The Lost Perfumes of Paris by Christine Wells

 

Do you have a favorite perfume?  I love the smell of perfume but have sensitive skin, so it has been a while since I have worn any.  My daughter loves perfume.

Elodie Limeaux works at her family’s perfume company in the south of France.  She is a lowly assistant chemist but has developed a perfume through the years that she believes will turn the company’s fortunes around. When her father rejects it, she is stunned. She proposes entering the Essence of Paris competition to keep their investor, Monsieur Caspari from sending production to America.  Elodie wants to she follows her late mother’s, Aurore’s, footsteps as a premier perfumer.  With the help of Monsieur Caspari’s son, Marcelo, will she be able to win the contest?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was a delightful and engaging book that I could not put down.

·       I loved how plucky Elodie was with her love and obsession for perfumery.  It was in her blood, and she couldn’t be happy without it. 

·       There was a great romance between Elodie and Marcelo.  I loved that he shared her passion for perfumery.  He supported her and let her shine in her own accomplishments, unlike her father. 

·       Wonderful Paris setting in 1956.  The descriptions were fantastic.  I felt like I was there!

·       I loved Elodie’s grandmother and how she took Elodie shopping for a complete Parisian makeover.  I also loved the descriptions of the gowns.

·       I didn’t know much about the development of perfumes, and I enjoyed learning more about it.

·       Elodie’s father was a terrible person.

·       I like how Elodie found her mother’s perfume journals and was able to learn more about her.

·       There was a great author’s note at the end that described how women had a hard time establishing themselves in the world of perfume even in their own family companies.

Overall, The Lost Perfumes of Paris by Christine Wells was an enchanting historical fiction novel with great characters set in the vivid world of 1950s France perfumeries.  I greatly enjoyed it.

Book Source: Thank-you William Morrow for the review copy!