The Collector of Dying Breaths

by M.J. Rose

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

I read The Collector of Dying Breaths slowly, as if I was taking my last breath. The story was as intoxicating as the perfumes described in its pages.

When a story is told in two parts let alone two centuries I am usually drawn more towards one. This was not the case here. I was just as invested in Jac's story as I was Rene's. Throughout the novel's intertwining stories I was torn who I wanted to hear more from. Rene and Cathrine played off the royal intrigue and backstabbing well and kept my interest level up. From the start of the book it was obvious that Rene had nerve, but he played his hand well and Cathrine de Medici's devoted faith in him reminded me a bit of the Tsarina Alexandra and Rasputin. From an outsider looking in, it all appeared off kilter and as odd as some of the ingredients in the perfumes Rene created.

At the start of Jac's story with Robbie's death, Jac's darkness was my darkness and she brought me in. For not having actually lived in the 1500s Melinoe and Serge sure creept the hell out of me. They were dark and ominous; this along with the castle backdrop created the perfect Gothic palate.

I just watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, at the very end Indiana Jone's colleague Elsa Schneider gets greedy and tries to take the Holy Grail for herself. She pays with her life and Indy almost falls to the same fate if his father hadn't told Junior to let go. That is how I felt about the fantastic plot of The Collector of Dying Breaths, a temple of suspense, a seemingly unachievable goal that many have aspired to. This novel was wow, just wow, M.J. Rose's book was spellbinding and is a colossal work of fiction which I would highly recommend.