A review by kathryn08
The Perfumer's Secret by Fiona McIntosh

2.0

I’ve read and enjoyed several other Fiona McIntosh books, and thought this would be similar to her others. The cover is gorgeous, as is the setting, in Grasse, the perfume capital of France, however these were the best parts of the book. My library listed this as historical fiction, but I think it would be more accurate to call it historical romance - with emphasis on the romance rather than the historical.

It was eye-rollingly sentimental and soppy much of the time. It was also quite repetitive, with the same concept being harped on about, over and over.

Being about the 2 major perfume families of Grasse, there was quite a bit of discussion about fragrance and top notes, base notes and heart notes and considerations regarding oriental or floral or other scents and other things that are peculiar to perfumery. Some of it was interesting, but at times, it felt contrived and overdone.

Perhaps I am so especially disappointed in this because I have found all the Fiona McIntosh books that I’ve read before this to be great reads, and so the fact that this was quite average was more disappointing than if I hadn’t been expecting something at a higher level.