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La Vie en Roses #3
A Crown of Bitter Orange
Childhood friends.
Tristan Rosier might have asked Malorie Monsard to marry him when he was five years old, but things had only gone downhill from there. She’d spent the rest of their lives ignoring him, abandoning him, and destroying his perfumes. Now she was back, to wreak who knew what havoc on his life.
Lifelong enemies.
Tristan might choose to dismiss the generations-long enmity between their two families, but Malorie didn’t have that privilege. Like all the other privileges wealthy, gorgeous Tristan took for granted that she couldn’t. But if she was going to restore her family company to glory, she might just need his help.
Or the perfect match?
They’d known each other all their lives. Could these childhood friends and lifelong enemies ever uncross their stars and find happily ever after?
Laura Florand, bestselling author of The Chocolate Kiss, combines lush description, smart dialogue, provocative sensuality, and the perfume of love itself in A Crown of Bitter Orange, an irresistibly lush novel that is an ode to the scents and pleasures of the south of France and the beauty of falling in love.
Tristan Rosier might have asked Malorie Monsard to marry him when he was five years old, but things had only gone downhill from there. She’d spent the rest of their lives ignoring him, abandoning him, and destroying his perfumes. Now she was back, to wreak who knew what havoc on his life.
Lifelong enemies.
Tristan might choose to dismiss the generations-long enmity between their two families, but Malorie didn’t have that privilege. Like all the other privileges wealthy, gorgeous Tristan took for granted that she couldn’t. But if she was going to restore her family company to glory, she might just need his help.
Or the perfect match?
They’d known each other all their lives. Could these childhood friends and lifelong enemies ever uncross their stars and find happily ever after?
Laura Florand, bestselling author of The Chocolate Kiss, combines lush description, smart dialogue, provocative sensuality, and the perfume of love itself in A Crown of Bitter Orange, an irresistibly lush novel that is an ode to the scents and pleasures of the south of France and the beauty of falling in love.
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2017
21 people are currently reading
804 people want to read
About the author
Laura Florand
30 books909 followersLaura Florand is the international bestselling and award-winning author of fifteen books, including the Vie en Roses series (Once Upon a Rose), the Paris Hearts series (All for You), and the Amour et Chocolat series (The Chocolate Thief). Selected by NPR for their Top 100 Romance list, her books have appeared in ten languages, been nominated for RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book of the Year, received the RT Seal of Excellence and numerous starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and been recommended by USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.
She was born in Georgia, but the travel bug bit her early. After a Fulbright year in Tahiti, a semester in Spain, and backpacking everywhere from New Zealand to Greece, she ended up living in Paris, where she met and married her own handsome Frenchman, a story told in her first book Blame It on Paris. Now a lecturer at Duke University, she is very dedicated to her research into French chocolate. For a glimpse behind the scenes of some of that research as well as recommendations for US chocolate, make sure to check out her website: www.lauraflorand.com.
She was born in Georgia, but the travel bug bit her early. After a Fulbright year in Tahiti, a semester in Spain, and backpacking everywhere from New Zealand to Greece, she ended up living in Paris, where she met and married her own handsome Frenchman, a story told in her first book Blame It on Paris. Now a lecturer at Duke University, she is very dedicated to her research into French chocolate. For a glimpse behind the scenes of some of that research as well as recommendations for US chocolate, make sure to check out her website: www.lauraflorand.com.
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January 20, 2018
Before I start, what you need to know is this : Reading my review of A Crown of Bitter Orange might be the worst choice you could make, and here's why :
1) I am not sensible to the charms of Provence. At all. Because I'm probably a sociopath. Or something. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate going there (alright, I'm lying, I really don't) but... in my head, it's nothing special, and I'm not about to take a selfie in front of a Lavender field. Therefore the descriptions, the atmosphere, the general admiration for the countryside... fell flat to me. Sue me.
2) There's only so much repetitiveness I can take. Seriously now. There must be what, three members of Tristan's family who use the exact same method to squeeze the truth out of Marjorie, and it works every. damn. time.
Tristan's grandma : Tristan has no redeeming quality, really...
Marjorie : How DARE you? He is the sun of the sky, the expression of life itself, the chocolate chips on the freaking cookies
Me : Awwwwwww
Tristan's cousin : LMAO, Tristan? What a piece of work ugh
Marjorie : How DARE you? He is the sun of the sky, the expression of life itself, the chocolate chips on the freaking cookies
Me : Awww but look
Tristan's granddad : How could someone love Tristan I mean
Marjorie : How DARE you? He is the sun of the sky, the expression of life itself, the chocolate chips on the freaking cookies
Me : MARJORIE! ARE YOU FOR REAL?!
See, Tristan is very close to his family, and they obviously love each others. Hence why I had a hard time buying into their act the first time. On the second, well, it was still a little bit cute. The last one though? Nope.
3) The plot was... very much lacking in my opinion, with no real obstacles or progression.
At this point, you might wonder why I gave A Crown of Bitter Orange a somewhat positive three stars rating. I FEEL YOU.
That's simple, actually : I liked both characters a lot. Tristan first, because he was a nice, adorable love interest who managed to melt my heart. Marjorie, too, for her driven mind and her independence.
Plus, they have great chemistry. They work. How could I not root for them? HOW? And this comes from a reader who rarely enjoys second-chance romances. By the way, contrary to some readers, I do not think that sleeping with other women before meeting with Marjorie again 'tainted' (ugh) Tristan's love in any way. It's actually pretty realistic, in my opinion? Not to mention that he stops his player act before the beginning of the book, and that Marjorie never slut-shames said women, so... I don't quite get where the problem lies?
#AmClueless
Are you actually implying that... that... *GASP* 'true love' would be linked to chastity?
#LOL
As for the writing, if sometimes a bit cheesy, I can't deny that it was compelling and very readable. One note though : if the French parts were free of mistakes (woot!), it stayed very weird for me to read the conversations of two French characters... in English, and as a French reader I couldn't be 100% fooled. Indeed some idiomatic expressions used just... do not translate into French, lol.
Well, what can I say. Perhaps it takes a very tired and busy Anna to get a probably generous three star rating.
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December 14, 2016Coming January 24, 2017! Here's a little excerpt for you guys. Hope you enjoy! :)
***
EXCERPT
© Laura Florand, 2016
Well, look at that. Prince Charming. Malorie should have known she’d stumble over him the instant she set foot back in his kingdom. The man was the bane of her existence even when she was halfway around the world.
She put her hands on her hips and looked down at him, so peacefully dozing out in the open that he hadn’t even stirred at the sound of her feet in the great white pebbles by the river.
Tristan Rosier asleep looked exactly how Malorie had always imagined. Gorgeous. Insouciant. Not vulnerable in the least, except to being over-kissed by the sun. A wicked little smile curving his mouth as if that sun was a woman and he was quite used to this kind of treatment.
Shirtless and completely ripped, the definition of his muscles visible even relaxed in sleep. He’d probably just come down from that beautiful limestone cliff face rising on the other side of the gorge and his muscles were still pumped from it. One hand held a half-eaten apple, the other a small white paperback—Giono’s Hussard sur le toit—and they had both slumped to his torso when he dozed off. In full sun.
She sighed. It would serve Tristan right to have his nose peeling for a week, but then forty years from now, if he got skin cancer, it would be all her fault, and the last thing a Monsard needed was more lives on her conscience.
Plus, knowing Tristan, a peeling nose would probably improve his ability to flirt with hot actresses, not weaken it—he always managed flips like that. And his ability to flirt with hot actresses was already freaking annoying.
Fine. She dipped her hands in the milky green river, high from the recently melted snow in the peaks, limestone giving it that beautiful color. She carried the water back across the round white pebbles, tightened herself and double-checked her buttons to make sure her clothes weren’t going to melt off as soon as he winked at her, and then tossed the icy water over his bare torso.
Muscles flicked like a cat’s—powerful, lean, surging awake—and he opened his eyes, blinking sleepily at her as if she was all shadow in too much light. “Malorie Monsard,” he said, with a sensual, lazy pleasure, as if he’d just woken up on a Sunday morning and was quite happy to see that she was the woman draped in his bathrobe bringing him coffee in the hopes he would ask her to stay.
She had to dive fast into irony to protect herself, as she always did with him.
“You make a good Sleeping Beauty, Tristan.” She used the masculine beau au bois dormant. “Or should I say Snow White?” A nod to the half-eaten apple resting against his washboard abs.
Tristan sat up, blinking, his eyes clearing. “Malorie Monsard.” His voice flattened. He shifted to sit on the rock against which his head had been resting, cushioned by his backpack. “Trust you to replace the kiss in the story with ice water on a man’s skin.”
Yeah. Tristan had been as friendly to her as to any other female on the planet when they were in high school, but when they met again in New York, it had not gone well. For him.
Supple, expressive eyebrows that could lilt up subtly in amusement, invite a woman in with laughter, tease her wickedly, did what they always did when she was around. They drew together. “Malorie,” he said for the third time, looking around them at the limestone cliffs and the rushing spring river as if finally processing it. “What the hell are you doing here?”
***
EXCERPT
© Laura Florand, 2016
Well, look at that. Prince Charming. Malorie should have known she’d stumble over him the instant she set foot back in his kingdom. The man was the bane of her existence even when she was halfway around the world.
She put her hands on her hips and looked down at him, so peacefully dozing out in the open that he hadn’t even stirred at the sound of her feet in the great white pebbles by the river.
Tristan Rosier asleep looked exactly how Malorie had always imagined. Gorgeous. Insouciant. Not vulnerable in the least, except to being over-kissed by the sun. A wicked little smile curving his mouth as if that sun was a woman and he was quite used to this kind of treatment.
Shirtless and completely ripped, the definition of his muscles visible even relaxed in sleep. He’d probably just come down from that beautiful limestone cliff face rising on the other side of the gorge and his muscles were still pumped from it. One hand held a half-eaten apple, the other a small white paperback—Giono’s Hussard sur le toit—and they had both slumped to his torso when he dozed off. In full sun.
She sighed. It would serve Tristan right to have his nose peeling for a week, but then forty years from now, if he got skin cancer, it would be all her fault, and the last thing a Monsard needed was more lives on her conscience.
Plus, knowing Tristan, a peeling nose would probably improve his ability to flirt with hot actresses, not weaken it—he always managed flips like that. And his ability to flirt with hot actresses was already freaking annoying.
Fine. She dipped her hands in the milky green river, high from the recently melted snow in the peaks, limestone giving it that beautiful color. She carried the water back across the round white pebbles, tightened herself and double-checked her buttons to make sure her clothes weren’t going to melt off as soon as he winked at her, and then tossed the icy water over his bare torso.
Muscles flicked like a cat’s—powerful, lean, surging awake—and he opened his eyes, blinking sleepily at her as if she was all shadow in too much light. “Malorie Monsard,” he said, with a sensual, lazy pleasure, as if he’d just woken up on a Sunday morning and was quite happy to see that she was the woman draped in his bathrobe bringing him coffee in the hopes he would ask her to stay.
She had to dive fast into irony to protect herself, as she always did with him.
“You make a good Sleeping Beauty, Tristan.” She used the masculine beau au bois dormant. “Or should I say Snow White?” A nod to the half-eaten apple resting against his washboard abs.
Tristan sat up, blinking, his eyes clearing. “Malorie Monsard.” His voice flattened. He shifted to sit on the rock against which his head had been resting, cushioned by his backpack. “Trust you to replace the kiss in the story with ice water on a man’s skin.”
Yeah. Tristan had been as friendly to her as to any other female on the planet when they were in high school, but when they met again in New York, it had not gone well. For him.
Supple, expressive eyebrows that could lilt up subtly in amusement, invite a woman in with laughter, tease her wickedly, did what they always did when she was around. They drew together. “Malorie,” he said for the third time, looking around them at the limestone cliffs and the rushing spring river as if finally processing it. “What the hell are you doing here?”
February 7, 2017
All his life, he had been pushing himself at Malorie, from stealing her pencils to trying to force her to respect his perfumes, always, always, always trying to tell her, Look at me.
Play with me, talk to me, notice me, admire me. I admire you.
Tristan Rosier is charming and a nice guy. He likes being happy and making those he cares about happy too. He’s known Malorie since he was four years old, and he realised his true feelings for her when he was fourteen. But no matter how hard he tried to get her attention, she always ignored him, then abandoned him, and destroyed his best perfume.
Malorie Monsard has spent her whole life trying to overcome and run from the shame of her family name. She’s always admired and liked Tristan, more than she should, but she knows that his friendliness and attention in school has always just been because he’s a nice guy. But Malorie is logical and sensible, and changing Tristan’s beloved perfume to a more affordable one, was the best decision she could make. Tristan might have always ignored the fact that their family has been enemies for generations, but Malorie has never had that luxury and enemies is what they are.
“What do you want from me?” she asked, furious with him for how desperate and confused and wanting he made her feel.
“I already told you that, Malorie.” He went to the doors, paused, and looked back over his shoulder to capture her eyes one last time. “You.”
Or is it? When Malorie moves back to Grasse after being away for years, restoring her family company seems to be the right thing to do and Tristan the guy who could help her with it. But can Malorie trust Tristan when she learned very young that being alone is the safe choice?
Sometimes it hurt her heart how much she really, really liked Tristan.
Malorie was such a great heroine. Her family’s shameful past and the betrayal she learned very young from her charming father, made her guard her heart against everyone, never letting anyone close enough to hurt her again. I loved how feisty she was and I admired how hard she has worked to make something out of herself. She has major trust issues, which was totally understandable. I loved how she saw Tristan, how she admired and loved his charm and love of life.
“You had this space around you.
