THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES is a sweeping, suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, connected through the mystical qualities of an ancient Egyptian perfume–and lost for 2,000 years. Follow Jac L’Etoile–heiress to a storied French perfume company–as she confronts her family’s haunting past to find her missing brother…getting more than she bargains for in the process.

Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances–and of her mother’s suicide–she moved to America.

Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with its financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing–leaving a dead body in his wake–Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother’s disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L’Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation – or is it just another dream-infused perfume?

An Excerpt from The Book of Lost Fragrances

There was a loud crash as Napoléon fell onto the wooden coffin, smashing and splintering its cover. The perfumer had heard the rumors that the general suffered from epilepsy, the same nervous disorder that had affected his hero, Julius Caesar. Now froth bubbled from the general’s mouth, and he shook with convulsions.

His aide-de-camp rushed to his side and bent over him.

Had the strange perfume brought on this episode? It had certainly affected L’Etoile. The dizziness and disorientation he’d been experiencing since he’d entered this tomb were only now starting to dissipate.

“This place is cursed!” Abu yelled out as he threw the papyrus scroll back inside the coffin and on top of the desiccated bodies.

About the Author

M.J. Rose is the international bestselling author of eleven novels: Lip Service, In Fidelity, Flesh Tones, Sheet Music, Lying In Bed, The Halo Effect, The Delilah Complex, The Venus Fix, The Reincarnationist, The Memorist, and The Hypnotist.  Rose is also the co-author with Angela Adair Hoy of How To Publish And Promote Online, and with Doug Clegg on Buzz Your Book.

Rose is a founding member and board member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz.com. As well as the co-founder of Peroozal.com and the popular website BookTrib.com.

Rose has been profiled in Time magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, Business 2.0, Working Woman, Newsweek and New York Magazine.  Rose has appeared on “The Today Show,” Fox News, “The Jim Lehrer News Hour” and features on her have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, including USA Today, Stern, L’Official, Poets and Writers and Publishers Weekly.

M.J. Rose lives in Connecticut with Doug Scofield, a composer, and their very spoiled dog, Winka. To learn more about M.J. Rose and her work, visit her website at: www.mjrose.com.

My Take

Our family was away for spring break and on the third day, I found some time to pick up The Book of Lost Fragrances.  I couldn’t put it down!  Mommy, do you want to go out to the playground?  Hmm, I’m reading this good book…  Mommy, we’re going to get ice cream, do you want to come?  Hmm, I’m reading this good book…  Luckily, I read very fast or I would have missed a lot of vacation *smile*.  Because I do read pretty quickly, I like to buzz through a book and get frustrated if there are too many flashbacks.  The multiple storylines in The Book of Lost Fragrances did slow me down a bit, but M.J. Rose did an excellent job of differentiating the ancient Egypt from the 1800′s and again from the present.

Do you like stories that have many, seemingly unrelated pieces that come together at the end?  Author, M.J. Rose, was a master weaver creating a beautiful story in The Book of Lost Fragrances.  Like the perfumers she wrote about, she layered story-lines like fragrant notes masterfully creating a unique and beautiful scent.

There is a real fragrance that was inspired by the story!  Called Ames Soeurs, which means “Soul Mates”, the main notes include orange blossom, lotus, rose, jasmine, frankincense, myrrh.  You can enter to win my gently read copy of the book and a sample of the fragrance in the rafflecopter form below.

Continue reading Book and Fragrance Giveaway! Blog Tour of “The Book of Lost Fragrances” by M.J. Rose (US, Ends 4/14)