Well-written southern literature at its best!  You can smell the citrus, hear the bees and in my case, even feel the sticky sweet honey.  Literally.

Yes, as I turned the very last page of the novel, I noticed something gooey on the back of my leg.  Then I noticed it on the couch, too.  "What is that?"  I smelled it.  HONEY.  "How in the world did that get there?!?" 

The plot really "stuck with me" (haha), and after thinking about it for a few days, I really decided that overall, I didn't love the story.  The characters and themes center around a Virgin Mary-figure, and have even formed a cult-like following of Mary as they understand her.  I do understand the young girl's craving for a mother figure, but the worship of any other god does not and cannot give fulfillment and joy.

This book was excellently written, but I can't really fully enjoy a plot so heavily ensconced in occultic symbolism.  What if it would have been centered around Christ who loves and heals the broken-hearted?