Book Review: ‘The Lost Perfumes Of Paris: A Novel’ By Christine Wells

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The book is in stores on Tuesday, September 8th from William Morrow Paperbacks. Click on the link to buy a copy. https://amzn.to/3PtaV8e

The year is 1956, and the setting is Grasse, France. Elodie is 26, and wants to follow in the footsteps of her late mother, Aurore, who was a world-famous perfumer before WWII, who created fragrances for the family business, House of Limeaux. She works in the lab as an assistant, but her father, who runs the company, doesn’t take her seriously. He would prefer she just get married. She has come up with a new fragrance, but her father says it’s not good. When it’s time for the Essence of Paris annual perfume contest, the company chooses a different product to enter, Elodie secretly enters the contest, with the help of Marcelo Caspari, whose father is an investment banker, looking to possibly buy the company. Along the way, she and Marcelo fall in love with each other, and soon it’s time for the contest to announce their winner. When her father pulls a fast one at the awards ceremony, Elodie won’t take it and comes up with a plan to take back what she thinks is hers. A beautifully written book looking at the world of perfumes, set in Paris, and author Wells uses the setting in a great way here. The love story between Elodie and Marcelo will put a smile on your face. A perfect end-of-summer book.