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.

This book was simply beautiful! I know it will linger with me for a long, long time.

It is a coming-of-age story, and the sense of smell plays a prominent role here. I hesitate to say much more because the heavenly words/imagery of Emmeline’s story should be discovered and savored on one’s own, tantalizing bit by bit. At once, heartwarming and heartbreaking.

I look forward to reading this author’s backlist, as a command of and expertise at writing like this is rare and wonderful.
Do yourself a favor and read this one. All the stars and more.
Out 5/21.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC! The opinions are strictly my own.

It has been quite some time since I've fallen in love with a story like I have with The Scent Keeper. Emmeline won me over from the very beginning and I got lost in the gorgeous, lyrical writing. Friends, this is one 2019 release you will not want to miss!

For starters, this novel has to have one of the most unique story lines I've read. The use of scent as a plot device was brilliant and enthralling, and it made it that much easier to sink into this story and lost track of my surroundings. I love how it encourages readers to slow down and take notice of the small details of life, because when all is said and done, they're the ones that matter. I can't stress enough--the writing is truly beautiful and breathtaking.

I really grew to care about the cast of characters, as well. In particular, my favorites were Emmeline and Fisher, Henry and Colette. Oh, and Dodge--he was a good ole boy. Emmeline is fascinating--everything about her seemed so genuine and real, even when she goes to find herself. Fisher is the kind of boy I'd swoon over, I"ll just leave it at that. Henry and Colette are the best kind of pseudo-grandparents you could ask for--just thinking of them makes my heart swell. And I don't want to say too much, but as for Emmeline's parents, I love what she says of them in the novel's opening lines: "We are the unwitting carriers of our parents' secrets, the ripples made by stones we never saw thrown."

The last thing I'd like to mention is the ending. I"m kind of torn on it. I am personally not a huge fan of open endings, even though sometimes it is nice for readers to fill in the blanks themselves. But when it comes down to it, I think the ending here really fits this novel and couldn't have been any other way. I like to think of this ending like the tail notes of a scent, drifting away...

Anyway, this novel is fantastic! I cannot recommend it enough. Fiction at its finest, trust me when I tell you that you won't want to miss this one! Its release date is May 21st--preorder now, it will be one of the best books you read this summer, I promise!

The phrase I feel most suits this novel is a fairy tale written in modern day times. From the first pages, the reader is brought into an almost mystical world but slowly discovers that the world is not so "otherworldly" at all and is actually the world surrounding us currently. That fact in itself was a twist for me and made me all the more intrigued in Emmeline's story.

The author does a great job at emitting magical realism throughout the book and putting an ethereal glow around the scenes that she creates. The entire time I was reading the book, I was reminded of fairy tales I read when I was younger and the sense of wonder that they produce in those who read them. I had never thought of the sense of smell as being so profound prior to reading this book and I am sure will never think of it the same way again. I also loved that the author gave the male protagonist of Fisher his own enhanced sense, one that was so different from Emmeline's yet blended with it so perfectly. It emphasized the fact that the two of them were meant to be on a different level. Not many writers could portray their relationship as innocently and natural as the author did and I loved that it never once outweighed the storyline of Emmeline finding who she was in the world, without either parent pushing her in one direction or letting the world scar away her uniqueness and independence.

My favorite underused characters were easily Henry and Colette. I honestly would read an entire novel about these purehearted people who never once put their own needs above those of the people around them. I would have been overjoyed to find out that maybe they actually had enhanced senses of their own. Also, Dodge just stole my heart in so many ways and his deep connection with Emmeline truly humanized her in ways that I did not expect.

The critique I had with this book comes from the ending, only due to its abruptness and the feeling that it made me wanting so much more. I am never one to overuse epilogues as sometimes I feel they cause more harm than good but, in this case, I feel it would have been warranted to add a few more pages to wrap everything up for not only Emmeline and Fisher but also Henry and Colette. If this turns into a series, I would be absolutely ecstatic as I feel then the story may be 100% complete in its telling.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Really engaging book. Glad was able to receive this for review. Characters were well developed and storyline was beautifully written. Had its highs and lows, but overall a good read from Bauermeister.

