Perfume is the key to our memories

The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown

High in the hills of Valencia, a forgotten house guards its secrets. Untouched since Franco's forces tore through Spain in 1936, the whitewashed walls have crumbled, the garden, laden with orange blossom, grown wild.Emma Temple is the first to unlock its doors in seventy years. Guided by a series of letters and a key bequeathed in her mother's will, she has left her job as London's leading perfumier to restore this dilapidated villa to its former glory. It is the perfect retreat: a wilderness redolent with strange and exotic scents, heavy with the colours and sounds of a foreign time. But for her grandmother, Freya, a British nurse who stayed here during Spain's devastating civil war, Emma's new home evokes terrible memories. As the house begins to give up its secrets, Emma is drawn deeper into Freya's story: one of crushed idealism, lost love, and families ripped apart by war. She soon realises it is one thing letting go of the past, but another when it won't let go of you.
Absolutely adored this book. This is my first time reading anything by Kate Lord Brown and it won't be the last. I really loved the backdrop of Spain and the alternating time lapses between the present time and 1930s Spain. All of the details, an old decrepit house , beautiful scenery, European attitude, all of it, definitely reminded me of Under the Tuscan Sun (which I loved). I'm an avid fan of historical fiction so I particularly loved the alternate story revolving around Rosa and Freya during the Spanish civil war. However, I loved Emma's story as well, especially regarding the loss of her mother and reconnecting with her through Liberty's letters. Her relationship with Luca was adorable, and I found myself rooting for them to be together throughout the story. And the perfume! The perfume! Oh I loved it so much. I felt like I was in the garden with Emma creating my own magical scents. I thoroughly enjoyed The Perfume Garden, and would highly recommend.

Wordless Wednesday - fall eats

Perfect taste of fall - Rustic Apple Crumb Pie
Find the recipe here

Cover Love - Halloween

Ever since I was a little girl I had wanted to be

Sweet Water by Christine Baker Kline

When a grandfather she never knew bequeaths her a house and 60 acres of land in Sweetwater, Tenn., a restless young artist leaves New York to recover her past and rethink her future. Cassie Simon's mother Ellen died when Cassie was only three; raised in Boston by her grieving father, she never knew her maternal relatives. Unprepared for the thick veil of mystery that surrounds them, Cassie is especially bewildered by her brusque grandmother, whom rumor credits with hiding a terrible secret about Ellen's death. In alternating sections told from their respective points of view, Cassie and her grandmother fight their separate battles to cope with the truth about the tragedy

I had high expectations for Sweet Water based on Christine Baker Kline's other novel, Orphan Train, which I was a fan of. I had hoped that Sweet Water would hold up to the same promise, but sadly, it completely missed the mark for me. The whole premise drew me in, a young artist leaving New York to recover her past in the south, sounds like something I would love, right? But wow, the plot fell short. It was a REAL struggle getting through this one. I couldn't relate or sympathize with any of the characters, and ok, I'm sorry, but what is up with the whole relationship between Cassie and her cousin (adopted or not, REALLY?!!?), can you say redneck stereotype? Very odd, and kind of creepy honestly. I found myself skipping pages and skimming the last few chapters, which can't be a good sign. In the end I was left disappointed. Sweet Water was forgettable to me.

Upcoming reads

The Perfume Garden by Kathleen Lord Kent High in the hills of Valencia, a forgotten house guards its secrets. Untouched since Franco's forces tore through Spain in 1936, the whitewashed walls have crumbled, the garden, laden with orange blossom, grown wild.Emma Temple is the first to unlock its doors in seventy years. Guided by a series of letters and a key bequeathed in her mother's will, she has left her job as London's leading perfumier to restore this dilapidated villa to its former glory. It is the perfect retreat: a wilderness redolent with strange and exotic scents, heavy with the colours and sounds of a foreign time. But for her grandmother, Freya, a British nurse who stayed here during Spain's devastating civil war, Emma's new home evokes terrible memories. As the house begins to give up its secrets, Emma is drawn deeper into Freya's story: one of crushed idealism, lost love, and families ripped apart by war. She soon realises it is one thing letting go of the past, but another when it won't let go of you. Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey Late on a frozen February evening, a young woman is running through the streets of London. Having fled from her abusive boyfriend and with nowhere to go, Jess stumbles onto a forgotten lane where a small, clearly unlived in old house offers her best chance of shelter for the night. The next morning, a mysterious letter arrives and when she can’t help but open it, she finds herself drawn inexorably into the story of two lovers from another time. In London 1942, Stella meets Dan, a US airman, quite by accident, but there is no denying the impossible, unstoppable love that draws them together. Dan is a B-17 pilot flying his bomber into Europe from a British airbase; his odds of survival at one in five. The odds are stacked against the pair; the one thing they hold onto is the letters they write to each other. Fate is unkind and they are separated by decades and continents. In the present, Jess becomes determined to find out what happened to them. Her hope—inspired by a love so powerful it spans a lifetime—will lead her to find a startling redemption in her own life in a powerfully moving novel perfect for fans of Sarah Jio and Kate Morton. Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams In the summer of 1966, Christina Hardcastle—“Tiny” to her illustrious family—stands on the brink of a breathtaking future. Of the three Schuyler sisters, she’s the one raised to marry a man destined for leadership, and with her elegance and impeccable style, she presents a perfect camera-ready image in the dawning age of television politics. Together she and her husband, Frank, make the ultimate power couple: intelligent, rich, and impossibly attractive. It seems nothing can stop Frank from rising to national office, and he’s got his sights set on a senate seat in November. But as the season gets underway at the family estate on Cape Cod, three unwelcome visitors appear in Tiny’s perfect life: her volatile sister Pepper, an envelope containing incriminating photograph, and the intimidating figure of Frank’s cousin Vietnam-war hero Caspian, who knows more about Tiny’s rich inner life than anyone else. As she struggles to maintain the glossy façade on which the Hardcastle family’s ambitions are built, Tiny begins to suspect that Frank is hiding a reckless entanglement of his own…one that may unravel both her own ordered life and her husband’s promising career.

There's no place like home

Wrap up!

Mr. Mercedes - Stephen King
Sweet Water - Christina Baker Kline
Luckiest Girl Alive - Jessica Knoll
The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins
Miss Buncle's Book - D.E. Stevenson
The Good Girl - Mary Kubica

PICK OF THE MONTH
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Hard time choosing between The Girl on the Train and Mr. Mercedes this month, but giving the edge to Paula Hawkins' gem. Absolutely LOVED this book, haven't been this engrossed in a novel in some time.