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coffeenbooks74's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I enjoyed this story of Mim and her mom Dahlia, who are aromateurs. Mim is a teenager trying to find her own path both at school and with her friends, hoping that she can make that work with the expectations set forth for her by her mom, and generations ago by her aromateur ancestors.
littleyarngoblin's review against another edition
5.0
Review to come closer to release date but oh my goodness. I love this book. It should definitely be on your to-read list
violinknitter's review
After three chapters: nope, not for me. Not in the mood for reading about a daughter with a controlling, narcissistic mother. And parts of this make no sense. In a world with eight BILLION people, these are supposedly the only two aromateurs on the entire planet?? You sure???
The descriptions and use of scents was fun, tho. Wouldn’t mind reading more books from the perspective of someone with synasthesia.
The descriptions and use of scents was fun, tho. Wouldn’t mind reading more books from the perspective of someone with synasthesia.
ifyouhappentoremember's review against another edition
4.0
This book is light, adorable and just what I needed right now. It was like smelling fresh baked cookies as you came home from school :)
libreroaming's review
3.0
Stacey Lee's track record of historical fiction has made me a great fan of hers, as I loved both Under a Painted Sky and Outrun the Moon, so when I heard she was going to do a contemporary book about a love witch I was very intrigued!
Like other Lee protagonists, Mim is a feisty girl with a deep devotion to her family that sometimes puts her at odds with her other desires. Her mother raised her by herself in a secluded farm area because they are "aromateurs," which means their supernatural sense of smell can be used to create love potions. Why just love potions and not other emotional assistance is just one question in a long line of others readers might have as the book goes on.
Creating a story where certain people could smell emotions was not something that strains belief for readers of fantasy or magical realism. And Stacey Lee often put little sayings of historical aromateurs at the beginning of each chapter, letting us feel a depth of tradition in this new concept. Unfortunately, a lot of that is undone in how poorly grafted their aromateurs exist in the world, and how their own rules often contradict others.
Mim's mother, Dahlia, says they are the last two aromateurs in existence. She explained that, because Mim's aunt fell in love she lost her powers forever, using her as a cautionary tale against emotional connections. And the reason why Dahlia had Mim and her powers was because she was artificially inseminated, showing how devoted she was to keeping up the practice. The fact that apparently all these other countries worth of aromateurs disappeared is explained away as a curse for falling in love.One we find out later is not real so...why are they the last family of aromateurs? There's also the matter that they can apparently make people fall in love with them just through touch and have to spray their affected associates with a Boy-Be-Gone concoction. Which seemingly contradicts that they were previously persecuted for that which is why the curse existed. Like I said, it's just very confusing.
Otherwise, there's very little in the way of concern for this supposedly ancient practice that is popular enough to get magazine articles written on it and everyone in Mim's school to know about it, but obscure enough to not be mobbed by scientists or A-lister clientele...or a simple google search to reveal that Mim's aunt is happily working as an aromateur in Hawaii? So the main source of this knowledge is Mim's mother, who has an obvious agenda for what she imparts. But even if Mim took everything at face value the contradicting rules regarding what they do, such as the secret that they can't accept money for their services but can accept private plane rides and...it just gets really complicated. Unnecessarily so.
For readers who don't mind contradicting or unexplained world building, the story offers a cute romance of Mim and the popular boy, Court. Her natural love witch issues make her reticent to interacting with him and give it a slow burn of denial for their mutual attraction. In their way is Court's ex-girlfriend, who is honestly right out of an 80's bullying manual and so cartoonishly mean it's hard to take seriously. Which is a shame because Lee manages to make their relationship complicated enough just by Mim's worries about interfering with his family's love life and the consent issues she has that his affection for her might just be chemically induced. She really didn't need a mean girl road block.
Ultimately, the magical realism of the story felt more like a plot complication than a real asset. Too many rules and unaddressed conflicts made it hard to really dwell in the world, in spite of Lee's gift for interesting scented description. Give it to readers who like new quirky protagonists and don't mind some handwavey explanations.
Like other Lee protagonists, Mim is a feisty girl with a deep devotion to her family that sometimes puts her at odds with her other desires. Her mother raised her by herself in a secluded farm area because they are "aromateurs," which means their supernatural sense of smell can be used to create love potions. Why just love potions and not other emotional assistance is just one question in a long line of others readers might have as the book goes on.
Creating a story where certain people could smell emotions was not something that strains belief for readers of fantasy or magical realism. And Stacey Lee often put little sayings of historical aromateurs at the beginning of each chapter, letting us feel a depth of tradition in this new concept. Unfortunately, a lot of that is undone in how poorly grafted their aromateurs exist in the world, and how their own rules often contradict others.
Mim's mother, Dahlia, says they are the last two aromateurs in existence. She explained that, because Mim's aunt fell in love she lost her powers forever, using her as a cautionary tale against emotional connections. And the reason why Dahlia had Mim and her powers was because she was artificially inseminated, showing how devoted she was to keeping up the practice. The fact that apparently all these other countries worth of aromateurs disappeared is explained away as a curse for falling in love.
Otherwise, there's very little in the way of concern for this supposedly ancient practice that is popular enough to get magazine articles written on it and everyone in Mim's school to know about it, but obscure enough to not be mobbed by scientists or A-lister clientele...
For readers who don't mind contradicting or unexplained world building, the story offers a cute romance of Mim and the popular boy, Court. Her natural love witch issues make her reticent to interacting with him and give it a slow burn of denial for their mutual attraction. In their way is Court's ex-girlfriend, who is honestly right out of an 80's bullying manual and so cartoonishly mean it's hard to take seriously. Which is a shame because Lee manages to make their relationship complicated enough just by Mim's worries about interfering with his family's love life and the consent issues she has that his affection for her might just be chemically induced. She really didn't need a mean girl road block.
Ultimately, the magical realism of the story felt more like a plot complication than a real asset. Too many rules and unaddressed conflicts made it hard to really dwell in the world, in spite of Lee's gift for interesting scented description. Give it to readers who like new quirky protagonists and don't mind some handwavey explanations.
hastings91's review against another edition
4.0
3.85/5 to be annoyingly exact.
Really fun and adorable! I love Stacey Lee's writing style and this did not disappoint. I also loved the whole concept of arometours and how that was incorporated into the story. The characters were all very enjoyable as well as super diverse (multi-racial protagonist, queer Samoan character, Muslim side char, and a Latina antagonist who isn't stereotyped). Mim was a great mc and I liked Court and Kali a lot as well. My biggest issue with the book was definitely the pacing, especially towards the middle part. Some things felt unnecessarily drawn out. Also some of the romance while cute was a bit cheesy but not uncommon to the genre, so if you are more into the ya romance category than I am you likely wouldn't mind.
Really fun and adorable! I love Stacey Lee's writing style and this did not disappoint. I also loved the whole concept of arometours and how that was incorporated into the story. The characters were all very enjoyable as well as super diverse (multi-racial protagonist, queer Samoan character, Muslim side char, and a Latina antagonist who isn't stereotyped). Mim was a great mc and I liked Court and Kali a lot as well. My biggest issue with the book was definitely the pacing, especially towards the middle part. Some things felt unnecessarily drawn out. Also some of the romance while cute was a bit cheesy but not uncommon to the genre, so if you are more into the ya romance category than I am you likely wouldn't mind.