The Little Perfume Shop Off The Champs-Élysées

Rebecca Raisin

Mar 2018 · The Little Paris Collection Book 3 · Sold by HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

What is French for falling in love?

When Del leaves small town America to compete in a perfume competition in Paris, she thinks it is just the next step on her five-year-plan. It’s an exciting opportunity. What started out as just a dream for Del and her twin sister is nearly in her grasp. If she wins this competition, they are on their way to opening their very own perfume boutique!

Arriving in Paris, watching the sun glinting off the Seine and wandering the Champs-Elysees, Del discovers the most perfect perfumery she’s ever seen. Yet, as the competition dawns Del realises that whilst she might have had the best nose in her small village, her competitors seem to know more than she could ever have dreamed. This competition isn’t going to be easy...

Del has the romance of Paris to sweep her away from her worries, but as the competition heats up, so does her desire for that which she cannot have! If only the dashing owner Sébastien didn’t smell so seductive, look so handsome and make her heart flutter like it never has before. They say love smells as sweet as a red rose in bloom, but Del would tell anyone that true love can’t be bottled – it’s beautiful and unique to everyone...even herself. With everything on the line for her future, can Del really let a little attraction get in the way of securing her dreams?

Praise for The Little Perfume Shop Off the Champs-Elysees:

‘I absolutely loved everything to do with this book’ Rachel Gilbey

‘Absolutely fantastic book, had me hooked from the first page. Full of anticipation, a real page turner. Loved it!’ Nerys Minney

‘In short, this is a fabulous book. In reading I was transported somewhere almost magical’ Sandra W

‘The Little Perfume Shop off the Champs-Elysees, was worth waiting for. It's got magic, sparkle, twinkling lights of Paris and above all, a copious amount of LOVE!’

Ratings and reviews

Leclére Perfumery in Paris is hosting a competition: win the competition and get a cash prize, six months in Paris, a line of your own scents and plenty of opportunities to work with mentors and perfumers. This is just the boost that Del needs, especially after her twin sister Jen bailed on their plan to move from their sleepy Michigan town to New York to open a small boutique scent shop. Growing up, Del had worked tirelessly with her Nan, learning how to recognize and blend scent: and now, feeling the loss of her keenly, she’s hit a point of grief where the boost in confidence she got from being accepted into the competition is competing with her fear that she’s lost her gift of creation, but she’s in Paris to compete, learn and win the prize to make her dreams of a New York shop a reality. Sébastien Leclére, the reclusive owner and son of the famous Victor feels as if he’s been bludgeoned into the contest. Through all of the interviews and the process to find the six contestants, he’s been absent, leaving the task to his mother. He dislikes Paris, wants little to do with the all-encompassing world of scent creation, and misses his father terribly – to the point that he’s agreed to stick with the contest only long enough to find a winner, then turning the operation over to the management team. There’s an instant spark with he and Del though, and when he’s assigned to be her mentor after several encounters that have Del shown in the most embarrassing situations, the two meet, and a connection of sorts is born. The contest is not without pitfalls, however. Other contestants from the coldly brusque and single-minded Anastasia, to Karen and Chloe – a Brit and a Parisienne with their own subtle (or not so) ways of undermining the others, to Lex, an older man with the weight of the world on his shoulders to Lili, a chemist with controlling parents and a need to succeed, Del’s got to find her own strength and path, despite the obstacles from contestants to creation that come her way. Through the scents and scenes in Paris and France, Del finds the keys to the contest: it’s not for a new nose or creation but the ultimate gift from Victor to his son, hoping to reignite his creativity and love for the world of scent and the possibilities within. Dealing with her own grief over the loss of her Nan, to what she sees as a betrayal from her twin to the difficulties she has without a solid five year plan after her parents’ rather offhanded approach to responsibility, Del has to let go in the moment, and capture the essence of what it means to live in a scent – a scent that will open doors and provide her with the life she never knew she wanted. Lovely and atmospheric from the bits of history and scenery to the evocative scent profiles, struggles and growth – the story just keeps on giving back to readers. I meant to read only a bit of this at a time, wanting it to last: I looked up to discover I had devoured it in one sitting - happily. Raisin has mixed emotion, growth, scents and scenes into a story that feels approachable and real, and most of all, grounded in the hope and shine of Paris. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Initially I thought I was going to really dislike this book as it does take a while to really suck you in. Once I was around 50 pages in I found that I was becoming more and more absorbed by Del's story and was racing through the pages. Although this is basically a love story, and a rather cliched obvious one the setting is evoked well (I now feel I've been to Paris) and the background of the competition works well - although, it's obvious that Del will get to the Grand Finale or else there wouldn't be much of a book. The supporting cast are well drawn and I particularly enjoyed the character of Lex. Although, I did feel that he was a bit of a mole planted there by the perfume house to report back on how the contestants were behaving behind the scenes as it were. Sadly this theory didn't pan out but I still think it would have made a nice twist. Clementine and Lila are also quite strong characters within the book although a little two dimensional i their niche of, respectively, femme fatale and mouse. There are little nods to previous books as we visit Once Upon A Time and also Anouk's Antique Shop. It was nice to drop in on old characters and locations, however briefly. There is, of course, plenty of information about the blending of perfume and it can become a little wearying in places as you get whole sentences that are nothing more than a list of ingredients. I have still given this 4 Stars as I did enjoy the story very much despite having some major niggles with what appeared to be filler. I now know why the publication date was pushed back again and again (yes, it was on my shopping list for an inordinate amount of time); it simply wasn't ready for publication and I do feel like it was compromised slightly to finally get the book out. Sadly, this makes me wonder if we will see any further novels from Ms Raisin as it seems clear that she had issues fulfilling her Publishing Contract with this one.

Of course I had to check all my favourite perfumes whilst reading this book👏😘

About the author

REBECCA RAISIN writes heartwarming romance from her home in sunny Perth, Australia. Her heroines tend to be on the quirky side and her books are usually set in exotic locations so her readers can armchair travel any day of the week. The only downfall about writing about gorgeous heroes who have brains as well as brawn, is falling in love with them – just as well they’re fictional. Rebecca aims to write characters you can see yourself being friends with. People with big hearts who care about relationships and believe in true, once in a lifetime love. Her bestselling novel Rosie’s Travelling Tea Shop has been optioned for film with MRC studios and Frolic Media.