The Last Tiara is a delightful read for fans of historical Russian fiction, mysteries and romance. It slips back and forth in time from the Russian Revolution to the late 1940s with alternating chapters telling the story of Sofiya, best friend and confidant of Tsar Nicolas' oldest daughter, and Isobelle, Sofiya's daughter after Sofiya suddenly dies with secrets of her past untold.

With a little of everything, this story has crown jewels, romance and mystery vividly interwoven into historical context of the end of the Romanoff era and post-WW2 focusing on career opportunities for women. The final chapters take good twists as the mystery of the tiara unfolds.

Thanks NetGalley and Blue Box Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5-Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I love reading historical fiction and coming from Russian backgrounds, I enjoy reading about the Romanovs. The story shrouded in so much inexplicable mystery. I thought that this story was going to be more about that. This story happened to alternate between Isobelle Moone’s quest to find the history of her mother and her mother’s past and also to a missing tiara once owned by the grand duchess Olga. This story was a love story and mystery. There were a lot of surprises most of which I felt were unnecessary and some felt randomly written in. I felt it was dragged out and boring during a lot of parts. I didn’t love it.

I am not always a fan of books that exist over multiple timelines, as I often feel like characters develop unevenly. With this engaging novel by M.J. Rose, however, that was never the case. One of the aspects of this book that gripped me the most was the scenery involved. Both worlds--Russia in the 20's and New York in the 40's--came to life in this story. Though the settings of the mother's and daughter's story are so different, the parallels that emerged between the two were spellbinding. Overall, this novel did a beautiful job of building two intricate, engaging stories that blended extremely well with each other.
One area where this book sometimes fell short was the dialogue. Where the descriptions of atmosphere and scenery were incredible, the conversations between characters sometimes fell flat by comparison.
On the whole, this is a memorable and engaging story that wonderfully handles an infamous period of history.

I greatly enjoyed this book, and the mixture of historical fiction and mystery. I especially liked the incorporation of the Romanov family, the Russian revolution, and the House of Faberge. It took me awhile at the beginning to really settle completely into the story and lose myself, but I did eventually sink in. The alternating and connecting timelines ended up playing well off each other.

Isobelle knows almost nothing about her mother Sophia's life in Russia before she came to New York City so when she discovers a tiara, minus most of the jewels, when she is renovating her mother's bedroom after her tragic death Isobelle is determined to learn more. Told in alternating chapters, Sophia's life in Russia and Isobelle's quest to solve the mystery, the origin of the tiara is revealed. Will searching for the secrets of the past put Isobelle's life in danger? Fans of Fiona Davis will enjoy this story.

The Last Tiara by M.J. Rose is the very best historical fiction I have read this year and I loved this book! The story is written with so much heart, emotion, and imagination for the time periods of 1915-1948 in Russia and America for Sofiya Petrovitch/Sophia Moon. After Sophia's unexpected death in 1948, her daughter Isobelle Moon finds a mysterious hidden niche in the bedroom wall as she starts to renovate the appartment. A blue leather case holds the remains of a silver tiara designed as a scepter but all the stones are missing. Why did her mother keep this hidden and what were the secrets in her life? This book highlights two very strong women who against the odds made a successful life in a very stressful time.
I won't post spoilers, but as I read more of the narration by Sofiya and her association with Olga Romanov during those perilous times, I was so completely drawn into both the stories until I kept the Kindle on my pillow so even if I drifted off to sleep I would be able to continue the story as I would awake.
Isobelle is a talented junior architech with a very presitgous firm. She is hindered from moving up due to an unfortunate relationship with her supervisor. She does not complain because positions for woman are so hard to acquire in her field during this time in America. When she meets the grandson of the jeweler who worked on the mysterious tiara for her mother nearly twenty years earlier, she is attracted to him, but will she ever be able to trust another ambitious man? He confids to her that he is a member of a secret society who try to locate and return stolen jewels to the rightful heirs. Isobelle needs to be able to trust him but he wants to acquire the tiara in order to meet a goal within the Midas Society.
The ending chapters of the story are so interesting and I felt the story was very well told from beginning through the conclusion.
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley, M.J. Rose, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and post reviews of The Last Tiara.

