Scent isn’t my usual type of storyline, but it’s well-written and portrays the elegance of Parisian life in an intriguing way. The narrative itself, on the surface seems quite simple – lost loves and troubled families, the base notes have numerous complexities sewn into the writing – touching on race, class, sexuality in very touching and honest approaches. There is a soft, gentleness to the writing, which gives it a genuine feel, with the descriptive nature of the storyline itself, really helping to bring out the story. It does take a while to get into it, due to it being quite uneventful initially, and a slow burn through most of the book, but its a poignant storyline, that considering I don’t visit the ‘family drama’ genre too often, is enough to make me want to check it out again in future.

Failed to connect with the POV and the heroine, which then didn't make for an enthralling read. It just didn't click, feeling very 'surface' in nature which wasn't my cup of tea, unfortunately

This story focuses around a married couple, who find their marriage quickly unravelling as their youngest child leaves home. Set in modern day Paris, this story flits back to Clementine's life in the past tense too, giving a more rounded insight as to who she is a person.
I found this to be an enjoyable enough read, however wasn't as captivated by the story as I had hoped to be.

I very much appreciate being gifted this copy of Scent by Isabel Costello, and the opportunity to read & review it. Thanks to the publisher.

I really enjoyed this story of loss, grief and lust. I read it in one sitting. I was gripped from the start and it held my attention right to the end. It was a challenging read also, but I still enjoyed it.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is my first book by Costello that I have read.

Scent is the story of love when there is no love. Story of a family, when there is perhaps no family and it’s a story of closeness and intimacy… when there were none of that to start with.

Scent is a good story of blending the past with the present, although I found it quite difficult to warm up to the main character, Clementine. When a face from that ‘never-forgotten, stuck to the denied-part-of-her’ past arrives in Paris, Clémentine is forced to face up to what she is, and what she wants. She faces difficult challenges, but not always with bravery, often trying to fool herself with her own denials and sometimes stubbornness.

Although I didn’t bond with the story as much as I had liked to, I really enjoyed the way the author had written and described the scenery, Paris, and Clementine’s life. I also enjoyed the love that Clementine put into her perfumery business (as well as the description provided by the author to the point that I thought I was in Paris and could smell Paris), but I was equally frustrated by her actions, reactions and thought about herself and her life.

It’s not a book a would recommend but thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A sizzling, seductive tale of lust, love and loss. The author does a sensational job capturing the sensuality of France and the longing of the past with this bewitching story.

A totally captivating read that pulled me into the magic that is Paris, it’s lifestyle and romance.

Loved reading and reminiscing with clementine and following her story.

The complexity of marriage after the children leave home is both thoughtfully and delicately delivered through passionate prose that made me both laugh and cry.

The book has been written with love and thoughtfulness and has some hilarity thrown in for good measure.

A beautiful, thoroughly enjoyable book that I highly recommend.

Highly recommended 5 stars from me.

A totally captivating read that pulled me into the magic that is Paris, it’s lifestyle and romance.

Loved reading and reminiscing with clementine and following her story.

The book has been written with love and thoughtfulness and has some hilarity thrown in for good measure.

A beautiful, thoroughly enjoyable book that I highly recommend.

I tried every day for a week to start this book and unfortunately it just wasn't for me.
The read up seemed interesting but I just couldn't get in to it.

Scent tells the story of Clémentine, a perfumer trapped in a failing marriage. Tensions between Clémentine’s son Bastien and his father Édouard have been high for a while due to Édouard’s distaste for Bastien’s sexuality. When this causes Bastien to move out, the gulf between Clémentine and Édouard seems insurmountable.

Clémentine buries herself in her work, hiring a new shop assistant called Suzanne, but when a high-profile magazine article focusing on Clémentine is published it allows a figure from her past to track her down. Clémentine must learn to come to terms with past mistakes and tackle the problems in her marriage to allow her to turn and face the future.

The main reason that I requested this book was because of the bisexual representation. As far as I can remember, I haven’t read a single adult novel with a bisexual protagonist before, and I was fascinated to see how Isabel Costello would explore the subject. The answer? With aplomb.

The relationship between Clémentine and Racha is stuffed with desire. The sex scenes fell on the right side of descriptive, focusing more on how the girls feel about each other, and this somehow made the novel even more erotic. There aren’t many sex scenes, and the ones that are included are not overly dwelled upon, so if you’re a reader who doesn’t often pick up erotic novels please don’t let this inclusion put you off.

