Miss Julia has been the star of five previous novels by Ann B. Ross, and she continues to twinkle delightfully in this vehicle.

For those unacquainted with the series, Julia Springer is a feisty Southern lady (are there any other kind?) living in a small town in North Carolina. Her late husband fathered a son during one of his several affairs, and Little Lloyd’s existence – and that of his mother, Hazel Marie – came to light after Wesley Lloyd’s death. Miss Julia became attached to the little boy, especially since she never had any children of her own, and took in Little Lloyd and Hazel Marie, who became a good, though perhaps unlikely, friend.

The two, as well as Julia’s housekeeper, Lillian, and some other eccentric characters in the town share some little adventures, mishaps and misunderstandings and do a lot of fun chatting.

In this novel, Miss Julia has just married old friend Sam Murdoch, and she begins to settle into a new routine and living arrangement. But naturally, some problems arise that she must deal with in her usual proper and upright manner. In the middle of dealing with the issue of whether her marriage performed in a wedding chapel in Tennessee was conducted by a proper preacher recognized by the state, she gets drawn in to helping Hazel Marie with a fund-raising beauty pageant for the sheriff’s department. And though she starts to feel a bit overwhelmed and certainly exasperated with the various turns of events, the two situations converge and eventually lead to a happy ending, of course.

Having read only the first novel, and a solid five or more years ago, I had no problem getting right into the swing of things in this one. Miss Julia is entertaining reading, particularly for those who appreciate a little Southern charm and wit. It’s nothing completely original or altogether unexpected, but it’s fun, light reading.

Rated: Mild, for just a few uses of mild language.