Review--She Smells the Dead by E.J. Stevens

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 on TV. 

SHE SMELLS THE DEAD. 

Yuki is being visited in her dreams and suspects that her friend Calvin is involved in something strange. Will Yuki be able to save the spirits and herself?

I received this e-book from the author for review

E.J. Stevens' She Smells the Dead was quite interesting. First the title alone had my eyebrows raising in curiosity and the cover is beautiful and eerie at the same time, so I had to give this one a shot! And it was pretty interesting overall!

Yuki--it's really just a nickname, but it's how she goes by throughout the book, can smell the dead. There isn't much backstory behind this, only that it's her secret power. Only her friends, Emma and Calvin know about it. Not even her parents know. Which her parents were pretty absent in this book, like most YA novels tend to be for some reason!

Yuki is suddenly haunted by the smell of vinegar and knowing that it is a spirit she decides to try to help him somehow so he can move on. Her friends decide to help in any way they can as well. In the meantime while she's trying to work up the courage to ask her crush to the Homecoming Dance, she doesn't see what's right in front of her already. Cal.

It soon becomes obvious that Yuki and Cal are going to be more than just friends, and their relationship starts out kind of platonic, in a friendly way before they both realize that their feelings for each other are more than just friendly.

The pacing was decent. Yuki alternates between her friends in doing research and recon on trying to figure out what the ghost wants. It seems like a mystery developing, but the story doesn't focus too much on it. The story is about Yuki getting into her powers.

Her dreams she's been having are starting to freak her out as well. Strange things are happening in them that she can't explain and they seem to be pointing her back to Cal. Her dreams led me to the conclusion rather easily, but that's neither here nor there really.

Overall it was a decent story. A little on the short side but that's no big. I would've liked there to be a little more focus on the mystery behind the spirit haunting Yuki, but there wasn't much depth to that matter. It focused more on Yuki, like I mentioned.

Overall rating 3.5/5 stars