The Collector of Dying Breaths is the 6th book in M.J. Rose's Reincarnationist Series and her 14th book overall. This is the first book I've read in the series, but I didn't feel that my enjoyment of the book was impeded by not having read the first five. If anything, it made me want to go and read the previous books. It's obvious there's some juicy back-story here.

The action alternates between current day and 16th century France. The contemporary hero is a woman named Jac, a successful mythologist who is a member of a very old and prestigious perfuming family. She's also a "memory tool, able to tap into other people's past lives." After her brother dies while trying to recreate a formula to reanimate people's dying breaths, she grudgingly takes on the project.

The hero in the historic portion of the story is a man named René le Florentin. Rene was an orphan raised in an Italian monastery. He becomes Catherine DeMedici's perfumer and sometime poisoner. Rene also carries on his mentor's work of trying to create a formula that will reanimate dying breaths.

Both stories revolve around the heroes as they try to figure out the formula that will reanimate the souls of dead loved ones and deal with pushy (slightly psychotic) bosses and unscrupulous rivals. It's an old desire, this desperation to bring loved ones back. The tension mounts in both stories as the characters race against time to make the formula work.

There's also some intriguing history woven in, such as the character of Isabeau, René le Florentin's love interest. Isabeau is a fictional character, but she's based on the "flying squadron" of women who were trained spies for Catherine de Medici. These women romanced men in power to get their plans and secrets so that Catherine could use them to her benefit. When Isabeau and Rene first meet she says, "I can't put on armor and go fight for my husband's honor the way his brother did, but I can fight this way."

The writing can be a bit purple at times, but overall this is an entertaining, fast-paced historical thriller/romance. ( )

The title of this book caught my eye. A collector of dying breaths? Hmmm. Then the book jacket reinforced my urge to check out this book. The book shifts, chapter to chapter, from the 16th century to the 21st century and back again. One story is about the perfumer to Catherine de Medici, the other is about a modern day perfumer in Paris. There's intrigue and suspense here and you could tell there'd be some action between forces for good and forces for evil. Imagine capturing someone's dying breath in a bottle and then bringing them back to life in another body in a future time?

So far, so good. I was entertained the moment I started reading. It may not be time travel, but with a reincarnation theme woven throughout, it was almost a supernatural time travel read. Likeable characters, interesting plot.

So why 3 stars instead of 4? Too many love scenes! Many would disagree with me, but I felt the plot and the story were so good I wanted more of that and less romance. (More action, more dialog, less smooching.) Still, that's not a big complaint. I'm not sure I was entirely satisfied with the ending. The dying breaths left me a little puzzled.

I would be interested in reading more from this author. It seemed like her characters had a back story to them that I was unaware of and must be characters in other books of M. J. Rose's. ( )

In The Collector of Dying Breaths, we are taken to 16th Century France where a monk believes he has created a formula to collect a person's dying breath and supplant that breath into a living body, reigniting that soul. And so, the author approaches reincarnation from a different angle and it's brilliant.

Jaq, our recurring heroine in the series, has experienced a great loss and so the concept of capturing someone's dying breath intrigues her, while she is wary at first. She encounters an heiress who has her own reasons for wanting to know the secret, but Jaq has an agenda of her own.

Intertwined with the modern day story, we have the apprentice of the now deceased monk working closely with Catherine de Medici herself, not only as a scent maker, but as a creator of the deadly poisons with which Catherine is known to have dispatched her enemies. As usual, the author seamlessly moves back and forth from one era to the other and instead of feeling like two separate stories, they play off and compliment each other. As the reader, we never feel like we're in one time or the other, but made a part of both times.

I always look forward to a new book in this series because each book can really be read as a stand alone. The reason for this is that the author always connects the present, continuing characters and their lives to a certain era in the past and it works beautifully. I look forward to where and when the author will take us to next. ( )

Had no idea this was part of a series... it absolutely stand on its own. Interesting story, fairly well written. ( )

Almost 4 stars - ( )