4.5 stars I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Honestly, I really dislike books told in the first person, but I found the characters and storyline engaging enough that I often forgot it was written that way. Typically, I won't get past a page. I kept feeling a building anxiety as the book progressed worrying about how long Nico would delay telling the truth. At one point in the book I stopped reading to give my wife the run down on the story and how there was going to be big trouble ahead, lol. I love the classic trope in this book and can't wait for more from this author! I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m rating Scent one star because I am not happy with the main relationship, and since this is a romance novel, I’m supposed to root for said relationship. In my opinion, Nico is a very unlikeable character and has shown countless red flags throughout the book. I’m going to attempt to list them all here:

1. The Big Lie.Nico’s exes were horrible people who used her for her money, so I understand that Nico is wary about the possibility of starting a new relationship. However, after a brief misunderstanding that is much too convenient (more on “convenient” later), Nico decides that pretending to be poorer than she really is (a warehouse worker, instead of an artist-slash-business-owner) would be the perfect way to assess the purity of Sophia’s intentions. But this makes no sense to me: she wants Sophia to like her for who she really is, but she’s going to lie about MAJOR parts of her life, including art, her supposed life’s passion? What?Now, back to convenience: there are so many convenient little events that make it easier for Nico to keep up the lie (e.g. Nico forgetting that her Audi was in the repair shop and having to drive her old truck to the date). At a certain point, it becomes contrived and eyeroll-worthy.
2. Insensitivity. Ethics of lying aside, pretending to be poor is just plain insensitive. Income levels are not costumes to don only when it’s convenient. And on top of it all, Nico is just plain bad at pretending to be poor. She says so many things that reek of privilege.
3. Stalking. I got a stalker vibe from Nico at the end of the first chapter, but I dismissed the idea and tried to think of Nico as just a bit overzealous. Unfortunately, Nico shows stalker behavior several times throughout the book. Sophia briefly calls Nico out on this, but her concerns are not taken seriously.
4. Dismissiveness. Nico is constantly condescending toward Sophia and repeatedly fails to take Sophia’s feelings into account. Nico shows up at Sophia’s place on a motorcycle, fully expecting Sophia to hop on the back without ever having discussed the topic. Nico is also rude about Sophia’s introversion. At one point, she asks Sophia, “Wow, you actually have a best friend?” And during another conversation, Nico brushes away Sophia’s concerns about interacting with people she doesn’t know. (As an introvert who’s suffered from severe social anxiety in the past and who has had countless people make snide comments or try to “fix” me, this was so aggravating to read.) Also, at one point, Nico dismisses the idea that Sophia could possibly be feeling any angst about their relationship, which reinforces a common theme throughout the book: that Nico lowkey thinks she’s the only person who’s suffered in life.
5. Forcefulness. Nico has a complete inability to take no for an answer. She does not accept Sophia’s hesitation toward dating (which is a bit hypocritical, since Nico has her own dating issues and couldn’t bear to be in a relationship for months after her divorce), and amends Sophia’s sentences with “not yet.”
During the inevitable end-of-book conflict, Nico’s actions to um…get Sophia back…are extremely troubling. For example, she knocks on Sophia’s door for twenty minutes at three in the morning until Sophia’s neighbors threaten to call the police. I’m sorry, what??
6. Vanity. Okay, so this is probably the least problematic Nico-related gripe I have, but oh my god. How many times does Nico have to tell us she looks good?? Like, we get it Nico. You’re hot, you’re strong, you’re tan, you’re hella fashionable, whatever. I stopped caring after the second time it was mentioned.

With all this being said, I cannot understand why Sophia would want a HEA with Nico. Sophia is a lovely character who I would have loved getting to know more, but unfortunately, we only get to see her as Nico’s umm…conquest. Nico’s sister Trish, Nico’s parents, and Sophia’s grandmother were all wonderful as well, but any joy they added to the story was greatly overshadowed by the issues I had with Nico.
It’s obvious that Kris Bryant can write, and I’m sure that there will be books of hers that I will enjoy more than this one. Scent was just not the book for me.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

𝗔 𝟵𝟬𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵!