That was so…quiet. Clean. I felt like a dog distracted by every single noise and scent around me and you carried with you a purity of air. I never could understand why, the older we got, the more you locked me out of it, when I needed it so much.”
Tristan was very different from his gruff and serious cousins. He’s a charmer and a flirt, happy with life. I liked how his family meant everything to him, and how important it was to him to make them happy. And I loved that he had such a huge crush on Malorie in school, how hard he tried to get her to notice him and how he felt about her, but he was so subtle about it she never realised his true feelings and of course he then thought she didn’t feel the same way. And strangely enough he was such a complex character. His charming and happy nature was so good at hiding his true feelings, especially later on about Malorie. He was a lot more guarded now with his feelings about her than he was in school. He had quite a playboy reputation, women love him and he seemed to have enjoyed them, but Malorie was the only one who ever mattered to him, who owned his heart. At times his playboy past did upset me, but knowing that he thought Malorie never felt the same about him, it was difficult to fault him for it.
Because there was something he’d never understood about Malorie, not since that day he’d learned that she’d hiked all the way to Paris by herself and set up a life there. When she was fighting, who had her back?
And if no one did, why had she never taken him up on his tacit offer to let that person be him? Didn’t she trust him to be good at it?
I loved Tristan and Malorie together. They have such a complicated relationship, full of all the emotions they never expressed, all the desires they had never given voice to. And in its place was lots of heated hostility. I loved the animosity between them in the beginning, how passionate their anger was. Both were secretly infatuated with the other for years, never knowing that their feelings were reciprocated. I loved the history between them, how their relationship and love seemed to have grown so strong over many years, from childhood friends, to secret crushes, to enemies and then to so much more. I’m so glad that they got a second chance at their love.
I adore the setting of this series. I would love to move to the south of France and live in its beauty. And I love learning so much about the perfume industry, it’s so fascinating.
The Rosier family is amazing, and I love how close they are to each other, how much they care. And I’m really intrigued by the mysterious and absent Lucien and after that ending I really can’t wait to read the next book!
You can’t go wrong with this author. Her writing is so beautiful, so romantic and heartfelt. I’m so in love with this series! It's a definite must read to all romance fans.
February 7, 2017
4.5 Stars
Coming back to Grasse after her grandmother’s death is bittersweet for Malorie. She loves her grandmother’s countryside home, La Maison de Monsard with its fragrant bitter orange grove. But coming back brings back years of memories, the family’s shame over a past betrayal, and Tristan. After years of trusting her charming father to have their family’s best interests at heart, and being disappointed time and time again, Malorie has learned to only rely on herself. She finds it hard to believe that charismatic Tristan genuinely cares for her anymore than a passing flirtation. Yet, that playful boy she was always paired with in the classroom throughout school, turned into a beautiful man, the one she fantasizes about on lonely nights.
Tristan has always tried to capture Malorie’s attention, but she never seemed interested, but he’s grown up now and figures a few things out:
He’d spent all those years in high school unable to touch Malorie not because she was busy dismissing him as an immature trouble-maker but because she was too proud to risk him looking down at her?
And the future seems to open up with possibilities!
One of the reasons I love this series is because of the beautiful setting: the French countryside! Through Ms. Florand’s gorgeous descriptions, I could almost smell sweet scent of orange blossoms wafting on the breeze through the Monsard’s orchard, high above the Mediterranean Sea!
I adore this big, close family! The Rosier Cousins all team up to tease Tristan, payback for his needling while Matt and Damien were figuring out their own romances. And of course, the dreaded ALIEN PHOTO shows up!! The Cousins were very eager to bring that historical gem out to share with Malorie! The family’s matriarch, Tante Collette is there to dole out much needed wisdom and understanding to Malorie and Tristan over a garden lunch. I love the respect and care the family shows to her! I hope she does live to one hundred twenty-three!
I’m always impressed by Laura Florand’s amazing insight into feelings and motivations. She really gets to the heart of her characters, making them come alive with layers of complex emotions. I felt their attraction, yearning, and vulnerabilities keenly. Both Malorie and Tristan had misconceptions about their feelings through the years, but growing up gives clarity that helps sort all that out. This was such a beautiful, emotional story! I eagerly await Lucien’s story!
A copy was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
This review is also posted at The Readers Den.
Coming back to Grasse after her grandmother’s death is bittersweet for Malorie. She loves her grandmother’s countryside home, La Maison de Monsard with its fragrant bitter orange grove. But coming back brings back years of memories, the family’s shame over a past betrayal, and Tristan. After years of trusting her charming father to have their family’s best interests at heart, and being disappointed time and time again, Malorie has learned to only rely on herself. She finds it hard to believe that charismatic Tristan genuinely cares for her anymore than a passing flirtation. Yet, that playful boy she was always paired with in the classroom throughout school, turned into a beautiful man, the one she fantasizes about on lonely nights.
Tristan has always tried to capture Malorie’s attention, but she never seemed interested, but he’s grown up now and figures a few things out:
He’d spent all those years in high school unable to touch Malorie not because she was busy dismissing him as an immature trouble-maker but because she was too proud to risk him looking down at her?
And the future seems to open up with possibilities!
One of the reasons I love this series is because of the beautiful setting: the French countryside! Through Ms. Florand’s gorgeous descriptions, I could almost smell sweet scent of orange blossoms wafting on the breeze through the Monsard’s orchard, high above the Mediterranean Sea!
I adore this big, close family! The Rosier Cousins all team up to tease Tristan, payback for his needling while Matt and Damien were figuring out their own romances. And of course, the dreaded ALIEN PHOTO shows up!! The Cousins were very eager to bring that historical gem out to share with Malorie! The family’s matriarch, Tante Collette is there to dole out much needed wisdom and understanding to Malorie and Tristan over a garden lunch. I love the respect and care the family shows to her! I hope she does live to one hundred twenty-three!
I’m always impressed by Laura Florand’s amazing insight into feelings and motivations. She really gets to the heart of her characters, making them come alive with layers of complex emotions. I felt their attraction, yearning, and vulnerabilities keenly. Both Malorie and Tristan had misconceptions about their feelings through the years, but growing up gives clarity that helps sort all that out. This was such a beautiful, emotional story! I eagerly await Lucien’s story!
A copy was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
This review is also posted at The Readers Den.
February 9, 2017
Disappointing second chance romance, very contrived. H's promiscuous past ( during the separation) very very much in your face. Author's efforts to convince the reader that the H has been pining after the h while sleeping around having "fantastic" sex with hot models, actresses, hometown girls across two continents for almost two decades sketchy at best. H even says that saying he'd been pining for the h wasn't true and that wouldn't have been fair to all the women he'd dated in that time.
It wasn't as if H didn't have access to the h, they were in the same circles, H had friendly chats with h at same parties he was hooking up with OW. He didn't even pay her that much attention, he was too busy flirting, sleeping around blatantly. H/h also worked together. If the H was so into h, I'd have thought he'd have made more of an effort to woo her all those many many chances he had and kept it zipped up at least in front of her.
Back in their small town even the banker h had to go to for a loan was the H's ex that he put in a good word for the h( its hinted), wonder how many of his exes the h would have to come across:( Lots and all over the place I imagine:((
Plus when h left their town after school, the H who was sad for a minute, was "delighted" to find other girls loved him and was only to happy to enjoy sex , so much that his own mother cautioned him to use condoms all the time - every time she spoke to him, she never forgot to remind him! And the H admits that it was a good thing she reminded him!! The h was out of sight, out of mind for him! I mean its not that I want the guy to be depressed, but clearly the H's happiness or libido were perfectly fine without the h, IMO the H was one of those guys who's perfectly fine single : he already IS joyously happy as he is and doesn't need a romance HEA complicating his life.
Also the blurb says the H proposed to the h when they were 5 years old. Even though the h tries to remind him of this incident, the H is never able to recall this. But right after that happened, a bunch of little girls dragged the H away and had a play-wedding ceremony with him and he remembered being a part of that perfectly fine. That is probably a sign.
Verdict: One of those books that I have no faith in the HEA. 1 star.
It wasn't as if H didn't have access to the h, they were in the same circles, H had friendly chats with h at same parties he was hooking up with OW. He didn't even pay her that much attention, he was too busy flirting, sleeping around blatantly. H/h also worked together. If the H was so into h, I'd have thought he'd have made more of an effort to woo her all those many many chances he had and kept it zipped up at least in front of her.
Back in their small town even the banker h had to go to for a loan was the H's ex that he put in a good word for the h( its hinted), wonder how many of his exes the h would have to come across:( Lots and all over the place I imagine:((
Plus when h left their town after school, the H who was sad for a minute, was "delighted" to find other girls loved him and was only to happy to enjoy sex , so much that his own mother cautioned him to use condoms all the time - every time she spoke to him, she never forgot to remind him! And the H admits that it was a good thing she reminded him!! The h was out of sight, out of mind for him! I mean its not that I want the guy to be depressed, but clearly the H's happiness or libido were perfectly fine without the h, IMO the H was one of those guys who's perfectly fine single : he already IS joyously happy as he is and doesn't need a romance HEA complicating his life.
Also the blurb says the H proposed to the h when they were 5 years old. Even though the h tries to remind him of this incident, the H is never able to recall this. But right after that happened, a bunch of little girls dragged the H away and had a play-wedding ceremony with him and he remembered being a part of that perfectly fine. That is probably a sign.
Verdict: One of those books that I have no faith in the HEA. 1 star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2023
Reread: January 2023
My fav thing about Tristan this time around is how he was so sure he had it re: Malorie and the Monsard company and ignored his cousins and Tante's warnings, and then ended up with his face flat on the ground.
Reread: Sept 2017
Upping a .5 star to make it a 5 because this book deserved it, ok? Ok. I just love Tristan and Malorie so much ugh-
Also I can't believe I missed that Elena in this book is the same Elena in Lucien's book. On to A Kiss in Lavender now woooo-
First read: Jan 2017
4.5 stars
WHAT A GEM.
So Eri and I started a romance blog together early this year, and we did a dual review (our first one!) on this book <3 on Scoundrels & Seduction.
Review:
An actual transcript of the texts Lisa and I sent each other about this book would, unfortunately, be quite spoilery and would be entirely made up of many exclamation marks and all caps words. It's become quite the tradition to have enthusiastic discussions about our favorite books, and of course, A Crown of Bitter Orange became one of them. No surprise really, considering how much we both adore her books.
For this review, we've broken down things we like into bullet points of a sort:
Laura Florand's Descriptive Writing
Lisa: I think what attracts me from the beginning about Laura Florand's books is how descriptive her writing is. In Amour et Chocolat series, for example, the way the chocolate making is described in The Chocolate Thief, and macarons and hot chocolate making in The Chocolate Touch, is just so realistic it makes you hungry for them.
It's the same thing with this series; the way Laura described the rose and jasmine fields or in this book, the orange blossoms is just so picturesque. I love how the description of each scent is so vivid.
Eri: I actually picked up this series because of Lisa's very persuasive love for Laura Florand, but I definitely agree that her writing is one of the things that stood out to me when I read her books. She writes the details of desserts and fragrances so well that I can almost see or smell them. It doesn't just stay with the fragrances in this series of course, and I was able to imagine the locations so vividly, it was like I was there in person, in addition to feeling the tension and chemistry in every scene.
The Plot
Lisa: Another thing that I like about this book and also this series as a whole is how it features different flowers in different books. Like we have roses in Once Upon a Rose and jasmines in A Wish upon a Jasmine and now orange blossoms.
Also, don't forget about the mystery of the missing heirlooms! The longtime fight (or is it?) between Jean-Jacques Rosier and Colette Delatour with Jean-Jacques accusing Colette of stealing the family heirlooms are priceless, and so are the reactions of the Rosiers when they began to turn up one by one by the end of each story.
Eri: Yes to all the things that Lisa said, but I also love that each of the books focuses on a journey or quest of sorts for the heroine. In this book, it's Malorie wanting to restore her family company, and I like that in each of the books, the heroine's dreams or goals aren't secondary to the grand Rosier legacy, but balanced well.
The men in this series are all Rosier men, and they each play a different role in the family business, so that was interesting to see as well. And while they might be terrible at expressing their intent or motivations (*coughs at the thought of Damien*), they are quite supportive of the heroine and I like that both parties are on equal footing, for the most part. I never found the perfume industry to be so enticing, but this series has given me a whole new appreciation to it.
The Rosier Family
Eri: I adore the Rosier family. Laura always writes relationships well, and in her other series, there's some very strong friendships, but this one has the addition of the heroes all being part of the same family, and I love seeing how close they are to each other. They all tease and mess with each other, but underneath is that Rosier bond, holding them together, and seeing the other members of the family, like the mothers and of course, Tante Collete and Jean-Jacques, being so supportive is wonderful as well.
Lisa: Ugh, I agree, the Rosiers are the best. I envy their close-knitted relationship with each other, and how the cousins have each other's backs despite their differences. I love the distinct role that Laura set for each and every character; like how Matt is the land and Damien the warrior, and Tristan the glue that keeps everybody together.
Tristan Rosier & Malorie Monsard
Lisa: Okay, I'm always about dark and broody guys, but Tristan Rosier captures my heart so effortlessly. He intrigued me ever since we met him in Matt's book; he's so playful and full of life it's hard to not like him. I love how he dances around his cousins, teases them and gets away with it, and I love that we get to find out why he behaves that way in this book. We also get to see another side of him when he's with Malorie--he's so protective of her, and she's the only one who gets under his skin and makes him angry and frustrated, so that kind of adds another layer to Tristan.
