Saturday 4 May 2013


Scent of Triumph

By Jan Moran

Summery courtesy of Goodreads.com

Scent of Triumph is the story of Danielle Bretancourt, a talented young French perfumer with a flair for fashion and a natural olfactory gift. In the language of perfumery, she is a Nose, with the rare ability to recognize thousands of essences by memory. The story opens on the day England declares war on Germany, and Danielle and her family are caught in the midst of a raging disaster sweeping across Europe.

Her life takes a tragic turn when her husband and son are lost behind enemy lines. She spies for the French resistance, determined to find them, but is forced to flee Europe with fragments of her family. Destitute, she mines her talents to create a magnificent perfume that captures the hearts of Hollywood's top stars, then gambles again to win wealth and success as a couturier. Her intelligence and flair attracts the adoration of Jonathan Newell-Grey, of England's top shipping conglomerate, and Cameron Murphy, Hollywood's most charismatic star.

Danielle charts her course through devastating wartime losses and revenge; lustful lovers and loveless marriages; and valiant struggles to reunite her family. Set between privileged lifestyles and gritty realities, here is one woman's story of courage, spirit, and resilience.

Review

The Scent of Triumph takes you on a mesmerizing journey from a war ravaged France to America, a place where Danielle creates a prosperous new life. Danielle as a character reminded me of New Zealand born french resistance heroine Nancy Wake, a woman whose courage and ingenuity was the bane of German troops and a cheeky spy for the French resistance.She is fearless and I liked that. Danielle endures and survives the horror of her situation (her husband and son are trapped behind enemy lines) and flees to America and rebuild the tattered remains of her life. Reading this book was traumatic in that I laughed and cried and then cried some more, but in saying that I thoroughly was caught up in Danielle's journey through life. 4.5 stars

1 comment:

  1. Hi Jo,

    Thanks for the lovely review of my novel, Scent of Triumph! So glad you enjoyed it, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts. Good luck with your studies!

    Best,
    Jan Moran
    www.janmoran.com

    ReplyDelete