Scent of a Garden is a complex story of life, love, family expectations, and how to cope when you’ve lost a big piece of your identity.

Ever since she was a young girl, Asha had the gift of super smell, being able to identify scents with just a sniff which set her on a path to being a perfumer. Guided by her mother and her paternal grandmother, Asha moved to Paris and now works for a well known company and has been charged with developing a new fragrance for a big client, unfortunately after a bout of Covid-19 Asha lost her sense of smell and it hasn’t returned. She’s relied on her notes and calculations to develop the fragrance and failed miserably. Her boss has mandated she take a month off and reassigns the development to someone else. Feeling out of place, out of sorts, and fearing the loss of her profession, Asha decides to return home to the Napa Valley of California even though she knows admitting her problem with only bring more problems for her.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit despite having a hard time liking Asha for a big part of it. To me Asha came across as spoiled, mean spirited, and lacking consideration for others. At times her behavior really bothered me especially in her interactions with her parents and her ex-boyfriend, Neel. She was sweet and lovely to Leela (her paternal grandmother), Mimi (Neel’s grandmother), and her best friend Millie (who is also Neel’s sister), but wow she said some pretty awful things to Neel throughout this book. I did like that she grew during this story and she learned why her father, Sanjay, was distant and why her mother, Sapna, put so much pressure on her to try different things to regain her sense of smell. There was an interesting family dynamic and things Asha wasn’t privy to that allowed her to follow the career path her mother and grandmother set her on instead of following in her father’s footsteps to take over the boutique hotel that was started by his grandfather.

Then there was her relationship with Neel; in high school they secretly dated with only his sister knowing they were an item. They were each other’s firsts in everything and then Asha left for Paris and they pretty much avoided each other when Asha visited which wasn’t often. Throughout this book Neel and Asha had a lot of painful conversations in which she said hurtful and hateful things to him, things that his father often said about him and I just couldn’t figure out how she could do that to someone she once cared about, someone she grew up with. There was chemistry between them and while she seemed good to act on it Neel refused because he knew she would return to Paris as soon as she got her sense of smell back.

I loved the time she spent in Sonanum, the garden that was part of Goldfield, the family’s hotel, with her grandmother. The memories she had of days tending it with her as a child and where her grandmother figured out she had Hyperosmia. The longer she was in Napa, it became clear how much Asha missed being near her family, she began to question her chosen career, and she began to explore something she truly enjoyed doing.

I appreciated this look into the family dynamics of this Indian American family and the pressure one feels to make them proud while also trying to forge your own way. There were some heavy topics covered in this book but those were tempered with the lighter ones featuring The Nanis of Napa which included Asha’s grandmother and Mimi.

Scent of a Garden was a beautiful story filled with interesting characters, family drama, a bit of romance, and best of all finding your passion.

Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel. Asha Poppy Patel comes back to her hometown to try to recover her scent of smell after her bout with COVID. I enjoyed the story full of romance, the love of her grandmothers and the love of her parents. It was a beautiful story.

Set in a very accomplished, high achieving family of migrants now well settled in America,
expectations for children are very high. This family was no different. Add to that
conflicts between parents where a wife has taken second place to her husbands business,
is also another reason why Asha's mother pushed her daughter away from the family
business and into a line of work in which she had a natural affinity for.


Asha has returned home in a state of confusion and frustration. Working as a perfumier
in Paris her nose and sense of smell is all important. Losing that after a covid attack
is saying goodbye to her career. Coming home was a chance for her to rest regroup, decide
what to do.


The story of Asha, her dreams and a family supportive but still demanding and how she
is going to steer a path between love of her job, her love for family and the love
she has for someone which she has buried deep within her is this book. Making peace with
a father she never understood, a mother whose determination was pushy, and the loss
of a garden which meant so much to Asha are features of this read.


Interesting take on an unusual career and very descriptive of California itself.

I was excited to read an ARC of Scent of a Garden, because, like the main character I delight in the scents that surround us in this world, both of nature and from a bottle! I was curious to read about the life of a perfumer.

Asha returns to her family home in Napa when a bout of Covid derails her profession as a perfumer, after she loses her sense of smell.

I enjoyed the premise of Scent of a Garden, but I found the beginning of the story moved very slowly. I also had a hard time keeping the characters straight, and how they were all related to each other. I finally got that straight about a quarter of the way in, which is also when the story began to really capture my attention. There was a lot of fraught family drama and dynamics, which kept the story moving along.

Ultimately I enjoyed reading Scent of a Garden and seeing how the character's lives worked out. It was a slow start but a rewarding pay off in the end!

