Summer reading kicked into high gear this week with a bunch of books. First, there was Fludd, by Hilary Mantel, our last book group pick until fall when we resume our meetings. Up until page 97 or so this novel about Catholic village life in England in the 1950s was too atmospheric for me. I couldn’t find a character to love, although I chuckled at some of the fobiles of the church. Then one of the local nuns got up to some mischief with a mysterious stranger, and things picked up.

And then I read Me & Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter, because I am always ready to give any homage to Jane Austen a chance. And it was good. Emily Albright is my kind of character; I loved her from page one. She’s bookish and witty and that’s a combination that wins me over every time. When Emily goes on a tour of Austen’s England, I immediately wanted to call a travel agent and book her tour for myself. Second best, I went along as an armchair tourist. Mr. Darcy comes into the picture in a fun way, one that does not for a moment break the spell of the story, which has a double plot, because there’s another guy, and he’s interesting because he is so unlike Darcy in every way, which turns out to be a good thing for Emily. This one was great fun.

Next up was Leaving Eden by Anne D. LeClaire, which made me realize all over again that I cannot read books written from the point of view of twelve year old southern girls anymore. LeClaire is a fabulous writer, and her plot’s good, but I am all about the characters this summer, and they have to be people I can easily spend time with. That’s why they call it summer reading. Summertime and the reading’s easy.

Which brings me to Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich. I don’t know why it took me so long to read this, but my friend Donna had it and I borrowed it and read it in a day, laughing the whole time. Alexandra Barnaby is not Stephanie Plum, but that’s okay with me. She’s fresh and funny and she knows how to fix car engines. When her brother goes missing with a NASCAR driver’s fishing boat, she (and the NASCAR guy) track him to Cuba and land in big trouble. I’m going to Amazon next and buying Motor Mouth, which in case you didn’t know, is the sequel. Perfect summer read.

Now I’m in the middle of Laura Castoro’s Icing on the Cake. I reviewed Castoro’s A New Lu for RT, so I knew she has the skills to hook me into her story. And sure enough, I’m loving the adventures of baker Liz Talbot, who has been through the carb wars and come out poorer. When her ex-husband dies, she unexpectedly inherits half his ad agency business. The other half goes to the nanny who stole him away from Liz several years ago, which makes for some fun fireworks when Liz returns to the company to get a fat consulting fee that will keep her bakery afloat. There’s a bit of romance in the mix, and lots of food talk, too. So far, it’s delish.

By Cindy Harrison