A cute beginning with a little bit of train stalking. While I liked the characters, I felt the lack of honesty from Nico wasn't really appropriate so I struggled to connect with her. Overall nicely written.

Kris Bryant is a great writer. I find her books entertaining, and some of them are off the charts good. This one was more on the side of entertaining.

I liked both main characters, especially Sophia. She seemed like such a good egg, just a little closed off at first. The whole story was told from Nico's POV, so we get to know her more. She was charming, and I loved all her interactions with everyone in the book, but it was a little annoying that she knew the whole time she needed to come clean but didn't. It made the whole "blowup" not so much of a mystery, just a destination. I knew eventually Sophia would find out, it wouldn't be good, and then we'd read about Nico's way of getting her back. I prefer any obstacles to be a little more ambiguous, and it made me annoyed with Nico the further along the book got.

Overall a decent read, but not one of her 5 star books.

An honest review thanks to NetGalley. I really loved Taste which is in this series but scent did not live up to the expectation I put on it. It was a quick read that I read when I was under the weather. The chemistry between the characters were there and there were some sweet moments. Overall though I did not really like Nico and her personality which made my enjoyment over the entire book fade.

I love all books by this author, can highly recommend. Just wonderful. The main characters are well developed and its so well written you feel personally involved in the journey.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. It's well written and enjoyable. But i didn't care for the action of the characters and hidden identities.

While this isn't my favorite by Bryant, it was still a good read. I love books with Butch characters. I didn't enjoy Nico constantly fussing over her hair, her clothes, or her looks. It was distracting for me, but other than that tiny issue I enjoyed it. Was a super-fast read so if you want a quick read with good characters and worth your time, pick this one up. If you are a Bryant fan you won't be disappointed.

Smells so Sweet
Nico is a woman on the move. She has a successful packaging company and her art career is taking off fast. Life is good but lonely. When a woman on the train catches her eye, Nico is curious about the beautiful woman who smells of sweets and is far too tempting. Sophia’s life revolves around her candy shop and she’s counting on her new line of chocolates to save the business. She doesn’t have time for distractions, no matter how good looking they may be. When Sophia meets Nico, misunderstandings occur that Nico is in no hurry to correct. As they get to know each other, its clear there is something between them but what happens when truths come to light and illusions are shattered? Is love strong enough to hold them together or will the pain of betrayal be too much?

This is such a sweet story and not just because it revolves around delicious treats. I loved the chemistry between Nico and Sophia. The attraction they have for each other is so yummy. This being a Kris Bryant book, you can be assured it is VERY well written, full of emotion, conflict, drama and lots of sensuality. It is a fast read, one you won’t want to put down. I found it perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon reading with a glass of iced tea and of course some chocolates of my own. If you like sweets, you might want to have some on hand while you read because it can definitely make you crave them! This lovely tale was a joy and a delight and I must say I think it won’t be long before I need to read it again.

A standard good lesfic offering. I enjoyed it, light read but a feel good book but not the type I’d read more than once. Thanks for the advance copy! Great author.

I tried multiple times to get into their book, but I just couldn't seem to hang on. I honestly couldn't get past the fact that Nico spent much of the book hiding her true identity. This may be part of the romantic charm of this book, but it just wasn't my thing, I have honestly loved all of Kris Bryant's other books but this one wasn't for me. I look forward to reading her next book!

Scent by Kris Bryant
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
Genre: LGBTQIA | Romance
Release Date: January 12, 2021

Scent by Kris Bryant is a standalone romance novel and it is beautifully written. This is the first book I've read by the author and I am hooked!

I really enjoyed this story. I found the characters really likable and I was rooting for Nico to figure her crap out. I loved the romance, the flirtation, and the chemistry.

I found this book captivating and read it all in one sitting. I really did not want to put it down! If you're looking for a fast moving romance novel then you should check out this book!

I'm so grateful to Kris Bryant, Bold Strokes Books, Inc., and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Another well written book in the sensory series. Nico notices Sophia on the train and is so awe-struck by her that Nico takes the train at the same time every week just to get the chance to be on the same trains with Sophia. Even though Nico does not have the courage to start a conversation with Sophia, a fortuitous meeting allows her to opportunity to speak and spend time with Sophia. Unfortunately, Nico is not up-front about who she is due to her past experience with being used. Once Sophia finds out the truth about who Nico is, will she be able to get past the deception? Kris Bryant is such a great storyteller and this was a nice quick read!

