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    A Perfumer's Secret
    A Perfumer's Secret
    A Perfumer's Secret
    Audiobook8 hours

    A Perfumer's Secret

    Written by Adria J. Cimino

    Narrated by Teri Schnaubelt

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Perfumer Zoe Flore travels to Grasse, perfume capital of the world, to collect a formula: her inheritance from the family she never knew existed. The scent matches the one worn by her mother, who passed away when Zoe was a teenager. Zoe, competing to create a new fragrance for prestigious designer Cherone, believes this scent could win the contract-and lead her to the reason her mother fled Grasse for New York City. Before Zoe can discover the truth, the formula is stolen. Philippe Chevrefeuille, the enigmatic competitor who makes her heart race, is the only one who can help her find it. But Zoe is in no mood for romance, or at least that's what she tries telling herself.

    Philippe knows that winning the Cherone fragrance contract is the way out of his mid-level perfumery job. And he has the ambition and ego to make it happen. Until Zoe enters the picture. In an instant, he's under her spell and losing his grip on his own creativity. If Philippe hopes to win, he must keep Zoe from finding the missing formula. But can he betray his own heart?

    The pursuit transforms into a journey of self-discovery as each struggles to understand the complexities of love, the force of pride and the meaning of family.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateOct 10, 2017
    ISBN9781541485150
    A Perfumer's Secret

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    Reviews for A Perfumer's Secret

    3.5/5

    48 ratings16 reviews

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    • 2/5
      The basic story line is that a professional perfumer in New York finds out that she has an inheritance from a relative she doesn't remember in France. Zoe travels to France and finds out that she has an entire family that her French mother never mentioned. Since her mother is dead, she doesn't have the answers to many questions and goes in search of missing pieces of her mother's life. The common thread of all the characters is trying to find Zoe's dead mother's special perfume formula, which has been stolen multiple times, or possibly have enough "nose" to reproduce it.I didn't care for any of the characters in this book, so I didn't care how their stories ended. I read through the book because I cared more about the missing formula and the recreation of the perfume. The characters were all mean, petty, and self-absorbed. The quality of the writing wasn't good enough for me to try a different title from this author.This book is only for die-hard lovers of chick-lit.
    • 4/5
      This was a lovely book about relationships and perfume.

      Zoe works as a perfumer. Her mother, Barbara Rose, was also in the business but died several years ago. She believes that she doesn't have any other family until she receives an inheritance from someone claiming to be her great-aunt. She goes to Grasse, where her mother was from and receives her inheritance and that is stolen the very next day. She tells herself she can use the formula for the perfume her mother always were to revise for an important contract she is working on.

