Reviewer: Samantha
I received a review copy
Summary:
A huge Italian bestseller, The Secret Ways of Perfume is an evocative, poignant read set between the cobbled streets of Florence and the lavender fields of Provence — perfect for fans of The Secret Language of Flowers, Victoria Hislop and Santa Montefiore.
From Florence to Paris, a scent like no other can take you unexpected places…
Elena has a gift unlike any other: the ability to decipher the ingredients of a perfume from its scent alone. Perfume is a part of who she is, and where she comes from. Only wrapped in essences of flowers, herbs and spices does she feel truly at home.
But when Elena’s gift leads her to Paris to learn about the ancient arts of the craft, she also discovers a secret recipe designed by her great-grandmother that no other perfumer has been able to replicate.
As Elena immerses herself in the task, travelling from Paris to Florence, she encounters Cail: a kind, shy man who has his own gift for cultivating unique roses. Together they will follow a path of secret scents, distant memories, and the hope of finding a love neither will ever forget.
Review:
This was an interesting read for me. I could tell from the beginning that this was going to be a slow book. There really wasn’t anything fast-paced about this novel, and typically when that happens for me it’s really hard to keep my interest and I find myself speed reading so I can stay on my typical 2-day reading schedule. But even though this was a slow read, I didn’t find myself wanting to speed read or skip through the pages. I was still finding the plot points interesting enough. Sometimes certain scenes or situations were overly drawn out and I wasn’t really able to connect with any one character on a deep level, but that’s what made this so unique to me – that with all that combined I still wanted to read each page and get an understanding of the story. I really did enjoy the background of the perfumes and the process of making one. I just wish it read at a faster pace.
