The Last Rose of Shanghai follows the story of Aiyi, a jazz club owner, and Ernest, a pianist and Jewish refugee struggling to make a new life for himself and his sister in China. Despite all odds, Aiyi and Ernest fall in love, and as war comes closer and closer, they each make decisions that will shape their lives. Homes are built and destroyed, fortunes are won and lost, power shifts, love grows--a vast story with a focus on two people connected through space and time by music, love, and history.

In recent years there has been a glut of WW2 novels and it has become hard to find one that really stands out from the rest. The Last Rose of Shanghai tells the story of Aiyi, a Chinese business woman during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and Ernest, a Jewish refugee in Shanghai. Lots of history here that I was previously unaware of and a fascinating heartbreaking love story that I was immersed in the whole time. Last Rose does not hold back on describing the horrific conditions in Shanghai and the cruelty meted out by the occupying force. I sped through this one. I also loved Randel's Empress of the Bright Moon books. Will recommend.

This is the first novel that I have read by Weina Dai Randel and I thoroughly enjoyed each delicious page.

The novel is set during WWII as more Jews are fleeing to Shanghai to escape the Nazis all the while being thrust into a Japanese occupied area. As refugee and pianist Ernest & his sister Miriam quickly learn, the Jews are no more welcome here than they were in Germany.

Beautiful, young, wealthy nightclub owner, Aiyi appreciates Ernest’s talent in addition to his good looks. She will eventually risk it all for him.

The story deals with the plight of one Chinese woman who boldly defies the cultural norms by owning and running a jazz club in the 1940s. The novel delves into family and cultural expectations, familial jealousy and traditional hierarchy.

The story is haunting and romantic. The writing is exquisite and authentic. I highly recommend this novel and believe that those who will read it, will appreciate it.

I received an advance digital review copy of this book all opinions are my own.

I read a lot of historical fiction and i was a history major but i knew nothing about Jewish refugees going to Shanghai or about Shanghai during WW2. I did enjoy thos book and connected with the characters however i definitely want to know more.

This book has it all! It has a little romance, love, heartbreak, mystery and so much more. You will also find a LOT of twists and turns to the story that, for me, got a little confusing and distracting.

I did enjoy the setting of Shanghai, Japan during WWII, a location that I have not visited before.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this advanced readers copy. This book released on December 1, 2021.

This was just heartbreaking. Historical Fiction always manage to capture the unspeakable loneliness of living with the ghosts of the past. The writing also vividly portrays the magnitude of emotions that the characters felt, it was i was with them the entire time. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book.

Set amid the maelstrom that was Japanese-occupied Shanghai beginning in 1940, Weina Dai Randel’s third novel is charged with incident and emotion matching its setting. It reads as if the author poured every ounce of creativity and feeling into her writing, and based on her comments at the end, this was the case.

At its essence, The Last Rose of Shanghai (named after the female lead’s favorite jazz song) tells the love story between Aiyi Shao, a young, sophisticated heiress who owns a nightclub called One Hundred Joys, and Ernest Reismann, the Jewish pianist she hires to attract new customers to her once-popular venue.

Ernest is newly arrived by ship from Nazi Germany with his younger sister, Miriam, and desperate for work after learning that Shanghai – the only port not requiring an entry visa – is flooded with other refugees. His foreignness is the problem, not specifically his religion; many Shanghainese, including Aiyi, are unaware of the antisemitism over in Europe. That remains true until it isn’t. When Japan forms an alliance with Germany, the Britons in Shanghai’s International Settlement become the enemy, and restrictions eventually tighten against the Jews.

The backgrounds of Aiyi and Ernest are gradually layered: she is reluctantly engaged to her conservative cousin, Cheng, yet despite her independent streak, she understands the importance of family. Ernest faithfully sends funds home for his parents to join him, not realizing until later that his efforts are futile (of course, the reader knows this). Their love affair is fiery and necessarily furtive. These passionate characters are flawed individuals who sometimes act out of selfishness, but with the world stacked against them in so many ways, it’s easy to root for their happiness.

