Scent Keeper

I read this in one sitting, I needed to understand how Emmeline's life changed. I loved the description and how the story grew, it has made me nostalgic for scents of my childhood.

When words dance off a page and sing to your soul, you know you are reading something special. In "The Beginning" is one of the most captivating starts to a novel I've ever read. The use of the English language is so beautifully used. It is lyrically melodic with the text dancing off the page. It's evocatively intoxicating and you'll find yourself immersed with all your senses activated as you follow the story of Emmeline. This is not my usual genre go to however, I was pleasantly surprised and I found myself not being able to put the book down on more than one occasion. This was my first blind pick after I asked for recommendations to broaden my readership.

I loved this. It was beautifully written and the main characters were endearing. I was hooked from the beginning. The words captivated and pulled you in to this special story. I could almost smell some of the scents they were so well detailed. I must admit I would have liked a different ending but I loved it anyway.

I read the reviews and couldn’t wait to begin my new purchase on kindle. I enjoyed the first two thirds of this book but sadly lost interest in the final installment..... The character Victoria did not awaken any curiosity in me and to be honest I couldn’t care less about her or her relationship with the main character. After she left for the city I felt a disconnect in the book ... Fisher’s character lost his path in the story also and I just felt the story meandering aimlessly in the final third of the book .

Loved the themes of this novel: basically it asks the question, what do we value? People, our environment, relationships. Or money and power? Some of it felt a little improbable, but the characters are mostly well drawn (with the possible exception of the mother) and that holds the reader's attention throughout. It's an ambitious plot, with wide ranging geography, so all the more kudos to the author for pulling it off.

I really enjoyed this book. Was a really good story and well written.

Loved this!! Such a beautiful and well written story that kept me interested right until the end and then left me wanting more! Brilliant book and I highly recommend it

I enjoyed this book very much. It’s mysterious and original. At times the descriptions get a little much and drag out the story. But once I got into the story I really wanted to see how it ended and what happens next. I saw some people criticised the ending. I would disagree. The ending is hopeful with the promise of lessons learned, and real life ahead. I’d definitely like to read more from this author.

Right from the start this book was interesting enough. Then it turned a little into too much of the same and I started wondering what to do, put the book down or not. However I kept on reading and the book got better, especially as of part 2 (there are 3 parts). For me the book feels like something in between the lush habitat of Where the Crawdads Sing and the mysteries similar to the books by Glendy Vanderah. In one word: interesting and intriguing. Beautifully and well written. It was the first time I read a book by Erica B. and it will certainly not be the last! It's one of those books you don't want to end.

Emmeline and her father live on a small island—all alone and in the middle of nowhere. Emmeline knows next to nothing about how they got there, and whenever she works up the courage to ask her father, he only answers in riddles or short “end of conversation!” statements. She loves the island, and she loves her father, so she doesn’t push. What she does know is that they need to protect the scents. In their small cabin is a whole wall of tiny drawers filled with little corked bottles. Each bottle contains a slip of paper with a specific scent on it—maybe spruce wood or lavender. The bottles can’t be opened often, lest the scent escape, but from a young age, Emmeline understands that her father will do anything to preserve all the smells trapped inside. I don’t want to say too much more about this book, because it is a lovely mystery that reveals itself ever so slowly and subtly over time. The story is unlike anything I’ve read before, and the writing is beyond. Like beyond beyond. It’s poetry. You know when you read an amazing book and it makes you feel a little depressed, because you know you will never write something as good as what you just read? Yeah, that’s The Scent Keeper. Some of the descriptions of Emmeline’s scents left me honest-to-God breathless. I’m still in awe. My only minor complaint is that the conclusion felt abrupt—not by too much, but by just enough that I’m going to whine about it. Is the ending like one of Emmeline’s scents? Am I supposed to supply the missing note? I don’t know, but I needed a three-page epilogue, something to give me the closure I was looking for. But this is a minor gripe, and I still loved, loved the book. The Scent Keeper is going to stay with me a long time, and I will definitely be checking out author Erica Bauermeister’s other work. What a phenomenal story.

The book is divided in 3 parts: The Island, The Cove and The City. This book would have been a 5 star read for me since I adored the first and second parts but unfortunately, the story lost momentum in the third part (it was so different from the other two and a bit slower-paced). I loved Emmeline and Fisher as characters and how their relationship was built (seriously what a beautiful love story). I also liked Henry and Colette and would have loved to read more of them in the third part of the book. Dylan was an interesting character (though not a nice person) and I've always thought he acted the way he did with Emmeline because he secretly liked her and therefore wanted to get her attention. The weakest part of the book for me was Emmeline meeting her mother and working with her (or should I say 'for her') at Inspire, Inc (which was the main focus of the third part of the book). I found myself not as interested in that storyline as I would have liked even though it made sense to put it as it made the story progress. Regarding the epilogue, I would have loved if the author had included the scene where Emmeline and Fisher return to the Cove and reunite with Colette and Henry (it was just mentioned and that was not enough for me since Emmeline’s life at the Cove was pretty much what the entire part two of the book was about and therefore important enough to write how it felt for her to come back). So all in all, despite a few aspects of the storyline that I wish had gone different, The Scent Keeper is a fantastic book that I highly recommend since it’s a story that I don't think I'll ever forget

Erica Bauermeister hits it out of the park again. The subtle scent of a storm on the horizon long before you can see or hear it coming. The pine tree that releases its aroma on a hot day. Or the hint of bread having been baked many days ago. All woven together to draw you into a story that is truly tantalizing. She is one of few authors whose books I could read again and again.

Ein Roman, der mal einfach etwas anderes ist. Zwar nicht in bezug auf den Inhalt - denn auch hier gibt es Drama & Liebe - allerdings auf eine andere (für mich 'neue') Art und Weise. Die Geschichte wird sehr einfühlsam erzählt. Was mir sehr gefallen hat war auch die Nähe zur Natur und wie intensiv diese - vorallem über die Gerüche - wahrgenommen wird. Es ist eh super interessant mal nicht nur das 'normal' erlebte in das Zentrum einer Geschichte zu stellen... Sondern Gerüche.