13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
fantastic ghost story from Kat Martin!, June 25, 2006
This review is from: Scent Of Roses (Mass Market Paperback)
Elizabeth Conners returned home to San Pico, California after a disastrous marriage. She enjoys her role as a family counselor and is particularly touched by one young man's efforts to rehabilitate himself. She is consequently unable to resist when Raul Perez asks her to check on his pregnant sister, Maria Santiago, as he fears something is wrong.
Maria is frightened by ghostly visits from a young girl telling her she must leave or her baby will die. These visits are accompanied by the decaying stench of roses, inexplicable coldness, and the lonely sound of a train on an unused track. Maria's husband, Miguel, is frustrated and angry over his wife's insistence that a ghost is visiting her and doesn't want anyone's help in the matter.
Naturally, Elizabeth assumes there is a logical explanation behind Maria's ghost. She enlists the help of town bad boy, Zachary Harcourt, to investigate the matter and one by one, they begin eliminating all of the rational possibilities. Meanwhile, Elizabeth is losing her heart to Zachary but isn't willing to believe that his bad boy ways have changed, even when she realizes that he is actually the founder of Teen Vision, the program Raul has enrolled in. Zach has chosen to let his more politically minded brother, Carson, take all of the credit but why is Carson so concerned with Elizabeth and Zach's investigation into the Santiago house?
Kat Martin has crafted an eerie thriller that cleverly mixes the paranormal with intrigue. SCENT OF ROSES is a multilayered novel with several subplots, all neatly tied together in one very enjoyable conclusion. Kat Martin gradually increases the tension while providing several gut-wrenching scenes, including at least one that will have the reader reaching for a Kleenex.
This reviewer is particularly pleased with the character of Elizabeth Conners. Generally, romances with social workers involve plots where the social worker falls in love with a client or some other ridiculous idea- exactly the sort of thing that would cause the social worker to lose all credibility and any licensure. In SCENT OF ROSES, this is not the case. Elizabeth acts as one would expect a counselor/social worker to act and therefore makes the story all the more believable.
One aspect that makes this novel eerier than other ghost stories is the plausibility of the ghost story. Kat Martin brings the drama to life and the reader feels each cold shiver when the ghost appears. Perhaps this is because the story has some factual basis as she was inspired by a similar ghost story. However, only a writer as talented as Kat Martin could have truly pulled this off as the reader is left with the sense that all of it is real.
Readers more interested in the romantic angle will not be disappointed, either. The relationship between Elizabeth and Zach is heart-warming. Both have been hurt before and neither is willing or able to trust others easily. The growth of their love is touching and not solely based on sex but instead shows true development that will resonate with readers.
SCENT OF ROSES is sure to be a hit with readers of both romantic suspense and the paranormal. Strong character development coupled with a spooky ghost story make this story one that will be remembered long after the last page is turned. Kat Martin proves once again why she is a best selling author!
COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Scent of Roses, May 10, 2009
This review is from: Scent Of Roses (Mass Market Paperback)
The cloying scent of decaying roses always preceded the appearance of the child ghost who warned of danger to Maria's unborn child.
I am not a fan of romances. I bought this book by mistake. But the horror of the ghostly apparitions and the puzzles involved in this paranormal mystery are fun and do hold the reader's interest.
Pregnant Maria sees a terrifying ghost, but her husband doesn't believe her. Because of this, she is forced to stay in the house, haunted and barely sleeping, fearing for the life of her child.
Enter Elizabeth, a social worker and the first to believe Maria's story, and the town "bad boy" who, together, try to solve the mystery of this terrifying apparition. Furtively, they search for answers... and fall in love.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
PARANORMAL ROMANCE, July 13, 2006
This review is from: Scent Of Roses (Mass Market Paperback)
Elizabeth Conner is a psychologist in the small town of San Pico in California in the San Joaquin Valley. She never thought she would move back home, but after her divorce she needed the quiet and peace and she knows she is needed here. She works as a Family Counsler. One of her patients Maria Santiago, comes to her with a tale of spirits in her house. Elizabeth wants to help and spends a night with her, while her husband is at work, the presence makes itself known and Liz feels she needs to find out what is happening in the house.
Zachary Harcourt was the bad boy in town when Liz was younger. Now after he has spent time in prison he is here to help the young men face a difficult future. His brother Carson is running the multi-million dollar farm because their father was injured and his mind is bad. Zach turned his life around and is a lawyer in L.A. He started Teen Vision but lets Carson take the credit. He only wants to help other young men. He has always been a loner all his life. Never allowing himself to get close to anyone. That way he doesn't get hurt. But with Liz he finds he wants to get closer to the beautiful woman, he remembers as a young girl.
When Liz and Zach start to investigate the haunting neither believes, but when they feel the presence and Liz sees the young girl, both are determined to find out what happened and release her from the dark in the house. The house is only four years old but a previous house was on the exact spot for many years. Carson trys to stop them at every point. Zach has never tried to interfere with the way Carson runs the farm, but now he must fight for the right to get surgery for their father. As they dig deeper into the previous tenants of the house a dark secret will be revealed and this secret will lead to some more surprising secrets.
I liked this book, secrets abound, and the plot is excellent, I must admit the only thing I didn't like was the way the romance came to a conclusion. Everything turns out well. It is well worth the price.
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