My plan this morning was to skim the first chapter of The Scent Keeper, by Erica Bauermeister, just to get a feel for it. Five hours later, I’ve finished the book and I’m still spell-bound.
Emmaline and her father live alone on island, surrounded by all the wonders of nature. In their cabin, her father stores small vials, the smells of a thousand memories bottled and sealed in an effort to preserve them forever. But as the scents begin to fade, and Emmaline’s curiosity pushes her farther from her father’s rules, everything she’s known is at risk.
Through a series of tragic events Emmaline finds herself in the harsh, noisy “real world” where her understanding of smells is the only thing she has to help navigate the new town, school, and relationships she lacked on the island. And beyond it all is the lingering mystery of who Emmaline really is and where she came from.
The Scent Keeper is a beautifully written, lyrical story that pulls at your heart and engages your senses. The emotions and descriptions are so vivid that you will feel the heartache and smell the scents. It’s a mesmerizing and enchanting journey of self-discovery and self-awareness. All I can say is, just wow. Great writing and a great book.
*I received a copy of The Scent Keeper from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

A coming of age novel where Emmeline lives first on an Island with her father, then in Secret Cove, and then discovers her mother in the big City. I struggled with this novel only because it's hard to wrap your mind around someone's olfactory senses being THAT strong. It billed her sense of smell as being so strong as if that's a real life thing, and I just couldn't set aside my disbelief long enough to really settle into it, but other than that it was a really nice story. She grows up on an island until she's around 12, chasing scents with her father and this mysterious scent machine he's built, knowing nothing of the outside world, electricity, etc, until tragedy strikes, and then someone that has been supplying them with food and other necessaries rescues her and takes her to Secret Cove. She gets her first taste of the world as the rest of us know it, and it's bitter taste indeed. There's a couple of mostly good years with the couple that takes her in, barring the terrible kids she has to put up with at school, and the one guy who is her actual friend being beat on at home every day. He ends up running off to the city and eventually she chases him there and in the attempt also tracks down her biological mother. There's some more fancy stuff that happens with her nose here, and some fun drink mixing Fisher does with a trick he pulls off with his eyes *set aside more of your disbelief for this one folks*, and then boom. Books over. No lead up to the end, no gradual fade into the sunset, drive 65 mph around the curve and CRASHBARRIERWALL. I don't know if there just wasn't a better way to end it, or if the author thought adding more to where it ended would detract from how it ended but I thought it was kind of an abrupt and bad way to go. Other than that, it was an interesting read and definitely filled with beautiful imagery.

The Scent Keeper by Erica Baurmeister
This story and the characters, especially Emmeline made me not want to put this book down until I was done, I have to admit I did not want it to end and I was a little disappointed in the ending but I absolutely loved this book! This author writes in such a nice, flowing manner, I could picture the characters, their looks and mannerisms in my mind, I could see and smell the island and water and cabin.....excellent book! Huge thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for letting me read this book and leaving my review. Thank you to the author for writing this story!

Emmeline finds herself living with her father on an uninhabited island since . . . well, for as long as she can remember. Her dad has taught her to live off the land, he has taught her to read and write, and most especially to appreciate and recognize different scents.

Since Emmeline has known nothing other than island life, it takes time for her to realize, through books, that her family isn't like some of the fairy tales she reads. But when she questions about a mother, her dad brushes over the question.She loves the island and the lessons her father teaches her. But almost more than anything she is attracted to her dad's special machine. A machine that makes little papers with scents. Her father places these little scented papers into small glass bottles that are color coded.

As the years pass, due to an accident, Emmeline has to be rescued from the island and taken to the mainland. A couple readily takes her in as their own, but she has been so isolated that everything is quite new and frightening. Fortunately, she is allowed to adjust at her own pace. But when the couple is forced to send her off to school, the 12-year-old has to work hard to fit in. And as she grows, she begins to wonder what happened to her birth mother.