      Ms. Cimino takes Zoe on a journey while in Grasse that brings her closer to her mother. Along the way she discovers more about herself, she also finds love. Blended with the Zoe's story is side stories that deepen the connection to the characters.
    • 4/5
      From the preface to the book: "Zoe's Flore's first creation was the scent of tears. A hot, salty fragrance that she concocted the day her mother died. A perfume built on oak moss, a touch of geranium and the real tears that tumbled into the mix. It was her fifteenth birthday, and from that moment on, she wore the scent as a suit of armour."I happen to love reading stories that educate, enlighten and engage me if they happen to be located in France (or England) so much the better. I found A Perfumer's Secret to fill all those needs. The heroine of the novel, Zoe Flore, at the beginning of our story is a rather unhappy, lost soul in the midst of creating a perfume formula, with her newly ex-boyfriend and business partner, to enter into a very important competition. This competition can be a huge step forward in the very competitive world of perfume. She receives a letter from Grasse, France, where most of the components of fragrance originate, telling her she has inherited a long lost fragrance formula from her Great Aunt. Without hesitation and much to the chagrin of her business partner, she immediately leaves for France. She encounters many characters along her way all of whom seem to want the formula for their own devices. In some places, it became a bit too much of a romance novel for me, but who doesn't like a touch of romance...that was short lived (of course, we are talking about fragrance so romance is very much a part of the entire story) and I found myself totally engaged with the journey and the explanation of how perfume is made, the huge costs involved not only dollars but in people's lives and careers. I am aware of what a "nose" is in the business and how few people have it but to have it detailed in such an interesting manner that it was a delight to read. Zoe's own fragrance is truly fantasy but how divine and how it drives the story!
    • 3/5
      I was very intrigued by the title and a chance to learn more about the perfume business. The author has done her research or is very knowledgeable regarding terms, formulas and the working of this industry. I found it interesting, but a little hard to follow all of the formulas listed with all the different ingredients it takes to make up perfume. This may not be fair because it is not meant to be a how to guide. I enjoyed her wonderful descriptions of the small French town and surrounding countryside. I found the book a little on the long side and I felt there might be a few too many relatives and extra characters. I felt they were not as developed as they could have been. But this is true in the real world, including my own. Some of the language may be offensive to some. I received this for an honest review.
    • 5/5
      A Perfumer's Secret, a novel by Adria Cimino, tells the story of Zoe Flore, the daughter of a gifted perfumer. Her mother died when Zoe was fifteen and on that day Zoe created a fragrance that represented her grief. Fifteen years later and on the heels of a failed relationship she receives notification that a relative in France has left her something meaningful. Zoe was raised by a single parent who had been vague and evasive when Zoe asked about her father and her mother's family. She decides to travel to Grasse, France to claim her inheritance and to try to learn why her mother had left there when Zoe was a baby. It remains to be seen if Zoe is ready for what awaits her.This is a cleverly written story which is full of twists and turns, secrets and intrigue. The characters are complex and unpredictable. The dialogue is sharp and crisp. I found this to be an enjoyable book. Highly recommended.I received this book through LibraryThing and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
    • 3/5
      I have received this book in exchange for an honest review.This is quite a long book set in a small French town. Zoe is a perfumer whose mother died some time ago. She knows very little about her mother's past life in France. Then one day Zoe receives a letter from a lawyer informing her of her inheritance in France. She sets on a journey in search for the perfect perfume formula. On her way she meets a whole set of characters, becomes a victim of theft, falls in love and learns her mother's secret. What I really liked about this book is the French setting, wonderful descriptions of a small French town and the atmosphere. The author really took her time and did a lot of research into the world of perfume making. However, I kind of had a feeling that the book was too long, that too much time was dedicated to unimportant things while at the same time there was something missing. The characters are somehow too predictable, not much elaborated, just like in most romance stories. Yet, this is not an ordinary romance story since it starts with an element of a mystery book. I like mystery books and maybe that's why I kept reading the book - out of curiosity. On the other hand, if I were really interested in a romance, something to read in my free time to relax, I would definitely find this book too long. So, honestly, I have to admit that it really took me long to finish this book and now that I think more about it, it is very difficult to say who the target readers of this book were supposed to be and who to recommend it to.
    • 4/5
      I found this book a little bit different and that is a good thing. I really liked the setting of the world of perfume. It made me wish to visit the primary places in the book and made perfume sound so very wonderful and interesting as opposed to the awful miasma created by folks who marinate themselves in it. The story moved right along with the pace accelerating as the story came to a climax. I felt pulled along to the end. I think this is the first time I have actually thought about pacing in a book and how good pacing really adds to the story. The resolution of the mystery was surprising, although it is not a mystery story. The characters were likable or believable or maybe I should say just right for the parts the played in the story. It had a satisfactory ending without being sappy or too happily-ever-after. I would definitely recommend it.