Nico boards the train every Thursday just to catch the glimpse of a beautiful stranger with the sweetest scent. Six weeks later, she is still not ready to make the first move until this stranger shows up unexpectedly at her workplace. That is when Nico finally takes the first step but chooses to hide the identity as an up-and-coming business owner and almost-world renowned artist. Nico pursues Sophia but Sophia has only one goal in mind and that is to save her family’s chocolate business. She has no time for, who she thinks is, a humble warehouse worker Nico. But Nico’s charm wins her over until the truth spills.

Does anyone remember the romantic comedies of the 1990s? The ones that were cheesy and illogical but we never really questioned? This book is 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘁 but in 2020. This book has all the clichés of the 1990s rom coms. First, we have Sophia Sweet (lol, come on!), the chocolatier who’s a workaholic in need of ‘saving’. We have Nico who stalks Sophia for six weeks straight on the train, a move considered romantic in the 90s but criminal behaviour today. We have a Nico who has been so emotionally hurt before that she chooses to keep her 'prince charming' status a secret. And we have Sophia, so clueless about being lied to by Nico that its absurd considering how many rookie mistakes Nico makes along the way and hello, google. Well, the list goes on.

In all honesty, if I were to review this book rationally or by what is considered acceptable today, it would have been shredded apart in minutes considering the illogicality of things and the blatant loopholes. But I really don’t think that was what the author was going for. So I tossed my notes aside and enjoyed this book for what it was worth and it brought back memories. And I loved it so much I found myself smiling from cover to cover. One bonus point is that this book features an ice queen and I love ice queens.

Kris Bryant is that type of author that’s your go to for a solid romance. Sadly this wasn’t one of them..
The story is told in first person in the MC Nico’s point of view and I wish it was told in both of the MC’s because Nico was seemed shallow, all about her hair and just not likable to me. Also she stalks Sophia and then lied and manipulated her for close to the whole book. Her reasons behind it are due to a couple of bad relationships where all they wanted Nico for was her money yet even with this past experience in many ways she is treating Sophia the same way. If I was Sophia I would’ve run far away.
Ms. Bryant is an amazing writer and I will always be a fan but this book just wasn’t for me. I give it 2.5 stars but round up to 3 because it’s Ms. Bryant and she’s awesome.
I was given this ARC review via NetGalley and publisher for an honest review. Many Thanks!

Nico Marshall own her own packaging company, with her sister, and is also a welder who has a show coming up, in addition to creating the packaging for a chocolate store. When she realizes the owner of the store is the beautiful woman she had been crushing from afar in her Thursday train rides, Nico pretends to be an average warehouse worker. Why? She want Sophie to like her for her and not for her money.

First I was surprised that this book was in first person. I would have liked to be in Sophie's shoes for a while. I thought she was a very interesting character, maybe more than Nico, so I would have like more on her.
Second, I thought Nico was a bit too pushy at the beginning, though her intentions were umm good? cute? .... I thought she was a bit too much in Sophie's space, when there was no clear indication on Sophie's side that she was super interested in Nico.
Third, I understand why Nico lied about who she was and how this is basically what the conflict will be between them, but that is a big lie! I was just having a hard time seeing Sophie falling for Nico and Nico not even considering telling her the truth.

Overall, it was a cute story and while I did not agree with everything Nico did, I did enjoy both characters and their chemistry. Definitely, a sweet and light read of a summer romance.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books in exchange for an honest review.

[Content warnings: manipulation from MC, stalker behavior from MC, mention of past alcohol abuse, mention of loss of parent to cancer, bi-erasure (without being called out), mention of past toxic relationships, graphic sex, pregnancy of side character, abusive main relationship]

Well, that was memorable.

At this point, I don’t care if I sounded judgmental, but Nico is an awful person. There are so many red flags throughout the story, and not only did I not get the chemistry between her and Sophia, I was hardcore against them being together. Plus, there were a lot of things that were oh-so-convenient for this huge lie to work out.

Nico and Sophia’s relationship started with Nico stalking Sophia on the Chicago subway and continued with Nico pretending to be poor when she is actually very rich. And yes, it was stalking when Nico <i>timed</i> their Thursday encounters. I get that Nico doesn’t want people to be after her money so she decided to pretend that she’s poor, but acting poor, actively pretending to be someone she’s not, all the while taking advantage of all her privileges made me very unhappy and angry on top of the whole relationship starting with deception. I wish everything had backfired epically on Nico and that Sophia never talked to her again.