I adore Malorie too! She kind of reminds me of Jess, the way she's so determined to make her own way and how hardworking and diligent she is. I love that she slowly learns to trust another person other than herself and that she doesn't have to do everything alone.
Eri: Honestly, I knew I would love Tristan's book just because he's so charming and playful, and with a heart of gold, but when I read the synopsis for this book I was ecstatic! The whole childhood friends/enemies type of set up is what I live for in romance books, and I knew Laura would do it justice, so I went in expecting to enjoy it, and ended up falling head over heels for Tristan. He's a little mysterious, as Lisa said, since he seems to be light-hearted about everything in the other books, so getting to see beneath that veneer and into the depth he hides behind it was great. When he's around Malorie, you see how that light-hearted attitude backfires on him a bit, and seeing him lose his cool around her just made me love him more. You get a hint from the synopsis that Tristan has feelings for Malorie for a while and seeing that longing manifest into the cloak of protectiveness and genuine caring was a delight.
Malorie is a wonderful heroine too, and I really loved her independent spirit, she tries and works so hard. She's less open than Tristan, but the way she slowly lets down her guard around him as the book goes on was so sweet, and I like how she may feel the family vendetta strongly, but it doesn't stop her from knowing who Tristan is and appreciating his good qualities. As per usual, Laura writes books where the characters are well-matched for each other, and this was no exception.
Final Thoughts
Lisa: Jess and Damien are still my ultimate couple but Tristan and Malorie come close! Well, they tie with Matt and Layla because I can't choose between those two for the second spot. I can't wait for the next book in this series; I need Lucien's book like last year.
Eri: For me, Jess and Damien probably tie with Tristan and Malorie for first spot now, though Matt and Layla are a very close second. I feel like I say this too often, but every new book of hers seems to be a favorite, they're just that good. Likewise, I want to read Lucien's book so badly but I definitely am curious to see whether Antoine will get his own book, I am dying to know more about him, and I have a lot of theories right now.
Thank you to the lovely Laura Florand for providing us with a review copy.
My fav thing about Tristan this time around is how he was so sure he had it re: Malorie and the Monsard company and ignored his cousins and Tante's warnings, and then ended up with his face flat on the ground.
Reread: Sept 2017
Upping a .5 star to make it a 5 because this book deserved it, ok? Ok. I just love Tristan and Malorie so much ugh-
Also I can't believe I missed that Elena in this book is the same Elena in Lucien's book. On to A Kiss in Lavender now woooo-
First read: Jan 2017
4.5 stars
WHAT A GEM.
So Eri and I started a romance blog together early this year, and we did a dual review (our first one!) on this book <3 on Scoundrels & Seduction.
Review:
An actual transcript of the texts Lisa and I sent each other about this book would, unfortunately, be quite spoilery and would be entirely made up of many exclamation marks and all caps words. It's become quite the tradition to have enthusiastic discussions about our favorite books, and of course, A Crown of Bitter Orange became one of them. No surprise really, considering how much we both adore her books.
For this review, we've broken down things we like into bullet points of a sort:
Laura Florand's Descriptive Writing
Lisa: I think what attracts me from the beginning about Laura Florand's books is how descriptive her writing is. In Amour et Chocolat series, for example, the way the chocolate making is described in The Chocolate Thief, and macarons and hot chocolate making in The Chocolate Touch, is just so realistic it makes you hungry for them.
It's the same thing with this series; the way Laura described the rose and jasmine fields or in this book, the orange blossoms is just so picturesque. I love how the description of each scent is so vivid.
Eri: I actually picked up this series because of Lisa's very persuasive love for Laura Florand, but I definitely agree that her writing is one of the things that stood out to me when I read her books. She writes the details of desserts and fragrances so well that I can almost see or smell them. It doesn't just stay with the fragrances in this series of course, and I was able to imagine the locations so vividly, it was like I was there in person, in addition to feeling the tension and chemistry in every scene.
The Plot
Lisa: Another thing that I like about this book and also this series as a whole is how it features different flowers in different books. Like we have roses in Once Upon a Rose and jasmines in A Wish upon a Jasmine and now orange blossoms.
Also, don't forget about the mystery of the missing heirlooms! The longtime fight (or is it?) between Jean-Jacques Rosier and Colette Delatour with Jean-Jacques accusing Colette of stealing the family heirlooms are priceless, and so are the reactions of the Rosiers when they began to turn up one by one by the end of each story.
Eri: Yes to all the things that Lisa said, but I also love that each of the books focuses on a journey or quest of sorts for the heroine. In this book, it's Malorie wanting to restore her family company, and I like that in each of the books, the heroine's dreams or goals aren't secondary to the grand Rosier legacy, but balanced well.
The men in this series are all Rosier men, and they each play a different role in the family business, so that was interesting to see as well. And while they might be terrible at expressing their intent or motivations (*coughs at the thought of Damien*), they are quite supportive of the heroine and I like that both parties are on equal footing, for the most part. I never found the perfume industry to be so enticing, but this series has given me a whole new appreciation to it.
The Rosier Family
Eri: I adore the Rosier family. Laura always writes relationships well, and in her other series, there's some very strong friendships, but this one has the addition of the heroes all being part of the same family, and I love seeing how close they are to each other. They all tease and mess with each other, but underneath is that Rosier bond, holding them together, and seeing the other members of the family, like the mothers and of course, Tante Collete and Jean-Jacques, being so supportive is wonderful as well.
Lisa: Ugh, I agree, the Rosiers are the best. I envy their close-knitted relationship with each other, and how the cousins have each other's backs despite their differences. I love the distinct role that Laura set for each and every character; like how Matt is the land and Damien the warrior, and Tristan the glue that keeps everybody together.
Tristan Rosier & Malorie Monsard
Lisa: Okay, I'm always about dark and broody guys, but Tristan Rosier captures my heart so effortlessly. He intrigued me ever since we met him in Matt's book; he's so playful and full of life it's hard to not like him. I love how he dances around his cousins, teases them and gets away with it, and I love that we get to find out why he behaves that way in this book. We also get to see another side of him when he's with Malorie--he's so protective of her, and she's the only one who gets under his skin and makes him angry and frustrated, so that kind of adds another layer to Tristan.
I adore Malorie too! She kind of reminds me of Jess, the way she's so determined to make her own way and how hardworking and diligent she is. I love that she slowly learns to trust another person other than herself and that she doesn't have to do everything alone.
Eri: Honestly, I knew I would love Tristan's book just because he's so charming and playful, and with a heart of gold, but when I read the synopsis for this book I was ecstatic! The whole childhood friends/enemies type of set up is what I live for in romance books, and I knew Laura would do it justice, so I went in expecting to enjoy it, and ended up falling head over heels for Tristan. He's a little mysterious, as Lisa said, since he seems to be light-hearted about everything in the other books, so getting to see beneath that veneer and into the depth he hides behind it was great. When he's around Malorie, you see how that light-hearted attitude backfires on him a bit, and seeing him lose his cool around her just made me love him more. You get a hint from the synopsis that Tristan has feelings for Malorie for a while and seeing that longing manifest into the cloak of protectiveness and genuine caring was a delight.
Malorie is a wonderful heroine too, and I really loved her independent spirit, she tries and works so hard. She's less open than Tristan, but the way she slowly lets down her guard around him as the book goes on was so sweet, and I like how she may feel the family vendetta strongly, but it doesn't stop her from knowing who Tristan is and appreciating his good qualities. As per usual, Laura writes books where the characters are well-matched for each other, and this was no exception.
Final Thoughts
Lisa: Jess and Damien are still my ultimate couple but Tristan and Malorie come close! Well, they tie with Matt and Layla because I can't choose between those two for the second spot. I can't wait for the next book in this series; I need Lucien's book like last year.
Eri: For me, Jess and Damien probably tie with Tristan and Malorie for first spot now, though Matt and Layla are a very close second. I feel like I say this too often, but every new book of hers seems to be a favorite, they're just that good. Likewise, I want to read Lucien's book so badly but I definitely am curious to see whether Antoine will get his own book, I am dying to know more about him, and I have a lot of theories right now.
Thank you to the lovely Laura Florand for providing us with a review copy.
February 7, 2017
Tristan and Malorie have known each other since childhood - their families have known each other for generations, as both are great makers of perfume in the Provence area. But their relationship has not always been on the best of terms. During the war, Malorie's great-grandfather sold out more than one person to the nazis where as Tristan's families were part of the Resistance. Tristan grew up with great pride thinking of his family, Malorie felt shame.
In school together, Tristan was all smiles and charm and Malorie hid and didn't want any attention from him as she saw him as a charmer who got everything too easily. As adults, Tristan has gone on to be an extremely successful perfumer, and at the age of twenty-nine has created some amazing perfumes all with the total support of his family. Malorie on the other hand has a family that has scattered. Her sisters have left to do their own thing, as has her mother. Malorie found herself working in the accounting department of a perfume company in New York, wanting to get away from the estate her grandmother owned and all of the memories there. But then her grandmother dies, and Malorie is drawn back to the old house, the orchard of bitter oranges, the scents of her childhood and what really is her passion. Can she rebuild her family's legacy? Can she put up with Tristan who is the king of perfumes?
Laura Florand puts the reader in her books. When she was writing her chocolate series, I could almost taste the chocolate as the chocolatiers were creating magnificent pieces. When she wrote about chefs, I was in the chaotic kitchen watching the masters at work. And now I'm in an orchard and the scents all around me feel so real. She does such a great job with the details.
If you love an enemies to lovers story, you are going to like this one. Tristan has had goo goo eyes over Malorie since he was a kid, but her tough outer shell never let him in. Growing up with a narcissistic father, Malorie has pushed everyone away, and now regrets it.
She wondered how you unlearned selfishness, when it was such a fundamental survival instinct in her family. She wondered how you became someone like her grandmother, willing to be the roots three granddaughters had needed, no matter how lonely it left her.
Finding her way back home, Malorie thinks a lot upon this. Not only if she will be able to start making perfumes, but what led her to leave her grandmother and all of her history, and now that her grandmother is gone, how she can make that up to her. However, her quiet thinking time is interrupted from Tristan, pretty surprised to see Malorie back at home. The last time he saw her, she was throwing his very unique and precious perfume on the ground, telling him in her accountant way that it was too expensive. He still holds a grudge.
Tristan is very successful, and while it appears that he walks around like he owns the world, he is pretty grounded. His family is everything to him. His grandfather, his parents, and his cousins - Tristan is the glue that holds them all together and he takes that job very seriously. He has always crushed on Malorie but she never let him get close. Malorie too reciprocated those feelings, but she was wary:
And Tristan would talk to her and smile at her and try to get her to talk to him, all that easy charm of his, and she always felt only one careless breath away from just falling so hard for him she'd never recover. She'd just be another one of the many, many girls at school who must have already found out how pleasurable it was to fall over backwards for Tristan and let him get everything he wanted.
These two have a history, so in present day when they are reunited, there is much charming flirtation on Tristan's part and much ignoring on Malorie's part. She feels like with their family history of her relative turning on his relatives during the war, he and his family must think poorly of her. She has a hard time getting past that. But eventually Tristan's persistence pays off, and Malorie realizes she is allowed to love him and enjoy him and the guilt and bad feelings she has been harboring for a long time go away.
Tristan is a gentleman through and through - a playful one - but a steadfast one. And one of the best things about all of Laura Florand's books is how romantic they are. She makes you wait for the payoff in this one, but oh how you just want to swoon and twirl in a circle when it happens.
Tristan:
"Do you know how pretty you are?" Tristan said softly. "I mean, really, really beautiful. I don't even know what it is, exactly. It's just when I'm up close to you, I feel like I can breathe. He paused. His lips quirked. "Sometimes much too hard. Like I'm getting ready for something...very physical."
And let's not leave Malorie out...
"I want you in this with me," she said helplessly. It went against her whole life policy. And yet..."You're the life of this place," she said softly. "You know all the sunlight in that perfume you made me yesterday? That's you."
An adorable romance with such a lovely setting. I can't wait to meet more of Tristan's cousins who get future books. They have very interesting stories.
Grade: B+
In school together, Tristan was all smiles and charm and Malorie hid and didn't want any attention from him as she saw him as a charmer who got everything too easily. As adults, Tristan has gone on to be an extremely successful perfumer, and at the age of twenty-nine has created some amazing perfumes all with the total support of his family. Malorie on the other hand has a family that has scattered. Her sisters have left to do their own thing, as has her mother. Malorie found herself working in the accounting department of a perfume company in New York, wanting to get away from the estate her grandmother owned and all of the memories there. But then her grandmother dies, and Malorie is drawn back to the old house, the orchard of bitter oranges, the scents of her childhood and what really is her passion. Can she rebuild her family's legacy? Can she put up with Tristan who is the king of perfumes?
Laura Florand puts the reader in her books. When she was writing her chocolate series, I could almost taste the chocolate as the chocolatiers were creating magnificent pieces. When she wrote about chefs, I was in the chaotic kitchen watching the masters at work. And now I'm in an orchard and the scents all around me feel so real. She does such a great job with the details.
If you love an enemies to lovers story, you are going to like this one. Tristan has had goo goo eyes over Malorie since he was a kid, but her tough outer shell never let him in. Growing up with a narcissistic father, Malorie has pushed everyone away, and now regrets it.
She wondered how you unlearned selfishness, when it was such a fundamental survival instinct in her family. She wondered how you became someone like her grandmother, willing to be the roots three granddaughters had needed, no matter how lonely it left her.