This coming of age novel of scents, learning, struggles, and emotion slowly captures the reader into a different world.

My Thoughts

What Concerned Me: Though I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would purchase it, I was somewhat disappointed with the ending.

What I Liked Most:  To be honest when I started reading this story I was afraid it was going to be a bit off-the-wall. (Don't ask me what that means! Lol But scented papers felt a bit odd.) However, in no time I found myself drawn to this story. Soon I had trouble putting it down. The characters drew me into their story. Now, that takes a good author. . . and a good story.

This author is definitely one I will be keeping an eye on. Her writing felt unique and, though I'm not one to love too much description in a book, the description was enough to make me feel the locations. I think if you read this, you will never smell a fragrance without remembering this book.

I don't really have a 4.5 rating, but if I did, this would fit there. I totally recommend it.

A beautiful coming of age story.. Emmeline lives alone with her father on a deserted island . He teaches her life lessons through scent and the memories scent can invoke . He has a a magical scent keeper machine called Nightingale kept hidden away from the rest of the world . When Emmeline’s world comes to Alan end on the island she must face love , life , betrayals , ambition and secrets . This is a beautifully written immersive book you will never want to end

Book Description
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.

My Thoughts
Wow, I have been on a roll lately discovering new authors! The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister was a beautifully written story that hooked me on the first page and didn't let go. The main character, Emmeline’s story is told in three parts. When she was a child and lived on an island with her father, when she left the island and lived in The Cove, and finally when she searches for a family member. Emmeline is able to evoke memories from scents, and I too could recall many times when a smell would take me back in time to a particular event. The author, however, is quite a bit more lyrical than I, and her descriptive writing style managed to take my breath away more than once. This is a coming-of-age story about Emmeline, what she goes through, and what she learns about life and love that will stay with me for a long time. It will be published in May, the perfect time for reading outside and picking up scents of late spring and early summer.

Some information about the author from Goodreads: Erica Bauermeister is the bestselling author of four novels -- The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners, The Lost Art of Mixing, and The Scent Keeper (coming in May 2019 from St, Martin's ). Her memoir, House Lessons, will be published by Sasquatch in the spring of 2020. She is also the co-author of 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader's Guide and Let's Hear It For the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. She currently lives in Port Townsend, Wa with her husband and 238 wild deer.
I received a DRC from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

Interesting and engaging. Not my typical readout I can definitely identify which patrons would love this!

THE SCENT KEEPER is an elegant journey through a life filled with scent. The book follows closely the life of Emmeline from her childhood through her coming-of-age. Emmeline was raised alone on an island with her father who creates bottles of scented paper that he stores. What Emmeline comes to realize is that the scents are memories. As she understands the different scents, she can understand the world around her and the people around her.

Her childhood was somewhat enchanted, as she believes whole-heartedly in magic and the stories her father tells her, including about the mermaids who deliver supplies when they need them. Emmeline’s story itself felt like a fairytale with the descriptions lush and imaginative, even after Emmeline enters the larger world. With love and discovery constantly playing a role, Emmeline seeks to understand her father and herself through her journeys.

The book is told in three parts, which all seem to grow and evolve in different ways. The first is her magical childhood on the island with her father, the second her time in the small town with Claudia and Henry, and the third when she goes to the big city. Emmeline evolves as does the story, and it ends when she is relatively young (19 or so). I was completely caught up in her journey, but I do feel like the book could fit a younger audience as well as the adult audience mainly due to Emmeline being so young for so much of the book.

The prose is lyrical and fits the imaginative setting of the island, which never really leaves Emmeline, no matter how far she journeys. My only complaint about the book is that it was too short. The ending felt sudden and abrupt, like it was escalating to something bigger, which moved out of our grasp. I felt like I needed more, even if not the rest of Emmeline’s life, then something to tie up her life in which I felt immersed. I would also add warnings for physical abuse, domestic abuse, bullying, and sexual harassment.