    • 4/5
      I liked this book. I thought the theme of perfume was interesting, although I wish the author had spent just a little time filling in about the history of perfume, just a little because I think it would have made the place the story took place feel more real to me. I gave this book 4 stars because, while I liked the characters, I felt they could have been more developed. They seemed to be kind of "one note" to me. But I did like the cat & mouse part of the story and I enjoyed trying to figure out the culprit.
    • 2/5
      This novel took a very long time to get to the point. I thought it was unnecessarily long and complicated for what could have been a very simple story
    • 3/5
      A Perfumer's Secret by Adria J. Cimino is about the lives of perfumers from a region in France and how their lives intertwine. It focuses on the protagonist, Zoe, and her search for her mother's signature perfume formula. At first, I enjoyed the allusions to perfumery and scents and thought that it was an original take on the story. However, I felt towards the end that it was overdone and that the story dragged a little bit and could have been shorter. Overall, I mostly enjoyed the novel and would recommend it to those who enjoy stories about family relationships.
    • 5/5
      i loved this book.read it in less than a day because i couldn't put it down.Easy read,nice story, lovely romance and likable characters.what else does one need?
    • 4/5
      This was a well-researched book, with a compelling plot containing fun twists and interesting characters. Not only did I enjoy the story, but also learning about the formulation of perfume. At times I longed to actually smell the fields, the perfumes, the scents that go into the perfumes and learn first-hand. I now wish for my own signature scent! The writing about perfume making was not pedantic at all, but well wrapped up in the plot and the personalities of the characters. Somehow I would have liked the character of both Zoe and her mother fleshed out just a tiny bit more, but won't knock of any points for that.
    • 3/5
      A Perfumer’s Secret by Adria J. Cimino is a romance mystery novel that is proof that violence, evil plots, and syrupy love are not needed for a novel to be enjoyable and effective. The story follows Zoe Flore, still recovering from her mother’s death many years prior, from her home in New York to southern France to obtain an unexpected inheritance. Her inheritance is immediately stolen and in trying to retrieve it she slowly unravels her mother’s past, finds family she never knew she had, and of course, true love.The characters and motifs - long lost aunts, secret formulas, Vespas,- are cliché, but Cimino brings believability to them, and, hey -it’s a romance. The writing is clunky at times, but the vivid descriptions of the scents of people and the environment, so important to the fragrance industry based in the French Riviera, are real enough that flower gardens will never seem the same. An entertaining read.I want to thank Library Thing Early Reviews and Velvet Morning Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Disclaimer: The publisher gave me an advanced copy in exchange for this review.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed reading The Perfumer's Secret. I was hooked on finding out what happened to the missing recipe and what the back story of Zoe's mom. I think the story could have been expanding more by Zoe actually attempting to get to know her family and their stories instead of immediately demanding their knowledge of the recipe, but otherwise I found it a nice read.
    • 5/5
      Lit by the "burnt rose," "sunburst yellow," and sometimes "shrouded skies" over houses "painted with droplets of rose, violet and mustard," in Grasse, world perfume center in the south of France, a family drama plays out. A new novel from a writer who has the gift of character, scented with the likes of Proust's and Jane Austen's talent at giving us characters in families. Without long descriptions we really know the character, the layers of depth, the singular aspects, the personality of each one. We could sit down to a glass of wine and plate of French fries with any of them and just chat away, for we know them well enough. And plot? Yes, plot! Corporate competition and family struggle for dominance wrap around a mystery, the search for a perfume formula, a "juice," that will win all -- but is the formula a MacGuffin? Hard to put down this book, winding like the little roads of southern France, this is a thumping good story--and beautiful to boot. Do jot the names and link them in a family tree as you begin and go on, you'll be glad you did. Enjoy, and just wait for the fragrance of the ending!
    • 2/5
      The basic story line is that a professional perfumer in New York finds out that she has an inheritance from a relative she doesn't remember in France. Zoe travels to France and finds out that she has an entire family that her French mother never mentioned. Since her mother is dead, she doesn't have the answers to many questions and goes in search of missing pieces of her mother's life. The common thread of all the characters is trying to find Zoe's dead mother's special perfume formula, which has been stolen multiple times, or possibly have enough "nose" to reproduce it.I didn't care for any of the characters in this book, so I didn't care how their stories ended. I read through the book because I cared more about the missing formula and the recreation of the perfume. The characters were all mean, petty, and self-absorbed. The quality of the writing wasn't good enough for me to try a different title from this author.This book is only for die-hard lovers of chick-lit.