The last tiara was a magical journey. Slipping back and forth in time from 1920s to the late 40s. This has a little of everything. Mystery, romance jewels and even a little history

1948, "modern career woman" Isobelle Moon has moved back to her childhood home in NYC after her mother, Sophia, was hit by a car and killed a year earlier. Isobelle decides it is time to renovate her mother's bedroom and discovers secrets from her mother's past hidden in the walls, most notably a Faberge tiara. Sophia never talked about her life in Russia, but we learn her story, starting when she meets Isobelle's father in a hospital ward in 1915 through to her flight to the US in 1922. The Last Tiara has a bit of everything: historic fiction, women's fiction, romance, and the mystery of the Tiara that leads Isobelle to her mother's (and her own) past. I especially enjoyed tidbits about Isobelle's life as a junior architect, working to build Oak Ridge and struggling in a man's world to get credit for her work. The characters are likeable and "real", and the book is well written, flowing seamlessly between two times and the two women's stories. I will note that the Advanced Reader Copy I was graciously provided by NetGalley and Blue Box Press had a couple places where there appeared to be some editing issues. I assume these flaws will be corrected before the final version is published, and they did not detract from the overall story.

As a young girl, I was fascinated by the Romanov family and their story, so when I read the description of this book, I instantly wanted to read it. It surpassed my expectations. What a heartbreaking, gorgeous piece of historical fiction! I loved the mother-daughter timelines post both world wars and the authentic characters. The author did her research and successfully brought both time periods to life. This book is worth your time.

Thank you NetGalley and Blue Box Press for access to this arc.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a historical fiction novel that takes place in two time-frames 1917 and 1949 and deals with the Russian revolution. The main characters Sophia and Carpathian are well drawn. Sophia has a deep history and immigrates to america with her young daughter. I loved all the forgeries, the use of Faberge, and jewels. The twist at the end was wonderful!!!! I didn't like the two sex scenes and skipped those and felt like the author could have done without the length of those. Overall great novel that had great historical detail, romance and a plot twist!!!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of The Last Tiara in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of the first historical fiction type novels I've ever read and for that, it was good! There was an interesting storyline, historical moments, duel POV that flowed decently, and a little romance. Overall, not a bad first impression of historical fiction.

That being said...it is definitely not my favorite genre and this writing style was very offputting. Each POV was told from contrasting narratives and it disrupted the flow. Jumping from "I did this..." to "She went outside" and then back and forth was abrupt and I personally didn't care for it. With the POV from the main character, I felt as though it were just a list of things she was doing without a whole lot of depth with a circle of I did this, then this, then went here, in a repetitive manner. It got boring real fast.

In the end, I found the entire story to just be meh. It was not the build-up I was anticipating and it fell flat in the end. I give this novel three stars due to the constant flux of narrative, flat characters, and just repetition of style, but overall I will say it was not a horrible welcome into historical fiction, just not my taste.

I recieved a free ARC of this book from Netgalley.
I was between 3 and 4 stars for this read. Can you ever really escape your past? Isobelle Moon is trying to renovate her deceased mother's New York apartment when she finds a secret compartment with the form of a tiara in it which leads her to try to uncover her mother's past. Her mother Sophia never liked to speak about the past and said that she brought nothing from Russia, but her daughter. Now Isobelle must trace her mother's past to find out more about her parents. It was an interesting read with the POV switching between Sophia, Isobelle, her father in the early 1900s as the mystery of the Romanovs has never fully been forgotten.

M.J. Rose pulls the reader in from the first chapter. The Last Tiara is original and definitely worth your time. Alternating between mother and daughter and both world wars, the story contains twists and turns and shows how life was before the Russian Revolution and afterwards. It also delves into women in the workforce in the US post WW2 and the Mad Men mentality of the workplace. It is an extremely interesting dichotomy that pre-revolutionary Russia had more opportunity for women in male-dominated roles than the US had after WW2.

The story of the tiara weaves the narrative together. The only think this reader wishes is that Sophia could have opened up a little more to Isobelle before her death, but then you realize that she was already partially dead the minute she emigrated to the United States.