Finding her way back home, Malorie thinks a lot upon this. Not only if she will be able to start making perfumes, but what led her to leave her grandmother and all of her history, and now that her grandmother is gone, how she can make that up to her. However, her quiet thinking time is interrupted from Tristan, pretty surprised to see Malorie back at home. The last time he saw her, she was throwing his very unique and precious perfume on the ground, telling him in her accountant way that it was too expensive. He still holds a grudge.
Tristan is very successful, and while it appears that he walks around like he owns the world, he is pretty grounded. His family is everything to him. His grandfather, his parents, and his cousins - Tristan is the glue that holds them all together and he takes that job very seriously. He has always crushed on Malorie but she never let him get close. Malorie too reciprocated those feelings, but she was wary:
And Tristan would talk to her and smile at her and try to get her to talk to him, all that easy charm of his, and she always felt only one careless breath away from just falling so hard for him she'd never recover. She'd just be another one of the many, many girls at school who must have already found out how pleasurable it was to fall over backwards for Tristan and let him get everything he wanted.
These two have a history, so in present day when they are reunited, there is much charming flirtation on Tristan's part and much ignoring on Malorie's part. She feels like with their family history of her relative turning on his relatives during the war, he and his family must think poorly of her. She has a hard time getting past that. But eventually Tristan's persistence pays off, and Malorie realizes she is allowed to love him and enjoy him and the guilt and bad feelings she has been harboring for a long time go away.
Tristan is a gentleman through and through - a playful one - but a steadfast one. And one of the best things about all of Laura Florand's books is how romantic they are. She makes you wait for the payoff in this one, but oh how you just want to swoon and twirl in a circle when it happens.
Tristan:
"Do you know how pretty you are?" Tristan said softly. "I mean, really, really beautiful. I don't even know what it is, exactly. It's just when I'm up close to you, I feel like I can breathe. He paused. His lips quirked. "Sometimes much too hard. Like I'm getting ready for something...very physical."
And let's not leave Malorie out...
"I want you in this with me," she said helplessly. It went against her whole life policy. And yet..."You're the life of this place," she said softly. "You know all the sunlight in that perfume you made me yesterday? That's you."
An adorable romance with such a lovely setting. I can't wait to meet more of Tristan's cousins who get future books. They have very interesting stories.
Grade: B+
February 4, 2017
One of my best moments of the year is when Laura Florand published a new book.
Her world building combine with whole realiszed and oh so human romantic leads that fall in love before my eyes can not be beat.
She has a gift for setting and seeding details of history, fairy tale, place, and skill. Her books are feasts for the emotional as well as physical senses.
This romance is so good. Taking place in France within the perfume industry in a the long history between two families in the shadow of World War II, we get an opposites attract romance with fun twists and turns. Each detail revealed about the hero builds the heroines love even through they have known and cared for each other their whole lives. The heroine is reseen through her and the heroes eyes.
It doesn't matter what the plot is of the book, though it is a good one with a nice pace of before, during and after that so many love stories lack, you just want to be with this couple in this place and with the cast of characters.
The marriage proposal scene is the best I have ever read. The best. The tenderness, the embodiment of who they each are and so so sexy. It is the best scene I have read in a long time. I reread it. Alot. I want to go and reread it now.
A great book that I will be reading from comfort and joy for a long time to come.
I was given this book for my honest review. So, there you have it!
Her world building combine with whole realiszed and oh so human romantic leads that fall in love before my eyes can not be beat.
She has a gift for setting and seeding details of history, fairy tale, place, and skill. Her books are feasts for the emotional as well as physical senses.
This romance is so good. Taking place in France within the perfume industry in a the long history between two families in the shadow of World War II, we get an opposites attract romance with fun twists and turns. Each detail revealed about the hero builds the heroines love even through they have known and cared for each other their whole lives. The heroine is reseen through her and the heroes eyes.
It doesn't matter what the plot is of the book, though it is a good one with a nice pace of before, during and after that so many love stories lack, you just want to be with this couple in this place and with the cast of characters.
The marriage proposal scene is the best I have ever read. The best. The tenderness, the embodiment of who they each are and so so sexy. It is the best scene I have read in a long time. I reread it. Alot. I want to go and reread it now.
A great book that I will be reading from comfort and joy for a long time to come.
I was given this book for my honest review. So, there you have it!
January 6, 2017
Laura Florand writes magic. I adore her prose and A Crown of Bitter Orange, for a fan like me, does not disappoint in the least. Her latest follows Tristan, the youngest Rosier cousin, and his high school crush, Malorie Monsard. The Monsards have long been enemies of the Rosiers due to a series of actions during WWII, but Tristan has never let that be a deterrent to his affection. When Malorie returns to Grasse to re-open her family business, Tristan sneaks in his chance to win her over...finally.
All of Florand's romances are careful character studies. While their tone shifts--playful, serious, romantic, heart-breaking, etc.--her characters never lose their wonderful charm. These are full-bodied humans that seem to step off the page, so very real with their flaws and their insecurities. I love how seamlessly Florand switches third-person perspectives so that a situation which seems impossible from one character's perspective, suddenly makes sense as we more fully understand each character and their relationship dynamic.
Tristan and Malorie have known each other for so long, but the narrative is never bogged down by annoying flashbacks, which I appreciate. We really get to know these two as they are, now, the qualities that have changed since high school and those which have only intensified since then. Malorie, for one, is among my favorite Florand heroines. Her family history is one she is deeply embarrassed by and she has worked hard to not let that deter her in any way, despite the emotional scars that the men in her life--namely her father and grandfather--have left behind. I really enjoyed the strong woman-power element that her narrative brought because Malorie is, truly, a matriarch and looks up to other successful women as her inspiration.
In fact, her relationship with Tristan--despite his patriarchal upbringing--is an extremely even-footed dynamic and I really enjoyed that tropes we often see associated with women in romances, like insecurities and shyness were actually present in Tristan, instead. He's a sensitive soul, and what's more, he isn't afraid to show that to Malorie. He genuinely cares for her and his ever-upbeat nature made this a delight to read as he wasn't worried about his fragile masculinity except in front of his cousin brothers. And, that's something else I love about this series--male friendships! These are so, so rare and I really like seeing another side to all of these men as they relax and become themselves around their family members.
While the women in this particular series are all alone, seeking a place to belong, which is a trope I don't always love, Florand makes it work since her relationships have this wonderful push-and-pull as the two characters attempt to find their footing and establish an equilibrium. A few things about this latest narrative that did grate on me a little, though, were the constant "vetting" of Malorie by just about every member of Tristan's family--his aunt, his cousin, his grandfather, his mother--and I felt as if some of these conversations became repetitive. Another thing that became repetitive were the constant allusions to the "big drama" of the story--the fact that would cause Tristan and Malorie to briefly break-up before all was patched up again. But, these are minor quibbles to have with this novel, utterly remarkable and charming in every other way. Florand keeps outdoing herself with each new installment in this series and I am so excited to see what's next! (Although, please, can we either have some diversity in this series or a homosexual romance? I would LOVE to see that--a very pleasant change to the South of France heteronormal lifestyle!)
All of Florand's romances are careful character studies. While their tone shifts--playful, serious, romantic, heart-breaking, etc.--her characters never lose their wonderful charm. These are full-bodied humans that seem to step off the page, so very real with their flaws and their insecurities. I love how seamlessly Florand switches third-person perspectives so that a situation which seems impossible from one character's perspective, suddenly makes sense as we more fully understand each character and their relationship dynamic.
Tristan and Malorie have known each other for so long, but the narrative is never bogged down by annoying flashbacks, which I appreciate. We really get to know these two as they are, now, the qualities that have changed since high school and those which have only intensified since then. Malorie, for one, is among my favorite Florand heroines. Her family history is one she is deeply embarrassed by and she has worked hard to not let that deter her in any way, despite the emotional scars that the men in her life--namely her father and grandfather--have left behind. I really enjoyed the strong woman-power element that her narrative brought because Malorie is, truly, a matriarch and looks up to other successful women as her inspiration.
In fact, her relationship with Tristan--despite his patriarchal upbringing--is an extremely even-footed dynamic and I really enjoyed that tropes we often see associated with women in romances, like insecurities and shyness were actually present in Tristan, instead. He's a sensitive soul, and what's more, he isn't afraid to show that to Malorie. He genuinely cares for her and his ever-upbeat nature made this a delight to read as he wasn't worried about his fragile masculinity except in front of his cousin brothers. And, that's something else I love about this series--male friendships! These are so, so rare and I really like seeing another side to all of these men as they relax and become themselves around their family members.
While the women in this particular series are all alone, seeking a place to belong, which is a trope I don't always love, Florand makes it work since her relationships have this wonderful push-and-pull as the two characters attempt to find their footing and establish an equilibrium. A few things about this latest narrative that did grate on me a little, though, were the constant "vetting" of Malorie by just about every member of Tristan's family--his aunt, his cousin, his grandfather, his mother--and I felt as if some of these conversations became repetitive. Another thing that became repetitive were the constant allusions to the "big drama" of the story--the fact that would cause Tristan and Malorie to briefly break-up before all was patched up again. But, these are minor quibbles to have with this novel, utterly remarkable and charming in every other way. Florand keeps outdoing herself with each new installment in this series and I am so excited to see what's next! (Although, please, can we either have some diversity in this series or a homosexual romance? I would LOVE to see that--a very pleasant change to the South of France heteronormal lifestyle!)
December 20, 2016
Laura Florand writes so beautifully, and with such heartfelt emotion! I loved this book from beginning to end. (I was lucky enough to get an e-ARC - I think the final copy is coming out in just a couple of weeks!)
It's set in modern-day Provence, where the hero, Tristan, is a perfumer descended from one of the oldest perfume-making families around, one which includes famous resistance heroes in World War II. The heroine, Malorie, comes from the *other* oldest family associated with perfume...the one which infamously included collaborators in World War II, as her great-grandfather sold out more than one innocent person to the Nazi occupiers. Malorie may not have been born until decades afterward - and she herself is fiercely ethical and compassionate and admirable - but she still bears the shame and guilt of her family history, complicated by the personal scars left by her own narcissistic father.
So it never even occurred to her, growing up, that the sweetest boy she knew, basically raised like a prince in their village, could be as interested in her as she always has been in him...or that he could have his own vulnerabilities, too.
This is an incredibly tender, thoughtful, and complex romance. Florand never shies away from just how awful and unforgivable Malorie's great-grandfather really was, and just how much pain and death his actions caused. She's also really precise and effective in showing the way that Malorie's own father's emotional abuse has affected all of her decision-making...as well as Malorie's enormous strength in fighting her way through that as a survivor.
Malorie is SO strong and fierce and I loved her so much - and I *loved* that in this relationship, the heroine is the one who's emotionally closed-off and steely while the hero is sweet and romantic. They balance each other incredibly well. Also, I can't remember ever before reading a romance where the hero has (very realistically written) ADD - which he's learned to work with brilliantly in his creative career as an adult, but which made his school experience incredibly rough on him, as it wasn't understood by his teachers or his parents when he was a kid.
I could go on for a long time about all the things that I loved, but what I really want to say is: this is a really, really lovely and thoughtful romance and I devoured it in less than a day, then moved straight on to reading a different Laura Florand novel because I wanted MORE.
Highly recommended!
It's set in modern-day Provence, where the hero, Tristan, is a perfumer descended from one of the oldest perfume-making families around, one which includes famous resistance heroes in World War II. The heroine, Malorie, comes from the *other* oldest family associated with perfume...the one which infamously included collaborators in World War II, as her great-grandfather sold out more than one innocent person to the Nazi occupiers. Malorie may not have been born until decades afterward - and she herself is fiercely ethical and compassionate and admirable - but she still bears the shame and guilt of her family history, complicated by the personal scars left by her own narcissistic father.
So it never even occurred to her, growing up, that the sweetest boy she knew, basically raised like a prince in their village, could be as interested in her as she always has been in him...or that he could have his own vulnerabilities, too.
This is an incredibly tender, thoughtful, and complex romance. Florand never shies away from just how awful and unforgivable Malorie's great-grandfather really was, and just how much pain and death his actions caused. She's also really precise and effective in showing the way that Malorie's own father's emotional abuse has affected all of her decision-making...as well as Malorie's enormous strength in fighting her way through that as a survivor.
Malorie is SO strong and fierce and I loved her so much - and I *loved* that in this relationship, the heroine is the one who's emotionally closed-off and steely while the hero is sweet and romantic. They balance each other incredibly well. Also, I can't remember ever before reading a romance where the hero has (very realistically written) ADD - which he's learned to work with brilliantly in his creative career as an adult, but which made his school experience incredibly rough on him, as it wasn't understood by his teachers or his parents when he was a kid.
I could go on for a long time about all the things that I loved, but what I really want to say is: this is a really, really lovely and thoughtful romance and I devoured it in less than a day, then moved straight on to reading a different Laura Florand novel because I wanted MORE.
Highly recommended!
March 15, 2017
This review can also be found at All About Romance: http://allaboutromance.com/book-revie...
The first Laura Florand book that I read was The Chocolate Kiss, the second story in her Amour et Chocolat series. I loved it, and since then I’ve been a pretty dedicated fan, so any new book by her is a cause for celebration. The author has now moved from the world of haute cuisine to the world of fragrance with her La Vie en Roses series, which is set in Provence, and takes us on a new journey of family and tradition with the Rosier family. A Crown of Bitter Orange (book three in the series) is rich in detail and abundant in sensuality as it details the poignant, somewhat bittersweet yet heartwarming friends to lovers romance of Tristan Rosier and Malorie Monsard.
Tristan and Malorie are descendants of two great perfume houses, the Rosiers and the Monsards. The Rosier family is still a powerhouse in the fragrance industry. Tristan is a perfume creator with the ability to blend scents together to make unique (and money making) formulas sought all over the world. His family history is one of courage and loyalty, with his grandfather and Tante Colette bearing the scars of their resistance to the Nazi occupation in World War II.