It’s not very believable that Sophia knew Nicole Marshall, Tuft & Finley part owner and creative director, and Nico Marshall, warehouse worker, both work at the same company and not put two and two together. She had also heard Nico’s voice on the phone, seen her on the subway before she planned to play poor for fun. But let’s not blame the victim here. It is just one big awful lie, and by the end of the book, all the anger and distaste I felt toward Nico had made me emotionally tired. I felt resigned and that was a first for me while reading romance. Had this not been in the genre, it might have been exciting to see the manipulation and deceit played out.

Bryant clearly plans and writes well, despite a few confusing dialogues, and I really love that we have a soft butch character (there is also a casual mention of a random they/them character). But having Nico, a creep, as the first-person POV and one of the main characters in a romance is not something I love. My peak enjoyment of the story was laughing at how horrible Nico is, and she clearly does not deserve the lovely Sophia Sweet nor the unconditional support of her amazing sister Trish.

Reading “Scent” felt like reading an anti-romance, and now I need an actual cute romance to balance out all the distress I gained through this read. This might be a good romance if you could overlook the big lie and all the little details, but I couldn’t.

I was honestly expecting a valentines story based on the cover and the release date, so I was pleasantly surprised to have a warm summer read.

I liked that the book had both butch (Nico) and femme (Sophie) lesbians represented. Both Nico and Sophie were well rounded characters and felt very realistic. I loved the cast of side characters, who were fully developed people (shorter books like this often have flat side characters but this book did not have that problem). I am a sucker for food romances, especially chocolate romances, so this was right up my alley.

The only reason this is not a 5 star book is that I struggled with the book being first person from only Nico’s perspective. I did not like being cut off from Sophie, especially after the big reveal. I personally didn’t feel that Nico’s explanation and apology was sufficient so I would have liked to have access to Sophie’s brain to know her though process on the whole thing.

Overall the book was an entertaining short read and I would happily read other stories by Kris Bryant.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We have all had that random crush on a mysterious stranger who tends to occupy our thoughts without conscious effort. This story revolves around this type of scenario where fate lead to opportunity for more. The characters are well thought out and I found them both endearing. The plot starts out light and easy, but unfolds into more of a slightly dramatic love story with some exaggerated emotions and reactions when it is discovered that the main character has hidden her true identity. As expected, everything concludes in a slightly overly sweet ending with an epilogue showing a glance into the future. I’m a sucker for a good epilogue, and appreciated this one.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kris Bryant is usually one of my go to authors, but I barely made it through this one.

I knew going in that there was an element of ‘hidden identity’ but had assumed it would be a mix up that was resolved fairly early, unfortunately that is not the case. This features Nico (Nicole) part owner of a packaging company and aspiring artist, and Sophia, who runs a confectionary company with her brother. The company is in financial trouble so Sophia is starting a new line of sweets and needs new packaging, which she is conveniently getting from Nico’s company. She also happens to be the woman Nico is crushing on during Thursday train rides.

Nico has been burnt before by women who want her money and her first real contact with Sophia is at work, but in a way that doesn’t reveal who she really is. She decides to go with this because she embarrassed about how she acted and also because she wants to see if Sophia will want her for ‘herself’ instead of her money. This plan is stupid (and cruel) on about 50 different levels, especially since it’s hard for someone to love you for ‘yourself’ when you’re constantly lying to her. Nico doesn’t just hide her name, she actively lies about who she is, what she does for a living, what she drives, and where she lives. And not for a short time either, she strings Sophia along for the vast majority of the book, and a family member is the one who accidentally reveals the truth.

The book is told from Nico’s point of view, and this is especially unfortunate since she’s not particularly likeable. We also don’t really get to know enough about Sophia, but I do know she deserved better. I’m sure we were supposed to feel bad for Nico at the end, but I didn’t. Multiple people tell her to come clean, but she persists with the ruse as she doesn’t want to lose Sophia. Nico claims she is doing this because of how badly she’d been treated by her previous girlfriends but fails to realise she’s the bad girlfriend here. It’s hard to root for a couple when you don’t believe they should be together. 2.5 stars, rounded up only because it’s Bryant.

