Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel is a heartwarming novel that explores themes of family, self-discovery, and the importance of taking risks. The book follows Asha "Poppy" Patel, a Parisian perfumer who returns to her California roots after losing her heightened sense of smell. Hoping to find solace in her grandmother's aromatic garden, Poppy discovers that the garden has been uprooted and destroyed. As she navigates family drama and childhood friendships, Poppy must find a way to chart her own path of rediscovery and heal from an unscented life.

The author does a great job of describing the scents and fragrances that Poppy encounters, making the story come alive for the reader. The characters are well-developed, and their relationships with each other are complex and realistic. The plot moves at a steady pace, with enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.

One of the book's strengths is its exploration of family dynamics. Poppy's relationships with her parents, especially her mother, are complex and emotionally charged. The book also delves into the tension between pursuing one's dreams and fulfilling family expectations. These themes will resonate with many readers, making the book relatable and thought-provoking.

However, there are a few areas where the book falls short. The plot is predictable at times, and some of the conflicts are resolved too easily. The ending feels rushed, leaving some loose ends untied. Also, some of the secondary characters are underdeveloped, making their motivations unclear.

Overall, Scent of a Garden is a well-written and engaging novel that explores important themes of family, self-discovery, and taking risks. While the book has a few flaws, its strengths outweigh them, making it a worthwhile read. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartwarming story with relatable characters and complex family dynamics. I give it a solid 3.75/5 stars.

Scent of a Garden is a rather original piece. Its major draw lies in the heroine’s professional background and medical condition: she’s a perfumer suffering from a loss of her sense of smell due to Covid. A mistake she made in her job led her on a journey of self-doubt and inner reflection to figure out what she really wants in life. Basically, the novel centers on her relationship with her mother and extended family, as well as her past choices that led her to where she is. The writing style is rather pleasant, and the reading experience is agreeable overall (especially all the references to smells) but it does tend to drag on multiple times. It’s a nice, out-of-the-box piece with a diverse cast that felt natural and refreshing. This story made me want to read books about the art of crafting perfumes.

When she loses a unique skill that she spent nearly all of her life nurturing, Asha Patel is left to question her career and life path along with the expectations of those around her and her own as well.

This novel follows Asha's journey as she re-discovers herself and her passions, with the author creating a three-dimensional South Asian character who is allowed to be messy and make mistakes along the way. Scent of a Garden is a lovely story of family, home, and inner strength,

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

When perfumer Asha loses her sense of smell after a bout with Covid and is kicked off of her current project, she returns home to California lost and rudderless. Her entire life is wrapped up in her sense of smell, but she begins to realize that she may be missing out on what life has to offer her.

I thought this was a beautiful book about reconnecting with one's self and learning to love all there is to love about yourself. Asha goes through a journey of love versus duty as she gets to know the people in her family deeply for the first time, and by exploring the things she held dear as a child, gets to truly know herself as an adult. I love the second chance romance and the growth of her character I found this to be a lovely little book that I genuinely enjoyed.

A lovely story about Asha Patel, a perfumier who is Indian American but is working for a perfume house in Paris. Things are not going well for her at work and she returns to her family home in the Napa Valley, California, and slowly begins to realise that some things in her life need to change. This was a wonderful book about the culture and history of Asha’s family and it was interesting to read about their multigenerational family dynamics. An enjoyable read!

This was a really lovely book. I learned more about smells and scents and how they come together to make things special.
I liked learning about Asha and her history and culture. We see her past and how it has shaped her, but we also see the potential she still has to change her dreams into something different.
I think this would be a good book club book with lots of discuss.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Perfume and tea, what more could you want a book about? Both are in here along with a story about learning what you want (not what your family pushed you toward), what your home is, and that its ok to do things differently than expected/the norm. I love Namrata Patel's writing and this story is something that I believe a regular romance reader can read and enjoy without the main focus of the book being romance.

Quotes:
"Life happend in the waiting. Not at the beginning or end, but in the middle, during growth."
"'There is nothing' - his breath touched her cheek - 'between us that will ever be casual.'"
"Acceptance. It was such a defeatist word."
"Either she was experiencing a break with reality, or she'd finally done what she wanted. For herself."
"I'm a person in my own right, not someone who exists simply to fulfill a path I never chose."

Thoroughly enjoyable and relatable story of what happens when your life plan falls apart, and how complicated that feels when your family is as invested in your success as you are (or possibly more). I loved the messy but so realistic family dynamics here and especially how not everything was neatly resolved.

I had very high hopes for this one, that all the elements from the synopsis would come together just so. Paris. Perfume. Napa Valley. Hotels. One woman’s journey to reconcile familial pressure and expectation with her own path in life.

I did appreciate the author’s use of description to relay the settings and all their accompanying tastes, smells, and sights. And overall the plot followed a fairly predictable arc that had a nice and tidy resolution, in the end.

