Thursday, June 2, 2011

Review: She Smells The Dead

she smells the dead 
She Smells the Dead by E.J. Stevens
Sacred Oaks Press; September 2010
165 pages
ISBN13: 9780984247523
What would you do if you had the ability to help souls cross over? What if you found out that your best friend also had a secret of his own?

She Smells the Dead is the story of Vanessa aka Yuki who can smell the dead. Not in a gross way, but in a way that the smell is related to the soul that needs help. She is beginning her senior year in high school when the soul needs her help. Cal, with a secret of his own, and Emma, who is her strictly vegan friend know of Yuki's ability and help her with the mysteries surrounding the souls.

I really enjoyed the unique spin on this paranormal story. It took the paranormal, ghost story, and spirits to a completely different level. It was a fast paced and short read, after you get used to Yuki's thoughts interjected here and there.

The story develops well and the characters are likable. You aren't really given much of a background for Yuki's ability to smell the dead, however, when Cal reveals his secret, his background is well developed and explained in a way that I have not seen in YA books lately. And it was perfect.

Emma is a character that I really enjoyed. She was quirky, funny and had the uncanny ability to pop off with sarcastic comments without missing a beat. As she learns Cal's secret, she is calm and takes everything in stride. I have the feeling that she may have some special ability of her own that may come out in later books in this series.

If you like a quick witted, fast paced light read of the paranormal kind, I think that you will enjoy this book. I am looking forward to reading the second in the series.


***This e-book was given to me by the author, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review. It in no way influenced my review or opinion of the book. 







2 comments:

Misha said...

The book has an interesting premise! I will check it out. Thanks for the review!

LRAtRandom said...

I'm really looking forward to reading this book; it's at the top of my to read list!

PS I mentioned you on my blog, check it out :)
http://lratrandom.blogspot.com/2011/06/blog-award.html