Heart the Lover, Lily King (4.0)
Is it odd that I read the first book in this series (this is a prequel) 4 years ago and don’t remember it at all? I’m glad that is the case as I liked this one better and likely would have been put off had I known. This love story feels more real than many I’ve read. The characters are faulty, though ultimately likable. The experiences and emotions of college life – with big decisions coupled with hormones and the lack of wisdom that comes with age- were true to life. It has the pretentious discussions and lifelong relationships of college students (I remember them well). The finale was bittersweet and just sweet enough to not be hokey.
The Genius of Trees, Harriet Rix (4.0)
I found a lot of interesting things in this book, though feel that I should reread it in order to fully remember them! The author illustrates the history of trees’ evolution from the very beginning. I appreciated that she spent more time on how trees have affected insects, birds, animals and humans than on humans’ effect on trees, though she does point out where ‘tree huggers’ tend to get things wrong. The botanical vocabulary did slow the reading down at times – though I got several trees questions correct on Jeopardy recently due to my experience with this book!