The historical background comes alive with full-bodied color and sound, plenty of twists in the action, and brilliantly painted word-images: “… all of us Chinese in Shanghai were like trapped fish in a sunless marsh. To avoid the hook of death and go on living, we had no choice but to remain unseen under water,” Aiyi says. The author also weaves in cultural information, like the tones used to pronounce Aiyi’s name correctly (which Ernest never quite masters) and the bat mitzvah ceremony young Miriam prepares for. Anyone seeking an original focus on the frequently dramatized WWII era should pick up this book for a gripping emotional journey.

This is one of the best books I've read. I really enjoy books about Chinese culture, it’s always a great experience and it’s no different in The Last Rose of Shangai.

The characters are amazing, Weina Dai Randel became one of my favorites authors.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with an copy in exchange for my honest review

A nice, enjoyable read which could’ve been outstanding if it wasn’t for its overloaded plot and inconsistent storylines.
Set against the backdrop of 1940s Shanghai which had just been conquered by the Japanese in WW2, I found it very hard to connect with the two main characters whose actions lacked in deeper meaning due to the constant introduction of new events and chance meetings and badly explored romantic feelings for each other. Even though I admired the author’s love for details (anything from describing smells to historical accuracy) and enormous research efforts, the inconclusiveness of the storylines and sloppily created character arcs just overtook the overall reading experience. If the book had zeroed in on a handful historical events (which had been well-described and well-explored) instead of exposing the reader to the whole pallet of personal tragedies, it perhaps could’ve created a lasting emotional impact and sense of uniqueness on the reader’s side.

on a side note: The name “Ernest” doesn’t exist in the German language, the correct version of the name would’ve been “Ernst”. It’s too bad the editor/author missed this fact!

I enjoyed reading The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel. I would love to read more by this author. Four stars.

Weina Dai Randel has crafted a novel of World War II, of Shanghai under Japanese rule, with daily, horrific violence committed against Chinese citizens, while Britons and Americans drink and dance in clubs, safe from the fury and casual violence of Japanese soldiers.
Aiyi Shao, wealthy, young Shanghainese woman and night club owner, is looking for a way to boost her dwindling profits and hits on a novel idea: hiring a young Jewish refugee from Berlin, to play piano in her club. It’s an innovative idea for 1940, but also dangerous, as no Chinese has hired a westerner to work for their business in the tense city, and though he plays her favoured jazz songs with verve and passion, she knows she’s courting scorn from her family, and possible violence from Chinese clients and Japanese rulers. Ernest Reissmann has his own problems, trying to make enough money to care for his thirteen-year old sister, who finds nothing for her in Shanghai, while desperately worried about his parents, still in Berlin. Things are worsening in Europe, and Shanghai is heading towards even greater chaos, and Aiyi and Ernest fall deeply for each other.

We also meet Aiyi many years later, speaking with a documentarian who is researching Ernest and what he did for other Jewish refugees in Shanghai during the early 1940s.

This book has so many elements going for it: well-researched and presented details of the desperate, violent, chaotic situation in Shanghai as WWII progressed, a smart main character trying her best to keep her business afloat and manage her family’s negative perceptions of her and foreigners, a secret, passionate romance between two people from different backgrounds, and real people integrated skillfully into the novel.

I just wish I’d enjoyed this book, but I found the prose did not flow for me, and I kept skimming to get through the text. Also, I found the characters felt a little one-dimensional. So, much as I wanted to love this book, I didn’t.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Lake Union Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Ernest and his sister were Jews in the 1940's who were able to obtain passage from Europe onto a boat destined for Shanghai. Of all the historical fiction (and non-fiction) books that I've read, this one was new to me.

Additionally the other protagonist Aiyi was a very rich Chinese woman who owned a nightclub. It never occurred to me that women in China might be wealthy, either now or in the 1940's. A google search of female billionaires by country indicates that in 2015 there were 73 "self-made" billionaires and that 49 were from China, followed by 15 from USA. I wish I had googled this before finishing the book.

Point of view for The Last Rose of Shanghai alternated between
- Aiyi, 1940's
- Ernest, 1940's
- (occasionally) between Aiyi and a documentarian, 1980

The author provides several other books on the topic. I'm definitely intrigued to read more about both influential Chinese women and Jews in China.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Weina Dai Randel and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read the advance review copy of The Last Rose of Shanghai in exchange for an honest review. Publication date was 01 Dec 2021.

