Seduction by M.J. Rose

Seduction
by M.J. Rose

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Release date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Thriller
Hardcover: 384 pages
Rating: 5

Amazon | BarnesNoble

A Novel of Suspense series:
The Book of Lost Fragrances
Seduction

SYNOPSIS: From the author of The Book of Lost Fragrances comes a haunting novel about a grieving woman who discovers the lost journal of novelist Victor Hugo, awakening a mystery that spans centuries.

In 1843, novelist Victor Hugo’s beloved nineteen-year-old daughter drowned. Ten years later, Hugo began participating in hundreds of séances to reestablish contact with her. In the process, he claimed to have communed with the likes of Plato, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Jesus—and even the Devil himself. Hugo’s transcriptions of these conversations have all been published. Or so it was believed.

Recovering from her own losses, mythologist Jac L’Etoile arrives on the Isle of Jersey—where Hugo conducted the séances—hoping to uncover a secret about the island’s Celtic roots. But the man who’s invited her there, a troubled soul named Theo Gaspard, has hopes she’ll help him discover something quite different—Hugo’s lost conversations with someone called the Shadow of the Sepulcher.

What follows is an intricately plotted and atmospheric tale of suspense with a spellbinding ghost story at its heart, by one of America’s most gifted and imaginative novelists.

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): melancholy
Loved the cast of characters of the past and present and how their stories are interwoven. The touch of paranormal element is engaging and kept me interested throughout.

If you liked Les Misérables, you will be treated to references to it in this tale.

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by M.J. Rose
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“Superstitions, bigotries, hypocrisies, prejudices, these phantoms, phantoms though they be, cling to life; they have teeth and nails in their shadowy substance, and we must grapple with them individually and make war on them without truce; for it is one of humanity's inevitabilities to be condemned to eternal struggle with phantoms.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

Excerpt from SEDUCTION, Chapter 32
Here is what I know. Or do I know anything? It could be madness. For still, I am not certain that I haven’t indeed lost my mind. How can I, who abhor the superstition and illusion the Church perpetuates, be involved in this black relationship with a spirit? With a specter who offers to bring back the dead in exchange for having his name and reputation restored. Who so desired that mankind to stop confusing him with the Devil. But are they not one and the same?


~*~* review copy courtesy of Seduction tour - check out the schedule for guest posts, interviews and reviews

* if you would like my review copy of this book along with the review copy of The Book of Lost Fragrances (yes, a two-fer) then ADD this book to your Goodreads list and let me know in comments along with your email - offer ends April 30, 2013

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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Happy Release: The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

The Book of Lost Fragrances
by M.J. Rose
Paperback Publication Date: March 13, 2013
my review
Publisher: Atria Books
Paperback; 384p
ISBN-10: 1451621485

SYNOPSIS: A Secret Worth Dying For.

Jac L’Etoile is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind when her brother, coheir to their father’s storied French perfumery, makes an earthshattering discovery in the family archives, and then suddenly goes missing— leaving a dead body in his wake. In Paris to investigate his disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend of the House of L’Etoile. If there is an ancient perfume developed in Cleopatra’s time that holds the power to unlock memories of past lives, possessing it is not only worth living for . . . it’s worth killing for, too.

Fusing history, passion and suspense in an intoxicating web that moves from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris, this marvelous, spellbinding novel comes to life as richly as our most wildly imagined dreams.

Read an EXCERPT.

Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

Praise for THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the March 2012 Indie Next List

Selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the Top Ten Mystery/Thrillers Spring 2012

"Compelling... suspenseful tale. Once you catch a whiff, you will be enchanted". —Associated Press

"Rose has entered another realm and written what is bound to be one of this year's best books." —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"From 18th-century Egypt and France to present-day Paris, New York, and China, Rose's deliciously sensual novel of paranormal suspense smoothly melds a perfume-scented quest to protect an ancient artifact with an ages-spanning romance. Rose imbues her characters with rich internal lives in a complex plot that races to a satisfying finish." —Publishers Weekly, Starred and Boxed Review

"Amazing... utterly engrossing. Elegantly written, with unforgettable characters. Will keep you up all night—and leave you with powerful feelings of revelation, wonder, and the infinitude of human possibility." —New York Times best selling author Douglas Preston

"A simmering brew that mingles the erotic sensuality of Patrick Suskind's Perfume with the dark and timeless obsessions of Rider Haggard's classic, She." —New York Times best selling author Katherine Neville

About the Author

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the '80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors - Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose's novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

The Book of Lost Fragrances
by M.J. Rose

Visit MJ:
Book Excerpt
Website
Blog
Facebook
Goodreads
Shelfari
Twitter Hashtag: #LostFragrancesVirtualBookTour

Just released: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Historical
Hardback: 384 pages
Rating: 4

Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Indie Bound

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 moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it's 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?

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.

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): great nose
Loved the historical details of the world of scents intermingled with mystery. I'm definitely more appreciative and aware of scents and smells that can be created for pleasure and other...

The mention of Paris and things French just popped out at me -- in a good way. Mostly because I've got Paris on the brain ;-D

I also liked how this book got me thinking about reincarnation.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of author

* read MJ's guest post about a fragrance

* part of The Book of Lost Fragrances tour - check it out for more details and goodies about this book and author!

Le Feu D'Issey from M.J. Rose

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by M.J. Rose
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M.J. Rose: I've been fascinated with lost fragrances since long before I started writing The Book of Lost Fragrances... since I found a bottle of perfume on my great grandmother's dresser that had belonged to her mother in Russia.

Here is one of those lost fragrances that stirs the senses and the imagination... (reasearched and described with the help of the perfume writer Dimitrios Dimitriadis)

ISSEY MIYAKE - LE FEU D'ISSEY A creation that came well ahead of its time, Le Feu d'Issey was launched amidst countless androgynous, unisex releases in the mid 90s, and represented the polar opposite of the scents that found their success at that time.

Sichuan pepper, amber and benzoin leant a combustable warmth to the composition, whilst Japanese lily, Bulgarian rose and lactic milk accords an opulent facet. Regarded as a huge commercial flop upon its release, Le Feu d'Issey is a perfume which many look upon now, some 15 years later, as an abstract masterpiece.

The Book of Lost Fragrances
by M.J. Rose
-gothic, historical
ABOUT the book:
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 moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it's 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?

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.


ABOUT the author:
M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the '80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors - Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose's novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.

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by M.J. Rose
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* part of The Book of Lost Fragrances tour - check it out for more details and goodies about this book and author!
Twitter Hashtag: #LostFragrancesVirtualBookTour