Malorie’s family history on the other hand, is one she bears with shame. Her great-grandfather was a Nazi collaborator, and was directly responsible for the death of one of Tante Colette’s friends. Malorie’s grandmother became pregnant at the age of sixteen, and struggled to raise her son in the post war days. That man, Malorie’s father, was a narcissist who let their family perfume business slowly fall to ruin and whose early accidental death further fractured their family. Malorie’s grandmother stayed in Grasse to give her grandchildren somewhere to call home but for Malorie, her identity as a Monsard is a painful reminder of what came before her.
Tristan and Malorie have known each other since they were children. As primary school classmates Malorie was always known as the steady, quiet, studious child while Tristan was an energetic boy who could never sit still. As they grew older, the gangly boy turned into a head turning, handsome young man – too handsome for Malorie to understand why he’d pay any attention to her, especially with her troubled family history. Fresh out of high school, Malorie left on a hiking trip and didn’t return, settling eventually in New York City and taking a job with a well-known perfume company, Abbaye, as an accountant. Her last encounter with Tristan didn’t go well, with an argument over the cost of ingredients in a perfume he’d submitted to Abbaye putting a sour note on their rocky friendship. But she’s back now in Grasse; her grandmother’s passing has left her with an inheritance that includes her grandmother’s old house and shares in what’s left of the family perfume business. Malorie knows that news of her arrival will soon reach the Rosier family and she’s on the precipice of an important decision. Should she invest in renovating the shop left to her by her grandmother with an eye to reviving the family perfume business or sell it, pull up her roots and move away permanently? If Tristan has his way, he’ll show her that through all these years, he’s been quietly waiting to provide the warmth and sunlight to keep those roots firmly planted and give her a place to call home.
The thing I find challenging about reading a Laura Florand book is that it’s hard for me to get to the end. This is because I inevitably slow down my reading to savor the story, and find myself going back and rereading passages just to enjoy them all over again. She’s got a way with prose that is unlike any other romance writer that I’ve read, paying an attention to detail that makes you able to picture the scene with all your senses. Take this passage for example, where Tristan is with his family helping to prepare for his cousin Damien’s wedding:
The Rosier family is the heart of the story. From the grandfather down to the youngest cousin, it’s a large extended family and everyone has their place – and knows their place, too. It’s clear that there is a lot of research that has gone into making the setting and the background detail about perfume industry as true to life as possible. I love the scenes between Tristan and his cousins, particularly Matt, Damien and Raoul for the warm hearted teasing he gets as the youngest. But the time he spends with his grandfather and his aunt Colette is equally compelling. Like any family, this one has its flaws but it’s what makes them believable and they come across as overall very warm and welcoming.
Tristan finally has Malorie in a place where he can show her how important she is to him. He does this in subtle (and not so subtle) ways, by expressing enthusiasm about the perfume shop and offering to help renovate it to its former glory, in the hopes that it will make her stay. He offers to make perfumes for her, which really is his way of expressing his affection; and eventually Malorie is unable to resist his charms. He really comes across as a sweet, fun loving and adventurous man with a zest for life. Theirs is a slow burn romance but heats up over time with some sensual love scenes.
It’s a challenge for Malorie to trust the sincerity of Tristan’s affection for her. The conflict in this story is partly due to Malorie’s feelings about her past and how they have shaped her self-esteem, but it’s also due to Tristan not recognizing these fundamental parts of Malorie’s character. Growing up as an entitled, well-loved member of the Rosier family, he’s never put himself in her shoes before. Actions that he’s taken in the past and the present are chosen without seeing them from her perspective, causing rifts that are not so easily mended. In return, Malorie needs to see beyond Tristan’s carefree façade and realize that she has the ability to affect him as deeply as he affects her. Slowly but surely, wounds are healed and hearts are mended and the resulting romance is sweet and tender. A Crown of Bitter Roses will definitely have pride of place on my shelf, a comfort read for trying times, and a reminder that love waits in the wings for a chance to bloom.
Note: a copy of this story was provided by the author for review.
The first Laura Florand book that I read was The Chocolate Kiss, the second story in her Amour et Chocolat series. I loved it, and since then I’ve been a pretty dedicated fan, so any new book by her is a cause for celebration. The author has now moved from the world of haute cuisine to the world of fragrance with her La Vie en Roses series, which is set in Provence, and takes us on a new journey of family and tradition with the Rosier family. A Crown of Bitter Orange (book three in the series) is rich in detail and abundant in sensuality as it details the poignant, somewhat bittersweet yet heartwarming friends to lovers romance of Tristan Rosier and Malorie Monsard.
Tristan and Malorie are descendants of two great perfume houses, the Rosiers and the Monsards. The Rosier family is still a powerhouse in the fragrance industry. Tristan is a perfume creator with the ability to blend scents together to make unique (and money making) formulas sought all over the world. His family history is one of courage and loyalty, with his grandfather and Tante Colette bearing the scars of their resistance to the Nazi occupation in World War II.
Malorie’s family history on the other hand, is one she bears with shame. Her great-grandfather was a Nazi collaborator, and was directly responsible for the death of one of Tante Colette’s friends. Malorie’s grandmother became pregnant at the age of sixteen, and struggled to raise her son in the post war days. That man, Malorie’s father, was a narcissist who let their family perfume business slowly fall to ruin and whose early accidental death further fractured their family. Malorie’s grandmother stayed in Grasse to give her grandchildren somewhere to call home but for Malorie, her identity as a Monsard is a painful reminder of what came before her.
Tristan and Malorie have known each other since they were children. As primary school classmates Malorie was always known as the steady, quiet, studious child while Tristan was an energetic boy who could never sit still. As they grew older, the gangly boy turned into a head turning, handsome young man – too handsome for Malorie to understand why he’d pay any attention to her, especially with her troubled family history. Fresh out of high school, Malorie left on a hiking trip and didn’t return, settling eventually in New York City and taking a job with a well-known perfume company, Abbaye, as an accountant. Her last encounter with Tristan didn’t go well, with an argument over the cost of ingredients in a perfume he’d submitted to Abbaye putting a sour note on their rocky friendship. But she’s back now in Grasse; her grandmother’s passing has left her with an inheritance that includes her grandmother’s old house and shares in what’s left of the family perfume business. Malorie knows that news of her arrival will soon reach the Rosier family and she’s on the precipice of an important decision. Should she invest in renovating the shop left to her by her grandmother with an eye to reviving the family perfume business or sell it, pull up her roots and move away permanently? If Tristan has his way, he’ll show her that through all these years, he’s been quietly waiting to provide the warmth and sunlight to keep those roots firmly planted and give her a place to call home.
The thing I find challenging about reading a Laura Florand book is that it’s hard for me to get to the end. This is because I inevitably slow down my reading to savor the story, and find myself going back and rereading passages just to enjoy them all over again. She’s got a way with prose that is unlike any other romance writer that I’ve read, paying an attention to detail that makes you able to picture the scene with all your senses. Take this passage for example, where Tristan is with his family helping to prepare for his cousin Damien’s wedding:
Above them, the great branches of an old plane tree shaded their game, leaves spring fresh. In the late Saturday afternoon, the April air was gently warm not hot. Around them were the original old stone buildings of the mas, the outbuildings that had once housed farm animals, and, at a little remove, the extraction plant and a couple more buildings associated with it. Past that stretched the roses, leafing out but not yet in bloom, and steep slopes framed the valley. The Rosier Valley. Not Tristan’s – his house lay high on the slopes, the fields themselves destined for Matt – but home. The apricot and almond trees planted around the house were in bloom, the amandiers releasing that incredible sweet scent from their fragile white flowers. And under that, the scents of stone and green, the softer, humid scents of spring that would soon dry in the summer, baked under the sun. The tingle-sharp scent of his aperitif, the faint hint of dirt stirred up by their feet in the gravel they threw.
The Rosier family is the heart of the story. From the grandfather down to the youngest cousin, it’s a large extended family and everyone has their place – and knows their place, too. It’s clear that there is a lot of research that has gone into making the setting and the background detail about perfume industry as true to life as possible. I love the scenes between Tristan and his cousins, particularly Matt, Damien and Raoul for the warm hearted teasing he gets as the youngest. But the time he spends with his grandfather and his aunt Colette is equally compelling. Like any family, this one has its flaws but it’s what makes them believable and they come across as overall very warm and welcoming.
Tristan finally has Malorie in a place where he can show her how important she is to him. He does this in subtle (and not so subtle) ways, by expressing enthusiasm about the perfume shop and offering to help renovate it to its former glory, in the hopes that it will make her stay. He offers to make perfumes for her, which really is his way of expressing his affection; and eventually Malorie is unable to resist his charms. He really comes across as a sweet, fun loving and adventurous man with a zest for life. Theirs is a slow burn romance but heats up over time with some sensual love scenes.
It’s a challenge for Malorie to trust the sincerity of Tristan’s affection for her. The conflict in this story is partly due to Malorie’s feelings about her past and how they have shaped her self-esteem, but it’s also due to Tristan not recognizing these fundamental parts of Malorie’s character. Growing up as an entitled, well-loved member of the Rosier family, he’s never put himself in her shoes before. Actions that he’s taken in the past and the present are chosen without seeing them from her perspective, causing rifts that are not so easily mended. In return, Malorie needs to see beyond Tristan’s carefree façade and realize that she has the ability to affect him as deeply as he affects her. Slowly but surely, wounds are healed and hearts are mended and the resulting romance is sweet and tender. A Crown of Bitter Roses will definitely have pride of place on my shelf, a comfort read for trying times, and a reminder that love waits in the wings for a chance to bloom.
Note: a copy of this story was provided by the author for review.
February 5, 2017
I am putting in pin in this review because I want to come back later and add more, but I have read this twice in two days, so please consider my highest endorsement having been given.
UPDATE 1/26/2017
So to start, I sort of feel like this book isn't being advertised correctly. It is an enemies to lovers story on some level, but that's not really about either character so much as a perceived enemy status from their respective family histories. In my opinion, it is much more correctly a childhood friends to lovers/unrequited love/professional rivals story, but then again, that is a mouthful so maybe I get the choice to lean into the enemies thing. Anyway.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
I loved the palpable sense of history you get from all of Tristan and Malorie's interactions. I love that there's pining, but it never truly feels pathetic, which is often the case. I love that we're much more into the Rosier's feeling like family, which is something that sometimes isn't there in the other books. I love Malorie's independence. I love the care that Tristan tries to take with her. I love the way the conflict at the end is resolved, with minimal fuss because they really do know each other even if they sometimes make poor choices that they are repeatedly warned against making. I love that they are going to build something together, and the respect that they both have for each other's respective talents.
Can you tell that I loved this book? I loved this book.
And I am deeply curious about where the epilogue leaves us.
Go read this one, everyone. It's a keeper.
UPDATE 1/26/2017
So to start, I sort of feel like this book isn't being advertised correctly. It is an enemies to lovers story on some level, but that's not really about either character so much as a perceived enemy status from their respective family histories. In my opinion, it is much more correctly a childhood friends to lovers/unrequited love/professional rivals story, but then again, that is a mouthful so maybe I get the choice to lean into the enemies thing. Anyway.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.
I loved the palpable sense of history you get from all of Tristan and Malorie's interactions. I love that there's pining, but it never truly feels pathetic, which is often the case. I love that we're much more into the Rosier's feeling like family, which is something that sometimes isn't there in the other books. I love Malorie's independence. I love the care that Tristan tries to take with her. I love the way the conflict at the end is resolved, with minimal fuss because they really do know each other even if they sometimes make poor choices that they are repeatedly warned against making. I love that they are going to build something together, and the respect that they both have for each other's respective talents.
Can you tell that I loved this book? I loved this book.
And I am deeply curious about where the epilogue leaves us.
Go read this one, everyone. It's a keeper.
February 19, 2017
My first reaction is a deep sigh. And no words.
Once I think that, though, suddenly I have words. First, and just to get this out of the way: the prose here could be cleaner. Especially in the beginning, when this story isn't the almost musical thing it becomes. Otherwise, though? This might be perfect.
(I should probably read the beginning of this series, shouldn't I?)
Emily Lockhart - regardless what I think of We Were Liars, which you know is the opposite of complimentary - once judged an SLJ book battle. Chime vs. Daughter of Smoke and Bone. You should read the entire thing, but here's how it ends:
Here's to the good guys. I'm off to buy some perfume.
Once I think that, though, suddenly I have words. First, and just to get this out of the way: the prose here could be cleaner. Especially in the beginning, when this story isn't the almost musical thing it becomes. Otherwise, though? This might be perfect.
(I should probably read the beginning of this series, shouldn't I?)
Emily Lockhart - regardless what I think of We Were Liars, which you know is the opposite of complimentary - once judged an SLJ book battle. Chime vs. Daughter of Smoke and Bone. You should read the entire thing, but here's how it ends:
And so for me, the incredibly romantic ending of Chime had great strength, because it wasn’t a fantasy of a bad man tamed—it was the fantasy of loving a deeply good man, and how healing that can be.I think that is this book's story, and I think that's why it's so powerful. This is inevitable, but it isn't inevitable the way all romances are: it's inevitable the way good people who are committed to working at something are.
Here's to the good guys. I'm off to buy some perfume.
February 6, 2017
I LOVED this. This series is just so good and I feel like the books keep getting better with each one.
