Season of the Dragonflies by Sarah Creech

Good morning, readers! Today I'm kicking off the TLC book tour for Sarah Creech's debut, Season of the Dragonflies.

For four generations the Lenore women have had a hand in something truly magical. Their perfume, distilled using a rare flower brought over from Borneo, has a strange effect on its wearers: they become instantly more attractive and confident, something that's come in handy with the Lenore clients. Actresses, singers, politicians, businesswomen... each Lenore client is handpicked and contracted. In exchange, they pay a premium for the perfume that helped launch their careers and make them successful. 

Mya has lived all her life knowing that the family business will be hers. Her younger sister, Lucia, never had any interest until now. Reeling in the wake of a divorce and certain that her own career is over she returns to her childhood home to discover that all is not exactly well there either. Her mother, Willow, has been having memory problems and both she and May have made a possibly grave mistake with one of their new clients. What's worse, this year's crop of flowers seems to be losing its scent before it can be distilled; a lost batch of perfume would be devastating to the business. Mya's solution is to change the formula but Lucia isn't so sure. After all, the Lenore founder claimed a curse would come down on anyone who meddled with the original recipe and now strange things have started to happen to Mya. 

At the start I wasn't so sure this book and I would get along. I didn't particularly like Lucia, Mya, or Willow when they were introduced. It wasn't until Lucia returned him and the women started interacting with one another that they each started to grow on me.

Season of the Dragonflies does have that same whimsical and magical feeling that Sarah Addison Allen is known for. In fact early promotional material mentions Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman, amongst others, as comparable authors. There's definitely a similar feel to Practical Magic here as well, what with the sister and all. That said I do think Creech stands on her own with the particular setting (Blue Ridge Mountains) and the spell casting through perfumes. Readers who enjoy the above mentioned authors will love Season of the Dragonflies and likely welcome a new addition to their must read lists (as I have!).

It's a sweet story in the end, one about sisters and family, and above all love. I found myself quite wrapped up in it before too long and anxious to see how it would all turn out!

Rating: 4/5

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here. 

For more on Sarah and her work you can find her on the web here. You can also like her on Facebook.