I received this book from SheReads in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Wow. Who would have thought I would have loved a book that focuses on perfume? And have read it in less than 2 days when it’s over 400 pages?
Photo Credit: Goodreads
Sometimes, I get scared of novels that are over 350 pages and wonder why on earth they are so long! But The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro was such a pleasant surprise. I could have read 400 more pages of it, to be honest.
The story is told in two pieces: Every other chapter tells either Grace or Eva’s story.
Grace (story told in the 1950s) all of a sudden finds out that she is the sole inheritor of a massive fortune, but has no idea why she was chosen to inherit anything since she doesn’t even know the woman (Eva) who died.
Eva’s story is told in the 1920s, and is even more interesting, as she started out very poor and was able to make a unique name for herself. Eventually, we do find out why Eva chose Grace.
Throughout the story, the making of perfume is woven into the novel, and honestly not only does it work, but it’s not boring at all!
I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed The Perfume Collector and will look for more books by the author in the future. It’s definitely one to read, so don’t be scared off by the length! Great choice, SheReads Book Pickers!
Check out other people’s thoughts on The Perfume Collector from the SheReads page!
What book has surprised you (in a good way) recently?
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I love when books pleasantly surprise me. I think it’d be interesting to learn a little more about perfume, scents do have such a powerful impact on our perceptions of situations and memories. Thanks for recommending!
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You’re welcome. I think you would really like this book, too, because while perfume is part of it, the storyline works perfectly.
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This book sounds like it could be boring, but you said it wasn’t, and I’m kind of intrigued. I think I will add this to the TBR list.
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It really is not boring, and I’m not a girlie-book type of reader. It’s not romance or all about perfume. Perfume is in there, but the storyline itself is good and strong.
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I absolutely loved this book. What a sleeper.
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Agreed! I just can’t stop talking about it because I was so surprised by how amazing it was!
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I’ve been hearing glorious things all across the blogosphere on this one. Clearly it needs to go on my list!
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Yes! I agree. It was a nice surprise for me, since I expected it to be girly, but it wasn’t!
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It’s sitting on my nightstand right now! Yay!
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I hope you enjoy it!!!
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You’re the second person I’ve read who has raved about this one! Sounds like a wonderful read.
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Add it to your list. Seriously.
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I LOVED this book! It’s among my top reads for the year!
http://guiltlessreading.blogspot.ca/2013/06/the-perfume-collector-by-kathleen.html
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Soooo glad you enjoyed it,, too!!!! I’l go check your review out!
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I first heard about this book on Judith’s (Leeswammes) blog and I was intrigued. Reading all the SheReads bloggers’ reviews I’m even more interested in reading this. I know that you know why this would interest me, right? Sounds great! I’m going to HAVE to bump it up on my TBR list 🙂
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Yeah, I think you would really like it!
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I felt the same way about this one. I wasn’t sure if it would work for me but BOOM, it did! 🙂
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Exactly!
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Now I’m interested haha! Another book to add to my TBR 🙂
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I think you’d really like it! I didn’t expect to enjoy it so much, so I’m hoping most people do the same!
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I’ve seen almost entirely glowing things about this book. I am curious about it and I love the idea of Paris and New York during the time frames featured in the book.
I too get a little nervous about length. I’m be reading a 600 page + book soon and am a little nervous to even start that one.
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I totally get the nervousness because it’s me all the way, but this 400+ page book felt like it was 100 pages, not long at all. I know it sounds hard to believe, but it’s just so readable!
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Your nice review is the second I have read of this book
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It is worth picking up. It didn’t seem like my type of book but I was wrong. I loved it.
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I really didn’t think I was going to like this book as much as I did. I thought that I would pick it up and trudge through it but instead I flew through the pages and loved every minute of it. I was scared off by the perfume part – I’m not a big perfume person and thought it would be difficult to relate to the book. BUT, I highly recommend it, too! Glad you liked it, too!
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Same!!! And I’m so glad you also liked it because I was a little worried you wouldn’t!
But you know what I want. . . I want a unique perfume just for me!
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I read Innocence by Kathleen Tessaro and really enjoyed it. Next on my list from her is Elegance (but I’m waiting for it to come in at the library), but I hadn’t even heard of this one so thanks – I am putting it on my Goodreads now. It sounds like a good book. 🙂
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Good to know! I’ll look into her other books then! Thanks, Steph!
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I was definitely not bothered by the length. I thought this book just flew by 🙂
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Exactly! It was just so good, even though length normally does bug me. It didn’t here!
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I read a very positive review of this book in Judith’s blog (I think), and the story caught my attention then because I love stories set in two different times (like Kate Morton!!), so I will probably read it too!
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Oh good! It was really a great read. Allison also read it and liked it!
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