond had a display of Faberge eggs years ago and they were stunning.

fabergeegg

And I couldn't have been the only one thinking Isobelle's mother was a future Joan Rivers wearing her egg charm necklace.

joanriverseggs

I enjoyed the bits here about jewelry making, the Russian royal family and even Oak Ridge...but they zipped by right at the beginning. Then the action picked up at the end and was really rushed. Rose could have taken out 100 pages from the middle and put that towards the ending!

I'll make my usual distinction here between historical fiction and historical romance. This was certainly historical romance. I understand there has to be some romance--you need future babies after all--but this was too much female dithering. And again with the duel timelines! When is this plot device going to end?

This was an advance reader's copy from Netgallery.

Photos can be seen at goodreads--https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3563219935

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First of all, this cover is absolutely STUNNING. It was the first thing that grabbed my attention. I loved that there was a mysterious aspect woven into the romance. It was so well written.

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Interesting and great story.

I liked the flow and the characters. There was a great amount of conflict and interest to keep page turning.

Attractive title and cover.

Recommend.

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This was an amazing novel that went back and forth between the 1940's and the time of the Russian Revolution. When a daughter finds a hidden tiara frame in her apartment, she is sent on a historical fact finding mission that will completely change her view of her mother and her life.

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dnf at 30 %. " The last tiara " is a historical fiction mixed with mystery and romance. The premise was interesting. We follow a girl called Isobelle Moon in 1984 as she tries to discover her mother's secrets after she passed away. Isobelle is a architect in New York. While renovating her mothers old room she notices a box in the wall. In the box is a silver tiara, with a note that says 1930 and that the tiara is from a jeweler in New York City. Isobelle doesn't know much about her mother and this find encourages her to look further into her past.

We follow Isobelle and her mother Sofiya. Sofiya's pov is set in Russia, starting in 1915 when she's a nurse to help soldiers in the war.

The reason I dnf:ed this was because I lost interest. I would read it again.

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Thank you to the author M J Rose, the publsher, and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid opinion.

I loved this book. It is a fascinating story about the end of the Russian Monarchy and the beginning of Russian Communism which takes place in 1917 through 1922 in Russia and after World War Ii in New York City.

It is the story of Sofiya, a childhood friend of the Romanov Grand Duchesses who volunteers to help nurse wounded soldiers who have returned from the front. It is the story of the end of the Romanov dynasty, the house of Faberge, the rise of communism and the suffering of the Russian people, and the story of a young lady who flees communist Russia in order to save her young daughter.

The story is also about her daughter who grows up not knowing anything of her mother's history and story in Russia and who finds the skeleton of a tiara that leads her on a grand adventure to find out who her mother really was.

It is a story of love, betrayal, finding love, losing love, and who to trust. The only criticism is that the author may have tried to capture too many story lines in her book.
Other than that, I loved it and would highly recommend it.

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Four Stars
Just a pleasure
Having never read any of MJ Rose's works I went in not knowing what to suspect. What I found was a historical mystery well written, heart wrenching full of witticism, romance, and informative. Rose's command of how a women thinks when used was superb and her definitions of many nuances of interpretation of life experiences were most interesting. I found myself taking some notes, looking up words, and just overall enthralled with the story.

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2 romances and a mystery
This book tells the story of a painting restorer in Russia in the 1920's and her daughter's search for answers about her parents after her mother dies in 1948 having told her very little about her life before immigrating to New York. There are interesting facts about the Hermitage and the Bolsheviks and about the difficulties women faced as architects in 1940's. The mystery is how the mother came to own the last tiara Faberge designed and made for the Tzar.

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I’m not into romance books or fiction, but I enjoy reading historical fiction books more and more, because while the story is fictional, the historical facts are true and I still learn something new (or at least look at history from a different perspective). I liked the story plot in this book and since I haven’t read much about the revolution in Russia, I was interested in having that angle in the book as well.

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This story is told in the alternating POV of two women, mother and daughter. After her mother's death in New York, Isobelle Moon returns to her childhood apartment and decides to renovate, where she discovers a tiara with the jewels missing along with the receipts for the sale of the jewels. Her mother had sold them to finance her new life in America after leaving Russia. Investigating the mystery of the tiara reveals that it once belonged to the royal family and has been reported stolen. Weaving the story of the missing tiara with her mother Sofiya's past in Russia as the best friend of the Grand Duchess and her nursing work at the makeshift hospital in St. Petersberg, the story seamlessly flows from past to present.
I received a complimentary advance reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in my review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

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I loved this book, the story line and the characters!! This book was so entertaining and I found it hard to put down It kept me engaged the entire book! I have never been unhappy with an M.J. book!

