The Last Tiara.

About the book.

This is a book about a Isobelle Moon, an architect in Manhattan in the 1940s. Isobelle finds a hidden tiara in her deceased mothers bedroom and begins a quest to discover the story of her mother’s life, in Russia during the fall of the Romanovs.

What I thought.

I found The Last Tiara to be a very plot driven book, there is not much character development until towards the end of the book. I did question Isobelle’s lack of self confidence yet career in architecture in the 1940s. This did not distract from the story for me but just had me thinking it seemed contradictory.

I enjoyed this book and the dual timeline. I liked that the dual timelines was that of mother and daughter, living two very different lives.

I think, unfortunately this story skipped over the deaths of the Romanov family. Sofiya was best friends with Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and yes, Sofiya worries about the Romanovs when they are taken from their home in the palace. The story mentioned that the people of Russia were not sure of the fates of the Romanovs for a while and did not want to face the truth of their fate. I expected Sofiya to think on Olgas death or disappearance a little more, the whole saga of the demise of the Romanovs is mentioned a few times in passing in the book and it seemed downplayed to me.

I enjoyed this book overall and it entertained me. I like the bit of information included in the book about the tiara that was photographed with the Romanovs jewel collection but then went missing.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or stories about Russia during the revolution.

3 gold stars.

About the Author.

M.J. Rose was raised in New York City. She has published more than 19 novels. She has been published in more than 30 countries and sold over 1.5 million books.