Nico is a very hardworking woman. She is working extremely hard pre-paring for her art show. That is where are true passion lies, but she is also very involved in the packaging company that she and some friends from college started. From the outside it seems like Nico has the perfect life, but she would love to find that special lady to share it with. Unfortunately, she has been burned in the past by women interested in her for her money, so even though she is obsessed with a woman she sees on the train every week, she has yet to get up the courage to talk to her. Sophia is trying to save her family business by branching out into a more upscale line of chocolates. She goes to Nico’s packaging business for help in her presentation of her new products and thinks Nico works in the warehouse. Nico can’t believe it’s the lady from her train, so she Nico chooses to go with it. She wants to see if Sophia could love her regardless of her standing in the business world. I love the relationship development between these two. This a sweet story!

3.5 stars
This story both irritated me and pleasured me.
It was a nice romance and the descriptions of the candy was yummy. But the story line of a "rich girl not telling the new girl friend she was rich because she wanted her to love her, not her money" is not a new concept and the problem that it causes...again not new. I cant tell you how many times I rolled my eyes and yelled "TELL HER". Because of that, I really didnt like the Nico character. That was the irritating part.
How they got back together was sweet....the entire story was sweeeet.
Bryants books are always written very well. Conversations are always interesting and natural. This will not stop me from reaching for her books.
I chose the audio version which didnt help either because the narrator, Brittni Pope, just read it. Not much change in her voice for different characters. With one exception, the gallery owner had a bit of an english accent...or was it Australian? And Nico's was very layed back and dry.

Three and a half stars.
If we’re talking about the romance only, just the dating and build-up to the relationship, I liked the characters together. However. I tried not to let this affect my opinion of the book, but I absolutely hated the conflict. I assumed it would be a fun game lasting for the first couple of encounters, but I honestly might not have picked up the book if I had known that it was going to be their final relationship obstacle. At that point, it’s just ridiculous. It’s been months. Her sister told her from the start that it would go down badly. It’s not even just the rich persona that she’s hiding, because Sophia also doesn’t know about her art and her dreams. Like come on, what was the harm in sharing the artist version? It just looks so bad when Nico narrates that art is her only passion. It got to a point where the lying was just out of control. So no, I couldn’t root for Nico. She’s clearly not a bad person, but that’s all I can say. I was extremely glad that Sophia didn’t jump back into her arms when they reconnected.
There was one part that bothered me a little: Sophia suddenly knowing and calling Nico by her last name. We didn’t actually see them exchange their last names, since it was an informal introduction on the train, but suppose we assume that it must have happened at some point. Sophia definitely knew of Nicole Marshall, from the phone call session after Nico chickened out of introducing herself properly. Somehow Sophia didn’t question that Nico Marshall happened to work with the same company as a Nicole Marshall?? I get that not everyone is good with names, but that has to seem familiar, and the fact that she only knows three or four people with the company...
Speaking of whom, Sophia was perfectly nice, but I couldn’t glean much of her personality at all. I don’t know if it was the first-person perspective, which I don’t normally have trouble with, or if she’s just reserved. She’s also not really an ice queen, but that suited the story better. I liked that she made sure they went slow. I didn’t understand why Nico had a harder time with it, considering her selling point is having been hurt by previous long term relationships.
This was a miss for me, which is quite sad. I got on well with all of Kris Bryant’s 2020 releases. It is still well written, and first-person is a little harder to pull off with romance, but it worked for the most part.

A n romance. The main characters Nico and Sophia have great chemistry. I really enjoyed the story even though at times a fond it a bit sad. Starting a relationship with a lie is never a good thing. I loved how Nico's family is always there to uplift and encourage her. I recommend reading this book. stars.

Thank you Bold Stroke Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book has some really good characters and is well written. The plot ads easy to discern and the ending was sweet. Nico and Sophia meet and problems developed because of lies. This is a good book for romance lovers and I recommend it.

