The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

Quoted from GoodReads:
Gavin Sasaki is a promising young journalist in New York City, until he's fired in disgrace following a series of unforgivable lapses in his work. It's early 2009, and the world has gone dark very quickly; the economic collapse has turned an era that magazine headlines once heralded as the second gilded age into something that more closely resembles the Great Depression. The last thing Gavin wants is to return to his hometown of Sebastian, Florida, but he's drifting toward bankruptcy and is in no position to refuse when he's offered a job by his sister, Eilo, a real estate broker who deals in foreclosed homes. 


Eilo recently paid a visit to a home that had a ten-year-old child in it, a girl who bears a strong resemblence to Gavin and who has the same last name as Gavin's high school girlfriend Anna, whom Gavin last saw a decade ago. Gavin -- a former jazz musician, a reluctant broker of foreclosed homes, obsessed with film noir and private detectives -- begins his own private investigation in an effort to track down Anna and their apparent daughter. The Lola Quartet, a work of literary noir, is concerned with jazz, Django Reinhardt, economic collapse, friendship and love, Florida's exotic wildlife problem, fedoras, and the unreliability of memory.



The title and the book cover art of The Lola Quartet give very little indication of the books' contents. Instead of causing me to bypass this book, both the cover and the title intrigued me.  I am not sure what I was expecting, but the story within was a pleasant surprise.

I am not sure that this novella fits into any one genre.  It is a little bit of a mystery, a bit noir and a bit of a commentary on the mistakes we make during our youth and the ability for these choices to follow us into adulthood.

All of the characters are flawed in some way.  Many of the decisions that they make seem to be random choices and not very well thought out.  Quite typical of the way most adolescents approach life changing choices.  The main character of Gavin is  sympathetic, although he seems to live in a reality of his own creation.  He develops and grows over the course of the book and by the end appears to be attempting to make some well though out mature decision.

The story weaves back and forth between the present the the past, gradually unveiling an interesting plot.  The writing is flawless and flows effortlessly from beginning to end. At some points during the first half, it did seem to drag just a bit, however this is a minor concern. What I really enjoyed about this book was how different it was from anything else I have read recently.  St. John Mandle is an author to watch!

Special thanks to Netgallery for the complementary copy of the Lola Quartet, allowing me to read and offer an unbiased review.

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

Expected publication: March 13th, 2012


My Rating Scores:
Cover Art Rating: ***** 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Content: *** 4 out of 5 stars



Quoted from GoodReads:
"A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra—and lost for 2,000 years. 


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 moves to America, leaving the company in the hands of her brother Robbie. 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 discovers a secret the House of L’Etoile has been hiding since 1799: a scent that unlocks the mysteries of reincarnation. The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac’s quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past."





This book is a mix of ancient history, paranormal, religion, mystery  with a little romance tossed in on the side!  It doesn't sound like a combination that would work, but it really does.  The only thing missing was the actual smell of the fragrances being described in the story (remember scratch and sniff??). 


I really liked the character of Jac.  She had an interesting history  and a few scars from her troubled past remained, but she strong enough to move on with her life.  I would have liked to know more about her brother, Robby.  The author, M.J. Rose, tossed out some enticing bits of information about him that made me want to know him better!  (Maybe in another book...)  


The pace of the book was good, but at times, I found myself re-reading the first few paragraphs of each new chapter.  The story flip flops between ancient Egypt, Napoleonic France and present day.  It was like reading several different stories that all converge in the last few chapters.  Some of the plot was predictable, but there are a few surprises along the way.


So why didn't it get 5 out of 5 stars?  Well....my 5 out of 5 stars are for books that haunt me for days after reading them.  The Lost Book of Fragrances just didn't do that for me.  It's a quality that is hard to pin point, but you know it when you see (or read) it!  This is still a book I will recommend to my friends. It would be a great book to take on a trip.  I look forward to reading more books by this author!


Many thanks to netgallery for allowing me to read and review this book.