Asha “Poppy” was born into a family who have owned a legacy hotel in the Napa Valley for generations, and she is the sole heir to inherit. But with the encouragement of her Mom and Grandma she fulfilled her dream of being a perfumer in Paris. When her sense of smell is affected and she loses a huge assignment at work, she goes back home with her tail between her legs. At home her family helps her get her sense of smell back but also push her to examine her life, and maybe being a master perfumer is not her true dream after all

I love me and story of finding yourself, but this one did not work for me. I could not get myself to like or relate to the characters at all. All the relationships seemed so toxic. And 60% of the book was the same thing over and over in different words. The characters were all terrible at communicating, and were all whiney. The pacing needed a lot of work. I was so excited about having a perfumer main character, but her growth did not feel organic at all. Overall I was just left feeling very disappointed.

I loved this book! Namrata Patel has written a beautiful story that portrays the complicated relationships of a fun, multi-generational family. I always enjoy a book that explores realistic family dynamics and has realistic characters, flaws and all. This book had the added dimension of different cultural norms as well! I loved the descriptions of the different scents, from flowers and herbs, city smells and especially the food. Great book! Thanks #NetGalley #LakeUnion

I read this book and immediately started Daisy Darker after finishing this one. The only thing they had in common, was that a character in that book was a children's author and had a book named Poppy Patel, the name of the main character in this book. It was such an odd coincidence.

Anyway, I loved this book. The author did her research about the perfume industry and also tea blends. This was the second book I read about a "nose", the first one being about Madame Clicquot, the champagne magnate. I did not find any aspect of it boring, although I could see where someone might.

I loved the grandmothers in this book. I loved the culture and the whole story. I was cheering all along for Poppy and the other characters. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.

4.25⭐️

Asha has a prestigious job working for a luxury perfumer in Paris- until, that is, she loses her sense of smell after dealing with Covid. She retreats to her family home in California, where she finds herself back amidst all the unresolved family tensions, until, working her way through them towards healing, she finds herself.

This is a lovely tale of someone’s personal journey, underpinned by a nice balance of familial, friend, and romantic love.

Thank you Namrata Patel, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

An Indian family will always remain Indian no matter where it lives. And Namrata Patel has definitely captured this perfectly in her book. The grandparents and parents who are more invested in their child's career, who don't mind pushing them to get their dreams and the children who try hard to keep up the expectations of their parents. At the heart of it, this book is a family story and will give you some very warm vibes. However it is also about following your heart and working hard to realize your dreams no matter what your parents or the world tell you. A beautifully written book. I loved the fact that in spite having spent the better part of their lives in America, the family is so Indian and has a modern yet traditional outlook towards everything.

I enjoyed this book. A young woman with gifted sense of smell loses this gift after getting covid. She loses a large account with the Paris perfume developer for which she works and goes home to Napa Valley to recover. Her Indian-American grandmothers help her regain her sense of smell, and she explores where her life might go next.

This was nice, relaxing reading. The characteristics were well drawn and interesting. The plot meandered but kept my interest. The denouement needed to happen a bit more quickly than it did. Overall, I learned a lot about perfume and was glad I read the book.

"That's how history works. That's what being part of a family is. You can go on and on about being an individual, but we are who we've come from. We must honor the past, preserve it for the future."

Scent of a Garden is the story of Asha Patel, an American descended from immigrants. She is a perfumer but is unsure if she became a perfumer because she chose it or she was doing it due to expectations of her family.

This is a relatively medium paced novel, and what I loved is the cultural representation of the three generations of the family. A generation dreams, the next generation continues the tradition, and the next starts thinking whether they feel comfortable with the legacy. The beauty of this novel lies in that the author has embraced this diversity in this story. There's no right or wrong, and therein lies the difference between embracing our own culture. I went back to the time when I and my grandma discussed jasmine plants with Leela and Asha's scenes.

I just wish that Asha and Neel's story had a little more spotlight rather than the abrupt ending. Hopefully, we get to read Millie's story. I loved the Nani's club so much. I really enjoyed this novel. Thank you, Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley, for this book.

I really enjoyed this novel. I wasn't sure what to expect having read some of the reviews but i'm glad i gave it a chance.
Loved the two romantic leads and how they interacted with the other characters.
Would definitely recommend to friends as a summer read!

“Scent of a garden” is a contemporary fiction written by Namrata Patel which follows a story a daughter of proud Napa Valley hoteliers, Asha "Poppy" Patel chose a different line as a Paris perfumer, gifted with a nose for fragrances and business. Until her heightened sense of smell disappears and decides to return home. Torn between a mother who lives vicariously through her and a father who wants her to embrace her family's legacy, Poppy is determined to chart her own path of rediscovery. Poppy must juggle family drama, childhood friendships, and a former love to forge a future of her own choosing and, in time, heal an unscented life.

