Review of ‘The Scent of Rome’ by Lise Gold, Audiobook narrated by TJ Richards
I’ve read this wlw romance novel back when it was released and now with the audiobook version narrated by TJ Richards, I didn’t hesitate to listen to it. If you are looking for a sensual lesbian romance, you are in for a treat.
Rome Foster travels to her namesake city to look for funding for an app she developed. During a dinner with potential investors, she meets Nadine Costa, a high-end escort who unabashedly flirts with her. Nadine’s lucrative profession helps her fund her perfume-making passion. Rome is straight but not completely unaffected by Nadine’s charms. Together they will explore the city, their friendship, and eventually something more…
This novel is a mixture of different things that work well combined together. To start with, it’s a tribute to the sensuality of smells, foods, and places that is available if we tune in to discover them. I cannot recall reading about perfumes before, I thought it’d be a topic hard to pull off but Ms. Gold does an excellent job at describing its sensual undertones and her description of the process perfume making was absorbing.
But ‘The Scent of Rome’ doesn’t stop there, it’s also an exploration of the sensuality of love. If you’ve read Ms. Gold’s books before, you know that she can write sex and intimacy well but here she has outdone herself. A sex scene that lasts three chapters without becoming repetitive or boring is an accomplishment in itself. And it’s really, really hot.
You’d think it would be enough with this but additionally, there is a case of sexual harassment in the workplace that it’s treated with realism and delicacy. It was a good catalyst for the relationship between the mains and it also helps to bring more awareness to this unfortunately common problem.
I loved the book and adored the audiobook too. TJ Richards is one of my favourite narrators who did a great job with the sensuality aspects of the story along with the more emotional parts. Her Italian, while not perfect, was good enough for the English audience to understand, I just wished the Italian characters would have sounded more native but maybe it would have bothered the English speaking listeners. Anyway, it’s a small detail that didn’t affect my overall enjoyment, which was a lot. Highly recommended. 5 stars.
ARC generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