When Racha reappears, Clémentine is certain that she’s out for revenge. Something terrible happened to Racha which caused the end of their relationship, but Clémentine hasn’t seen her since. She believes Racha has been biding her time, plotting her revenge during the intervening twenty years. There is an element of malice in some of the things Racha says, adding a delectable amount of tension to the story.

This tension combines with the non-chronological timeline to give Scent a perfect pace. Although Costello takes her time lingering over the scents of the perfumes in Clémentine’s shop, building a complex and detailed picture of Paris using the evocative descriptions of the smell of the setting, the majority of this book doesn’t feel slow. My favourite chapters were the ones told in the 90s, when Racha and Clémentine meet and begin falling in love. I found it impossible to put the book down as I couldn’t stop wondering what could happen to cause their relationship to go so terribly wrong.

That being said, things fell apart towards the end of the novel. When the alternating timelines cease, the pace slows down dramatically. I found myself wanting to see more of Clémentine in the fallout of the incident, seeing how she came to terms with the end of her relationship with Racha, and I even wanted to see more from Ludo! It made me wish that this book had been a sequel, so that I could have fully experienced their summer of love and gotten to know these characters more intimately.

However, the ending of the novel does focus more on Clémentine’s relationship with Édouard, so if you’re a fan of domestic dramas centred on marriage and parenthood, this will be right up your alley. The characters are all well-fleshed out, and at times Clémentine’s story feels less like reading fiction and more like talking with a friend. This is achieved by layering up the subplots beautifully: none of them detract from the main plot, but instead they add layer upon layer to the lives of Clémentine and all of the other characters, making them all feel like real people.

I wasn’t impressed with the ending of the story, but I can understand why Costello chose to wrap it up the way that she did. It wasn’t what I personally wanted to happen, but I was satisfied to see Clémentine getting to a point where it looked like her life was taking a turn towards the happier.

All in all, this was a highly enjoyable novel. I’m definitely going to be reading more from Isabel Costello in the future!

Once again, a huge thanks to Muswell Press for allowing me to read and review Scent.

Clémentine Dujardin is living in the centre of Paris, running her perfumery, weathering her failing marriage and doing her best to ignore the nagging ennui of her middle years. That is until one day publicity for her business means a lover from her past reappears and forces Clémentine to examine both her identity and her future. We discover the history of the love triangle that ended in disaster and witness the fall out of being reacquainted with her lover.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book and could picture Clémentine‘s apartment in Paris and her perfumery. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of how she produced her perfumes and the aromas of Paris. However after the first third of the book, I lost interest and became so frustrated by Clémentine‘s character. She is just so passive about everything- her marriage, hiring help for her business , her lover reappearing, her estranged son and chances for new love. She is carried by every other character in the book. Her lover even calls her out for it in the book “ I feel sorry for you, Clémentine. You don’t know what you want and if you did, you wouldn’t go after it.” I considered the abandoning the book because it was so irritating to read.

I am glad I continued though because the ending is satisfying. There were some elements of the story I did enjoy.
I loved reading about the thought and insight Cleméntine put into her work and the effect her bespoke perfume had on a woman as unhappy as her.

It’s not a book a would recommend but thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for giving me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Clementine is a successful Perfumer with her own shop in the centre of Paris, married to Edouard for over 20 years but all is not as it seems. Then someone from Clementine's past turns up in her shop, what will the repercussions be?
A charming tale exploring who she really is.

This is a great book. All about how children can be the mound we need to keep us together yet when they leave to live their lives the cracks can appear and we finally realize we are no longer in a relationship we thought it was.

This is my first book by Costello that I have read. I wanted to request it because of what the central theme seemed to be. A married couple whose marriage was unravelling after their youngest child leaves their apartment in Paris. It is most set in Paris in the present day, but also switches back to when Clementine is living in Provence and helping her mother out during the summer. She has a dysfunctional relationship with her mother. Clementine is looking to enjoy herself and finds solace in a relationship with a woman, Racha. She loses touch with her after an accident but Racha appears in Paris and tilts Clementine's world.

I find the empty nest genre really interesting so I was eager to read this. It follows clementine when her youngest child has left home, what will her and her husband do? Clementine is at a bit of a crossroads- nothing to do at home and unfulfilled by her job as a perfumer anymore. Then an old ex lover reappears, but her appearance isn’t necessarily positive. A good read, I found myself rooting for clementine even though she did drive me mad at times!