Series: Standalone
Format: E-Book, 276 pages
Release Date: February 2, 2021
Publisher: Blue Box Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Historical / MysterySophia Moon had always been
reticent about her life in Russia and when she dies, suspiciously, on a
wintry New York evening, Isobelle despairs that her mother’s secrets
have died with her. But while renovating the apartment they shared,
Isobelle discovers something among her mother’s effects—a stunning
silver tiara, stripped of its jewels.
Isobelle’s research into
the tiara’s provenance draws her closer to her mother’s past—including
the story of what became of her father back in Russia, a man she has
never known. The facts elude her until she meets a young jeweler, who
wants to help her but is conflicted by his loyalty to the Midas Society,
a covert international organization whose mission is to return lost and
stolen antiques, jewels, and artwork to their original owners.
Told
in alternating points of view, the stories of the two young women
unfurl as each struggles to find their way during two separate wars. In
1915, young Sofiya Petrovitch, favorite of the royal household and best
friend of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, tends to wounded soldiers in a
makeshift hospital within the grounds of the Winter Palace in St.
Petersburg and finds the love of her life. In 1948 New York, Isobelle
Moon works to break through the rampant sexism of the age as one of very
few women working in a male-dominated profession and discovers far more
about love and family than she ever hoped for.
In M.J. Rose’s
deftly constructed narrative, the secrets of Sofiya’s early life are
revealed incrementally, even as Isobelle herself works to solve the
mystery of the historic Romanov tiara (which is based on an actual
Romanov artifact that is, to this day, still missing)—and how it is that
her mother came to possess it. The two strands play off each other in
finely-tuned counterpoint, building to a series of surprising and deeply
satisfying revelations.
From New York Times and
Wall Street Journal bestseller M.J. Rose comes a provocative and moving
story of a young female architect in post-World War II Manhattan, who
stumbles upon a hidden treasure and begins a journey to discovering her
mother’s life during the fall of the Romanovs. The Last Tiara alternatives narratives between Isobelle Moon, and Sofiya Petrovitch (later Sophia Moon). Isobelle's story takes place mostly in New York City in 1948-1949 with stops in Paris and London. Sofiya's story takes place in Russia from 1917-1922.
As the story opens, it has been one year since Isobelle's mother Sophia Moon lost her life tragically. Isobelle is a graduate of architecture school, was part of the secretive Oak Ridge experiments, and now makes her home in New York City where she grew up. Isobelle is a woman struggling to find her place in what is predominantly a man’s world. One night while sifting through her mother's things, she discovers a cubby hole. Inside the cubby hole she finds what looks to be a tiara with Russian writing. Isobelle knew her mother grew up in Russia, but her mother kept her past a secret.
Why would Sophia have a tiara? Where did it come from? Isobelle takes the receipt to a man named Jules Reed who begins Isobelle's journey to discovery the secrets of the woman she called mother. It's sad that Sophia never told her daughter about her past or about her father. It's sad that Sophia couldn't spent 10 minutes telling her daughter about the horrors of Lenin's revolution, and how she ended up surviving. Jules works for an organization called the Midas Society that claims it's goal is to return stolen or lost goods to their owners if they are still alive. But the mystery of the tiara, becomes even more strange when a man shows up claiming to be Isobelle's supposedly dead father.
April 1915, we find Sofiya Petrovitch living in *Petrograd where she is childhood friends with **Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna and her sister Tatiana due to her mother being a private tutor for the princesses. The three young women decide to work as Sister of Mercy Volunteers since Russia is at war. It is here where Sofiya's story really gets interesting. Here she meets a mysterious man who seems to have lost most of his memories as well as parts of his foot. Here is where Sofiya's life changes in many, many ways. It is a turbulent time in Russia. Lenin is leading a massive revolution that will lead to the Tsar resigning, and things changing for the worst.
If you think Communism is so great, I dare you to ask someone who spent their lives living in Russia from 1917-1991 or China that matter. Socialists and Communists claim they are for the people, but they are just as bad or worse than anyone else. They stole things that didn't belong to them. They hoarded other people's property. They forced people into bread lines, and meat allotments. They forced people into living in small dwellings not meant for more than 2-4 people. They sent people to Siberia where many were never seen again. Sofiya and her family lived through this era.
They were afraid they were going to be reported by their neighbors for having more than they needed. While Sofiya is falling deeper for Carpathian, she also begins a new job working as a restorer which she ends up picking up in America. Once
in America, Sofiya changes her name to Sofia Moon, only speaks English
never Russian, does not date or marry. She refuses to respond to her
daughter's questions concerning her life in Russia or answer the
constant curiosities she has about the father she never knew.
Thanks to Sophia's secrecy, Isobelle
has little choice but to pursue the few clues she has, which could
easily lead to dead ends. With the help of Jules, Isobelle slowly peels back the layers of Sofiya’s life. Jules and
his grandfather reveal that the tiara was part of the Romanov
collection. Of
course, the reader knows the provenance of the tiara from reading
Sofiya’s story, which makes the journey
so interesting. Both women have a love interest, allowing the
author to inject a romantic element into the story. Sophia's romance ends up with her leaving Russia and finding a way to New York City. Isobelle's romance comes after a rollercoaster ride of emotions as she and Jules search for answers and try to find out where the tiara came from.
For me, Sofiya's story is much more interesting. Nothing against Isobelle, but she hasn't lived the life her mother was forced into. She struggles to fit into a man's world yes, she worked on a secretive program yes, but her mother literally faced being sent to Siberia for not being a good enough Citizen under Lenin's brutal reign of terror. Especially when she started working with Filatov Roman Sokolov a master restorer who really helps her when she struggles to get by without Carpathian. So, no I don't blame Sophia for not wanting to discuss the past especially when she thought she would never find happiness again, not after Carpathian.
*(Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991)
**Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia was the eldest child of
the last Tsar of the Russian Empire, Emperor Nicholas II, and of Empress
Alexandra of Russia before they were captured and executed together during the Bolshevik Revolution.
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