20 in 2014: Book Three

The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

London, 1955: Grace Monroe has just realized with the utmost clarity that her marriage, her life, her story is rife with glaring flaws. It is then that she receives a mysterious letter from France detailing an inheritance left to her by a woman she’s never met: Eva d’Orsey. Grace boards a plane to France that would thrust her into a chapter of her life forever changing her, and her life’s story.

As she uncovers the mystery that is Eva d’Orsey she finds herself at a crossroads where the complete truth could alter the world as she sees it, yet leaving with unanswered questions would be impossible. Why would this complete stranger leave her an inheritance worth more than Grace could ever imagine? There must be a mistake. But there isn’t.

Eva d’Orsey, orphaned at a young age and briefly raised by her uncle, was forced to figure life out completely on her own. Her classroom, the streets. Her family, the enigmatic characters of a local French hotel where she was brought as a child to work as a chambermaid. It is within the hallways of this hotel that Eva is raised, and eventually broken.

The demands of each hotel guest ranged from the mundane: extra towels, extra soap, to the extraordinary. One particular guest challenges Eva to the point of a near breakdown, requiring complete darkness and having a peculiar aversion to scents. Cleaning scents. Through this struggle, Eva discovers a knack for mixing her own cleaning solutions and a talent for creating scents. She had no way of knowing she was dealing with the eccentric demands of one the greatest perfumers in the world: Madame Zed.

Perfumes. Scents. A world where differing notes spoke greater volumes than words. A person’s choice of perfume told a story all its own and left a subtle footprint on the memory of those left in its trace. It is a scent that sparks a memory, a connection, that would profoundly change Grace. And answer questions she may have rather left unanswered.

“You see, nothing is more immediate, more complete than the sense of smell. In an instant, it has the power to transport you. Your olfactory sense connects not to the memory itself, but to the emotion you felt when that memory was made. To recreate a scent memory is one of the most challenging, eloquent pursuits possible. It’s poetry, in its most immediate form.”

Much like the fragrant tiers and notes within a bottle of perfume, Tesssaro’s novel is gifted to the reader in beautifully wrapped layers that unfold seamlessly. The connections, tragedies, and triumphs weave together to make a story that you’ll remember long after you finish reading the last word on the page. A beautiful story. An extraordinary book. A favorite read of 2014.

20 in 2014: Book Two

Morning Glory by Sarah Jio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“You know, things fall apart. You grieve. And then you sit around and wait for things to somehow get perfect again. But they don’t. They never can. There is no perfect. There’s just different. But different can be wonderful.”

I devoured every page, every word, of this novel. I am often fascinated by the human story. The fact that each of us walks around with a tale to be told: many of us still weaving the threads that make up the tapestry of our life. Whether it may be fate, or destiny, if we brave the telling of our story to a common stranger, we often find a common pattern, or link.

One houseboat. Two women. They would never meet, separated by time and circumstance, yet the themes of their lives are eerily similar and poignantly woven together. 2008: Ada Santorini is desperately trying to break free from the tragic grief that envelops her. Following her doctor’s suggestion, she finds herself leasing a houseboat in Seattle: world’s away from her current New York City residence. As she tries to rebuild her broken heart, she finds herself taken with the individuals around her and the story of a woman no one willingly talks about. Sad and lonely, the houseboat community saves her. And changes her profoundly.

1950: Penny was a young, finishing school student simply running out for coffee when her life changes in an instant. A car pulls up, and an older gentlemen offers her a ride. Unknowingly, she accepts, later learning that he is one of the richest, most sought after bachelors in town: the artist himself, Dexter Wentworth. He sweeps her off her feet, marries her, and moves her into his houseboat. Their love peaks, and then plummets quickly as Dexter struggles to maintain his artistic prowess. Sad and lonely, the houseboat community saves her. And changes her profoundly.

Some people wallow in the life that existed before the tragic onset of “what ifs” and “what should have-beens”; however, some people work past that darkness and keep walking…eventually finding pieces of light, that if pieced together, can make for the pattern of a new tapestry. Two women. One houseboat. One extraordinary tale that illustrates the healing powers of time and distance.

20 in 2014: Book ONE

Don’t Go by Lisa Scottoline

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sacrifice: the variations and interpretations of one word are incredibly poignant. In “Don’t Go”, Lisa Scottoline examines the different sacrifices people make and the reasoning behind them: frivolous sacrifices to keep appearances, life altering sacrifices to save lives, moral sacrifices to save yourself…

Dr. Mike Scanlon is deep in enemy territory, saving lives in the battlefields of Afghanistan as an army doctor. The choices and sacrifices he makes are measured on a second to second basis. One false move in the operating room, one misstep walking between forts, one second could change his life forever. It is while he is deftly saving the life of an injured soldier that tragic news regarding his wife at home is uncovered. In a sick twist of irony, he saves the life of the soldier before him, but is unable to do anything about his wife who perished at home. Alone.

He travels home to take care of funeral services and begins to seek the truth about what happened to Chloe. Secrets come to light that make him question all he’s ever known. The sacrifices he made as a soldier become deeply connected to the sacrifices made by his wife.

The storyline had the makings for an incredibly moving, poignant read: heroic soldier, tragedy, exploration of what it means to be a family… however, Scottoline fell short. Much of the plot and character development moved slowly and felt forced. Disappointing read.