The Scent of You
by Maggie Alderson
Published 2017
Genres: Fiction / Chic Lit
“Your glass might be half-empty or half-full, whatever – I’m wearing mine on my head, juggling it, making it into a percussion instrument. It’s not what you’re doing, or where you go, or who you’re with, but what you make it into.”
Mel says…
I really, REALLY wanted to like this book. I fell in love with Maggie Alderson years ago and have collected her novels ever since, but I must sadly say, I am glad I borrowed this one from the library…
The Scent of You is about self love, self worth and discovery, and I was eager to go on this whimsical journey with the protagonist, Polly. In the beginning, the plot developed well and kept me eager to discover what would happen next. The mystery surrounding Polly’s husbands disappearance was at the forefront of my eagerness to keep turning pages.
By halfway, the story had veered its focus away from the husband’s disappearance and started focusing in on Polly’s relationships with other men and her children. This is when I started to get confused and bored. The anticipation of finding out why the husband had disappeared was losing all appeal and I began to struggle with my reading.
Polly became infuriating to read and I struggled to care about how her life would pan out, purely due to the drawn out conclusion. By the time the big reveal took place, I was disappointed and glad it was almost over.
It is hard to put my finger on exactly what this book was lacking, but one thing is for certain, it required more soul.
I struggled through the second half of this book and the only reason I stuck with it to the end was out of love for Maggie Alderson. This was a miss for me and it breaks my heart to say it, but don’t waste your time.