This is the first book I have read from Kris Bryant and it didn't disappoint.

The story is told in first person which I think worked well so could understand Nico's point of view but would have loved to hear more about Sophie. I loved Nico's sister Trish and wondered if someone could be so nice and and understanding as her.

The romance was sweet with little angst and all very predictable so no surprises there.

Looking forward to read more of Kris Bryant.

I really really loved this story, it did such a good job of a realistic lesbian love story without being sad or boring. It was literally just a good cute romance novel with lesbians! I will probably read this again and again. The characters were so sweet and easy to love, this is a fun fast read.

There are some authors you can count on to grab your attention from the first page and Kris Bryant has certainly done that. Scent is well written with likable characters and a storyline that will keep the pages turning. I enjoyed the sweet romance between the main characters and the chemistry they shared will tug at your heart. I found this story to be similar to some of the relationships my LGBTQ students have shared with me so I will be recommending this book to our small but meaningful book group. I look forward to more books by this author.

And once again when I think Bryant can’t get any better she surprises me with a dazzling story about chocolate and romance what more could a girl ask for the writing style is so beautiful that it just pulled me right into the pages.
The whole story was as sweet as a warm hug. Nico and Sophia were very like able mains and I just feel I love with her sister Trish she was awesome and very supportive. I loved the banter between Nico and her sister Trish. Above all this was a compassionate heartwarming read, I can’t wait to see what’s next from Kris
I was given an advance readers copy from the publisher via Netgalley

When I begin reading a novel by Kris Bryant, there are a couple of things I know will occur. I know I will thoroughly enjoy the story, and I also know that Ms. Bryant will pull my heartstrings (and possibly make me cry). She has done this again with her latest novel, Scent.

This is a beautifully written contemporary romance about two women who live in Chicago. Nicole (Nico) Marshall is a successful businesswoman with a promising future career as an artist, but she’s had terrible luck in her past relationships. Then she meets Sophia Sweet on the L train, and suddenly the idea of a new relationship doesn’t seem so bad. Sophia is part owner of a struggling chocolatier shop called Sweet Stuff with past heartache in her life as well. An attraction builds on both sides as the two meet and get to know each other. There is just one problem. Sophia thinks that Nico is a lowly employee at the packaging company Nico actually partly owns, and Nico lets her continue to believe that. She wants Sophia to get to know her as a person, but will Sophia understand when she finds out the truth?

We can all see the mistake that Nico is making, and also where the angst is coming from in the tale, but that doesn’t really matter. This story is excellently written with wonderful characters that are easy to fall in love with. Nico and Sophia are written with depth and realism. They also grow and develop throughout the tale. This is truly a character driven story which is probably why I love it so much.

Reading this novel is like sitting down to a meal of all your favorite foods, with chocolate as the dessert of course. It will leave you happy and satisfied with a smile on your face when you finally close the book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

Nicole (Nico) Marshall is co-owner of a packaging company, Tuft and Finley, in Chicago. But her true love is her art and the medium that she is trying to specialize in is welding sculptures. Nico has been taking the "L" train from her art studio to the packaging company and she spotted a woman who rides the train only on Thursday's. She also appreciates the sweet scent of the woman. But after being burned by a couple of past relationships, Nico is too afraid to strike up a conversation with the object of her affection.

Sophia Sweet is a third-generation chocolatier and is trying to keep the family business, Sweet Stuff, operational. Her plan is to create a line of gourmet chocolates to help revitalize the business. Once she has the chocolates perfected she heads to Tuft and Finley to meet with them about packaging and a box design. Sophia meets Nico in the packaging company warehouse where Nico yells at Sophia over a parking situation. Sophia mistakes Nico for a warehouse worker and Nico doesn't correct her. From there the duplicity ensues.