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I love historical fiction and this book did not disappoint. It engages the reader from the first chapter. Thank you for letting me read this book for an honest review.

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When Isobelle Moon's mother Sophia dies in 1948, Isobelle soon learns that her mother, a Russian emigree' who came to New York during World War I, has been keeping secrets from her. Isobelle, a female architect struggling to make her mark in a profession that is not particularly welcoming, must balance her professional and personal lives as she tries to discover what her mother has been hiding from her all these years.

Moving easily between post-World War II NYC and revolutionary Russia circa 1915, M. J. Rose's historical novel has mystery, history, and a touch of romance.

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Wow! The Last Tiara is a captivating book. I love this story. It is told in two different time lines; one by the mother Sophia Moon (Sofia Petrovitch) who has been secretive about her life in Russia and, the other by her daughter Isobelle. It isn’t until her mother dies and Isobelle decides to renovate her mother’s room she finds the hidden Tiara. It is the Tiara that brings the story of Sophia to life and answers that Isobelle had long for her entire life.

Thank you @NetGalley, @BlueBoxPress @MJRose for the Advance Readers Copy for my honest review

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This is a super fun read. I really enjoyed this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

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I would like to extend my gratitude to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending me this advanced reader’s copy in return for a fair, frank, and honest review.

This book was my first foray into historical fiction, and I was really unimpressed. I felt that the author spent too much time describing areas, towns, houses, and other people where more time should have been invested into character development. I did not like Sophia at all but felt for Isobelle and the trials and tribulations she is put through and how she deals with her Russian roots and what they mean for her future.

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3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first third of the book was not great. None of the characters were all that interesting or sympathetic to start with, and the writing style in the past sections of the book was tough to read. I never got into the relationship between Sofiya and Carpathian. This is why I didn't give the book 4 stars. However, it picked up significantly in the middle and the end was FANTASTIC. I loved the details about hunting down information about the tiara in DC, the action packed ending, and Isobelle's relationship with Jules. Overall, it was a great read, if a little slow to start.

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Two women going down two seemingly different paths, one tale told from the past, the other a little first down the road, each path parallel each other, eventually becoming interwoven into a bittersweet tapestry of heartbreak, loss, and love. And it all links to one thing: a tiara.

It's a premise that had me instantly intrigued, and for the most part The Last Tiara held my attention, but there were several things that bothered me about this novel, particularly the scenes of intimacy. I'm one to use my imagination in those instances of intimacy, and prefer fade-out scenes or language that alludes to what transpires, and do not necessarily care to hear details, so when the moments in this novel got graphic for me I skipped ahead. I understand that intimacy is a given, especially given the timeline, but it made me very uncomfortable, and really brought down the novel as a whole in my mind.

There was also quite a bit of repetitiveness that started to feel tired, and I really struggled to connect with several of the characters, the reason why still unknown in my mind. All the men were fairly self-assured, but all the women came across as insecure, immature, and overly emotional which frustrated me to no end. Don't get me wrong, these traits aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves, especially if there is some form of growth that comes from a life lesson, but I didn't feel any depth or change whatsoever. You would think there would be at least one strong female, but sadly none stood out to me, and this is another point that broke my heart.

What did redeem this novel for me was the historical details, which were masterfully integrated and you can tell were meticulously researched. Honestly, without this fact, I don't think I would've rated it as high as I did. Other than the history, the only other thing that kept me reading was the overall mystery of the tiara. How could I not read on and find out the whole story behind it??

As far as the ending, I was pretty pleased, especially with the twist, which was a pleasant addition, even though I did have a feeling it was coming. I've heard from some readers that the dual timeline was a bit bothersome for them, but it didn't bother me a bit, and felt like it added a layer of dimension that was much needed. I also enjoyed the author's writing style, as well as her talent for capturing the readers imagination, I just wish the emotional relationships could've felt more developed, the intimacy could've been toned down, and that I could've better connected with the characters.

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A very enjoyable dual time period historical novel. In 1948 New York City, Isobelle is still mourning the death of her mother who was always hesitant to talk about her past in Russia, when she discovers the empty frame of a tiara hidden in the wall of their apartment which leads her on a quest to find out more about the tiara and her mother’s life. Her chapters alternate with those of Sofia in Russia during WWI, the Bolshevik revolution, and after, as she goes from being friends with the Tsar’s daughters to a volunteer nurse to trying to get by during tough times. There’s history, a little mystery, and some romance in both time frames, and an enjoyable story throughout. I have never read MJ Rose’s older series, but I enjoyed her last two standalone books, and I enjoyed this one even more. Fans of authors such as Beatriz Williams, Lucinda Riley, and Sarah Jio would enjoy this one.

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