I have patiently waited 6 years for a new Erica Bauermeister book - all of her previous books have been exactly what I needed at that point in my life and I raced through them.

This isn't one of those books. I wish I could say I loved the literary fiction of books like this, but its not my style. I tried to love it...I even tried to like it but this book was not a favorite.

I will go back to patiently waiting for another book though - she is an amazing author and is a master storyteller.

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
Story starts out with a little girl and she's with her father on the island.
She sometimes wishes for things and they arrive in a black box that her father carries to the cabin they live in.
He has made little cubbyholes for each bottle of scents. He keeps papers on them all. Each one is different.
She learns and the goat helps her to investigate the island. Bad things happen, a bear and then before she knows it she's living with a man and a woman.
She will have to learn things how others learn them, in school. She's now a teen and everything is still foreign to her.
She has a knack of smelling things and they tell her how a person is going to act.
Nightingale was not only her dads invention but it would take a picture and keep the scent also.
Everything she had ever been told was not true and she learns she has other relatives that were looking for her.
She likes Fletcher who helps at the resort in the summer months and they attend school together. They talk the same language/hand signals.
Love the time she spends with her mother and learning more about scents-priceless! Acknowledgements included at the end.
Love to read more from this author-so very descriptive details. I felt as if I was there.
SO much to this book!
Received this review copy from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley and this is my honest opinion.
#NetGalley

This was such a lyrical, beautifully written book. I loved the story, which started like a fairy tale but then evolved into a modern day coming of age story. The way the author used scent to weave a story and describe emotion was so poetic.
Emmalines’s character evolved as the story progressed, from the isolation of the island, to the cove, and finally to the city & the “real world” and I loved seeing what she became.
The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. I don’t mind an ambiguous ending, & I definitely don’t need everything tied up in a bow, but it just seemed like there was so much more story to tell.

Scent is something we tend to take for granted unless we smell a beautiful flower or drive by a cow farm. This book explores how much our sense of smell really influences our day to day lives in a charming, heart-wrenching story.

Emmeline spends the first years of her life living on a remote island with her father as her only human companion. He teaches her to appreciate all the scents that exist on the island, tells her magical stories of a boy named Jack who hunts out new smells, and has a wall of drawers all amazingly filled with scent bottles. When tragedy strikes, and Emmeline has to leave the island, she takes what she knows with her to her new foster family and later back on a journey to discover the beginnings of her story as a child and just maybe the beginnings of the life she is meant to have.

The author’s descriptions of smells and the feelings Emmeline associated with them were incredibly evocative. I was not prepared for the intensity of emotion I felt in reading part one and had to take a break before continuing. The premise is amazing, and the story feels very real - mixing the fantastical idea of a camera for smells with true-to-life businesses that use our senses to get us to buy products. I absolutely loved this book, but it lost a star for the death of multiple pets (I hate when animals die), especially since one was particularly descriptive and unpleasant. I will definitely read more by this author!

This is a very difficult book for me to review. There are parts that I really liked and there are parts that I really didn't. I think the one thing that helps with these middle of the road reviews is identifying for others if the author is worth reading again. My answer would be yes. There were a few books that I was reminded of while reading this - The Great Alone, Where the Crawdads Sing and The Unseen World. If either of those pique your interest, then I suggest you give this book a try.

Emmeline lives with her father on a remote island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, completely isolated from the world. Unfortunately, things go badly and Emmeline is taken off the island by a loving couple who send her to school and raise her. It is a coming of age story (which are my favorite), but where this starts to lose me is the lack of consistency with the character. (And also all the smelling).

I get the title of this book is The Scent Keeper, but I found myself almost rolling my eyes sometimes because of my disbelief that someone would actually have this ability to smell! I'm sure I'm incorrect and it's entirely possible, but I have not heard or read of anything like this before so it was kind of strange. (Easy to overlook though - this didn't ruin the story for me.)

