Review: The Collector of Dying Breaths

The Collector of Dying Breaths

by MJ Rose

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In 1533, an Italian orphan with an uncanny knack for creating fragrance is plucked from poverty to become Catherine de Medici’s perfumer. To repay his debt, over the years René le Florentine is occasionally called upon to put his vast knowledge to a darker purpose: the creation of deadly poisons used to dispatch the Queen's rivals.

But it's René other passion—a desire to reanimate a human breath, to bring back the lives of the two people whose deaths have devastated him—that incites a dangerous treasure hunt five centuries later. That's when Jac L’Etoile—suffering from a heartache of her own—becomes obsessed with the possibility of unlocking Rene's secret to immortality.

Soon Jac’s search reconnects her with Griffin North, a man she’s loved her entire life. Together they confront an eccentric heiress whose art collection rivals many museums and who is determined to keep her treasures close at hand, not just in this life but in her next.

Kritters Thoughts:  A current story line and a historical line that takes very far back in 1573 as the art of perfume still has some magic to it.  Rene is a perfumer from the court of Catherine de Medici and she asks him to create perfumes for herself and some other concoctions for her to keep her place in the court.  At the same time Jac is a woman who has felt stories from people in the past and is newly mourning the mysterious death of her brother who was a perfumer trying to finish Rene's work.

This book bounced from the past to the present, but with fantastic editing it was easy to know what time and where the story was taking place.  Both stories are woven from the very beginning which I appreciated because there was enough mystery within the story.  The way the stories getting really woven in the end were seamless and fantastic - I loved it.    

I am a fan of MJ Rose and historical fiction, but there were some moments in the middle that moved a little slow for me, would have liked a little pick up in the pace!  If you have read MJ Rose before I would say you should read this one.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Meryl Moss Media.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.