Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)

Scent of Darkness

By Margot Berwin

By Margot Berwin

By Margot Berwin

By Margot Berwin

By Margot Berwin
Read by Margot Berwin

By Margot Berwin
Read by Margot Berwin

Best Seller

Part of Vintage Contemporaries

Paperback $16.95

Nov 05, 2013 | ISBN 9780307949813

Ebook $6.99

Jan 29, 2013 | ISBN 9780307907530

Audiobook Download $17.50

Jan 29, 2013 | 421 Minutes

All Formats
+
    Scent of Darkness by Margot Berwin
    Paperback $16.95
    Nov 05, 2013 | ISBN 9780307949813

    Buy from Other Retailers:

    See All Formats (2) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $16.95

      Nov 05, 2013 | ISBN 9780307949813

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Jan 29, 2013 | ISBN 9780307907530

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Audio
    +

    Buy the Audiobook Download:

    About Scent of Darkness

    Deep in the bayous of Louisiana exists a world of fortune-tellers, soothsayers, and makers of potent elixirs. Among them is Evangeline’s grandmother, Louise, a master of scent-making and perfume. And when Eva is eighteen, Louise leaves her the ultimate gift—a scent created just for her. However, the bottle comes with a warning: do not remove the crystal stopper unless you want everything in your life to change. 
     
    From the moment she places a drop on her neck, Eva is the object of intense desire to everyone around her. Strangers follow her down the street, a young boy appears at her door asking for a favor, and two men—one kind and good, the other dark and exciting—fall madly in love with her. As her greatest gift becomes an unbearable curse, Eva will be forced to wonder if it is possible to truly love someone evil and to question the true nature of her grandmother’s legacy.

    About Scent of Darkness

    In her best-selling debut, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire, Margot Berwin brought us to the rain forests of Mexico—to a land of shamans, spirit animals, and snake charmers—in the search for nine rare and valuable plants. Now, with her hotly anticipated second novel, Berwin takes us somewhere darker: deep into the bayous of Louisiana, to a world of fortune-tellers, soothsayers, and potent elixirs. Scent of Darkness is a magical, seductive story about the power of scent, and about what happens when a perfume renders a young woman irresistible.
     
    Evangeline grows up understanding the extraordinary effects of fragrance. Her grandmother Louise is a gifted aromata, a master of scent-making and perfume. When Eva was a girl, Louise carefully explained that lavender under her pillow would make her dream of the man she would marry; eucalyptus would make her taller; almandine, fatter; and jasmine, Louise promised, would wrap her life in a mystery. When Eva is eighteen, Louise leaves her the ultimate gift—a scent created just for her. The small perfume vial is accompanied by a note in Louise’s slanted script: “Do not remove the stopper, Evangeline, unless you want everything in your life to change.”
     
    From the moment Eva places a drop—the essence of fire, leather, rose, and jasmine—on her neck, men dance closer to her, women bury their noses deep into her hair, even the cats outside her bedroom cry to be near her. After a lifetime spent blending into the background, Eva is suddenly the object of intense desire to everyone around her. Strangers follow her down the street; a young boy appears at her door asking for a favor; and two men, one kind and good, the other dark and seductive, fall deeply, madly in love with her. As her greatest gift becomes an unbearable curse, Eva must uncover the secret of her scent and the message her grandmother, the woman who loved her most, wanted to tell her.
     
    A bewitching tale of love, blood, power, and magic, Scent of Darkness is a wildly inventive novel that will seduce the reader’s every sense.

    This ebook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.

    About Scent of Darkness

    In her best-selling debut, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire, Margot Berwin brought us to the rain forests of Mexico—to a land of shamans, spirit animals, and snake charmers—in the search for nine rare and valuable plants. Now, with her hotly anticipated second novel, Berwin takes us somewhere darker: deep into the bayous of Louisiana, to a world of fortune-tellers, soothsayers, and potent elixirs. Scent of Darkness is a magical, seductive story about the power of scent, and about what happens when a perfume renders a young woman irresistible.
     
