Scent of the Past - Erin Marie Bernardo

Scent of the Past

Scent of the Past by Erin Marie Bernardo
A secret diary. A forgotten past. Another time.

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When people think of time travel, they think of the clichéd manufactured kind. Of giant electronic machines with flashing lights and buttons calibrated to shoot you into the past with one press. But it doesn’t work that way. You need a reason, a connection, and—most important—a link. But you can’t choose when and why you go. That would be too easy, and we’d all be snapping our fingers in hopes of seeing lost treasures of yesteryear. It must choose you.

Close cousins Addison and Elissa live in present day New York City and lead somewhat ordinary lives. When uncertain circumstances surrounding a set of antique perfume bottles sends them back to eighteenth-century France, they must uncover the truth behind their travel.

Disaster strikes when Addison finds herself in a nearly identical situation to a mishap she experienced in the present—the witnessing of a murder and release of a secret. Only this time the truth could destroy the entire French monarchy. With Addison’s head on the line, the young women search for answers before Addison suffers her unlucky fate twice. It is only when they discover the haunting connections to life in the present, that they understand why they both were sent, and why a repeating past…may not always be such a bad thing.

My Review

This was quite an unusual book, the two main characters, Addison and Elissa travel back in time to previous incarnations of themselves when they lived in France in the 1700's. It takes them a little while to adjust to their new surroundings and work out why they are there. History, it seems, really does repeat itself. By journeying back, maybe they can avoid the mistakes that they always seem to make, back in modern day America.

I liked the idea of this story, it was an unusual take on the idea of time travel and self discovery. We saw far more of Elissa's experience, although in many ways, it was Addison that had more to learn. Having modern day characters, in the historical setting, meant that the inevitable anachronisms that a modern writer will use, no matter how careful they are, were easily explained away. There were still a couple of small things, (chocolate croissants? I don't think so)but that didn't really matter.

Scent of the past drew you in and I found myself thinking about it for days afterwards. The story was well thought out and written and I really enjoyed it. If there was one small thing that didn't work so well, it would be that the ending seemed a little sudden. Although Addison and Elissa were there for a reason, once they had an idea of why, it was quickly over. If you're looking for a good read, with a historical setting, then I think that you will enjoy Scent of the Past.