Perfume of Paradise

ON A LUSH CARIBBEAN ISLAND,
LOVE AND MAGIC IGNITE A FIERY PASSION. . . .

Terrified of her impending marriage, beautiful Elene Larpent scents her body with a Haitian voodoo perfume guaranteed to bewitch the wealthy landowner and ensure his devotion. But just moments into the wedding, a violent slave uprising interrupts the consecration.

Elene escapes--only to be captured by a ruthless band of men. On the verge of certain death, she is saved by handsome Captain Ryan Bayard. Then, amid the exotic breezes of St. Dominique, Elene and the captain discover a lust as sultry as the Caribbean air. In her passion, Elene quickly forgets the magic potion she had applied to her delicate skin.

But Elene must wait to see if it is true love or the dizzying aphrodisiac that inflames the captain's desire. For the uninhibited pair have much in store before the perfume's power is fully unleashed. . . .

Publishers Weekly

Only moments before she is to marry a wealthy plantation owner she doesn't love, Elene Larpent's wedding is the scene of a bloody slave uprising. The bride's loyal mulatto maid (and aunt), Devota, whisks her out of danger, then goes to seek help. Alone, Elene finds her life imperiled once again by insurgents (regrettably called ``Negroes'' here and portrayed in a negative stereotype) who want to rape and kill her. This time, she is rescued by handsome Ryan Bayard, a merchant shipman of questionable loyalty and station, who becomes Elene's lover while under the voodooist spell of her intoxicating homemade perfume. Their adventures together include: three days hiding from rioters in a dark, damp, rat-infested cellar; Elene's ``defloration'' by Ryan and the subsequent discovery that her groom is alive; escape by Ryan's boat from her island home of Saint-Domingue to New Orleans; and three arsenic murders and two attempted murders, possibly linked to Elene's perfume ``Paradise.'' The lies, deceit and misunderstandings between Elene and Ryan are predictable. Yet, as the perfume death plot thickens and peaks, veteran romance novelist Blake's (Louisiana Dawn) historic tale gives way to more honest and interesting dialogue between the lovers. The first decade of 19th century French Louisiana is the setting for most of the book, and descriptions of fashion, architecture and mores help to illuminate the period. (May)

Jennifer Blake was born near Goldonna, Louisiana, in her grandparents' 120-year-old hand-built cottage. She grew up on an eighty-acre farm in the rolling hills of northern Louisiana. While married and raising her children, she became a voracious reader. At last, she set out to write a book of her own. That first book was followed by more than forty others, and today they have reached more than nine million copies in print, making Jennifer Blake one of the best-selling romance authors of our time. Her most recent novel is Love's Wild Desire.

Jennifer and her husband live near Quitman, Louisiana, in a house styled after old Southern planters' cottages.