Tristan is so very different from his cousins. He is so full of life and heart and happiness. Its his life's work to bottle of that and give it to people as gifts. Malorie is walled off, independent, and prickly. She hiked out of Grasse at the age of 19 and built a life for herself far from the disgrace of her family name and heritage. They are so perfect for each other, opposites in the ways that make them stronger together, but with commonalities in all the ways that truly matter. Tristan's care in approaching Malorie and his careful courting of her is wonderful and I thoroughly appreciated it. Because they've known each other all their lives and have recently been butting heads in the business world there was this perfect amount of tension and familiarity. This keeps from being the annoying and disturbing sort of story that many long time concealed crush stories are in how the relationship develops and the way both of them view it. It helps that they were BOTH pining for the other from afar for years and it wasn't one sided. Their final conflict, which was avoidable if Tristan had listened to good advice from just about everyone, was resolved quickly and with minimal drama because they just KNOW each other (and themselves) so well.
The family dynamics continue to be delightful and are even better in this volume than previous ones. I like how this is not a match their interfering elders could have succeeded in setting up. I really like how that aspect of the story played out. The cousins together are always some of my favorite parts of these books, as are all the parts with Tante Colette and their grandfather. I enjoyed the glimpses we got of Tristan's parents too. His father is the only male of that generation we've seen, and even though it was through Malorie's eyes and from afar, it is clear there is a reason Tristan is the cousin with the most level head when it comes to dealing with women. He managed to get out of his childhood with no parental issues. And his relationship with his mom is THE BEST.
I'm putting my thoughts on the Epilogue and Antoine behind a spoiler cut:
Tristan is so very different from his cousins. He is so full of life and heart and happiness. Its his life's work to bottle of that and give it to people as gifts. Malorie is walled off, independent, and prickly. She hiked out of Grasse at the age of 19 and built a life for herself far from the disgrace of her family name and heritage. They are so perfect for each other, opposites in the ways that make them stronger together, but with commonalities in all the ways that truly matter. Tristan's care in approaching Malorie and his careful courting of her is wonderful and I thoroughly appreciated it. Because they've known each other all their lives and have recently been butting heads in the business world there was this perfect amount of tension and familiarity. This keeps from being the annoying and disturbing sort of story that many long time concealed crush stories are in how the relationship develops and the way both of them view it. It helps that they were BOTH pining for the other from afar for years and it wasn't one sided. Their final conflict, which was avoidable if Tristan had listened to good advice from just about everyone, was resolved quickly and with minimal drama because they just KNOW each other (and themselves) so well.
The family dynamics continue to be delightful and are even better in this volume than previous ones. I like how this is not a match their interfering elders could have succeeded in setting up. I really like how that aspect of the story played out. The cousins together are always some of my favorite parts of these books, as are all the parts with Tante Colette and their grandfather. I enjoyed the glimpses we got of Tristan's parents too. His father is the only male of that generation we've seen, and even though it was through Malorie's eyes and from afar, it is clear there is a reason Tristan is the cousin with the most level head when it comes to dealing with women. He managed to get out of his childhood with no parental issues. And his relationship with his mom is THE BEST.
I'm putting my thoughts on the Epilogue and Antoine behind a spoiler cut:
March 6, 2017
Feeling kind of guilty for "only" giving this 4 stars! It was very good, but did fall short of that five star mark for me. I'm not sure why. It didn't trigger any of my pining/unrequited love issues. Some of it might just be I read it in fits and starts last week and LIFE IS BUSY.
I really love how Florand deals with the (not so) big misunderstanding. It makes me believe they'll make it.
I really love how Florand deals with the (not so) big misunderstanding. It makes me believe they'll make it.
October 6, 2018
in three words : j'ai adoré.
just like for once upon a rose, the thing i was the most overwhelmed by was how profoundly french the story is. it reminds me so much of the french saga of the Viahle!!
first because of the narrating and the description of the setting, of the smells, of this old house, that make you feel like you're walking in the street of grasse, enjoying the full spring smells, smiling when imagining the delightful funny south of france accents. it honestly has that feeling of reading about your home (i spent several holidays at my auntie in this region of france and those memories i have are my most cherished ones and remembering all those details while reading the book only makes even more emotional).
then because of the characters, how very undoubtly french they all are and how delightful it is to meet them back again and read their stories. i like that malorie was a french woman (even if the NY influence was strong). LF made her such a strong and fierce woman without making her exceptional. she is just struggling with her heritage, trying to find her path in life and making do with whatever is thrown at her. i really liked her for being so common and yet being very inspiring because of that. tristan was simply a delight and all the scenes with grandpa jacky were exquisite (perhaps my favorites). but the real french feeling i'm raving about is found in all the side characters, especially those that are barely there or mentionned (tristan's mom and aunties, for whom the names were picked so perfectly and who bring that sense of "realness", authenticity) and also in the resistance/collaborateur background story (with the museums, the school outings, the visit of the elderly ones in classes). i do confess that i was disappointed by the lack of interactions between malorie & tristan and the rest of their world. i would have loved reading more scenes of tristan and his cousins, more scenes of malorie and the village, more scenes of tristan and jess.
on tristan and malorie story, i feel like i'll grow to love it more with the future rereadings of it. but THAT scene in the orange harvest will go down as one of the most sensual & emotional scene i have read. it was A MOMENT. the build up of their relationship and their fire banter is also to be remembered as GREAT.
about THAT ending. first OH MY GOD JASMIN/TRISTAN. then OMG WHAT IS UP WITH ANTOINE. third OH MON DIEU WHAT IS THIS, that last paragraph gave me back 10 years of my life.
so yeah, in three words : j'ai adoré.
just like for once upon a rose, the thing i was the most overwhelmed by was how profoundly french the story is. it reminds me so much of the french saga of the Viahle!!
first because of the narrating and the description of the setting, of the smells, of this old house, that make you feel like you're walking in the street of grasse, enjoying the full spring smells, smiling when imagining the delightful funny south of france accents. it honestly has that feeling of reading about your home (i spent several holidays at my auntie in this region of france and those memories i have are my most cherished ones and remembering all those details while reading the book only makes even more emotional).
then because of the characters, how very undoubtly french they all are and how delightful it is to meet them back again and read their stories. i like that malorie was a french woman (even if the NY influence was strong). LF made her such a strong and fierce woman without making her exceptional. she is just struggling with her heritage, trying to find her path in life and making do with whatever is thrown at her. i really liked her for being so common and yet being very inspiring because of that. tristan was simply a delight and all the scenes with grandpa jacky were exquisite (perhaps my favorites). but the real french feeling i'm raving about is found in all the side characters, especially those that are barely there or mentionned (tristan's mom and aunties, for whom the names were picked so perfectly and who bring that sense of "realness", authenticity) and also in the resistance/collaborateur background story (with the museums, the school outings, the visit of the elderly ones in classes). i do confess that i was disappointed by the lack of interactions between malorie & tristan and the rest of their world. i would have loved reading more scenes of tristan and his cousins, more scenes of malorie and the village, more scenes of tristan and jess.
on tristan and malorie story, i feel like i'll grow to love it more with the future rereadings of it. but THAT scene in the orange harvest will go down as one of the most sensual & emotional scene i have read. it was A MOMENT. the build up of their relationship and their fire banter is also to be remembered as GREAT.
about THAT ending. first OH MY GOD JASMIN/TRISTAN. then OMG WHAT IS UP WITH ANTOINE. third OH MON DIEU WHAT IS THIS, that last paragraph gave me back 10 years of my life.
so yeah, in three words : j'ai adoré.
July 1, 2022
Standalone/Cliffhanger: Part of a series
Ages of H and h: Tristan and Malorie are both 29.
Multi-Luv'n/Ménages:
Was There Descriptive Sex:
Descriptive Sex &/Or Drama Between H/h With OW/OM:
>>If So, Before or After H/h Hookup:
Contains Cheating:
Amount of Sex In The Book:
HEA/HFN/etc Ending:
Will This Meet My 'Safety Gang' Buddies' Approval:
Any Triggers/Warnings: No
>>Detail: N/A
Do You Recommend This Book: Yes.
Will You Re-read This Book:Yes
Would You Read More Books By This Author: Yes
My Thoughts
Laura Florand does it again. Her prose is actual poetry and whenever I read her words I feel like I'm there sitting in France, smelling the scents she describes.
Malorie is really closed off, a literal Fort Knox. It's interesting seeing how Tristan broke down her walls enough to let her in. It's quite bittersweet that Tristan had a crush on her for such a long time and Malorie ignored that to protect herself, to not carry firth the legacy her father and great grandfather left her. Going back to the characters we see during the Occupation, I felt quite sad and at Leo Dubois and what became of him. Not to excuse his actions which left a huge mark on most of the characters.
Most readers will adore the ending of 'A Crown of Bitter Orange' as we finally have reached the most emotional tale of love. I've got a feeling I also hope that we get to explore Antoine, Elena and his secret surrounding Damien. I can't wait to read more from Laura Florand.
Ages of H and h: Tristan and Malorie are both 29.
Multi-Luv'n/Ménages:
Was There Descriptive Sex:
Descriptive Sex &/Or Drama Between H/h With OW/OM:
>>If So, Before or After H/h Hookup:
Contains Cheating:
Amount of Sex In The Book:
HEA/HFN/etc Ending:
Will This Meet My 'Safety Gang' Buddies' Approval:
Any Triggers/Warnings: No
>>Detail: N/A
Do You Recommend This Book: Yes.
Will You Re-read This Book:Yes
Would You Read More Books By This Author: Yes
My Thoughts
Laura Florand does it again. Her prose is actual poetry and whenever I read her words I feel like I'm there sitting in France, smelling the scents she describes.
Malorie is really closed off, a literal Fort Knox. It's interesting seeing how Tristan broke down her walls enough to let her in. It's quite bittersweet that Tristan had a crush on her for such a long time and Malorie ignored that to protect herself, to not carry firth the legacy her father and great grandfather left her. Going back to the characters we see during the Occupation, I felt quite sad and at Leo Dubois and what became of him. Not to excuse his actions which left a huge mark on most of the characters.
Most readers will adore the ending of 'A Crown of Bitter Orange' as we finally have reached the most emotional tale of love. I've got a feeling I also hope that we get to explore Antoine, Elena and his secret surrounding Damien. I can't wait to read more from Laura Florand.
February 7, 2017
I love this book, but I'm biased A Wish Upon Jasmine is still the superior installment.
February 6, 2017
Started off pretty okay but dragged on for way too long. The romance felt rather contrived and I just wasn't feeling their chemistry.
Read
December 22, 2021I didn't get far with this one.
The story seemed fine, and so did the characters. And I was really, really looking forward to reading a story in that setting. When things shut down in 2020 I was about to go on a hiking holiday to the area round Grasse, and I'm still sad I never made it there.
The problem was the writing, which I found literally unreadable. Florand's 'thing' is to write a line of dialogue, a couple of paragraphs of random stuff (about the characters, their history, the setting, the family relationships, whatever), then another line of dialogue, then more paragraphs of random crap, and so on. I just could not, for the life of me, follow the dialogue.
Another author for the 'not for me' list.
The story seemed fine, and so did the characters. And I was really, really looking forward to reading a story in that setting. When things shut down in 2020 I was about to go on a hiking holiday to the area round Grasse, and I'm still sad I never made it there.
The problem was the writing, which I found literally unreadable. Florand's 'thing' is to write a line of dialogue, a couple of paragraphs of random stuff (about the characters, their history, the setting, the family relationships, whatever), then another line of dialogue, then more paragraphs of random crap, and so on. I just could not, for the life of me, follow the dialogue.
Another author for the 'not for me' list.
February 5, 2017
What makes a great romance is not only a clever structuring of the central tension between the leads, but also all the grit and texture that makes these two people, and their families, and their towns, and their problems, utterly unique and real. This texture comes from dialogue, from small gestures or actions, and from interesting plotting. Florand is increasingly all heart and no texture, leaving behind a bowl of sentimental mush.
In The Chocolate Heart, I will always remember Jolie cooked Gabriel dal, and it mattered because he had never been with someone who cared for him that way. Or in The Chocolate Touch, we had Dominique's library of classics and conversations with his therapist, indicative of his vulnerable heart and desperate striving to be better. There are no such little details for Tristan and Malorie- we know he's sensitive and struggles with focus, and we know she's got a social chip on her shoulder, but only because we are told so over and over, either directly or through another re-telling of their kindergarten days. They read less like real characters and more like archetypes. They are boring- no texture- which makes this book boring too. Alas.
In The Chocolate Heart, I will always remember Jolie cooked Gabriel dal, and it mattered because he had never been with someone who cared for him that way. Or in The Chocolate Touch, we had Dominique's library of classics and conversations with his therapist, indicative of his vulnerable heart and desperate striving to be better. There are no such little details for Tristan and Malorie- we know he's sensitive and struggles with focus, and we know she's got a social chip on her shoulder, but only because we are told so over and over, either directly or through another re-telling of their kindergarten days. They read less like real characters and more like archetypes. They are boring- no texture- which makes this book boring too. Alas.
February 7, 2017
Three stars only because that epilogue has me intrigued, otherwise it was pretty boring. I kinda feel let down after a very long wait.
April 30, 2018
This dual review with the lovely Lisa is also posted on Scoundrels & Seduction.
An actual transcript of the texts Lisa and I sent each other about this book would, unfortunately, be quite spoilery and would be entirely made up of many exclamation marks and all caps words. It's become quite the tradition to have enthusiastic discussions about our favorite books, and of course, A Crown of Bitter Orange became one of them. No surprise really, considering how much we both adore her books.