The book was broken up into three sections, with quick chapters. Section 1 was jarring (for me) just because it was so vague and different (which is fine), but I felt plopped into a world with little explanation. By the time I gained my bearings, we were on to section 2. Section 2 was my favorite and the strongest part of the book for me. I could have stayed there forever. Section 3 was where things started to break down for me. The main character acted outside of herself in a number of circumstances (some of my doubts I could explain away, but others I really couldn't), the introduction of a character (whom I loathed, but that's okay, I think you're meant to) and the ending. The ending came to such a screeching halt that I honestly thought I somehow skipped to the end by accident because there were a number of things to me that needed wrapping up. I'm not sure if the author wasn't sure how to end it or wanted to end with some ambiguity (goal accomplished) so she went balls to the walls? It's such a shame because this was a really strong 4 or better for a while and then it fell apart.

Obviously, I'm in the minority opinion so chances are - you will love this. (And I hope you do!)

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Netgalley and Erica Bauermeister for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Publication Date: 5/21/19
Review Date: 5/5/19

I struggled to get into this book. While it was well written, I found it hard to understand the life Emmeline lived on the island with her father. I struggled to make sense of what was going on and the scents that were being talked about. As the book moved forward and Emmeline was thrust into the “real” world and bits and pieces of her past were uncovered, I began to enjoy the story much more and also begin to understand the beginning chapters of the book. Overall, I thought that this was a good book, that for the most part held my attention. I was captured by the story of Emmeline as she struggled to figure out who she is and where she came from. I was also captured by the friends that she met along the way and the impact that each of those friends had on her life. I am glad that I was selected to read this book and look forward to reading other books by Erika Bauermeister.

I had heard that one’s sense of smell is a hardwired memory, reading “The Scent Keeper” stirred for me a longing for scents/memories I had forgotten. I enjoyed Emmeline ‘s journey of discovery, smells & memories. “My birthday was the scent of violets”. Emmeline, Papa & Victoria’s gift thorough-out Erica Bauermeister’s book was wonderful descriptions of smells, the ocean, perfume that promises sex, coffee grounds, warmth of the air, blankets, sweet orange and sunshine and the list goes on. The story of loss, discovery, and betrayal is richly woven between wonderful scent memories.

Erica Bauermeister’s novels are sensual journeys. The Scent Keeper is about scent, memory and what they tell us about our past and the people in our lives. It is the story of Emmeline. We meet her as a young girl living on an island with her father. It’s an idyllic life until things change. She finds herself thrust into world so different and yet she tries to adapt. She’ll learn who to trust and find a way to survive in this new life. That will serve her well for what lies ahead on her journey of discovery.

Will Emmeline be able to hang onto the important aspects of her early years as the world opens in ways she never expected? During all those years of living with her father on the island – where was her mother? Will her magical relationship with scent feel the effect of all the changes? As Emmeline discovers answers to her questions she’ll come to understand what’s truly important. As I read The Scent Keeper I would occasionally pause to think about the important scents of my life and what they mean to me now. That made for a very personal and enjoyable reading experience.

I wanted to give this book five stars, because it was amazing. However, the story ended and left many questions unanswered . I was looking forward to Emmaline and Fisher returning to the cove. I think if the author had finished the story “full circle” it would have been 5+ stars. I throughly enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting.

I was given an advanced reader copy of The Scent Keeper by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an honest review. I had high hopes for The Scent Keeper. I love essential oils and the cover of this book is beautiful, so this is right up my alley. This book is very well written, but I could not connect with the characters. Emmenline is young and self-centered. I realize this is a coming of age book and that is somewhat expected in youth. However, several of the other characters are self-centered and not overly likable. I could not connect with most of the people in the book. The people I most liked were Colette and Martin and they were shut out in the end of this book. I will cry at the loss of a loved one or a pet and this book did not even phase me when people and animals died.