K.B. as always, delivers a fabulously sweet week written story. The characters were so well developed and fun to get to know.

Almost a 4*

I enjoyed this story. It was so easy to pick up and get into. It's one of 'them' books you curl up with on a Sunday afternoon with a glass or 2 of wine. I'll be honest, wasn't too keen to find the friendship was built up around lies BUT once I got into it, you soon realize the reasons behind it. I liked both characters, they both had chemistry bouncing off them.

Nico was living her life just how she liked it. She's an owner of a packaging company that turns a good profit and shes just been labeled as Chicago's most promising up and coming artist. But she misses love. She meets a beautiful woman on the train with the most indescribable sweet and sugary scent, Nico wants to make a move.
Sophia |Sweet doesn't want or need the distractions. Including Nico. She has one goal, to keep her family business running. Her third generations chocolatier shop named sweet stuff is failing. Sophia recognizes Nico from the train but mistakes her for the packaging company warehouse employee, but Nico doesn't bother to correct her. Nico has been used by women in the past, only wanting her for her money. She wants Sophia to know her before she tells her the truth.

'Scent' is such a good story, cute and leaves you feeling warm inside.

I was given an ARC for an honest review.

Netgalley Review:

I'm usually a fan of Kris Bryant books, but this one fell a bit short. I enjoyed the characters, especially Nico, but the plot was mainly built on a small deceit that kept me at a low level of anxiety and had a pretty unclimactic payoff. I also felt like there were three different industries at play, sculpting, marketing design, and chocolate making? And then the two MCs meet on the train, but also have intersections in all these three spaces. Regarding the train, how do you catch the same person every Thursday? I don't know any train that is that precise. Obviously, this is a nit-pic but the whole story had wobbly spaces like this. Another example, Nico's studio. It was an apartment and a locked door hid the art-making part, but she also had a condo? it seemed like it would take a lot more prep and thought to make it appear that Nico lived there as well as being poor generally. The story made it seem like Nico was passively allowing Sophia to believe things based on assumptions, allowing us as the reader to partially absolve Nico of the deceit. The car is an example of that, how kismet it was that the Audi needed repairs and was only fixed once the deceit was outed. Instead, I just felt distracted by the seamlessness of the world and the inertia of the lie. I almost wish Nico would have been more intentional. That way I could judge her, and then she could have a redemption arc or something. Again I did like Nico. I like that she was extroverted and charismatic. Sophia seemed to fall into the ice-queen category but only as described by those around her. I didn't really feel like I understood her motivations, especially during moments when she shifted to being more open. 2 stars from me.

When I think of Kris Bryant, romance immediately comes to mind. She writes a book that is always well planned and has a smooth pace. Scent certainly falls into this category.

Nico Marshall has formed a packing company with her sister and friend. The company is doing very well and has a great reputation. Nico is the creative partner in the company and is in charge of designing product packaging for the clients. She works long hours and hopes to eventually hire someone to help with the workload, so she has more time to work on her passion. Nico is an artist who creates pieces of art by shaping metal into statuettes. She is getting ready to have her first show and spends whatever free time she has creating her art.

Sophia Sweet has inherited her family’s chocolatier shop. Not only is she maintaining the types of chocolate candies that the shop is known for, but she is also developing a new line of designer chocolates. She has trained with some of the best chocolatiers and now is ready to make her marks in the business. She has no time to start a relationship. She thinks that can happen once the family business is financially stable and the new line of chocolates is a success.

Nico takes the subway home after work each day. However, during some of her commutes she is drawn to a woman who has the sweetest scent. She wants to meet this woman, but Nico seems to have lost all of her smooth introduction lines. Fortunately for Nico, Sophia comes to Nico’s company to have packaging designed for her designer chocolates. When Sophia meets Nico, she is led to believe that Nico is just an employee of the company, not the owner.

This is a very well-organized plot. It is interesting to see how their relationship evolves. Scent is happy story that romance lovers will enjoy. The characters Ms. Bryant creates are interesting and real. From the first page, I was hooked on the story. The only downside of the entire book was that there were no chocolates for the reader. You have to buy your own!

I rate this book with 5 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.