The Scent Keeper: A Novel

Erica Bauermeister

May 2019 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

The Scent Keeper was way out of my wheelhouse, and I'll admit that I was a little confused at first as to what it was about and where it was going. In the beginning, it felt a little like fantasy, but not quite, although there are elements that certainly stretched my ability to suspend disbelief. As the story progressed, it became more a coming of age tale than anything else. Regardless of genre and wheelhouses, the story did hold my attention, and it definitely had me posing a number of questions. Questions that I wanted answers to. Some of those were answered and some weren't, which brings me to the only real drawback in this book, at least for me. I wanted closure or at least some semblance of where everyone was going to end up. I know Emmaline's intentions, but this one has a rather open-ended conclusion - not something that leads me to believe there will be a second book, more like an ambiguous ending to let the reader decide what they'd like for these characters. That can work in some cases, but I felt like this one deserved more. Nevertheless, the book was definitely worth reading, and I would recommend it to those who enjoy the genre.

I did not like this book. I thought it to be strange and slow.

About the author

Erica Bauermeister is the author of the bestselling novel The School of Essential Ingredients, Joy for Beginners, and The Lost Art of Mixing. She is also the co-author of the non-fiction works, 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 has a PhD in literature from the University of Washington, and has taught there and at Antioch University. She is a founding member of the Seattle7Writers and currently lives in Port Townsend, Washington.