Perfect Scents

by Virginia Taylor

[stacey_is_sassy]

Perfect…if you like the smell of hard work

***3.5 Stars***

I have a thing for Tradies. Maybe, I should clarify. A fit and healthy man with a pair of hard yakka navy blue shorts, t-shirt and steel toed boots are HOT!! Now, don’t judge me but I REALLY like it when hubby gets dressed for heading out on site for work. His “uniform” is of the “tradie” variety and it really emphasises his well-defined calf muscles…and other stuff. I think it makes it hotter that he’s really a desk/computer man, who sidelines as a “tradie”. His tradie side is like his Superman costume to me. He puts it on…and I swoon.

Well, now that I’ve got myself all fluttery thinking about hubby in his “costume”, let’s get back to the story.

So, Perfect Scents is about finding out that some plans are meant to go off track. Calli is recovering from a broken heart…or, more frankly, a broken bank account. It’s not always easy to find love when your parents are rich. You have to worm your way past the social climbers, money grubbers and career steppers. Calli seems to have a bad habit of picking the worst of the bunch and it’s time for her to step away and fix the mess of her life. Calli’s on track until she’s tackled by the meth dealers who live next door. Well, she thought they were meth dealers…

Kell has a plan…work hard. Everything around that is just stuff. He wants to make something of himself. Kell doesn’t mind working hard because he knows if he has a nice house, fancy car and high earning business, he’s a success (misguided fool). Women, they have a use but he doesn’t want to keep one. Kell’s on track until he finds a young boy casing the joint next door. Well, he thought it was a young boy…

Turns out, love has a way of messing with plans and these two must work out whether their plans can be tweaked to fit each other in.

I enjoyed Perfect Scents. There were a few times that I felt the characters were a lot older than their years. It wasn’t just their maturity or life experience leading them to grow up early. I just found the terms used and decisions they made were something I would see in someone older. I saw them as aged in their late thirties instead of late twenties. To be honest, I would have loved to see more of their falling in love. We're told it's happening but at times I felt like I blinked and missed it. As per usual, the knuckleheads would have suffered a lot less if they had communicated better…but where would the fun be in that?

It was fun getting to see the renovations as they were being done. I enjoyed watching them discuss the benefits of adding more market value but adding a butlers pantry. Or, whether or not plain white tiles were boring or right for the look of Kell’s investment property. The planting side of things for Calli was interesting too. I can kill a flowering bush from 20 paces so a lot of it was completely new to me.

Perfect Scents was a sweet story about finding love when you’re not looking for it. I liked the characters and was satisfied with their connection.

Stacey is Sassy, received a complimentary copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.