This was a fun summer read - nothing too heavy or intense. I think it was good for what it was and I enjoyed the magical realism aspect, the special plant that makes the perfume, the promotion of women in famous industries and positions, etc. Very creative (though a bit terrifying - way too much power in one family's hands to make choices like that...and way too much assumption that the people on the other end will verbally respect things - I am surprised there weren't more people like Zoe over time, but maybe I'm just naive).But it just seemed a little rough around the edges. The characters made the transitions and growth that was expected, but I didn't feel it. It seemed like the only thing that made their growth realistic is the fact that it is expected in a story like this. But their thoughts and actions just didn't seem like that were always reflective of each other and of the supposed growth. The "reveal" at the end, what made the flowers grow again, it was just too...easy. Maybe it's the field I work in or my personal preferences/beliefs about children, but the physical representation a child is of "love," as assumed here, just didn't seem right to me. I understand that flowers are passed down through generations of Lenore women, which you can't get without children, but it seemed too forced for me. Like - "immediately upon deciding you are in love you must make a child with it or it isn't real enough to sustain the family flower." The Mya/Lucia interaction seemed like a nicely subtle take on the prodigal son parable. And the switch at the end to actually fulfill the role the other thought she should be in was an interesting twist. I respect that. I also think it's worth pointing out that no matter how shafted Mya felt (or was really, at times) she killed a person (more or less) and I really was unhappy with how glossed over that was and how many people were willing to just overlook/cover it up. That whole part rang false for me and I think a different outcome for her, just not death, would really have been better for the story. All in all, I would be getting into things and then something small would happen to throw me off or sour the moment (either a scene or a thought that didn't fit right) and I'd take a couple steps back in my engrossment in the book. That dance happened over and over - thus the 3 stars. But it was still a good light read - I don't regret it.