(Review) The Book of Lost Fragrances

Title: The Book of Lost Fragrances
Author: M.J Rose
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub Date: March 2012
Pages: 416

Source: I received a copy of the book for my honest and sincere review from the publisher.

About the Book
Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances–and of her mother’s suicide–she moved to America.

Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with its financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing–leaving a dead body in his wake–Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother’s disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L’Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation – or is it just another dream-infused perfume?

THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac’s quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.

I was super excited when I got asked to take part in this book tour because this sounded like a story that would be right up my alley and honestly a story about fragrances I am there. Something you might not know about me is that I love fragrances and admit since having a child I don’t buy that kind of stuff anymore but when I see little samples or I get samples I am in heaven. This ranks up there with my love of books.

I have to admit that I haven’t read any of M.J Rose’s other books but have heard some amazing things about then and eventually I will get to read her other books.

Did you know that certain scents can evoke memories? I have to agree because I have experienced this numerous times. My aunt use to wear this one kind of fragrances and occasionally I sometimes get a whiff of the scent and know that she is near. Although its been awhile since that has happened.

I really enjoyed the story and there were several times I was sitting on the edge of my seat because of the suspense. When I started to read this I made it a point that I would read it slowly to take it all in and several times I had to stop myself from reading too quickly.

M.J did and excellent job with her writing in this book. You can see she did her research on art, fragrances and on reincarnation. It was a fantastic read and this is usually not my kind of book (because its historical fiction) but I loved it and I think its because there was also some romance, mystery and suspense. Whats not to love about a book like this?

When I was doing my research I discovered that this is suppose to be a part of a series (The Reincarnationist is the title of the previous book) but I didn’t know that when I was reading it because it felt like a stand alone although I could see at times that it felt like I was missing something. Granted it didn’t make that much of a difference but if  you like to read books in order then you might want to read that one before this.

Each of the chapters are told in a different point of view and it goes from one time period to another, and locations. This might sound  complicated but its not because I found the story ran smoothly and added so much to the story line. Each chapter is clearly marked.

After reading this book you will never look at perfume the same way again. You can see that there is alot of work that goes into making perfume. I loved reading how when you make perfume that their are certain ingredients that is used to create feelings and stir emotions. Should you wonder about any terms M.J has take care of that, in the back of the book is a glossary.

I think if you are looking for something different to read or want something different to read then I highly recommend this book. You will not be disappointed.