The ending of this book was just cut off. I felt things were left unfinished. It seemed the author was done with this book and the ending was hurried. I seem to be in the minority of not loving this book. It is a quick read so you may want to form your own opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Observe the World. Unlock the World. This book starts out feeling like The Giver - and considering how long-beloved that book is, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. But then it morphs into a tale of a young woman finding herself and becomes so much... more. Truly a spectacular work that ends on the same kind of note as another highly successful pop culture phenomenon - Avatar. Amzing work, very much recommended.

Just magical and dreamlike and makes you want to go live in the woods. Sparse storytelling that leaves you wanting more but still manages to keep you reading, wanting one last taste of the cove.

This was a sweet, sometimes bittersweet coming-of-age novel about a young girl raised on an isolated island by her father who tries to protect her from society as he is the "Scent Keeper." He and his wife had developed a device much like a camera that can preserve scents instead of pictures. But of course there are problems with both the device and the situation; eventually society must be entered again and that creates another set of problems. Both lyrical and poignant, this novel is the first I've read of Bauermeister but it won't be the last! So creative and interesting with quirky characters that seem to radiate humanity even as their flaws are exposed. Wowsa!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

This beautifully written book is reminiscent of The Great Alone and Where the Crawdads Sing. It's a coming of age tale about Emmeline, a girl who lives alone with her father on a small island. Until something happens and she is thrown into the real world without warning. Her life with her father is built on scent and memory and she carries that with her as she navigates the harsh outside world as a teenager. This book captivated me and I wanted to keep reading about Emmeline and seeing the world from her perspective.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This beautifully written story is divided into three parts. The first part starts with Emmeline and her father living on a deserted island, where she believes in the powerful magic of smell and mermaids. The second part is her life on The Cove where she is a fish out of water and has to learn the ways of the world. This is also where we meet, Fisher, and how important he is to Emmeline. The third part is Emmeline's time in the city where she is searching for her mother and Fisher.

I truly enjoyed this story and it could have been five star read for me, but the ending was too abrupt and sudden. What could happen next is left to the readers' imagination, but I definitely would have liked for there to be more to the story. After becoming immersed in the author's beautiful writing, I felt cheated by the sudden ending.

While noted as a YA book, this is a book that mother's will love reading alongside their daughters, as it also encompasses what it means to be a parent! This book looks at memory and how we associate smells with it, and how those memories can come back to us, when that same smell comes on a silent breeze. This was such a page-turner, that I literally could not put it down and read it all the way through in one sitting, very late into the night!! It's an interesting take on how memory can play tricks on us, and hide things from our conscious selves, and what happens when those memories return. I have a feeling it will be the must-read of the year, so don't miss this one!

I received this from Netgalley.com for a review.

Emmeline lives an enchanted childhood on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses.

Quick read, nice coming of age story, I look forward to reading more by this author.

3.75☆

Lyrical. Haunting. Evocative. Gripping. Kept me up way too late good story. I'm dumbstruck with admiration for the story that Bauermeister has created in the singular Emmeline and her extraordinary journey from remote island to the heart of a city where she discovers who she really is and comes into the full power of her exceptional sense of smell. Smell does not adequately explain how Emmeline interacts with scent, how it is evocative, hits memory and ache/yearn/possibility as it does for most people. With this marvelous story, Bauermeister has woven her own unique, powerful perfume of a story that is as poetic, riveting, and joyous words as anything I have ever read. I feel like I've been to the Pacific Northwest, smelled the fresh pine of a tiny island and wet concrete of a city sidewalk.

This was a very strange read. All of the characters, except Henry and Colette, are cold and detached. Emmaline grows up on a deserted island with her father, who is obsessed with scent. She discovers her father has lied to her about everything before he died. She's taken in by Henry and Colette and befriends Fisher. She finds out part of the story about her parents and finds her mother, who accepts her without questions, which is implausible. The ending is very abrupt and clunky. I didn't care for this this story.