Margot Berwin

I wasn’t sure what to think about this book when it arrived on my doorstep some weeks back. I was worried that it was one of those books, like Chocolat, that goes so heavy on the senses, that bombards you with tastes or sounds or smells, that you almost feel the need to rinse your mouth or sit in a quiet chapel or spray some air freshener around.

It was a sensory experience, reading this book. Happily, it wasn’t overload.

On her eighteenth birthday, Eva’s grandmother places a drop of an show more amazing scent created just for her on Eva’s neck, and suddenly everyone is compulsively drawn to Eva.

It’s a mixed blessing, as most blessing are, and Eva, though at first thrilled with this new power, gradually comes to want others to be drawn to her in spite of, rather than because of, her scent. show less

In your own backyard, start out by placing a terracotta pot in direct sunlight. Grab seeds for magical realism, women's fiction and erotic romance (!), bury into the rich soil, water and cultivate . . . what sprouts will be Margot Berwin's Hothouse Flower, an incredibly strange but engrossing read that killed a six-hour plane ride for me in no time.

Lila is a damaged, crazed and especially vulnerable woman. As she tries to change and move on, she feels a kinship with the plants she purchases show more from David Exley -- an unusual man who doesn't seem interested in our heroine until he discovers her connection to the Nine Plants of Desire. Desire is a funny word in this book, because it's everywhere . . . love and raw sensuality run through the novel like a current, drawing readers into a supple world where plants inspire amour and urges won't be denied. I'll be frank: I didn't expect so much sex in this book, but sex was there to be had. All over the place. Like, a lot.

Ahem.

But there was plenty more to this story, too. The novel takes an incredibly weird turn halfway through as we journey to the Yucatan Peninsula with Lila and Armand, and it's there that we learn more about the Nine Plants and their properties. The descriptions were absolutely intoxicating: dreams the plants can help you discover; fears you can overcome; love you can inspire, all with a cutting from a fern. It's too fantastical to be believed, though, right?

Right?

Lila doesn't think so -- and, confronted with hard proof, she knows Armand's crazy stories about the plants must be true. othouse Flower is richly atmospheric and interesting, but it also left me deeply unsettled -- especially after a certain drug- and dog-related scene toward the latter part of the novel (awful). It felt sort of like an acid trip: all Technicolor scenes, strange occurrences, magical plants and sexy sex time in the rain forest. What started out as a simple post-divorce story in New York City morphed in a wholly unexpected way . . . and I'm not sure I dug it.

But I did tear through this like the hounds of hell were on my trail, and that's saying something. I consumed the entire book on my plane ride home from London -- hours in which I could have been getting some precious and much-needed sleep. Once I'd started, I couldn't set it down.

Say what you will about it, but I doubt you'll ever read another book like Hothouse Flower -- like Armand's flowers, the premise and product are one-of-a-kind. And that makes it worth a read for me. show less

Reviewed by: April
Book provided by: Publisher
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

A very unique story, Scent of Darkness is told in an abstract sort of way that almost leaves the interpretation of the story and its characters to the reader, allowing different readers to take away different ideas. This is how I felt as I read and finished the story in any case. The writing style that Margot Berwin uses in Scent of Darkness flows rather beautifully, almost like a novel in prose. Both show more of these aspects are what truly stand out for me and made the story unique and unlike anything else that I have read before. Was this a positive or a negative? Honestly, a bit of both. Let me explain. Overall, I enjoyed the story very much and found it to be entertaining. It was also a very quick read for me, grabbing from the beginning and intriguing me until the end. I also enjoyed the prose-like style. An example of the abstract type of prose is as follows: “Human beings are defenseless against scent. They can’t hide from it because they can’t see it, or touch it, or hold it. All by itself it crawls into their brains, and by the time they’re in love with it, or the person it’s coming from, it’s too late. They’re tied to it forever, through the long, tight leash of memory.” This is taken from the first page and sets a fairly representative tone of the entire story, I feel.

Imagine a scent that is created just for you; a scent that takes over your body, your life and changes each and every aspect forever. Scent of Darkness is Eva’s story; the story of how a few drops of scent, created just for her, by her Grandmother, creeps through every pore, every vein, and every milliliter of her body. The effect not only changes her, but all of those around her – strangers, lovers, and friends, humans and animals are captivated and obsessed by Eva. Scent of Darkness is the story of how passion blinds and can create or destroy lives.

I truly loved the way that the author uses scent and the craft of creating scent to weave her story. I found this rather fascinating to be honest. The character development was interesting and I found myself really liking Gabriel, the friend turned lover of Eva. Michael, the passionate and rather greedy artist I found to be both on the likeable side as well as the distasteful side. Eva, I simply could not attach myself to. I actually found myself wanting to smack her a few times because, to me, she seemed incredibly self-centered. Keep in mind, this is completely my own personal opinion and thoughts and others may find themselves intrigued and like Eva. I do want to say that I loved the ending and commend the author on the excellence of it.

Overall, the story was very well crafted and enjoyable. I would recommend Scent of Darkness to anyone who enjoys paranormal/mystical types of stories and is looking for something unique. Would I read this author again? Yes, I would love to compare her writing style with this work with her other works. show less

This novel is a unique and sensual adventure. By that I don't mean that it's an erotic book. I mean that the narrative description (as well as the characters) openly delight in the senses. Brief plot: Lila is a New York City ad executive in her thirties who meets a) Exley, a hottie at the green market who sells Lila her first exotic plant and b) Armand, an eccentric owner of a business normally associated with drab and dreariness but which he has turned into a botanical garden filled with show more vibrant, flourishing rare plants. The lives of these three cross in a completely unexpected way, which leads to the three of them crossing paths again in Playa Del Carmen (Mexico's Mayan Riviera). There's a criminal act, a quest of atonement, another hottie, danger, possible tragedy, a lot of scorpions, and HUGE bugs. The nine plants are each described in a lavish and loving way that almost humanizes them. Legend says that anyone who has all nine plants at one time will receive every desire known to humankind. Plant obsessives will do ANYTHING to collect all nine, hence the crime, the journey, and the possible tragedy. A mistake of Lila's causes her to be central to this world of which she, only recently, was entirely ignorant. Her complete unsuitability for this adventure is pivotal to the novel's charm. I enjoyed it tremendously! show less