The Gold Scent Bottle
Grade : C-

I don't read many Regency Romances, so I'm pretty picky when I do read one. Since I'm always eager to read a new-to-me author, I had high hopes for Dorothy Mack's The Gold Scent Bottle, especially since the title was so intriguing. Unfortunately, I was left feeling flat by the end of the book.

Four years ago, Max Waring's fiance Felicity up and married his father instead of him. Feeling betrayed by the two people he loved, he ran off to join the army. Now he's back, but he's still fighting bitter feelings and a lingering attraction to his stepmother. On his first night back in London he meets Roland Monroe, and they proceed to engage in some card playing. But Roland turns out to be a poor player; preoccupied by thoughts of his stepmother, Max lets the game go on too long and Roland loses badly to Max. He delivers a gold scent bottle to him as collateral on what he owes. The bottle, however, belongs to his sister Abigail, and she wants it back. The lengths she goes to - sneaking into Max's house to get the bottle - set the scene for the rest of the book.

Max decides that Abigail can have her scent bottle back if she'll agree to one little thing. Here it comes - I'm sure you can guess - he wants her to pretend to be his fiance during a visit to his family! This is one of my least favorite plot devices, and when I felt it coming, I couldn't help but cringe. Still and all, though, any plot device, however stale, can be overcome by a good writer, but there were no surprises offered to take the stale taste away. First Felicity treats Abigail badly in a thoroughly typical fashion. Then Max, after observing both Abigail and Felicity together, realizes that he never loved his former fiance and that Abigail is a much better person.

Even a stale set of circumstances can be overcome by a strong romantic component and good characterization. Both Max and Abigail are likable characters and their bantering did lend itself to a few smiles, but I never really warmed up to them as a romantic couple. I felt their courtship followed a fairly predictable path with no real surprises or standouts. Felicity just seemed to be a caricature to me; to be honest, I could not get a handle on what Max's father saw in her. The earl's explanation of why he basically stole his son's fiance left a lot to be desired in my eyes. I was also hoping for a little more history on the gold scent bottle itself. We learn it belonged to Abigail's mother but not much else. Both Max and Abigail lost their mothers young, and yet I never sensed that it did anything to bond them.

Fans of Dorothy Mack may better enjoy this offering, but I found the book a tepid mix of romance and the Regency era.

Reviewed by Lori-Anne Cohen
Grade : C-
Book Type: Regency Romance

Sensuality: Subtle

Review Date : March 31, 2000

Publication Date: 2000

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  1. I always admired the US ability to fail and try again. At least, I was told that this is American:…

Lori-Anne Cohen

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