Real Rating: 3.8* of five

Lush, lovely prose telling a story that made me squirm so hard I wore a hole in my upholstery.

Stories about coercion of trans folks using their identity as trans are not comfortable reads. I do not think this was intended to be a comfy-cozy kind of a read but it was clear in its empathy for its trans main character. So, blessedly, I was not left with the rather unclean film of exploitive appropriative use of trans identity as a negative signifier on my lens into the story.

Still, this story causes me horripilation. As things that have Nazis as the antagonist should.

The felt-like-he-was-factual Oskar Voss, nasty boss Nazi spymaster, based like the rest of the story—as per the author—on real people who were in Paris to escape the judgments of Society in the safety of the big city. Then, the worst-possible worst result happens to them all when the vileness of the Nazis come barging in with their giant, outsized hatreds, and their very overblown sense of purpose. Oskar is typical of the cynical bandwagon-hoppers that puritanical movements attract like horse apples attract dung beetles. He is very much not interested in the ideology of his paymasters. He wants power over others. His means of getting more of his drug is to use whoever and whatever he can to buy himself a seat at a higher-placed table.

Enter Clem(entine). And a lot of Clem's fellow misfits. They need to survive, and their Otherness has equipped them to do this any and every way they possibly can including stealing and blackmailing any and everyone they need to. Oskar wants to ensorcel Hitler with some super-special scent, which TBH just fell flat for me as a motivation...but it led to butch lesbian/transman Clem recounting, for honestly flimsy reasons, her lifetime's-worth of stories to the rapt Oskar. Whatever excuse made that happen is good enough for me.

Clem, a very old person for that era at seventy-two, has Lived A Life, maybe three or even four, in those years. A born tale-teller, as anyone making a living as a con artist and thief operating among the very rich must be, Clem completely wraps Oskar up in the memory palace of the past. How much of it would pass the fact-checking of the internet age, well...who cares. I do not really buy into the motivations of Oskar for any of his actions, but that left me no less delighted to spend time with Clem.

The horrors of Nazi-occupied Paris, the horrors that were to come, all seemed to Clem to be clear because these puritanical control freaks are just like the others from the past. None of it is downplayed, and there are terrible passages in this story, but the way it is presented feels...convenient. Oskar is easily led by his greed for power, Clem is easily swayed by a murky sense of responsibility that all just jelled a bit too patly for this reader.

I will not, though, say anything to discourage anyone who longs for ancestral representation for their own kind to get stuck in right away. I think the transmasculine Clem, while imperfect, is perfectly delightful to spend page time with. The hurts and betrayals of lives long over make for great stories, even knowing they were painful and hard to live. You will come away edified for knowing the honorable, sensible, deeply relatable hero that is Clem.

this book was a thrilling ride through pre World War 2 Paris, with plenty of suspense, as seen through the eyes of a queer expat. as a lover of historical fiction, The Perfume Thief definitely kept me on the edge of my seat (or sofa, for that instance); it effortlessly radiated shades of James Bond, but a lot more morally gray.

2 stars, maybe closer to 2.5? Couldn't really get into the book, if I'm honest. The characters felt inauthentic, as did some of the period atmosphere. Maybe I wasn't paying attention, especially since I ultimately skimmed large swathes of the book. I could see this book exciting and fulfilling others' expectations, but color me uninvolved and disengaged from pretty much the first page.

Many thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This was a Did Not Finish for me. I simply couldn't get into the plot. WWII-era spy novels are typically my favorite genre. I found myself getting lost in the prose of this one and it didn't quite work for me.

This one started strong enough to hold my interest, Clementine is a 72 year old queer who dresses like a man and is a reformed thief, now running a perfume shop during the war. She is called 'out of retirement' for one more job, to steal the recipe book of a now-missing famous Parisian perfumer, and she can't say no.

This obviously sounds fantastic, another WWII historical fiction storyline that I had not heard of, and as I noted it started off great, just what I expected. However, it rambled on a bit with the plot seeming to go nowhere or taking too long to make the point, at least not fast enough for my liking, and the dual timelines were hard to keep straight. Usually novels like this are riveting, but this one just didn't do it for me. There are tons of 5 star reviews for this one so it could be timing for me and given the premise it is worth checking out on your own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the digital copy to review.

Swiftly entertaining, fun and witty. This novel is a sexy joyride. I greatly enjoyed traversing Paris before and during the horrific Nazi occupation. These characters are courageous, outrageous, valiant and mesmerizing.

I wanted to love this but it dragged. I may have not been in the right mindset though because the writing was beautiful. I just struggled to finish it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review. I found this story fascinating especially Clementine’s background. The story’s present day is WW2 Paris and Clementine is 72 and she dressed as a man, but as a perfumer her special skill is wanted by one of the Nazi’s in charge. Enjoy this different historical fiction set mostly during WW2!

I felt this was an unusual novel about Clementine, an 72 year old American ex pat with a perchance for dressing as a gentleman. Different than any other historical novel of this time period I have read before.

Looking back on her life as a con artist and lesbian, she is trying to lead a quiet life of a legitimate perfumer during the early days of Germany's take over of Paris. When she gets caught up once again in intrigue as a collaborator to Oskar Voss, a Francophile Nazi bureaucrat, who is trying to win the favor of Hitler with a special perfume scent that he thinks will disguise the smell of noxious gas.

Caught up in her final con as she tries to work for the resistance and help save Paris from the Nazis, while trying to find a secret perfume diary, she thinks was originally stolen from her. She is

In order to complete this she finally has to tell the story of her life, that has led her from Manhattan to Marrakech, to Costa Rica and finally to the bordellos of Paris. This is a look at the life of someone hiding

Clementine is a brilliant character invented as an example of the queer history that was lost. This is a story created from history , but the imagination of the author to tell the story of those who needed to hide their sexual preference and their true feelings of love to stay alive. Once she’s allowed herself to love others, she deceives one last time for those she loves.

