The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams

 

The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams

(Daughters of La Lune #4)

M. J. Rose

Publication date: Feb. 7, 2023 by Blue Box Press

Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

Summary: A captivating tale of two passionate women separated by decades but united by a shared vision. One, the famous jeweler Suzanne Belperron, fighting to protect her company and rescue the man she loves. The other, a young auctioneer whose exceptional gifts reveal a secret that endangers her very life.

“Only one thing saves you, and that is not losing sight of beauty.”

Paris, 1942. Suzanne Belperron is known as one of the most innovative jewelers of her time. Elsa Schiaparelli and the Duchess of Windsor are just two of her many illustrious clients. What no one knows is that Suzanne and her dear friend, American socialite Dixie Osgood, have been helping transport hundreds of Jewish families out of France since the war began. But now, the war has come to Suzanne’s front door—the Nazis have arrested her business partner and longtime lover, Bernard Herz.

New York, 1986. Violine Duplessi, an appraiser for a boutique auction house, is summoned to visit the home of Paul Osgood, a scholarly lawyer and political candidate who aspires to take over the Senate seat of his recently deceased father. Paul has inherited everything inside Osgood Manor, from the eighteenth-century furniture to the nineteenth-century Limoges china. But a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk is what calls to Violine, with the surprising but undeniable thrum of energy that can only be one thing: the gift passed down to her by La Lune, the sixteenth-century courtesan.

Since childhood, Violine has been able to read an object’s history and learn the secrets of its owners by merely touching it, but she silenced her psychometry when it destroyed her last relationship. Why has it returned now?

While inspecting the trunk, she senses it holds a hidden treasure and finds a hoard of precious jewels that provoke nightmarish visions and raise a multitude of questions. Who owned these pieces? Why were they hidden inside the trunk? Were they stolen? Could their discovery derail Paul’s campaign and their burgeoning attraction to each other?

So begins a search that takes Violine to Paris to work with the Midas Society, a covert international organization whose mission is to return lost and stolen antiques, jewels, and artwork to their original owners. There, Violine will discover both her and Paul’s surprising connections to the trunk—and to Suzanne Belperron, who silently and heroically hid an amazing truth in plain sight.

Told through Violine’s first-person account and Suzanne’s diary entries, The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams is a riveting story of magick, mystery, romance, and revenge. Inspired by the real-life legend Suzanne Belperron, it marks yet another masterpiece by New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author M.J. Rose.

My thoughts:

If writing is an art than in my opinion M. J. Rose is one of the worlds most talented artists. 

Since 2017 I have been waiting for this next installment in the Daughters of La Lune series. This book did not disappoint. I simultaneously wanted to race through the story and sit a savor it. Rose infuses her writing with such beauty that it is nothing less than breathtaking. She doesn't just give readers a story, she invites readers to embrace an experience. 

In this book we follow the intertwined story of jewelry designer Suzanne Belperron and appraiser Violine Duplessi. When WWII arrived on their doorstep, Suzanne and her influential friends sided with the Resistance. They utilized every weapon in their arsenal to assist Jewish families fleeing the Nazis. As a jewelry designer Suzanne had some very inventive ways of subverting the Nazis. Violine was a member of a secret society that had sworn to repatriate any and all items that they came across as being stolen. As a descendant of La Lune Violine had the ability to sense the history of objects she touched. One seemingly insignificant appraisal assignment brought Suzanne's story to Violine's doorstep and threatened her very life. 

Both women were passionate with the ability to love deeply. Both were courageous and utilized their gifts to help others. Both had secrets that were best left undiscovered. 

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley and the publisher Blue Box Press.