I really enjoyed The Scent of Lavender when I read it last June (I never posted a review here so I figured I'd do so now). I was so invested in the story that it was hard to put it down even for a couple of minutes. I just needed to see how everything played out and I really wanted to find out why people were reacting the way they did upon first seeing Saskia.
There was a handful of times where the characters made some pretty poor decisions that had me wanting to smack some sense into them (i.e. jumping to conclusions, withholding pertinent information, etc.). Having said that, that is part of the books appeal. It kept me hooked and I found myself anxiously awaiting the resolution (or the fallout). Alternating POV's can either make or break a book. Luckily, the alternating POV's worked very well for this book. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much had it been told from Saskia's POV alone. I will say that I didn't particularly care much for Geraldine or Philippe. Although as the book went on and more of his background was revealed, I found myself feeling quite sorry for Philippe.
The characters were well developed and there was some incredible use of imagery. It was so easy to imagine the setting and picture those beautiful vineyards!
Thankfully, the epilogue managed to wrap things up quite nicely and hadn't left me with any lingering questions. ( )