Monday 5 June 2017

Beauty & Lace Book Review: 
The Scent Of You by Maggie Alderson



The Scent Of You centers around Polly, a middle-aged woman who is married and has two grown children who are both away studying at university. 
Her life seems as though it is all smooth sailing. She is a yoga instructor, as well as a perfume blogger, which is gaining her more success by the day.

But just before Christmas, she is devastated when David, her husband of 24 years, explains that he needs a break and that she is not to contact him at all. He disappears without a trace, leaving Polly heartbroken and confused.
Her children, Lucas and Clemmie, both can't believe the news when they find out, and offer their mum as much support as they can. Needless to say, they are hurt by their father's actions, and are concerned for their mother's welfare.

Meanwhile, Polly makes some new and interesting friends as she decides what to do with regards to her missing husband.
There's Shirley, one of her 'yogi bears'- a regular that attends her yoga classes. She is loud and a little over the top, but has her friends' best interest at heart, and proves to be a real saviour for Polly.
Polly also meets Guy Webber, a perfumer who is flamboyant and fun, but likes to keep his personal life just so.
And she is reunited with Edward, also known as Chum, who is an old friend and flame of hers from her university days. 

This book, at 500 pages, is quite long. In fact, I think it would've benefited from losing a few scenes as they didn't play a big part (if any) in the story. I have to admit that I skimmed over a few paragraphs here and there, even though the story itself kept me intrigued, the detail, particularly regarding fragrances/scents was a little bit too in-depth at times.
I also found it rather unbelievable that Polly would be so casual about her husband's departure, and it just seemed rather odd that she would agree to wait months before receiving answers to the many questions she would no doubt have. 
And also, once she finally found out what caused David's need to leave their home, I felt that she could've definitely been more supportive, given the situation he was facing. Even though she offered her help, there wasn't that much fight in her and it just seemed unlike what a person being married to someone for 24 years would do. 

I did thoroughly enjoy the diverse characters in the story, and reading about Fragrance Cloud (Polly's blog). 
Overall, this book has a great storyline, and I adore the beautiful cover. It is a relatively easy read, apart from the length. 

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of Scent Of You thanks to Harper Collins Australia and Beauty & Lace. To read the original review on the Beauty & Lace website, head here
I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way. 

8 comments:

  1. I definitely agree! Once the big reveal happened it felt like she just sort of sent him on his way. It should have happened much earlier.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love fragrances and I love the cover of this book. It sounds interesting.

    Ingrid
    http://www.fabulousandfunlife.blogspot.com.au

    ReplyDelete
  3. I do like the sound of this. Thanks for the heads up about being able to skip bits as necessary.

    SSG dxxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. The cover is cool and I love that she's a perfume blogger. I'm also guilty of skipping paragraphs of unnecessary detail - just give me the action and the info I need!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like something I could get lost in.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved Maggie most when she wrote for the newspaper as her columns were great. Delving into books has made her some money but I preferred her 'back then' when she also lived in Australia. I believe she is back full-time in her home, the UK now. Thank you for linking up for #lifethisweek 23/52. Next week: Public Holidays.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Isn't Polly the name of Maggie's daughter as well? :) I love following her instagram feed.

    ReplyDelete

I read and appreciate every comment; thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!