A review by bek67
The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

adventurous challenging sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

A friend recommended this book to me. About 40 pages in, I asked her if I was reading the correct book because this book was just weird. She told me to keep reading. So, I did. I know that your olfactory sense is the sense that can spark strong emotions and memories! I mean personally if I even get a whiff of any bourbon or whiskey, I'm immediately returned to a night in my early 20s when I over indulged and the feeling of nausea returns strongly. And I know that businesses use scents. Want to sell your house? Bake cookies before the open house! We are inundated with essential oils and scents where ever we go. But this book was a tad hokey to me. I did stick with it and soon it became a story of secrets, relationships and survival. It was turning out ok. Then we get to the last part of the book.
Emmeline takes off to the big city to find Fisher. And she finds her mom. Odd that a girl who is understandably socially awkward and not equipped to easily make connections with others just fits right in with her mom and gets a job at her mom's company. Then she finds out her mother did some really shady things and her father isn't the bad person her mother has portrayed him to be. But then Emmeline is leaving and never says anything to her mom about this, she just leaves. The End.
Did the author get tired of the story and just decided to end it? Felt like a quick, not well conceived ending. All in all the book was weird (and not weird in a good way) and I just did not resonate with me. 
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