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Let me start this review by saying that I liked this book. It gladly surprised me. I couldn’t put it down. I read it in three days. I got hooked from the get go. The title fits the story perfectly. The characters are very well presented. You immediately bond with Danielle. Her character, her poise, her courage, her entrepreneurship, the way she is described throughout the book:

He caught his breath, not because of her bedraggled appearance, but rather because of the way she stood, so straight and tall. Courageous.

What a beautiful woman. She moved with grace, she was entirely feminine, and yet, she possessed incredible inner strength. She’s a survivor.

Even in her casual white shirt and cotton pants, she was clearly an independent woman in charge of her destiny. She was so… He paused, searching for words. ,i>So sophisticated, so self-assured.

Her every movement transfixed him; she was graceful and refined. She’d become a woman. An elegant woman.

See what I mean? You want to be like her. She is a woman in all the sense of the word, with virtues and flaws of course. Danielle is a Phoenix. She has it all to resurge from the ashes. The perfect heroine for this story.

Scent of Triumph makes you travel back in time to Europe and America. At a time where the world faced many drastic changes during the pre and post-World War II periods. Jan Moran does a fantastic job in describing the settings. She even describes you with great knowledge and details the scents. The flower fields in Grasse, the desolation and destruction of the war, Danielle’s neighborhood in America, the luxurious Hollywood lifestyle to name a few. You can’t avoid being transported to each place and time, and actually feeling like you are actually there.

The story has it all: action, spies, Hollywood glam and drama, pain, sorrow, betrayal, happiness, love and passion. It’s a great ride for the senses. If you’re planning your summer reads, I recommend you to include Scent of Triumph in your TBR list.

I gave it 4 stars. I didn’t give it 5 stars for two reasons. One being the fact that after living in full detail Danielle’s life, I was expecting a little more detail in end. I’m referring to Nicky. Sure, he was young when he had to run for his life and leave Sofia, but giving him post war amnesia for me was too much of a safe way to get his story out of the way. In the end, the book left me wanting to know more of what the little boy went through before reuniting with Danielle. The other one is in regards to Danielle’s indecision towards the love of her life. It annoyed me how she treated Jon in the end. Their love was clear and inevitable from the get go yet she made him fly high in the sky to abruptly cut his wings short and pull him back to the ground too many times for my taste.
Other than that, Scent of Triumph is a good book to read.

On a personal note, I love perfumes. Back in high school I had a dream of becoming a perfumer one day. Life made me take some detours that got me far away from that dream but who knows, maybe someday I’ll get inspired by Danielle…

Danielle had never started a business. But if others can do it, so can I.

This is exactly what you take from this book. If you fight for it, you can achieve it. Your hard work and sacrifice in the end is worth it so you can even taste the Scent of Triumph.