Wednesday, September 8, 2010

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.

Personality Test Results

Click Here to Take This Quiz

quiz
Quizzes and Personality Tests

30 comments:

Lesley said...

that's crazy, I got the panther too! I kind of don't agree, I'm not vicious or anything lol. I though I would be something more gentle-like...

Great giveaway, can't wait to read this book!

my email: lesleykjones@hotmail.com

MissWendy13 said...

I am a dog, I definitely saw that coming :P They're loyal and all about fun!

misswendythirteen[at]hotmail[dot]com

Straylights said...

I am a cat HA! I suppose I am quite lazy :P
That cover is awesome!



dontbendmybindings@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Mine is a cat Seems about right ;)
tanyainjville at yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

Hi E.J. & Angelique -
The quiz says that my inner animal is the snake.

Lea Ellen
borg_66@hotmail.com

kar_took said...

I'm cat, apparently. Not what I'd have said, but elegant, understanding, intuitive and lazy is about right.

This novel has been reviewed by a few of the bloggers I follow, but I was put off reading about it by the title (am I the only one who thinks its weird?). This is a stunning cover though, and after reading your review I think I'll give it a try.

barbieruinedmylife@gmail.com

Amber at The Musings of ALMYBNENR said...

OMG this is awesome! I really want to read this book!

And here is my answer:

Your inner animal spirit is a Cat

Your elegant, understanding, and intuitive. Often deep in though,your an empathetic person with a big heart. At times, you can be rather lazy.

LOL!

Tweeted @aLmYbNeNr:
amberr610[at]gmail[dot]com

Amber at The Musings of ALMYBNENR said...

Hmm...my Twitter link didn't show up. Here, let's try again: http://twitter.com/aLmYbNeNr/status/24000055721

Jenny said...

So apparently, I'm a Dog:) Or my inner animal spirit is anyway! Thanks for the giveaway!

supernaturalsnark@gmail.com

Smash Attack Ash said...

That book cover is rad!

My inner animal spirit is a Dog (yay Jenny!): Loyal, faithfull, and many people consider you their best friend. You love to be carefree, and you'll stand up for anyone who you care about! :)

Thanks Angelique!!
SmashAttackReads at gmail dot com

Tales of Whimsy said...

FAB cover.
Great review.
I would love to try this.

We must have personality traits in common because I scored a panther too :)
suitejuju(AT)gmail(DOT)com :)

Thanks for giving it away :)

Midnyte Reader said...

I am not surprised you got a panther. Look at those fangs. I got a dog, which I'm quite happy with, but I'm also really attracted to owls since they come out at night.

Great review and yeah, I would have picked this book up just from the cover too.

Lucky's Luna said...

I'm a Cat! I'm not surprised, I always adored cats, plan to be a crazy cat lady and have felt I was very cat like! Fun quiz thanks for sharing, Panther is cool animal to be! Thanks for giveaway!

luckysluna(at)yahoo(Dot)com

Lucky's Luna said...

I tweeted giveaway as @luckysluna
http://twitter.com/luckysluna/status/24054864601

luckysluna(at)yahoo(dot)Com

Anonymous said...

I am a panther too!
Thanks for the giveaway :D

grace9979(at)live(dot)com

j said...

I really want to read this one!

I got the Panther, but I don't think that fits me. I'd like to be a wise old owl or something. ;)

I tweeted!
http://twitter.com/YAaddict/statuses/24116116334

jayliv0609@gmail.com

Brenda Hyde said...

Oddly, I also got the panther: 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.

Maybe that's why I like you and your blog:)

wayfaringwriter at gmail.com

April X said...

I thought I already commented.... But if I haven't, I'm a snake :) Which surprised me but I thought it was cool

aprilxu2222@gmail.com

KindleObsessed said...

Hum... I got cat, which in description sounds perfect but really? Cats? Uh....

Give me a horse sized dog any day. LOL

The cover of this is beautiful.

misty@kindleobsessed.com

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

i have this one too, but haven't read it yet! wow you read it really fast :) I'm glad to hear it's really good!!

Linda Henderson said...

I took the quiz and now I am totally creeped out because it said my inner animal is the snake. I really don't like snakes. I would love to read this book.

seriousreader at live dot com

Jessi E. said...

Mine is a panther, also. Neat quiz! Thanks for this giveaway!

Jessi
jlelliott08 AT gmail DOT com

Anonymous said...

I am an owl-always have been!
javaintheam at hotmail dot com

Elizabeth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Elizabeth said...

i got a snake, the description says

Your inner animal spirit is a Snake

Your mysterious, and abit secretive. You have a quick wit, and keen literate skills. Your unusual approach to life often makes you feel like your on the outside looking in.

elizabethjhoskins@gmail.com

Ashley said...

I got a cat.

hewella1 at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I got the cat...hmmm never saw myself as a cat, Im allergic :(

Thanks for the giveaway
willowdust@gmail.com

Brandy B aka Brandlwyne said...

I got squirrel. And it was oddly accurate. Anyways, I love your cover the makeup she is wearing is beautiful and reminds me of gesha style.

-Brandy
brandyzbooks@yahoo.com

vvb32 reads said...

I loved this book. And I found that my guide is a Cat.

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