This is a difficult book for me to review since I've loved the sensory series thus far. But Scent started off on such an inauthentic and almost stalker-like note, that it was difficult for me to then transition to any feelings of like or love. Both of the main characters also initially seemed pretty one dimensional with Nico focusing on Sophia's hair, shoes, and hips, and Sophia focused on her chocolates. The first half of the book came across as very superficial to me. Nico and Sophia finally started to get to know one another about half-way through the book. I connected with the characters a bit more in the second half of the book. But one of the final parts of the book prior to the epilogue seemed to resemble the Notting Hill press conference scene too much for my liking. 3 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nico is a partner in a packaging company. Once a week, on her way home, she notices a pretty woman on her train with a small packet in her hand. As luck would have it, she meets this woman again as a customer in her company. Without further ado, she pretends to be a warehouse employee.
Sophia runs her family's chocolate store and tries to breathe new life into it with her new creations.
Sophia meets Nico under false pretenses and we as readers will find out how Sophia takes it that she has been lied to.
The book "Scent" by Kris Bryant was a sweet story about how outward appearances don't always reflect the truth. Even Sophia's imperfect cookies and chocolates are just as delicious as the perfect ones.
Beautiful story that made you forget about everyday life for some time.

I received a copy from netgalley in exchange for a an honest review.

I’m a big fan of Kris Bryant but this book didn’t work for me at all. It was well written and the main characters were well developed, but I had some major issues with one of the leads, Nico. The fact that she started out basically stalking Sophia, and then lied to her throughout was very off putting. The book was written in the first person from Nico’s point of view, which at times felt very manipulative and creepy. The way she was deliberately trying to lure Sophia in emotionally felt creepy and weird rather than cute. The plot was built entirely on the big lie, which I felt wasn’t actually needed at all.

This is a remarkable book about Nicole, Nico who is an artist and designer and part owner of a thriving business and Sophia a rather sophisticated, ice queen chocolatier. Nico sees Sophia every Thursday on the train and is taken by her beauty, her sophistication, and her scent. Working in chocolates Nicole carries with her the scent of what she’s working on that Nico can smell. Nico falls in love with her without ever saying one word to Sophia. While her sister encourages her to speak to Sophia Nico is afraid because her past relationship ended in disaster as the women she was with only one of her for her money. Then on the day Sophia shows up at her place of business to place an order for new designs and boxing for her chocolates she has a disastrous run-in with Nico who does not realize the woman is Sophia. So Nico decides she will talk to Sophia on the train on Thursday but act like she’s a regular worker at the shop and not a co-owner. Nico wanted people to get to know her as a person rather than as a co-owner of a successful business. You could tell from the gecko that this could only end in disaster.
Little by little as the two women get to know one another they have a musing and fun banter between them, some of which seems like it’s flirting. As they start to date and get serious about one another, Sophia still believes that Nico is a blue-collar worker until Sophia meets Nico‘s father who tells her about an upcoming art show highlighting Nico‘s sculptures. When Sophia realizes that Nico has been lying to her she wants nothing to do with her which leaves Nico devastated. Can these two ever get themselves back together? Can Sophia ever forgive Nico for lying to her? Can Nico do her best to be honest with Sophia and tell her why she deceived her from the beginning. All of this makes for an incredible reading experience because the author does such a great job not only developing the characters but developing a very into plot.

This story has the threat of drama above it all the time and as if drama is not something that excites me. Plus feel it so close and wait for it as you turn each page, I think it hasn’t allowed you to fully enjoy it. Nor did the fact that neither Nico nor Sophia have been very interesting characters, from my point of view, help.

Nico is kind of obsessed with her physical appearance, hairstyle and clothes especially, I found her behavior so weird. And I didn’t like Sophia completely, I even found her shyness unkind and rude. Definitely Nico does much more for the relationship that Sophía, from the beginning to the end, has not been fair in this regard. The behavior of the two women is not justified by any of their previous experiences, although Nico's is more clear but Sophía's is only supposed, don't know much about her past through the storyline.

I would have liked less detail about physical appearance and more about feelings.

Kris Bryant is one of my favorite authors when thinking about a light reading. I was not disappointed when reading this other book of the senses series. I do have a problem when Bryant goes with only one character point of view. I tend to think it compromises the depth of the other character, but it does not compromise the whole story
Bryant writes very well and without doubt achieved the SCENT description that was expected in the senses series.
Looking forward for what she brings us next!