Review: The Scent of Jade

Title: The Scent of Jade
Author: Dee DeTarsio
Genre: Adventure / Romance
Price: $2.99 (Kindle)
Publisher: Amazon
ASIN: B00466HRVY
Point of Sale: Amazon
Reviewed by: Chris Gerrib

Dee DeTarsio send an email in to POD People asking for somebody to review her novel The Scent of Jade, which she described as “chick lit with action.” Even though I’m not a typical “chick lit” kind of guy, I am an action guy, so I decided to take a flyer on her book. It was an interesting read.

The book is narrated in a very conversational tone by Julie Fraser, a California woman married to Colin, a scientist. Julie decides to surprise Colin by flying down to Costa Rica to join him at a convention he’s attending. He’s very surprised indeed – he gets caught very flagrante delicto at the foot of an altar in the jungle just outside the resort. This sets up an adventure involving guns, a jade statue and a few amazing coincidences.

Although I found the book enjoyable overall, I did have some issues. First, chapter 1 is all about Julie, having gotten lost, camping out in the jungle overnight. I found that start entirely too much in the middle of things. A more conventional start would have worked for me. Second, and this is very much a personal thing, the book is told in an extremely conversational tone. It’s very much like Julie is sitting across from you telling her story. This was (for me) entirely too much Julie, as I found the character a bit scatter-brained. However, this is a convention for “chick lit” so Your Mileage May Vary.

Having said all of that, the book was entertaining, and there was some real danger mixed in with the romance. It’s a bit conventional, cinematic in a movie-of-the-week sort of way, but then movies-of-the-week are popular and enjoyable.


Rating: 7/10