First reading rating:3/5
Second reading rating: 2.5/5

It seems my reading taste has changed in the last seven years.

*She Smells the Dead still has an appeal that comes with an MC who has an ability other than the tired she SEES the dead.

*A relationship with a strong base of friendship is always A+.

*There's room for more in-depth dive into Yuki's paranormal world and Cal's heritage. More story development.

*The mystery was too simplistic; and probably would should've been unraveled other than the generous employment of the ouija board. ( )

To say that this book is rather unlike anything I've ever read before seems a bit of an understatement. I mean where else in YA fiction have you ever found a main character that smells dead people? See them, yup. Sense them, definitely. Smell them? Yuki is absolutely one of a kind in that respect. It was this little fact that first drew me to the book, and then had me hooked by the middle of the first chapter.

Yuki, also known as Vanessa Stennings, isn't your typical teenage, gothic girl. Her angst filled teenage years are further complicated by her ability to smell dead people. Now before you run away at the thought of rotting corpses, let me assure you that Yuki's ability is much more interesting than that. Her curse is to smell people in a symbolic sense. The scents give her a clue and then she uses these clues to figure out who deceased is, as well as what unfinished business they have left on this Earth. Pretty amazing right?

What I loved about this story was the originality, both in concept and in characters. Yuki, Emma and Calvin each had their own unique personalities (Bee oppression anyone?) and yet they mesh together perfectly! It was a whole lot of fun following them on their crazy excursions. I was also quite appreciative of the narrative style that E.J. Stevens writes in. We see the world from Yuki's point of view, even becoming a part of her inside jokes. Although I'll admit that Yuki's copious usage of "son of a dung beetle" had me a bit on edge at times, she was likable to the core! I truly fell in love with these characters.

My one gripe about this story, and it's a small one at that, is just that it is over so quickly! By the time that I was invested and excited about the outcome, it was done. The one thing that keeps me holding on is that I know there will be a second book out soon! I was hoping that She Smells the Dead would have made it to the climax I was expecting, however if the second book deals with that epic night then I am all for waiting. Truth be told I'll be a little impatient, but I'll wait!

Final thoughts? Original, fantastic and fun! ( )

I picked up this book because I thought the cover was beautiful and it sounded interesting. Bad idea. The first thing I noticed was all the errors. This is supposed to be a final book, but it was filled with grammatical errors. I was also annoyed by the characters continued use of “yah”. Can’t they just say “yeah” like normal people?!? I still decided to give it a chance, even with the annoying tidbits I noticed in the first chapters. The story is very fast paced (I actually liked that). The problem was—nothing interesting really happened. There was no bad guy to this story, and the main character just focused on her boring romance with Cal. There are also a lot of stereotypes used in this book: Yuki is the typical goth, her best friend is vegan, etc… I found that a bit annoying. I like books to be different and this one just wasn’t. I would have liked to see more action related to her power and title of the book—smelling the dead! The summary is also misleading, as Yuki completely forgets about her crush in the beginning of the book. Overall, this book wasn’t very believable. It was just a silly story. I was very disappointed with it. ( )

I love Yuki!
She's strong, brave, smart and knows what she wants. The kind of girl everyone should want to be, but she makes herself a bit of an outcast.
Very well rounded character for one with her ability. That vinegar smell, a dead guy. Yep, she really smells the dead. Could you imagine?!
I am stuck on the edge of a cliffhanger though, as now I need to get my hands on a copy of the next book in line.
Excellent storytelling from EJ, as she takes readers into a whole new dimension of fun! I think people of all ages will love it!
And on a personal note, thanks to EJ for adding part of my review in the back of the book, along with others praise for Shadows of Myth and Legend. ( )

*I received this book free of charge for my honest opinion*
My Review: E. J. Stevens writes a beautiful paranormal novel with an amazing
cover and a story that will stick with you long after your finished reading. She fits so
much in this short novel you never feel like a character is missing something.
The characters really make the story what it is!
Yuki: With a paranormal gift that is anything but glamorous and would gag
me if I had to deal with it, she smells the dead. Her current spirit haunting her makes
her smell vinegar all day can you even imagine. Yuki seems to be to be strong and
venerable because of her powers all at the same time. She is a goth at school - and called
a "witch" by many of the students. Her sense of humor and smart ass remarks she says
to herself really tripped me out. With her amazing talents I can't wait to see what's
next for Yuki.
Calvin: Is Yuki best friend that soon becomes a lot more. For some reason he
reminds me of a hippie dude but that may just be in my head. But just as we are getting
to know the caring, protective, and loving Calvin something strange seems to be
happening and he is avoiding Yuki.
Emma: She is Yuki's vegan friend -who to me is the best kind of written
friend you can have. She is trustworthy, fun loving, and is very humorous. She is
out for bee oppression everywhere and will not stand for it.
Simon: A wanna be playboy who becomes Yuki's instructor in all things spiritual.
He is annoying,sarcastic, and very helpful in rough situations.
*Overall I think this book was well worth the read and I will be reading it again and again. I recommend it to Paranormal lovers, YA, mystery fans. I think young teens could read this with ease of their parents.* ( )