Emmeline lives on an island with her father. It sounds beautiful, and it is, but it is secluded...as in they are the only people on it. Emmeline is only a child when her father teaches her how to live off the land and use their senses to survive. Her father has drawers built in their house along the walls containing bottles of scents, scent paper to be exact printed from a machine, but that is all the explanation she will get from him. After a devastating accident, Emmeline must find her way in the real world off the island. She must find her way in an unfamiliar world, with no idea of who she really is and where she belongs.

This book is broken up into three different sections, reading it, I felt this would have been better off being three different books, possibly a trilogy of short stories. While Emmeline is the main character of each section, and they each did have to do with each other, I just felt as though they were thrown together and didn't really fit.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St Martins Press for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful and mystical story. Words cannot due it justice; it can and must only be experienced by the reader.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommended.

What a transformative and evocative story.

This book is sectioned into 3 parts, the first introducing us to the isolated island belonging to Emmeline and her father. This section is probably my favorite because of the absolutely stunning detail and romanticizing of island living. It’s the perfect representation of the PNW balance between forest and ocean. Living in Seattle myself, I felt right at home in this book. Fans of PNW writing will love reading this simply for the environment described.

I don’t want to go into detail about the next 2 sections as it would give away the story, but you’ll be along for a good ride. From navigating a foreign world to discovering what’s it means to be family, the reader gets to walk alongside Emmeline for every up and down.

For her partnership with Fisher, it was really strong point of the book for me. I loved how they complimented each other in a very unique way that only the other could understand. I appreciated how strong his own story was, while not taking over the main storyline.

While I wasn’t disappointed with the ending, it was extremely abrupt. The author walks us through every thought and experience with the main character, and to have it end so suddenly was a little disappointing. I guess that’s a sign of a good book through, right? You don’t want it to end.

Overall, I was definitely emotional at times and on the brink of tears at the end. The middle part was a little slow going for me, but the book had a powerful beginning and end. It’s unique subject matter and poetic descriptions made this a joy to read. I’m very glad I was invited to read this book by the publisher and given access via netgalley, so thank you!

One of my all time favorite books! the story is so compelling, I could not stop reading! MY house is a mess!!! An amazing journey through the life of a young woman.

This book was so beautiful and filled with just enough magical realism. The imagery was amazing and all of the scents were so well described, I felt like I was in the room with them. The idea of scent holding memories is very fascinating and I really love the way the author captured it throughout the story. This was all combined with a heartfelt coming of age story, which I am sucker for. This was a very engrossing read - I highly recommend! Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister was a completely engrossing novel that I had a hard time putting down. It was a coming of age story with a beautiful mix of family dynamics and mystery. I love how Bauermeister incorporated the sense of smell into her writing and it was such a powerful part of this novel. I enjoyed the beautiful storytelling about Emmeline and her father on the island and especially the moments with Cleo which were just so heartwarming.

I thought the story moved well as Emmeline's life evolved and changed and she experiences so much loss. You can also feel the difference in the narration as you move to the next sections of the book because Emmeline is now a young woman and I think this was handled perfectly.

Emmeline's life in the city was detailed so well that I could just picture the scenes and the dramatic shifts from her life on the island. I enjoyed that the ending didn't wrap everything up with a tidy bow and there was much to be pondered at the end of the book. The open-ended ending caused me to really reflect on each of the characters and how they all play a part in Emmeline's path to find her own identity. I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read Bauermeister's other work now.

This is my first book by author Erica Bauermeister but I don't think it will be my last! If you like books that practically sing to you, you will love The Scent Keeper. I have experienced the draw of a scent back to its memory, so I was captivated from the very beginning.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

From Amazon:

Erica Bauermeister, the national bestselling author of The School of Essential Ingredients, presents a moving and evocative coming-of-age novel about childhood stories, families lost and found, and how a fragrance conjures memories capable of shaping the course of our lives.

