I loved the perfume aspect of Immortal Rose. As someone who’s just getting into perfumes, I loved the unique magical idea of scent. I’ve enjoyed some of Bracken’s previous books, but I was shocked at how much I enjoyed Immortal Rose! Keep reading this book review of Immortal Rose for my full thoughts.
Summary
Members of the ancient House Rosebourne have a strange gift born of a fairy ancestor: the ability to infuse fragrance with magic capable of manipulating mind, body, and emotion.
When a shocking murder leaves the kingdom of Albion vulnerable to a coup, royal spymaster Hugh Thornton seeks the one person who can help: Viola Lockwood, the last living Rosebourne and secret heir to a fraught legacy.
Livid at the silver-eyed aristocrat who had her thrown in jail to force her compliance, Viola nevertheless comes to an agreement with him. In exchange for crafting Immortal Rose, the singular perfume capable of saving Albion, illegitimate Viola can seize the life—and fortune—that should have been hers.
As Hugh and Viola race to find the perfume’s lost fairy ingredient, hidden deep in Albion’s dark underbelly, neither can deny the scorching attraction building between them—especially as the attempts on Viola’s life grow increasingly brazen.
But a terrible truth lurks in the heart notes of their kingdom—and while every bargain has a cost, Immortal Rose may demand more than Hugh and Viola can ever pay.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I cannot get over how inventive and unique scent magic is. I love the idea of the ways scent can transport us, beguile us, and entrance us. It reminds me of a heightened Sherlock Holmes vibes with the magical abilities and the insights into a person. Immortal Rose is about the wary bargains made, the ways we are backed into a corner, and the mysteries we can’t hide from our smell. What gives us away. When I finally got over how cool the scent magic was, I fell into their interactions. How they begrudgingly get to know each other through their misconceptions and their adventures.
It’s like a scent, how we can start to thaw, to smell the heart notes of a person. The way the perfume metaphor impacts and relates to their interactions made my heart swoon. Immortal Rose allows us to see snippets of him to see him thawing and the ways he’s hiding his feelings. I am so into this series and that ending felt criminal to me. There are secrets, fake marriages, and betrayals abound. With so many secrets haunting them both that you aren’t sure how it’ll all shake down.
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Find Immortal Rose on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.