    Evangeline grows up understanding the extraordinary effects of fragrance. Her grandmother Louise is a gifted aromata, a master of scent-making and perfume. When Eva was a girl, Louise carefully explained that lavender under her pillow would make her dream of the man she would marry; eucalyptus would make her taller; almandine, fatter; and jasmine, Louise promised, would wrap her life in a mystery. When Eva is eighteen, Louise leaves her the ultimate gift—a scent created just for her. The small perfume vial is accompanied by a note in Louise’s slanted script: “Do not remove the stopper, Evangeline, unless you want everything in your life to change.”
     
    From the moment Eva places a drop—the essence of fire, leather, rose, and jasmine—on her neck, men dance closer to her, women bury their noses deep into her hair, even the cats outside her bedroom cry to be near her. After a lifetime spent blending into the background, Eva is suddenly the object of intense desire to everyone around her. Strangers follow her down the street; a young boy appears at her door asking for a favor; and two men, one kind and good, the other dark and seductive, fall deeply, madly in love with her. As her greatest gift becomes an unbearable curse, Eva must uncover the secret of her scent and the message her grandmother, the woman who loved her most, wanted to tell her.
     
    A bewitching tale of love, blood, power, and magic, Scent of Darkness is a wildly inventive novel that will seduce the reader’s every sense.

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Listen to a sample from Scent of Darkness

    Also by Margot Berwin

    Hothouse Flower
    See all books by Margot Berwin

    Also by Margot Berwin

    Hothouse Flower
    See all books by Margot Berwin

    About Margot Berwin

    Margot Berwin is the author of the best-selling novel Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. Her work has been translated into nineteen languages. She earned her MFA from the New School in 2005 and lives in New York… More about Margot Berwin

    About Margot Berwin

    Margot Berwin is the author of the best-selling novel Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. Her work has been translated into nineteen languages. She earned her MFA from the New School in 2005 and lives in New York… More about Margot Berwin

    About Margot Berwin

    Margot Berwin is the author of the best-selling novel Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. Her work has been translated into nineteen languages. She earned her MFA from the New School in 2005 and lives in New York… More about Margot Berwin

    Product Details

    Category: Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $16.95
    Published by Vintage
    Nov 05, 2013 | 240 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780307949813

    Category: Literary Fiction | Women’s Fiction

    Ebook | $6.99
    Published by Vintage
    Jan 29, 2013 | 240 Pages | ISBN 9780307907530

    Category: Literary Fiction | Audiobooks | Women’s Fiction

    Audiobook Download | $17.50
    Published by Random House Audio
    Jan 29, 2013 | 421 Minutes | ISBN 9780385363426
    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    Praise

    “Sumptuous. . . . A story of first love, obsession, youthful sexuality and coming of age.” —The Washington Post 
     
    “To give away the twists and turns in Scent of Darkness . . . would certainly be unfair, for Scent of Darkness is thoroughly engrossing.” —The New York Journal of Books
     
    “Boys, you give them your heart and they just want to sniff your blood.” —Entertainment Weekly
     
    “Berwin’s prose is poetic and measured, and her enchanting novel will leave readers searching for a scent of their own.” —Amber Peckham, Booklist

    “Berwin’s Creole-flavored romance . . . will provide plenty of pleasure to readers who enjoy a touch of magical realism in their fiction. Fans of such atmospheric writers as Alice Hoffman will find much to enjoy here.” —Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal
     
    “In Scent of Darkness, Berwin has created a compelling story surrounded by the mysterious and exotic world of New Orleans, where tarot cards foretell what’s yet to be, and fragrance is viewed as an ethereal, mystical creation capable of changing one’s life forever.” —Amber Castens, The News-Gazette

    Looking for More Great Reads?
    21 Books You’ve Been Meaning to Read
    Get the latest updates about Margot Berwin
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    And go from well-read to best read with book recs, deals and more in your inbox every week.
    By clicking “SIGN UP”, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Raise kids who love to read

    Today's Top Books

    Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

     An online magazine for today’s home cook

    An online magazine for today’s home cook