Emmeline lives an enchanted childhood on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in the drawers that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world--a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity, a quest that challenges the limits of her heart and imagination.

Lyrical and immersive, The Scent Keeper explores the provocative beauty of scent, the way it can reveal hidden truths, lead us to the person we seek and even help us find our way back home.

I was pretty young when my first scents became memories. When my brother was born, I was able to help my mother with his care often which included diapers and baby powder. When he died unexpectedly, I used to dust a bit of baby powder on me to recreate his smell. To this day, I can remember his giggly self full of pumping feet when I smell that soft baby powder smell.

The prologue starts us with... We are the unwitting carriers of our parents' secrets, the ripples made by stones we never saw thrown... and ends with... Let me tell you a story. Let me tell you everything.

The author has a writing style that evokes emotion on all levels. There were times when I was moved to tears and others when I couldn't catch my breath. I would be thrilled and devastated. To some the book may move slowly at the beginning, but take note of the descriptions and slow down and enjoy. As the plot thickens, the pace picks up and you won't want to put it down! The storyline is original and its uniqueness encourages you to keep reading, even though you know you have to work tomorrow!

When I read the synopsis for this book I was a bit concerned about whether or not I could possibly enjoy a story that revolved around scents. It just did not seem like something up my alley. But because the book was getting some really positive reviews, I decided to take a chance on it, and I am so glad I did. And guess what? I really grew to love the role scents and people's sense of smell played in the book. It was a fascinating read.

Emmeline has been raised by her father on a remote island, secluded from the rest of society. To say he is obsessed with scents is putting it mildly. He has a machine that creates different scents and he has stored a whole bunch of them in their house. The older Emmeline gets, the more she has this feeling that something else is out there although given her upbringing she is absolutely unprepared when certain events thrust her into the real world.

I apologize this review is pretty vague but I do believe this is a story that is best enjoyed the less you know ahead of time. You just have to trust me when I say it is a journey worth taking. For quite awhile near the beginning of the book, I still had doubts but soon everything started to fall into place and I was hooked. The way scents and the sense of smell was weaved into the story was just brilliant. I ended up finishing the book in just one night which goes to show how much I liked it.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to read something a bit different. I know this book has been compared to Where the Crawdads Sing, and there are a few similarities between the two, but this one definitely stands on its own two feet. This was a unique story and one worth reading. Take a chance on it like I did!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a powerful story about the hardships of life. Some themes in this novel are not for the faint of heart and may lead to anxiety. I loved it.

This book had a very interesting story around the sense of smell. Many times I found it captivating & couldn't wait to read more to see how the story unfolded.

I do admit that the scenes around the abuse were hard to read at times. This is something that some people should be aware of, in case this is a trigger for them.

The book had a strong theme going throughout the entire story, but the ending was very abrupt, disappointing and leaves you hanging.

Emmeline lives on a remote island with her father who teaches her about nature, how to live and eat off the land and scents. When she is forced out into the world she must seek out the truth and question everything that she has ever known.

Sweet story that felt a little like a combo "after-school special" and fantasy. The story follows a girl growing up isolated on an island with her father until circumstances force a radical change and she is forced to abruptly enter mainland life. Struggles with learning social skills are complicated by her special olfactory abilities, and the mystery of her life on the island.

I typically enjoy stories where the protagonist is a child, and while I enjoyed this story, there were several times where I just couldn't continue to identify with the character due to her impetuous choices. Those breaks in where my sympathies centered were a bit distracting. Not sure if that was the author's doing or just my own bias.

I loved this book and the setting. I love the relationship between the father and daughter and I loved how they express their love through food.
This was a gem of a book.
Thanks for letting me review this book to the publisher and Netgalley

This coming of age book will stay with you long after you read the last page. It's a story of a daughter and father who live on a remote island together. Emmeline's father teaches her about the world through her senses, but he keeps some major secrets from her. One day, Emmeline's curiosity gets the best of her and she's thrown into the "real world," a place of love, ambition, betrayal and ambition. In order to figure out who she is, she needs to uncover her true identity, which takes her on a quest she'll never forget. 

