Author: Juliet Madison
ISBN: 9781626819177
RRP: $4.99
Scent is the third in The Delta Girls series by talented Australian author Juliet Madison. It is a young adult supernatural series with a large dose of mystery.
The Delta Girls are five psychic sisters whose gifts relate to one of the five senses, and match the first letter of their name. Scent focuses on Sasha, one of the triplets, who has an intense sense of smell. She is at that stage in her life where she is becoming a little boy obsessed and the fact that her triplets have each recently found a boyfriend only exacerbates her desire for a boyfriend of her own. Though this is a major element of the story it is still quite tame and would be appropriate for a young teen audience.
The fact that Sasha is in the market for a boyfriend does form the basis for a lot of the story. It creates a vulnerability that is easily manipulated, and a love square that became a little hard to take at times.
New information has come to light about the disappearance of the Delta Girls father and the sisters are struggling to reconcile this info with what they remember of him. The mystery of their father is a thread running through the entire series and hopefully in the fifth book those threads will all be tied up. We have discovered through the series that he has passed away and the girls don’t understand why he isn’t helping them find the answers they need.
Scent starts New Years Eve so it isn’t long before Sasha shares her resolutions, one of which is to begin a blog. The blog offers an interesting look at online safety and how much of ourselves we share through the perceived anonymity of the screen, and how easy it is to hide behind that anonymity. I think this element of the book is an important lesson for teens to demonstrate just how easy it is.
I found Scent to be a quick and easy read, the story had great flow and captured my attention though I found Sasha to be the sister who grated the most on me. I didn’t really gel with her and a lot of her behaviour made me want to shake her. I could see how she made the choices she did but it didn’t stop me thinking how silly they were, and how she should have known better.
Once again the Delta Girls find themselves visited by a spirit and connecting to piece together a vision split between the five senses. I must say this element of the series absolutely intrigues me and has captured my imagination. The idea of psychic abilities and foreseeing the future fascinates me but to then have one gift shared between five sisters and split between the five senses just makes it harder to get my head around.
The books are written with humour and there are some definite laugh out loud moments, there is also romance which in this one was a little all over the place with Sasha’s three different admirers. The mystery was actually very skin crawly for me in the end but certainly enough to be compelling trying to work out where it was all going.
Scent is fun as well as thought provoking, a lesson as well as an escape, and as always a beautiful tale of the bonds of sisters. I look forward to discovering what Taste and Touch have in store for us.
Scent is book #4 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2016
Connect with Juliet online:
Website: http://www.julietmadison.com
Blog: http://www.julietmadison.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/julietmadisonauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/juliet_madison
Scent is available now through Diversion Books.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!