Review: She Smells the Dead (And Giveaway!!)

She Smells the Dead
By: E.J. Stevens
Publication date: September 9, 2010
Published by: Sacred Oaks Press
Received from the author for review

From Goodreads....

It's the beginning of senior year and Yuki's psychic awareness of ghostly spirits is threatening to ruin her life. Her ability to sense spirits of the dead isn't glamorous like the ghost hunting on television.

SHE SMELLS THE DEAD.

The smell impressions are becoming stronger. Yuki is being visited in her dreams, and she suspects that her friend Calvin is involved in something strange. To make matters worse her crush on Garrett is going unrequited, Yuki's friend Emma is on a rampage against bee oppression, and annoying Calvin Miller mysteriously disappears.

Will Yuki be able to focus her powers in time to save the lost soul who is haunting her? Meanwhile, who will save Yuki from following the spirits into the light?

Why I picked it up: Hello, gorgeous. One of my very favorite covers...I just love this picture!

Why I couldn't put it down: I received this one yesterday, started reading it last night and finished it today. After a couple of recent disappointments with books featuring characters I didn't really care for, I am happy to report I enjoyed Yuki and her friends. Yuki came across as a pretty normal, goth-y, teenage girl (well, other than that whole smelling the dead thing) who likes big boots and anime AND is a vegetarian (veggie characters always make me happy, can't help it =)

Yuki can smell the dead, but not in the way you would imagine. The scents don't lead her to where the body is or anything like that. Instead, the scents point to someone who has died who still has unfinished business to wrap up before their soul can move on. The smells work more as a kind of communication between Yuki and the deceased so she can help them.

There is romance and a WHOLE lot of paranormal stuff going on. As a matter of fact, that is pretty much my only complaint about the book. At only 168 pages, I felt like there were maybe too many things going on without enough space to fully explore them. Not to mention there were two main storylines going on as well, with a third being introduced near the end of the book. I wish the book had been longer so some of the themes could have been elaborated on. And speaking of themes, I liked that the book contains "fantasy" paranormal as well as what I like to think of as "real-life" paranormal....more of what might be referred to as new-age aspects. Yuki's friend Emma is into herbal teas and remedies and Calvin has dragged Yuki to yoga class. The idea of animal spirit guides also plays a major role in the story, which I kind of dug since I've always had an interest in "real-life" paranormal stuff myself =)

All in all, a quick and enjoyable read, just be warned...there's a lot going on!!

Now...for the giveaway! Up for grabs is a brand new autographed copy of She Smells the Dead and bookmarks....and all YOU have to do to enter is visit THIS LINK and take the quiz "What's Your Inner Power Animal" and let me know your results in the comments! Of course, if you already have an idea of what your animal spirit guide is or would be, feel free to skip the quiz and tell me all about it!

A winner will be picked at random by random.org and following isn't necessary, but it is appreciated. Tweeting gets you an extra entry, be sure and let me know. And make sure you leave me your email addy as well! Contest is open to US and Canada and the winner will be picked on September 18. Good luck!!!

And...to get the ball rolling, here's my quiz result =)

Whats Your inner Power animal? Your inner animal spirit is a Panther Intelligent, Cunning, and Wise. You are the jaguar. You have strong belifes, but are empathetic. You unique, clever and dark. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests