She was taught to submit, to obey . . . but she dreamed of an empire.

The sole heir to the House of Omura, a venerable family of Kobe sake brewers, nineteen-year-old Rie hears but cannot heed her mother's advice: that in nineteenth-century Japan, a woman must "kill the self" or her life will be too difficult to bear. In this strict, male-dominated society, women may not even enter the brewery—and repressive tradition demands that Rie turn over her family's business to the inept philanderer she's been forced to marry. She is even expected to raise her husband's children by another woman—a geisha—so that they can eventually run the Omura enterprise.

But Rie's pride will not allow her to relinquish what is rightfully hers. With courage, cunning, brilliance, and skill, she is ready to confront every threat that arises before her—from prejudice to treachery to shipwrecks to the insidious schemes of relentless rivals—in her bold determination to forge a magnificent dynasty...and to, impossibly, succeed.

An epic and breathtaking saga that spans generations as it sweeps through the heart of a century, Joyce Lebra's The Scent of Sake is a vivid and powerful entry into another world...and an unforgettable portrait of a woman who would not let that world defeat her.

Rie gives up her desire for a marriage based on love and as a dutiful daughter complies with her family’s wishes and marries the man her parents have chosen for her. If Rie cannot put love first in her life she chooses to put the family sake business first. Rie’s choices in life are a combination of tradition and a non-traditional woman who seeks power in the business world and who is willing to take innovative risks to further her family’s wealth and position. It is interesting to watch Rie, who suffered so much from her loveless marriage, work so hard to impose marriages with the same basis onto her children and grandchildren all for the preservation of the family and the family business.

The author, Joyce Lerbra is a scholar of Japanese history and culture. Her knowledge gives an authenticity to this fictional story. Rie’s lifespan covers the turbulent times from the downfall of the power of the shoguns to the Meiji Restoration and the opening of Japan to trade with America and Europe. Therefore, the reader can enjoy this story for its adventure and romance or its historical setting. The list of characters at the beginning of the book is helpful to the reader in keeping track of the various characters in the book.

Overall I enjoyed this book because I like well documented historical fiction and stories of non-traditional women. However, I kept wanting a richer description of Rie’s world as a child so that I could better emphasize with her strong attachment to her family’s world of sake brewing.