I really liked this book! I loved learning about Russia and I thought that all of the characters were very likable.

THE LAST TIARA by M. J. Rose

Fear of being hurt can leave one alone within a “safe” bubble, but trustworthy allies can make all the difference, for safety and for living life. This is a complex story, shifting from Russia in 1915 to New York in 1948, through revolution, lost memory, changed identities and emigration. Puzzles within puzzles turn upon the clues in a gold and silver tiara, stripped of its jewels and hiding its secrets.
To help keep track of the complexities, I highlighted the more recent timeline in a brighter color, and the earlier history in a lighter, (faded?) hue. One could also employ two colors of post-its for a “tree book.” I have friends who read all of one storyline and then all of the other, but I’m not sure how that would work for me.
By the end, all is clear, and Isobelle has developed wonderfully as a character to be admired. (It’s not stated, but I trust that her horrid boss will get what he deserves, irrelevancy perhaps). I love the details of history and exploring the points of view from many sides. It’s beautifully written, with description that comes alive. It’s a treat to travel in one’s mind to the glories of Paris, London, the Hermitage at this time of living as hermits, Safe At Home.

I enjoyed this book, I liked the setting and the back and forth in time and setting. I did feel like it was a bit too long and would have benefited from some editing.

The Last Tiara is an engaging story or, to be accurate, two stories. Sofia's story in Russia was the most interesting as she made tough choices and survived difficult times. I looked forward to her chapters. Isobelle's story was more frustrating. She was very insecure, despite being a successful female architect in New York, and doubted herself constantly. But overall the two stories complimented each other and created a page-turner mystery.
The ending was a little unusual, but I would love to hear more about the people who helped Isobelle. Maybe there will be another book about them?

M.J. Rose has put together another solid showing with The Last Tiara, which features a dual timeline between Sofiya during 1917-1922 in Russia, and her daughter Isobelle in 1948-1949 in New York. Sofiya is roped into working in the Winter Palace as a nurse by her friend, the Duchess Olga. While there she meets a man with amnesia that she falls for despite her initial best efforts. But as war goes on and the Bolsheviks rise up, Sofiya has little option but to leave Russia behind for the sake of her daughter. Years later after her mother's passing Isobelle finds a tiara with the stones missing and with the help of a jeweler, tries to track down the past her mother never shared with her. In the three books that I've read by her, Rose does an excellent job of creating an atmospheric setting and doing rich research on precious jewels and artwork in the early twentieth century (which is one of my favorite time periods to read about). But sometimes she veers to far into explaining all of these things instead of letting them be both props and the underpinning of her story. It's all fascinating, but can sometimes almost take away from the plotline. There's also a secret tied into the tiara that doesn't get revealed until closer to the end that would have made the book more interesting if it had been introduced earlier. I don't always love Isobelle, despite going into a career field most women wouldn't have chosen at the time, she isn't always willing to stand up for herself even when she has the means to it because she's afraid of upsetting the apple cart. All in all though, this was an enjoyable read, in a not overdone time period, with Rose's usual interesting back story.

Thanks NetGalley for the chance to read this novel. I was excited about the premise and looked forward to it as I'm usually a big fan of historical fiction and this time period, and I went to Russia two years ago so I thought it'd be fun to read about the Romanovs.

The pros: Overall a good story, with intrigue, history, dedication to a goal, and love, following two women on separate journeys that are related.

The cons: I didn't like the characters as much as I'd hoped. Isobelle didn't have enough backbone. There was too much detail about furnishings and history, as if the author did tons of research and wanted to include every single thing she learned. The book needed an editor.

I really enjoyed another book by M.J. Rose so I was very happy to have the opportunity to read this one. The Last Tiara did not disappoint. It’s told from two different viewpoints, by a mother as a young girl in Russia and her daughter as an adult in NYC, and it centers around a tiara that actually did exist. I really enjoy books like this- that have some place in history but with a fictional take on what if. This definitely keeps you questioning what’s really going on but I did see some of it coming.
If you enjoy historical fiction, I think you will enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.