One thing that I liked is that it offer realistic portrayals of characters and situations, devoid of overly romanticized moments.Despite her exceptional sense of smell, she faces numerous challenges and struggles, mirroring the complexities of real life.

But the huge drawback was that this story was way to repetitive!! Many chapters began in the same manner, recounting Poppy's morning routine, same conversations leading to a monotonous reading experience. This repetition persisted until the story was nearly 80% complete, detracting from the pacing and creating a sense of stagnation. Additionally, I struggled to develop a genuine connection with the characters. They lacked depth, making it difficult to empathize with them. Furthermore, the interactions between the characters, particularly their relationships with Poppy, felt stilted and lacked a natural flow (one time they expresses their feelings and then again they do the same thing all over again).

The idea of this book was unique and I truly felt that this story had potential but badly executed. I’m disappointed.

At last, I extend my sincere gratitude to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing ,for providing me with an advance reading copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5.

I enjoyed this, but it felt a bit slow! I feel like the story had a great base, and interesting concept and a unique take, but I kept wondering what was coming in the last chunk I hadn't finished when it seemed like things could be wrapped up quickly. All in all, a good read, great representation and a fun story, but I wish it had been a shorter.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy to review!

Rating: 3.75/5⭐️

Publication Date: June 13th 2023

Author: Namrata Patel

Review: Asha is living the Emily in Paris dream. Having an amazing life and being the best perfumer ( didn’t realize this was even a thing) until her very heightened smell is affected by Covid. Her whole life is sort of flipped upside down. Her father wants her to go into her legacy of being a hotelier.

I really enjoyed all the characters in this book sometimes I have a couple that I can go without but this book needed them all to get through the book it holds the backstory

It’s weird for me reading about Covid but I’m sure it will be making its way into books now.

Thank you netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review #NetGalley #bookstagram #kindle #kindleedition #eread

Asha Patel is living the dream, living in paris and working on becoming a master perfumer at her company. Ever since her grandmother discovered her “special gift” – her heightened sense of smell – she and Asha's mother have nurtured Asha to follow that career path. But then she loses her gift and even after months of seeing specialists, she's about to give up hope. Her career in jeopardy, Asha returns home to San Francisco in a last-ditch effort to restore the one thing that her life goal depends on. But once she arrives, she realizes that a lot has changed in her years away. She feels detached from the life she once knew. Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel follows Asha as she faces the reality of letting go of her life path – one that was forged for her – and realizing that for once, she has a chance to discover her own trajectory.

Asha's family owns a luxury hotel in Napa Valley. Because of Asha's gift, she is not in line to inherit the business after her father Sanjay moves on. Asha's mother Sapna shipped her off to the best perfuming schools once she graduated high school. Before then, she cultivated her gift by arranging special lessons and exposing her to the life she wanted for her daughter. And Asha's grandmother Leela, the one who discovered her gift, all but encouraged it. After all, it was Leela's impressive four-acre garden that allowed Asha's superpower to reveal itself. It's all Asha has ever known. So when her gift disappears, she must figure out what to do next. But also how she will break the news to the two people who are just as invested – if not more so – in her career. And now her father might see this as an opportunity to pass on his legacy to Asha as an alternative.

Asha also reunites with her high school sweetheart and family friend, Neel. There's history and unfinished business between the two, which distracts Asha from her current predicament. And the more time she spends rekindling her family relationships, the more she learns how their lives moved on without her. Including her grandmother's garden, which might be uprooted to make way for other family endeavors.

Scent of a Garden is Patel's second standalone after her debut (The Candid Life of Meena Dave). While I absolutely loved her first book, this second one fell a bit short for me. The pacing was a bit slow and I wanted more closure and hope among Asha's family relationships. Even so, Patel's research into the process of perfume development, plants and herbs, and the chemistry of it all was evident. I could easily picture the vibrance of the family's land and scents. I also appreciated the idea of a main character having an identity crisis after losing the one sense that her life depends on. And Patel does a great job of incorporating cultural expectations and assimilating to Western ideals. Even so, my expectations for this book were high after loving Patel's debut. Unfortunately this one didn't quite hit the same way.

Rating: 3.75 stars

Scent of a Garden was truly a one of a kind read! The story follows Asha Patel, a perfumer in Paris, who is struggling with her job because she has partially lost her sense of smell after recovering from COVID. She is told to take some time off so she heads home to visit her family in Napa Valley. Asha hasn't lived at home or in the US in 15 years and as the only person in her family who is not a hotelier, she feels the strain on her relationships with not only her parents, but Neel, her high school sweetheart who she might still love. Now, Asha has four weeks to get her sense of smell back or find a new career while also repairing all of these strained relationships.