But for me, the emotional connection to the characters never quite happened. I realize not everyone needs to be moved by a book to LOVE it, but I do.

This was a really good book, with amazing characters and very good research.
This is the story of Asha and her journey to self discovery. When everything she thought she wanted goes up in flames, what is she supposed to do? She goes back to her family and learns to gets back her future.
It is a good story, about family and the pressure we sometimes put on ourselves to please them, forgetting about what we really want and need.
I loved every second of this book and I highly recommend it 💕

Asha "Poppy" Patel moved to Paris to pursue her dream of becoming a master perfumer. But when she loses her sense of smell due to covid she gets a forced vacation and travels back home to her family where she starts to question not only her career but also the relationships she left behind.

A cosy read which focuses both on personal growth and family expectations.
While it was a fairly quick read I was at times very frustrated with the way our main character treated the love interest. Honestly he deserved better and their relationship felt more rooted in them growing up together rather than who they are now.
For me the pacing was a bit slow in the beginning and when it really picked up the story was basically over.
But all in all i enjoyed this read and especially the multigenerational family dynamics.

Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel is a beautifully crafted work that celebrates nature's beauty and the power of love. Through vivid imagery and lyrical language, Patel takes readers on a journey through the seasons, exploring the wonders of life and the fragility of the human experience. Her words are both tender and evocative, capturing the essence of nature's splendor with an unflinching eye for detail. With themes ranging from love and loss to the healing power of nature, Scent of a Garden is a moving and soulful collection that will leave readers enchanted and inspired.

Scent of a Garden is a beautiful story about Asha Patel, who has spend all her life working towards becoming a master perfumer. Her whole family has supported her in getting her dream job in France, and Asha is only a few years away from reaching her goal. However, due to Covid, her super sense of smell is terribly affected and she is forced to step away from her job. Although that´s temporary, Asha finds herself aimless, wondering if her smell will ever come back or if she has to forfeit all she´s worked for. Asha decides to return home for a month and visit her family in Napa Valley. Her grandmothers, mother, father and friends seem to have a life completely separate from her own.

I thought the story was well written and the family dynamics are beautifully displayed with respect for each generation. The familial expectations of Asha are a big theme, and both parties (her family and Asha herself) seem a little lost when Asha loses her sense of smell. I loved all the descriptions of the hotel garden - Sonanum - and the moments Asha spends there with her grandmother, tending to the flowers and herbs and slowly recognizing all the scents. The dynamics with her childhood boyfriend (Neel) added some more complexity.

For me, the part of the story where Asha has discovered a new passion and decides to make her new dreams come true could have more pages dedicated to it. In the last third of the story, everything comes together rather quickly, which is a contrast to the first two-thirds of the story where Asha and her family mostly keep repeating the same pattern.

Overall, I thought this was a lovely, feel good story with a bit of family drama, a hint of romance and a lot of beautiful descriptions of all the scents the world has to offer.

Scent of a Garden is my first Namrata Patel read and she didn't disappoint.

I loved the characters, the family dynamics, the journey of trying to find her sense of smell again. The cover of this book is why I chose to read it through NetGalley - I didn't read the blurb, going into it blindly. Asha is a character that many can connect with, as she's struggling with her identity and takes a journey to try and find herself again.

Again, the family dynamics. Asha's story reminds us of how important family is - the good and the bad.

This was overall a great read with so many amazing aspects. This would be a great vacation read, or just something when you feel you need a little reminder of family and the importance of it.

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

I enjoyed this book, and I liked Asha as the main character and her story. Thanks to the publisher for the e galley!

After devastatingly losing her talent of impeccable sense of smell Poppy finds herself turning to her family to try to regain it (and herself). Here, not only does she have to grapple with her lack of smell, but also her family dynamics.

Once this gets going you will find it difficult to put down. I think a lot of people can relate to the way Poppy's family interact with each other.

An enjoyable read!

I was excited to see another novel from the author of THE CANDID LIFE OF MEENA DAVE. In the upcoming SCENT OF A GARDEN, it was a well written story about family, connections and self discovery. The book did have a slow start, but it quickly picked up and I found myself immersed into the story. The author has a talent for writing beautiful reads centering around family dynamics and connections. Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a solid, weaving story! I enjoyed the cover and the overall themes in this book. Could see it for many book clubs!

If there's a book I've read this year that reminded me of the importance of family- of those meddling relatives, and the friends who are always around waiting for you to turn back and acknowledge their presence, then it is this book.
Poppy returns home grappling with the unscented life-missing her ability to trust her nose to identify the scents and cherish them, and she returns to meddling aunts and a grandmother who want the best for her- while also trying their very best not to overstep the boundaries she's set.
Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for approving and granting me access to an eARC- and coming from a big matriarchal family, the connections and interactions among the women and between the men and women in this book was something I could relate to.