For this review, we've broken down things we like into bullet points of a sort:
Laura Florand's Descriptive Writing
Lisa: I think what attracts me from the beginning about Laura Florand's books is how descriptive her writing is. In Amour et Chocolat series, for example, the way the chocolate making is described in The Chocolate Thief, and macarons and hot chocolate making in The Chocolate Touch, is just so realistic it makes you hungry for them.
It's the same thing with this series; the way Laura described the rose and jasmine fields or in this book, the orange blossoms is just so picturesque. I love how the description of each scent is so vivid.
Eri: I actually picked up this series because of Lisa's very persuasive love for Laura Florand, but I definitely agree that her writing is one of the things that stood out to me when I read her books. She writes the details of desserts and fragrances so well that I can almost see or smell them. It doesn't just stay with the fragrances in this series of course, and I was able to imagine the locations so vividly, it was like I was there in person, in addition to feeling the tension and chemistry in every scene.
The Plot
Lisa: Another thing that I like about this book and also this series as a whole is how it features different flowers in different books. Like we have roses in Once Upon a Rose and jasmines in A Wish upon a Jasmine and now orange blossoms.
Also, don't forget about the mystery of the missing heirlooms! The longtime fight (or is it?) between Jean-Jacques Rosier and Colette Delatour with Jean-Jacques accusing Colette of stealing the family heirlooms are priceless, and so are the reactions of the Rosiers when they began to turn up one by one by the end of each story.
Eri: Yes to all the things that Lisa said, but I also love that each of the books focuses on a journey or quest of sorts for the heroine. In this book, it's Malorie wanting to restore her family company, and I like that in each of the books, the heroine's dreams or goals aren't secondary to the grand Rosier legacy, but balanced well.
The men in this series are all Rosier men, and they each play a different role in the family business, so that was interesting to see as well. And while they might be terrible at expressing their intent or motivations (*coughs at the thought of Damien*), they are quite supportive of the heroine and I like that both parties are on equal footing, for the most part. I never found the perfume industry to be so enticing, but this series has given me a whole new appreciation to it.
The Rosier Family
Eri: I adore the Rosier family. Laura always writes relationships well, and in her other series, there's some very strong friendships, but this one has the addition of the heroes all being part of the same family, and I love seeing how close they are to each other. They all tease and mess with each other, but underneath is that Rosier bond, holding them together, and seeing the other members of the family, like the mothers and of course, Tante Collete and Jean-Jacques, being so supportive is wonderful as well.
Lisa: Ugh, I agree, the Rosiers are the best. I envy their close-knitted relationship with each other, and how the cousins have each other's backs despite their differences. I love the distinct role that Laura set for each and every character; like how Matt is the land and Damien the warrior, and Tristan the glue that keeps everybody together.
Tristan Rosier & Malorie Monsard
Lisa: Okay, I'm always about dark and broody guys, but Tristan Rosier captures my heart so effortlessly. He intrigued me ever since we met him in Matt's book; he's so playful and full of life it's hard to not like him. I love how he dances around his cousins, teases them and gets away with it, and I love that we get to find out why he behaves that way in this book. We also get to see another side of him when he's with Malorie--he's so protective of her, and she's the only one who gets under his skin and makes him angry and frustrated, so that kind of adds another layer to Tristan.
I adore Malorie too! She kind of reminds me of Jess, the way she's so determined to make her own way and how hardworking and diligent she is. I love that she slowly learns to trust another person other than herself and that she doesn't have to do everything alone.
Eri: Honestly, I knew I would love Tristan's book just because he's so charming and playful, and with a heart of gold, but when I read the synopsis for this book I was ecstatic! The whole childhood friends/enemies type of set up is what I live for in romance books, and I knew Laura would do it justice, so I went in expecting to enjoy it, and ended up falling head over heels for Tristan. He's a little mysterious, as Lisa said, since he seems to be light-hearted about everything in the other books, so getting to see beneath that veneer and into the depth he hides behind it was great. When he's around Malorie, you see how that light-hearted attitude backfires on him a bit, and seeing him lose his cool around her just made me love him more. You get a hint from the synopsis that Tristan has feelings for Malorie for a while and seeing that longing manifest into the cloak of protectiveness and genuine caring was a delight.
Malorie is a wonderful heroine too, and I really loved her independent spirit, she tries and works so hard. She's less open than Tristan, but the way she slowly lets down her guard around him as the book goes on was so sweet, and I like how she may feel the family vendetta strongly, but it doesn't stop her from knowing who Tristan is and appreciating his good qualities. As per usual, Laura writes books where the characters are well-matched for each other, and this was no exception.
Final Thoughts
Lisa: Jess and Damien are still my ultimate couple but Tristan and Malorie come close! Well, they tie with Matt and Layla because I can't choose between those two for the second spot. I can't wait for the next book in this series; I need Lucien's book like last year.
Eri: For me, Jess and Damien probably tie with Tristan and Malorie for first spot now, though Matt and Layla are a very close second. I feel like I say this too often, but every new book of hers seems to be a favorite, they're just that good. Likewise, I want to read Lucien's book so badly but I definitely am curious to see whether Antoine will get his own book, I am dying to know more about him, and I have a lot of theories right now.
I hope we've done a satisfactory job at convincing you to pick up this series and Laura's other books and do drop us a line if you have read them :) Here's to more fun reviews headed your way and all the romance for everyone!
Thank you to the lovely Laura Florand for providing us with a review copy.
An actual transcript of the texts Lisa and I sent each other about this book would, unfortunately, be quite spoilery and would be entirely made up of many exclamation marks and all caps words. It's become quite the tradition to have enthusiastic discussions about our favorite books, and of course, A Crown of Bitter Orange became one of them. No surprise really, considering how much we both adore her books.
For this review, we've broken down things we like into bullet points of a sort:
Laura Florand's Descriptive Writing
Lisa: I think what attracts me from the beginning about Laura Florand's books is how descriptive her writing is. In Amour et Chocolat series, for example, the way the chocolate making is described in The Chocolate Thief, and macarons and hot chocolate making in The Chocolate Touch, is just so realistic it makes you hungry for them.
It's the same thing with this series; the way Laura described the rose and jasmine fields or in this book, the orange blossoms is just so picturesque. I love how the description of each scent is so vivid.
Eri: I actually picked up this series because of Lisa's very persuasive love for Laura Florand, but I definitely agree that her writing is one of the things that stood out to me when I read her books. She writes the details of desserts and fragrances so well that I can almost see or smell them. It doesn't just stay with the fragrances in this series of course, and I was able to imagine the locations so vividly, it was like I was there in person, in addition to feeling the tension and chemistry in every scene.
The Plot
Lisa: Another thing that I like about this book and also this series as a whole is how it features different flowers in different books. Like we have roses in Once Upon a Rose and jasmines in A Wish upon a Jasmine and now orange blossoms.
Also, don't forget about the mystery of the missing heirlooms! The longtime fight (or is it?) between Jean-Jacques Rosier and Colette Delatour with Jean-Jacques accusing Colette of stealing the family heirlooms are priceless, and so are the reactions of the Rosiers when they began to turn up one by one by the end of each story.
Eri: Yes to all the things that Lisa said, but I also love that each of the books focuses on a journey or quest of sorts for the heroine. In this book, it's Malorie wanting to restore her family company, and I like that in each of the books, the heroine's dreams or goals aren't secondary to the grand Rosier legacy, but balanced well.
The men in this series are all Rosier men, and they each play a different role in the family business, so that was interesting to see as well. And while they might be terrible at expressing their intent or motivations (*coughs at the thought of Damien*), they are quite supportive of the heroine and I like that both parties are on equal footing, for the most part. I never found the perfume industry to be so enticing, but this series has given me a whole new appreciation to it.
The Rosier Family
Eri: I adore the Rosier family. Laura always writes relationships well, and in her other series, there's some very strong friendships, but this one has the addition of the heroes all being part of the same family, and I love seeing how close they are to each other. They all tease and mess with each other, but underneath is that Rosier bond, holding them together, and seeing the other members of the family, like the mothers and of course, Tante Collete and Jean-Jacques, being so supportive is wonderful as well.
Lisa: Ugh, I agree, the Rosiers are the best. I envy their close-knitted relationship with each other, and how the cousins have each other's backs despite their differences. I love the distinct role that Laura set for each and every character; like how Matt is the land and Damien the warrior, and Tristan the glue that keeps everybody together.
Tristan Rosier & Malorie Monsard
Lisa: Okay, I'm always about dark and broody guys, but Tristan Rosier captures my heart so effortlessly. He intrigued me ever since we met him in Matt's book; he's so playful and full of life it's hard to not like him. I love how he dances around his cousins, teases them and gets away with it, and I love that we get to find out why he behaves that way in this book. We also get to see another side of him when he's with Malorie--he's so protective of her, and she's the only one who gets under his skin and makes him angry and frustrated, so that kind of adds another layer to Tristan.
I adore Malorie too! She kind of reminds me of Jess, the way she's so determined to make her own way and how hardworking and diligent she is. I love that she slowly learns to trust another person other than herself and that she doesn't have to do everything alone.
Eri: Honestly, I knew I would love Tristan's book just because he's so charming and playful, and with a heart of gold, but when I read the synopsis for this book I was ecstatic! The whole childhood friends/enemies type of set up is what I live for in romance books, and I knew Laura would do it justice, so I went in expecting to enjoy it, and ended up falling head over heels for Tristan. He's a little mysterious, as Lisa said, since he seems to be light-hearted about everything in the other books, so getting to see beneath that veneer and into the depth he hides behind it was great. When he's around Malorie, you see how that light-hearted attitude backfires on him a bit, and seeing him lose his cool around her just made me love him more. You get a hint from the synopsis that Tristan has feelings for Malorie for a while and seeing that longing manifest into the cloak of protectiveness and genuine caring was a delight.
Malorie is a wonderful heroine too, and I really loved her independent spirit, she tries and works so hard. She's less open than Tristan, but the way she slowly lets down her guard around him as the book goes on was so sweet, and I like how she may feel the family vendetta strongly, but it doesn't stop her from knowing who Tristan is and appreciating his good qualities. As per usual, Laura writes books where the characters are well-matched for each other, and this was no exception.
Final Thoughts
Lisa: Jess and Damien are still my ultimate couple but Tristan and Malorie come close! Well, they tie with Matt and Layla because I can't choose between those two for the second spot. I can't wait for the next book in this series; I need Lucien's book like last year.
Eri: For me, Jess and Damien probably tie with Tristan and Malorie for first spot now, though Matt and Layla are a very close second. I feel like I say this too often, but every new book of hers seems to be a favorite, they're just that good. Likewise, I want to read Lucien's book so badly but I definitely am curious to see whether Antoine will get his own book, I am dying to know more about him, and I have a lot of theories right now.
I hope we've done a satisfactory job at convincing you to pick up this series and Laura's other books and do drop us a line if you have read them :) Here's to more fun reviews headed your way and all the romance for everyone!
Thank you to the lovely Laura Florand for providing us with a review copy.
February 6, 2017
This was beautiful and perfect and I am totally not misty-eyed or weepy or anything like that. Nu-huh. So okay, let's rewind and start from the beginning..
Childhood friends.
Tristan Rosier might have asked Malorie Monsard to marry him when he was five years old, but things had only gone downhill from there. She’d spent the rest of their lives ignoring him, abandoning him, and destroying his perfumes. Now she was back, to wreak who knew what havoc on his life.
Lifelong enemies.
Tristan might choose to dismiss the generations-long enmity between their two families, but Malorie didn’t have that privilege. Like all the other privileges wealthy, gorgeous Tristan took for granted that she couldn’t. But if she was going to restore her family company to glory, she might just need his help.
Or the perfect match?
They’d known each other all their lives. Could these childhood friends and lifelong enemies ever uncross their stars and find happily ever after?
I had really been looking forward to this book - the entire La Vie en Roses series is an absolute treat and basically my standard to which I uphold all contemporary romance. It's also pretty much the only contemporary romance series I have read in full, but ah, minor details.. :D This is basically a fairy tale in the most wonderful magical setting.
The characters
Tristan and Malorie are a fantastically matched couple who are beautifully fleshed out as individual characters. Tristan has already had some minor appearances in his cousin's novel but now is his time to shine and boy, does he ever. He is fucking perfect and adorable and a fantastic romantic hero. Tristan is also the artist in the family - he is the one actually creating the perfumes for Rosier SA, just like Jess from A Wish Upon Jasmine. In this story, Malorie is the one with the rational background and not without reason: whereas the Rosiers are a big, tight-knit and prosperous family, the Monsards are the absolute opposite, right down to being collaborators in the War and selling out Tante Colette's best friends. Damn. And if this family shame was not enough, all the Monsard men are fucking useless wastrels who made things even worse for the family so honestly, Malorie being guarded and fighting for everything herself is totally logical.. and it makes the emotional payoff even sweeter. I also appreciated that Malorie was able to not conflate Tristan's actions with the manipulative stunts her father used to pull - sure, the was a Hero You Fucked Up moment but it was resolved in a mature and rewarding way.
The plot
I must admit I was a bit wary about the initial setup of "has fantasised about [the other person] ever since been a teen" - I did not want these characters being more in love with the idea of a person that the actual thing, especially after spending so many people apart. I needn't have worried though, the author did a beautiful and realistic job of turning this into a "I have secretly loved you for years" with emotional OOMPFH. All of this was so fucking worth it and absolutely sweet to see unfold. This was a fantastic enemies to lovers / friends to lovers story with a second chance flavour and I loved it.
