The Secret of a Heart Note (Stacey Lee)

• I found this book among a stack of free books, and was intrigued enough to take it home. And it was so, so, so worth it. The premise: Mimosa is in high school, and so dealing with normal high-school problems. She’s also got a super-sensitive nose (a family trait) that lets her smell people’s emotions, their inner selves. Along with her mother, she uses this gift to create “elixers” — aka, love potions that help people gain the attention (and hopefully love) of the one they’re interested in. Also, if Mimosa falls in love herself, she’ll lose her ability. I’m guessing you can see where this was going…
• I admit, it sounds a little cheesy. When I first read the description on the back, I imagined a brain-storming session: “We need to give our dystopian-future teenage heroine a special ability. What hasn’t been used yet? I know — a super sniffer!” (I found this very idea very funny.) Only, this isn’t a dystopian-future book, but you get the idea.
• Heart Note is so well-written. The characters are distinct, pop off the page. The relationships (mother-daughter, friendship, frenemies…) are interesting and layered. And the way Lee incorporates scent into the novel is lovely.
• So, if you’re looking for a sweet, refreshing romance, this is the book for you. I was not expecting much, but it surpassed my expectations more than I could have ever hoped. Best free book I’ve gotten in recent memory — and I definitely would have spent money on it if I’d known how much I was going to enjoy reading it.