I found this novel hard to follow the way its flashbacks and current storyline were interspersed. I also found it slow reading and not as compelling as I normally enjoy,

A unique perspective to add to the WWII historical fiction canon, The Perfume Thief by Timothy Schaffert explores the perfume world of Paris during and before the war.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I was excited to get a copy of The Perfume Thief on NetGalley, and I really wanted to love this book. I am a perfume lover, even have a blog dedicated to the subject, and I adore WWII historical fiction. I came away with admiration for the author's prose and his research skills, but wished there had been a little more judicious editing of the story. It was an inventive plot, a completely fresh take on WWII fiction, but the story just moved a little too slow for my taste in parts. Having said that, I still recommend you read this if you love stories that set the scene with well researched descriptive detail, that paint interesting and colorful characters, and if you have a liking for perfume and the industry in general. Also, if you are interested in what happened to those of the sidelines of society during this era in Paris, it is an interesting look. I did enjoy the story, and blame my impressions more on myself, as an easily distracted reader during this holiday period, rather than the writing. This is probably the sort of book you need to let take over your life for a couple of days while you immerse yourself into its pages and enter its world.

Clementine, the 72 year old protagonist of the story, is an American expat caught in Paris in the days as the Nazi's have taken charge. She has lived a glamorous life, prefers to dress as a man, and was a renowned thief in her younger days. Her friendship is "acquired" by a Nazi officer who wants to use her to find and steal a book of perfume formulations to give to the Fuhrer. One of these perfumes is rumored to have contained poison, meant to harm those who wore it. Clementine has to juggle appearing to help her Nazi "friend" while trying to keep those around her safe.

Overall I cannot help but admire this book as the writing really does immerse you into the world of WWII Paris, and in a part of society one does not generally read about in historical fiction books.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Timothy Schaffert, and Doubleday Books for allowing me to read The Perfume Thief in exchange for an honest opinion.

This novel is wonderful - an intriguing plot, memorable characters, a fresh look at WWII, and thought provoking actions. But the best part for me was the richly detailed language. Such beautiful writing!

An older woman who dresses as a man is in Paris during the Nazi occupation. Here she walks a tightrope in her dealings with a particular officer who needs her help all while dealing with a cast of characters from Paris’s more risqué life.

This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book…. Is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It’s gripping, intriguing and the vivid imagery makes for an immersive and enthralling read. I love that the MC is in her 70s. There’s awesome LGBTQ rep and a trip down memory lane!

This novel contains descriptive information about perfumes and how they are made, which is interesting to me from a science point of view. I wanted to like this book more than I did. The ending was disappointing, and there were other plot aspects that did not appeal to me. As a historical and atmospheric story of Paris, readers might enjoy it.

The Perfume Thief is a historical novel set in 1941 Paris, that focuses on the POV of 72 year old Clementine - aka A Famous Perfume maker/ thief known as The Perfume Thief. In order to save the life of an elusive singer Clementine takes on a dangerous job to receive a hidden diary from under the nose of the enemy, all the while trying to find ways to save her beloved city and keep the people closest to her save.
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The Perfume Thief is one of the only historical novels I’ve read that wasn’t fantasy and I must say- I enjoyed it. The plot is rather slow for an espionage novel but it made sense as we slowly start to find out more and more about Clementine’s past and present. I loved Clementine’s character and it was so fun and intriguing to read about a gender fluid main character within a historical setting. I loved the descriptions of the secret queer places that Clementine came across throughout the years.
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Speaking of descriptions- I was mesmerised by the passages about the different Perfume scents. As someone who studied entomology in college you think it would have clicked that some of the perfumes where designed from different insect pheromones but alas it didn’t. You could just feel Clementine’s passion for Perfume come alive whenever it’s discussed and I couldn’t pull my eyes away!
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In addition to Clementine I adored the other side characters including Day and Blue. Both also part of the queer community and trying with everything they have to survive.
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My Criticisms with my novel mainly revolve around the ending. I felt like throughout the book we were building up to something we just don’t get. In fact, it was worse than I expected. I guess keeping with the historical setting it made sense to end like it did but it still upset me.
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I further didn’t enjoy the whole the villain isn’t so bad aspect I felt from the novel. ( especially when said villains are n**zis!!) Don’t get me wrong the characters don’t say that, in fact Clementine calls them horrible throughout but at times it felt like we were suppose to sympathise with the villain and NOPE.
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Overall I recommend this novel to anyone who loves espionage or historical stories. However I personally wasn’t big on the ending or some aspects of the novel.

So wonderful! I highly recommend!
I just reviewed The Perfume Thief by Timothy Schaffert. #ThePerfumeThief #NetGalley

Going into this I was thinking oo this sounds like my cup of tea but for some reason it fell flat for me.
Of course this is my opinion and sadly I had to put it down.
Will I pick it up again later maybe but for now it’s just a dnf

This was literally a very atmospheric book, from the excellent descriptions of Paris to the many perfumes that appear. The characters were interesting, but I couldn’t relate to them. There were a lot of passages that went on too long, which made the book difficult to read at times.
All in all, not bad but not for me. 3 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really wanted to like THE PERFUME THIEF more than I did. I didn't find any major flaws, but I felt like the story was just too loosely written. It dragged in places, felt overly long, and had what I saw as a plot hole - Clem's whole purpose in trying to retrieve the perfume diary is to save Zoe, but Zoe just kind of disappears in an unsatisfying way, leaving me to feel like the whole effort was pointless - that brought the ending down.

While all that is true, I did like much of the novel and appreciated the research that went into it, especially with regard to the perfumes themselves.

Three middle-of-the-road stars.