VBT Review: The Odor Of Violet

THE ODOR OF VIOLET

By

Ju Ephraime

BLURB:

STEP INTO THE SIGHTLESS WORLD OF DAMIEN FALCONER, AS HE STRUGGLES TO COME TO GRIPS WITH THE BLISTERING ATTRACTION HE FEELS FOR HIS NEW PERSONAL ASSISTANT, LISA ANDREWS.

Full of self-doubt as he struggled to regain his independence, the last thing Damien was looking for when he hired his new assistant, was to fall in love. So, he fought it for as long as he could, until the feelings he had for Lisa kept chipping away at him. Exposing a heart he had thought encased in stone, never to love again.

Lisa, a gentle, caring individual, a professional nurse, and inexperienced in matters of the heart, was ill-equipped to deal with the emotional and physical attraction she felt for her boss, Damien Falconer. Fully cognizant of the pitfalls that exist in such a relationship, Lisa fought equally hard to resist the powerful lure of Damien.

The blistering attraction between Damien and Lisa was searing in its intensity. Both were trying desperately to do the right thing, but the fates had other plans for them. Can two hearts that were broken be made whole again?…..

EXCERPT:

The Odor of Violet

Ms. Andrews walked into the room, and Damien felt the air leave his lungs. He could not see her, but he

felt Jake’s reaction also. He was not certain if he was mirroring Jake’s reaction to the candidate or his

own overactive imagination. Whatever the reason, he had a physical reaction to whomever it was that

walked into his library. She was polite and calm, and he sensed she had a smile on her face because Jake

had an answering smile in his voice when he greeted her. Poor Damien, he couldn’t see a thing, but boy,

was he aware of her. He could smell the fragrance she was wearing, and it was doing strange things to

his body.

There was a hint of jasmine, mixed with a bit of musk, but the overwhelming scent was of violet. He

recognized the scent because of the perfusion of violet plants that grew in the garden surrounding his

house.

It was his favorite flower. He was never tired of sitting on the porch just inhaling its heady fragrance.

On Ms. Andrews, the fragrance was positively intoxicating. The mixture of violet with her unique scent

was overpowering. Damien was almost in pain from the strength of his physical reaction to her. He was

uncomfortable in his seat and kept fidgeting and moving to get a more comfortable position. He did not

want either Jake or the young woman to notice his discomfort. He desperately wanted to see the

woman who was in his library, but he had to be content with just listening to her responses to Jake’s

questions.

She sounded a bit flustered because she would begin each response with a slight nervous laugh, and

Jake would respond in kind. This exchange between the two infuriated Damien, who wanted to

participate in the conversation. He interrupted one of Jake’s questions to her with one of his own.

“Tell me, Ms. Andrews, how long have you been out of school?”

Review Rating: 3.5 LIGHTNING BOLTS

Review:  Moving, emotional, and characters that are well rounded, The Odor of Violet makes for an emotionally investing read.  When I heard about this story, and how the hero is blind, I was interested immediately.  It's hard to write a story that catches people's attention, but when you take out one of the five senses from a character, especially one like vision, I'll tell you the author did an AMAZING job with that! it can't be easy to not describe something very visual when in Damein's point of view, but it was done rather well. Good job!

The writing itself is good. I had a few problems with the flow of the story, and so much of it is narrative, at times it's like the story bogged down without more dialog. Lisa and Damien have an imminent attraction, and though she works for him, she can't help how she feels. 

Overall, I did enjoy the story. It had it's slow movements, but the characters really kept me going. I wanted to know more about Lisa, and Damien, and his life now that he's lost his vision.

The Odor of Violet is compelling. Writing flawed characters is one thing. Add something to them that makes them unique is challenging.  Kudos to a well thought out character. 

AUTHOR INFORMATION:  

I can’t recall a time in my life when I wasn’t writing. I know I started a long, long, time ago. I began writing short stories for the local radio station in my home town, which were read on the air at story time. After I had my children, I went back to school to further my education. I have since earned several degrees, including two Masters and a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University in Boston. During the course of my schooling, I wrote and published a working curriculum for a career school, as well as, other literary works. A couple years ago, I revisited my first love, writing for fun and enjoyment.

I live in a small town in Connecticut, where the closest thing to a mall is a shopping strip, so nothing exciting happens there. I’m a mother of three and a grandmother of five. My dog Bondine is my favorite companion when I take up pen and paper to write.

Many of my stories are set in the places I've visited. The children I encounter during my travels determine the theme of the book.  I love to write stories about talented, inquisitive, and curious children who are thirsty for knowledge.

When I’m not writing my children books, I write romance novels under a pen name. Oftentimes, I take the time to visit the places in which my stories are set, which is the icing on the cake. My second love is traveling, and those times when I can combine writing with traveling, I’m usually in writers' heaven because I’m doing my two most favorite things...

LINKS:

http://www.juliaeantoine.com/default.html

http://www.facebook.com/juephraimeauthor?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/EditorJulia

http://juephraime.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_8?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ju+ephraime&sprefix=ju+ephra%2Cstripbooks%2C240

http://shop.envisionschoolpublishing.com/

Ju will be awarding a $50.00 Gift Certificate, winner's choice,to Amazon, Kobo, B&N, or ENVISION to one randomly chosen commenter and one randomly chosen host during the tour.

You can follow the tour stops  here