The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel. Pub Date: December 1, 2021. Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5. WWII historical fiction is a huge genre and can sometimes feel repetitive, but this book offered a different storyline with more focus on China and how the Japanese attack influenced this region. A Chinese woman and a Jewish man find themselves in the thick of the war, fall in love and risk it all throughout so many unknowns. The Jewish man is a pianist and the Chinese woman is a nightclub owner who wind up working together and finding love during a difficult time. I so appreciated this novel due to learning about a different perspective of WWII. I found it difficult to put down and I highly recommend it! Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for this free e-arc in exchange for my honest review! #bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #igreads #netgalley #thelastroseofshanghai #lakeunionpublishing

The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel was a beautifully written book. I fell in love with the cover as well as the characters, Weina Dai Randel really did their research when she wrote this book. This book was a cracking read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an exchange for an honest review.

This novel is during the Japanese Occupation of Shanghai during World War II. The main characters are Aiyi Shao, a former wealthy daughter, now a night club owner, and a Jewish refugee, Ernest Reismann. These two lovers have to cope with war-torn Shanghai, Japanese cruelty, racial prejudice, family obligations and many other difficulties. I found the novel fast paced, with good depiction of the war-time Shanghai, of the suffering of all inhabitants, Chinese family dynamics and the fate of escaped Jewish refugees.
Would recommend it .

Thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

As the Last Rose of Shanghai opens, it is 1990 and an older woman awaits the arrival of her niece and a documentarian. In the case of the latter, the woman, who we soon learn is Aiyi, a Chinese woman who is one of our main protagonists wishes for the documentarian to know the story of Ernest Reismann, a German refugee who arrives in Shanghai during the 1930’s and was a well-known pianist. Ernest will also be our other main protagonist and the chapters alternate between the past and the present. It is a tale of war, heartache, and the willingness of people to survive despite the hardships they endure.
I chose this novel on NetGalley because so many of my favorite authors were discussing it on Goodreads and Instagram. It didn’t disappoint! Instead of sitting on my couch in the middle of a December morning, I was transported to Shanghai and its jazz clubs and life under Japanese occupation. I was rooting for Aiyi and Ernest the entire time and my heart was certainly racing as they encountered challenge after challenge. Highly recommended read!

Publication Date 01/12/21
Goodreads review published 27/12/221

The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel was a fascinating glimpse into life in Japanese occupied Shanghai in the 1940s with compelling characters and an engaging story. Aiyi Sho is a young Chinese heiress and businesswoman who owns a nightclub in Shanghai. When she hires a penniless Jewish German immigrant to play piano in the club it defies all conventions. His exciting new style could be exactly the draw she needs to bring more people to the club, but many of her regular clients could be put off by having a foreigner in the club and her fiancé certainly does not approve.
Ernest Reisman is relieved to get a job, he had to flee his native Germany with his little sister, and the few valuables and personal items they brought with them have long been sold to pay for food. A regular paying gig that comes with accommodation is a life saving proposition for them, and the fact that he is drawn to Aiyi because of her beauty and determination is an added bonus.
The author really brings the sights, sounds and smells of Shanghai to life with her vividly descriptive prose and she has created wonderful and memorable characters. It is impossible not to root for them to succeed against all the odds as the war escalates around them and society continues to pull them apart.
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

"From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption."
Fascinating, mesmerizing there are not even adjectives to describe this book. I highly recommend it for anyone that loves a story that grabs you from page one and never lets go.

I had a high school level of understanding of the Second World War and the book made it so much more engaging. I loved how it was written shifting from two perspectives and how both main characters were outcasts their own very unique ways.
Right after I finished reading it here I discovered that the ebook is available for purchase here in Brazil and was one of the fastest buy I did all year.
I recommended the book to so many friends that we are organizing a buddy read for it next year.

I didn't Know what I would think about this one. I can't say that it was an enjoyable read as books about war are. But I am glad I rea this one. As I haven't read many books set in China let alone set at during WWII. I hope to see more books like this out there.