The idea of scent and memory is not uncommon, and this was beautifully woven into the story which had a magical realism feel. I was completely engaged by the lyrical prose and the enchanting feel of Emmeline’s life, and I recommend for people who love fairytales and mystical writing. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Emmeline lives alone on an island with her father where she learns about the power of her senses, particularly scent. Her father creates mysterious scents in drawers of their cabin, created by a machine he won't explain. One day Emmeline finds her self thrust into the real world where she must figure out how to unlock the many secrets of her past.

WOW. This book was breathtaking. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I first read the synopsis but I was more than pleasantly surprised by the story that unfolded. Bauermeister's writing was absolutely beautiful and I was able to lose myself in the world she created, full of descriptive scents and memories. I haven't thought much about how much different smells can remind us of people and places but now I feel like I will notice it everywhere. This story was so moving, hopeful and heartbreaking. Emmeline was such a delight of a character to get to know and I truly connected to her and the agony she was going through as she tried to figure everything out.

This book has quickly become one of my favorites of the year. I didn't want it to end, wishing I could stay immersed in the wonderful writing and story that Bauermesiter had created.

5/5 star.

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister is a wonderfully written book. It captured my attention and kept me interested throughout the story.
This is a story of self-discovery and coming of age.
well done, I would add this one to your TBR in May.

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress

My new favorite Bauermeister. Round up to 4 1/2 stars.

As one who is scent sensitive, who finds scents incredibly evocative (but is by no means a "nose"), this book almost made me ache. I've loved the way Bauermeister has used fragrance in her other books, but this one is especially well done. Human and magical.

As I turned the last page I thought - oh! I was not ready for this story to end. This is the story of Emmeline and her extraordinary gift of scent. From her first memories, she lives with her father on an island like a castle; surrounded by water and sharp sided cliffs that descend only to the ocean. From time to time she and her father venture to the island's lagoon, and the crashing waves outside the barrier rocks scare her. Her father teaches her to forage for or grow all of their food; berries, mosses, crabs from the lagoon, seaweed, mushrooms, and even pine for tea. Now and then magic black plastic boxes wash up into the lagoon - shoes that magically feet her feet, a rain coat, other small treasures; once a goat Emmeline names Cleo appears and becomes her first best-friend.

Emmeline's father, John, spins fairy tales from an old treasured book as well as his imagination, and he created a magic wall of drawers, each containing a wax sealed bottle, each with a small white paper curled inside. Now and then her father opens one of the bottles and Emmeline recaptures a moment from their past through the scent released. Emmeline is a unique individual. From her father she inherits her love and knowledge of nature and scent as well as the gift of an enchanted childhood. In her life after the island she learns love, trust, hard work and loyalty from Henry, Collette, and Fisher. In her late teens she finds even more about herself and the person she wants - and does not want - to be. This is the story of magic, mystery, love, loss and coming-of-age. It is beautifully written, as I have always found to be true of Erica Bauermeister's writing. My only complaint is that I wanted more; I want to know what becomes of Emmeline in the next portion of her life!

I read the ARC of "the Scent Keeper" by Erica Bauermeister through NetGalley. The basis of the story is an invention of a machine, similar to an instant camera, that can imprint scents of any time on a thin strip of paper. The inventor takes himself and his infant daughter to an isolated island where she grows up unaware of the actual world. Once teenage turmoil involves into their lives the real story begins! After his death, her world changes very rapidly! I really enjoyed this novel and wished it actually continued further.

Where do I begin? When I first started reading The Scent Keeper I wasn’t sure how I felt. The comparisons to The Great Alone and Where the Crawdads Sing gave me some ideas of what to expect, but what I found was a completely unique and enthralling story.

The Scent Keeper is tells the story is Emmeline, a girl raised on a remote island by her father. She is taught how to hunt and gather, and to use her gift of scent to not only find food but to also find and savor memories.

Emmeline is a strong, relatable and damaged character. The scents themselves where a whole other character, full of their own power and stories. I don’t think I’ll ever smell perfume or fragrance the same again.