The writing
Laura Florand is one of the most evocative writers I have ever read. I am instantly transported to the warm summers in the Provence, sun on my skin and flowers everywhere. This series makes me want to travel to the rose fields and study perfumery despite being allergic to pollen and highly sensitive towards smells. Her knowledge of the area and its people just shines through and coupled with her excellent skill of descriptions and the ability to conjure up the most beautiful emotional connections.. perfect. This story also has an additional, very personal layer of meaning to me. I could identify with Malorie so much at times, it really hurt. I very recently lost my grandmother, who was also my last remaining grandparent. My other grandmother passed away almost exactly three years ago and her life mirrored so many aspects of the women of the Monsard family, it's not even funny - the cheating and money-spending husband, being excluded from her community, trying to help the granddaughters and leaving everything to them. The death of Malorie's grandmother and the effect is has on her really resonated with me and made me feel very emotional throughout the book. In fact, my eyes were frequently burning and I was quite often close to tears. I just felt such a heartache - this is the highest compliment I can give, it really made me feel and again mourn the loss of my family.
In my review of Wish Upon Jasmine, I noted that the Resistance hero worship surrounding Colette and Pépé was lain on quite thick at times and I hoped that any future instalments in the series would tone it down a bit. Obviously, the complete opposite happened in this book BUT it totally worked as it was utilised to contrast the family situations of the Rosiers and the Monsards.
I am at a loss for words how to adequately describe this lovely story, it was an absolute delight. Read it, but start at the beginning of the series first. Also, the episode? The ending? AW YEAHHHHHHH
Childhood friends.
Tristan Rosier might have asked Malorie Monsard to marry him when he was five years old, but things had only gone downhill from there. She’d spent the rest of their lives ignoring him, abandoning him, and destroying his perfumes. Now she was back, to wreak who knew what havoc on his life.
Lifelong enemies.
Tristan might choose to dismiss the generations-long enmity between their two families, but Malorie didn’t have that privilege. Like all the other privileges wealthy, gorgeous Tristan took for granted that she couldn’t. But if she was going to restore her family company to glory, she might just need his help.
Or the perfect match?
They’d known each other all their lives. Could these childhood friends and lifelong enemies ever uncross their stars and find happily ever after?
I had really been looking forward to this book - the entire La Vie en Roses series is an absolute treat and basically my standard to which I uphold all contemporary romance. It's also pretty much the only contemporary romance series I have read in full, but ah, minor details.. :D This is basically a fairy tale in the most wonderful magical setting.
The characters
Tristan and Malorie are a fantastically matched couple who are beautifully fleshed out as individual characters. Tristan has already had some minor appearances in his cousin's novel but now is his time to shine and boy, does he ever. He is fucking perfect and adorable and a fantastic romantic hero. Tristan is also the artist in the family - he is the one actually creating the perfumes for Rosier SA, just like Jess from A Wish Upon Jasmine. In this story, Malorie is the one with the rational background and not without reason: whereas the Rosiers are a big, tight-knit and prosperous family, the Monsards are the absolute opposite, right down to being collaborators in the War and selling out Tante Colette's best friends. Damn. And if this family shame was not enough, all the Monsard men are fucking useless wastrels who made things even worse for the family so honestly, Malorie being guarded and fighting for everything herself is totally logical.. and it makes the emotional payoff even sweeter. I also appreciated that Malorie was able to not conflate Tristan's actions with the manipulative stunts her father used to pull - sure, the was a Hero You Fucked Up moment but it was resolved in a mature and rewarding way.
The plot
I must admit I was a bit wary about the initial setup of "has fantasised about [the other person] ever since been a teen" - I did not want these characters being more in love with the idea of a person that the actual thing, especially after spending so many people apart. I needn't have worried though, the author did a beautiful and realistic job of turning this into a "I have secretly loved you for years" with emotional OOMPFH. All of this was so fucking worth it and absolutely sweet to see unfold. This was a fantastic enemies to lovers / friends to lovers story with a second chance flavour and I loved it.
The writing
Laura Florand is one of the most evocative writers I have ever read. I am instantly transported to the warm summers in the Provence, sun on my skin and flowers everywhere. This series makes me want to travel to the rose fields and study perfumery despite being allergic to pollen and highly sensitive towards smells. Her knowledge of the area and its people just shines through and coupled with her excellent skill of descriptions and the ability to conjure up the most beautiful emotional connections.. perfect. This story also has an additional, very personal layer of meaning to me. I could identify with Malorie so much at times, it really hurt. I very recently lost my grandmother, who was also my last remaining grandparent. My other grandmother passed away almost exactly three years ago and her life mirrored so many aspects of the women of the Monsard family, it's not even funny - the cheating and money-spending husband, being excluded from her community, trying to help the granddaughters and leaving everything to them. The death of Malorie's grandmother and the effect is has on her really resonated with me and made me feel very emotional throughout the book. In fact, my eyes were frequently burning and I was quite often close to tears. I just felt such a heartache - this is the highest compliment I can give, it really made me feel and again mourn the loss of my family.
In my review of Wish Upon Jasmine, I noted that the Resistance hero worship surrounding Colette and Pépé was lain on quite thick at times and I hoped that any future instalments in the series would tone it down a bit. Obviously, the complete opposite happened in this book BUT it totally worked as it was utilised to contrast the family situations of the Rosiers and the Monsards.
I am at a loss for words how to adequately describe this lovely story, it was an absolute delight. Read it, but start at the beginning of the series first. Also, the episode? The ending? AW YEAHHHHHHH
July 20, 2017
3.25 stars
March 10, 2017
(Previous review was a rating 3.5)
Thanks to Laura Florand for giving this to me as an ARC. It's been a while since I read it and I've had a review drafted for this for ages. One of the most enjoyable things about Laura's books is her writing style. She captures the beautiful region of Provence beautifully with vivid and luscious details. She is my go to author for books about couples in France, especially Paris and chocolatiers - read her Amour et Chocolat series people! The books are pure escapism and romantic, a great insight into romance and family bonds. I've been a huge fan of her work since I read The Chocolate Thief.
So more about the book, A Crown of Bitter Orange: Tristan Rosier is the main perfume designer for the Rosier family business. He's been in love with Malorie since he was a young boy but she could never take him seriously due to her trust issues. She built up walls to avoid romantic entanglements and was determined to fix up a property and build her own family empire. Tristan offers his help to fix up the place while they work out their relationship complications and learn more about their family history. While I was interested in Tristan from the other books in La Vie en Rose series, I don't think the second chance romance worked for me as much as I would've liked. It was definitely enjoyable but Malorie's personality was hard to deal with sometimes. I enjoyed most of their scenes but feel like Malorie had her walls so high that even by the end it was rushed.
Ultimately, the beautiful descriptions of Provence elevated the book for me. I did find the romance scenes to be beautiful and heartfelt. I loved the insight into the perfume business and how perfume designers create little bottles of art. I will continue to read this series because the LONG LOST ROSIER is back and can't wait to read the angst and all the Rosier shenanigans.
Thanks to Laura Florand for giving this to me as an ARC. It's been a while since I read it and I've had a review drafted for this for ages. One of the most enjoyable things about Laura's books is her writing style. She captures the beautiful region of Provence beautifully with vivid and luscious details. She is my go to author for books about couples in France, especially Paris and chocolatiers - read her Amour et Chocolat series people! The books are pure escapism and romantic, a great insight into romance and family bonds. I've been a huge fan of her work since I read The Chocolate Thief.
So more about the book, A Crown of Bitter Orange: Tristan Rosier is the main perfume designer for the Rosier family business. He's been in love with Malorie since he was a young boy but she could never take him seriously due to her trust issues. She built up walls to avoid romantic entanglements and was determined to fix up a property and build her own family empire. Tristan offers his help to fix up the place while they work out their relationship complications and learn more about their family history. While I was interested in Tristan from the other books in La Vie en Rose series, I don't think the second chance romance worked for me as much as I would've liked. It was definitely enjoyable but Malorie's personality was hard to deal with sometimes. I enjoyed most of their scenes but feel like Malorie had her walls so high that even by the end it was rushed.
Ultimately, the beautiful descriptions of Provence elevated the book for me. I did find the romance scenes to be beautiful and heartfelt. I loved the insight into the perfume business and how perfume designers create little bottles of art. I will continue to read this series because the LONG LOST ROSIER is back and can't wait to read the angst and all the Rosier shenanigans.
February 1, 2017
It really pains me to say this because I ADORE Laura Florand's books and writing but I struggled to read the first 3/4 of this book. I only continued because of how much I've loved all her previous books and knowing that some of this story will carry over to the next couple and I don't want to have missed anything. I'm glad I did because the lat 1/3 was gorgeous.
There was so much repetition of words, thoughts, phrases, conversations for the first 60-ish%. As if repeating things enough made the emotions more intense but it just didn't work for me.
On the positive side - I adored the exploration of the both families rich history, often very dark, and how it played into their current relationship. And as always, Florand's lush descriptions of of the French countryside, flowers, and perfumes transported me to another place.
There was so much repetition of words, thoughts, phrases, conversations for the first 60-ish%. As if repeating things enough made the emotions more intense but it just didn't work for me.
On the positive side - I adored the exploration of the both families rich history, often very dark, and how it played into their current relationship. And as always, Florand's lush descriptions of of the French countryside, flowers, and perfumes transported me to another place.
November 10, 2022
I suppose I enjoyed about the first half enough, maybe that's why it's one more star.. but honestly it was another disappointment in this series. I do like Tristan, but I'm not feeling the chemistry with this couple, or the story, or the writing.. it feels like this series is just repetitive formulas which Florand only made it work in the first book.
March 12, 2017
I always love to read stories in which the main characters share a history together, and I got exactly that in this book. Tristan and Malorie, somehow like Damien and Jess in the previous book of "La Vie en Roses" series, had a connected past that went beyond just casual accquaintance. They grew up together, went to the same school, were in the same class. Malorie was Tristan's anchor when he found it hard to focus on his study (judging from his symptoms, I guess he had ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder - as a kid. It's a common mental disorder in children that made the patients hard to focus on things). And Tristen had a crush on Malorie ever since; he grew up admiring Malorie's determination and courage to go out there and live her life as she wanted.
But Malorie wasn't all just that courageous and strong. She had her own problems and ghosts from the past, too. She grew up with a father who used gifts to buy his family's trust and dependence, then later tossed them out and make them hurt while he selfishly lived his debauchery life. This is why Malorie found it hard to trust men, to depend on men and to share with men her true self. She learned her way into the world, becoming an independent woman who vowed to never need any men in her life, especially men like Tristan - hot, sexy and a lady killer, who could have every woman he wanted, and also who she thought didn't deserve her trust. But the angst between Malorie and Tristan went deeper than that, because it involved her shame at her family's history - the ancestors who sold innocent people, including some of the Rosiers - to the Nazis during WWII.
To Malorie, Tristan had it all - a family who loved him, a reputation, both of a lady killer and of a young, super talented perfumer, and basically the ability to have everything he wanted without having to work on it. While Malorie, now deciding to return to Grasse, had a family heritance that she had to rebuild - la Maison de Monsard, among the shamefulness that had been carved into the Monsard name since the Resistence. So began the journey of these two people - known each other since childhood, but not actually understood each other - to find love, trust and understanding, to learn and to realized what truly matter to each other, as well as the way to work together, to be a team, to be "ours", and to leave the past behind.
What I love about Laura Florand's "La Vie en Roses" series, not just this book, is her way of creating and describing the beautiful setting of Grasse - the perfume capital of the world. She made the Rosiers and the Monsards - both fictional family - seem so real, even just for a minute, among the background of a scenic, historic place. She made me want to go to France, visit Grasse, and have a life there among the roses, jasmines and bitter orange blossoms. Gosh!!!
And I must admit, although I found this book way better than the first book in the series, I still had to give it 4 stars like the first book. Because to me, nothing can surpass the second book - the story of Damien and Jess which deserve a 5 star rating :)) That's the golden standard right there :D
But Malorie wasn't all just that courageous and strong. She had her own problems and ghosts from the past, too. She grew up with a father who used gifts to buy his family's trust and dependence, then later tossed them out and make them hurt while he selfishly lived his debauchery life. This is why Malorie found it hard to trust men, to depend on men and to share with men her true self. She learned her way into the world, becoming an independent woman who vowed to never need any men in her life, especially men like Tristan - hot, sexy and a lady killer, who could have every woman he wanted, and also who she thought didn't deserve her trust. But the angst between Malorie and Tristan went deeper than that, because it involved her shame at her family's history - the ancestors who sold innocent people, including some of the Rosiers - to the Nazis during WWII.
To Malorie, Tristan had it all - a family who loved him, a reputation, both of a lady killer and of a young, super talented perfumer, and basically the ability to have everything he wanted without having to work on it. While Malorie, now deciding to return to Grasse, had a family heritance that she had to rebuild - la Maison de Monsard, among the shamefulness that had been carved into the Monsard name since the Resistence. So began the journey of these two people - known each other since childhood, but not actually understood each other - to find love, trust and understanding, to learn and to realized what truly matter to each other, as well as the way to work together, to be a team, to be "ours", and to leave the past behind.
What I love about Laura Florand's "La Vie en Roses" series, not just this book, is her way of creating and describing the beautiful setting of Grasse - the perfume capital of the world. She made the Rosiers and the Monsards - both fictional family - seem so real, even just for a minute, among the background of a scenic, historic place. She made me want to go to France, visit Grasse, and have a life there among the roses, jasmines and bitter orange blossoms. Gosh!!!
And I must admit, although I found this book way better than the first book in the series, I still had to give it 4 stars like the first book. Because to me, nothing can surpass the second book - the story of Damien and Jess which deserve a 5 star rating :)) That's the golden standard right there :D
June 21, 2017
Just reread the first 2 books and then this one. Will post on the blog and link here as soon as I can .
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