This was an incredibly lovely story, that I loved reading. The lyrical writing is beautiful, and will make you feel like you live right there on the island with Emmeline and her father. You will quest for Emmeline's identity along with her. It's a fun read, and you should read it :)

This was a jewel of a book! I enjoy reading books that have to do with magical realism but I've usually only read those that pertain to food/taste, whereas The Scent Keeper is all about smells. Have you ever smelled something that brought back memories of a particular time in your life, or wished you could bottle up a special scent and keep it forever?

Emmaline has lived on a remote island with only her father since she was a baby. They live off the land, foraging for food, but occasionally what Emmaline knows as "the mermaids" will leave special gifts for them.

When something terrible happens, she begins to question everything she has ever known when thrust into a brand new life. Learning how to survive public school, bullies, and trying to figure out where she came from lends to a wonderful, beautifully written coming of age novel with a sprinkle of magic.

This book was heartbreaking but not heavy enough that you couldn't enjoy it. It's one of those refreshing reads you can just sit down with and breeze through. I loved every bit of this story except for the abrupt ending. It is a unique and imaginative story, and I am looking forward to checking out more titles by this author!

This is a fascinating novel that kept me turning the pages long after midnight. I especially loved the lush, descriptive writing, particularly in the sensory realm of scent and smell and aroma. As with all of Erica’s novels, the characters are real and seem to float right off the page and into my heart (except for Fisher’s father, of course).

With thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister is a rare treasures. This story follows Emmeline through adolescents, the loss of her father and her remove from the isolation that she grew up in. Emmeline and her father live on an island by themselves and she has never seen any other people. Her childhood is absolutely magical as her father teaches her all about smells and science. She learns to read the world around her and its changes by the smells that she encounters. The scent of the earth as it warms in the spring and the change in weather as the sea swells and the saltwater fills the air. Emmeline's father showed her love but never told her where they came from or where her mother was. He told her Fairy Tales and he told her "People Lie" but he never told her about himself.
He taught her about his captured scents and showed her how his special machine worked. Those little bottles that spoke to her without saying a word fascinated her. This scent machine was an interesting component in this first part of the story.
The story then follows Emmeline as she is torn from her island world and taken to a small town. It so overwhelming until she meets Fisher and everything changes. She eventually sets and to find her mother and finds herself in a big city with all its many and varied smells. She learns more about what happened that sent her father into isolation. She learns about herself and she learns and that "people lie".
This story was one of the best I have read lately. The book is more than about Emmiline; this story is about people. Relationships are difficult. Growing up is hard. Falling in love can be confusing. All of this is addressed beautifully in this magical story.

—“”I’d learned that lies have a scent too.”
This novel, by Erica Bauermeister, is a captivating story with a good descriptive title about a loving father and his daughter Emmaline and how their life on an isolated island came to be.
Sense of smell ranging from grass, saltwater and tobacco to perfume catches your attention. And all those bottles stored on the wall! Along with the good comes the bad. We encounter a wonderful loving couple and another family with an abusive husband and father.
How the book ends is sort of left to the imagination..
The author provides good characterization and vivid descriptions.
Will be a good read for bookclubs.

I've read all of Erica Bauermeister's books and this one was definitely my favorite. The power of scents to evoke emotion and memory is powerful and it is this idea that is at the core of this story. I was entranced by the life that Emmeline and her father live on an isolated island and then the power of love as this life unraveled. It was a beautifully told story.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

I requested this book because the description was so intriguing and unique. The beautiful cover was also a plus. However, after the first couple of chapters, I had to put it down. I just was not feeling the setting, characters, or plot. This genre and style is different than what I usually read, so it’s probably just me. The concept of the story is good, and maybe after a while, I might pick it back up.