So much of this story is about Asha discovering things about herself, her parents, and her heritage. However, there is a little second chance romance with Neel, the boy she dated in high school who now lives with her parents and seems to work at her dad's hotel.

I thought it was very interesting how the author made it very clear that each character had a life outside of their relationship with Asha. No one just dropped everything the minute she got home. In fact, she ended up joining fer family and friends at their jobs or plans. The biggest indicator of this was the family group chat Asha wasn't a part of that made appearances throughout the novel. This idea that life stops when a main character isn't around is so unrealistic and it was refreshing to see that wasn't the case here.

I loved that Asha has a different job! I knew next to nothing about the fragrance industry and really enjoyed reading about it, but also the layers of different scents. Asha isn't the only one with a cool job, her parents are hoteliers, her best friend, Millie, is basically running a company, and her grandmother is an incredible gardener (informally). Not to mention the rich Gujarati cultural references throughout the book.

I'm not going to lie, it was a bit of a slow start for me. So many of Asha's relationship are tangled and made more complicated by her career. However, I feel like the pace matched the story very well and it all tied together perfectly at the end.

If you're looking for general fiction that's unique while relatable, this just might be the book for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Lake Union Publishing, for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are wholly my own.

A story of a perfumer (Asha Patel) who is living the dream in Paris. After losing her sense of smell, Asha takes an extended holiday, returns home and struggles with accepting "who she is, was or who she will become." Asha travels back home to Napa Valley reuniting with her parents, bff Millie, grandmothers Leela and Mimi and her long time family friend Neel, who she may or may not be falling for. An interesting read incorporating the pressures of career choices and life choices that come from family expectations to keep the "generation legacies" going. I definitely related to this part. Read if you like: perfurmes, slow burn romance, book settings in SF, Napa Valley and Paris, family and cultural expectations discussed, and stories written by South Asian authors. Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

The daughter of proud Napa Valley hoteliers, Asha “Poppy” Patel chose a different line as a Paris perfumer. Until her heightened sense of smell disappears. Her career in jeopardy, Poppy returns home. Torn between a mother who lives vicariously through her and a father who wants her to embrace her family’s legacy, Poppy is determined to chart her own path of rediscovery.

I love it when the main character has a unique profession. Poppy was a perfurmer in Paris, with a heightened sense of smell that naturally led to that profession. When it disappeared due to covid, she had to go back to the drawing board. Going home, she was hopeful that her grandmother's rose garden would cure her, but it wasn't as straightforward.

All kinds of remedies were explored, and while at home she reconnected with her childhood friends, one of which happened to be Neel, her ex. She went on an introspection journey, understanding herself and those around her, mending broken relationships. It was lovely to see.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"She was in a different place than her grandmother or even her mother had been. She had the privilege of their sacrifice. Leela had to survive in a new country; for her, acceptance had been the only option. Her mom had to toil because shed been sheltered and had been raised to obey her family’s choices. Asha only had the burden of expectation."

Asha Patel is asked by her boss at the Paris perfumery to take a long break after there’s a mess-up with an important scent she was developing. Little do her bosses know that Asha has almost totally lost her sense of smell after a bout of Covid (this is the first time I’ve seen this aspect covered; it’s intersting how Covid is weaving its way into fiction and non-fiction in different ways). What else can she do but return home to California – but will she choose the easy (her grandmother), medium (her best friend, who she’s become distant from during her Paris sojourn, or hard, her mum, who really only communicates with her about the career she and grandma have pushed onto Asha? Oh, there’s also Neel, her first love, still around, and still, she thinks, the same, with little ambition.

Set interestingly to a backdrop of the hotel world, where Indian immigrants to America have thrived thanks to some creative working early on, taking inspiration from real-life stories, we see the effects on the third generation as they prepare to take on – or not – roles in the family businesses. Will Asha regain her sense of smell in her family’s garden, Sonamum, with her grandmother’s help? Will the garden even survive? Will the parent-child relationships in the two families heal? Will Asha return to work for further glory?

There are lots of good details in here, when Asha works in the family hotel, and when she’s interacting with the garden, nice portrayals of older, multicultural women in the two families’ friendship group, and some casual LGBTQIA+ representation that’s not made a fuss of. There’s also powerful discussion of the expectations of different generations of immigrants to America and the paths people have taken because of them. However, the quotation above is not the only part of that story: both her mother and grandmother have carved out their own areas of joy and expertise, which Asha slowly learns to see. An interesting read.