I really wanted to like this book because I’d listened to a podcast with Susan Orlean, and she seemed like a charming person. Unfortunately her writing style is not for me. The story reminded me a lot of the podcast S Town, but in written form - a fascinating portrayal of one man who was different, and the consequences of his actions, with some history of orchid hunting thrown in. A lot of description of the Florida swampland and sheer incredulity at the man’s obsession.

Skimmed through/Did not finish

This book is a lot of things, but I think it's mostly Marzano-Lesnevich's attempt to reconcile her past. There is a crime that she becomes obsessed with, and the book jumps back and forth between the crime, her own childhood, the accused's childhood and life, and her time as a lawyer defending the death penalty. It's atmospheric and reads more like someone talking. The sentences are very long and wind around the pages. I think Marzano-Lesnevich has done something very interesting, and while I sympathize with her story, the writing style is not for me.

This is a longish book, but not particularly tough to get through. It reads sort of like a feminist version of Sex and the City or The Devil Wears Prada - female writer struggles to make it in New York, and the decisions she makes may affect her future career. The book didn’t move me much with its ideas, I didn’t dislike the main character, but I wasn’t exactly rooting for her either. I actually liked the supporting characters (her best friend and boyfriend) much better, because they seemed real to me. Enjoyable but not a must read.

I liked the beginning of this one, but it fell flat for me toward the middle. I was drawn to it for the magical realism angle, but I didn’t feel there was a lot of magic in the book; to me, it read more like a real world story where the characters choose to believe in magic. Also, while I’m not completely against reading about sex in books, I somehow felt uncomfortable with the sexual content (not explicit) in this book. It felt out of place in a novel about a boyish tree-loving man and a little girl.

I don’t normally read romances, but I thought this book was really cute. Okay, so the delivery is nothing new (writing notes to each other) but it was written with such earnest feeling I couldn’t help but enjoy! A perfect palate cleanser, or if you’re looking for something lighthearted, I’d check this one out.

I recently started listening to The Smush Room podcast, and the episode on Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had me at the library a few days later looking for this book. Similar to Busy Philipps’ book This Will Only Hurt A Little, Leah Remini is unapologetically herself In this book, which reads like she’s speaking to you about the absolutely crazy religion that is scientology. If you’re remotely curious about it, pick this one up.