Miss Julia Speaks her mind - Ann B Ross

The Miss Julia books are wonderfully cheering books to brighten up a dull day.  They have no message, they just are.  Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind is the first in the series and was my first meeting with this former Southern Belle, a fiesty, interferring, self-opinionated middle-aged woman, who is just widowed.  When her late husband's constant lover Hazel Marie, and child of that relationship Little Lloyd,  turn up on the respectable doorstep of Julia Springer with nothing, what is a woman to do?  Well - get them off the doorstep and inside a bit sharpish, before the whole town knows, that's what!

The next in the series is Miss Julia Takes over and Miss Julia, having now taken Hazel Marie and Little Lloyd into her heart and her home, is distraught when Hazel Marie fails to come home after a dinner date with a church fundraiser.  Miss Julia must become detective (or at least hire one) to find out what on earth has happened to Little Lloyd's mama.

Miss Julia Throws a Wedding is entirely dedicated to just that..... Miss Julia's friend and lawyer Binkie is in love with Deputy Sheriff Coleman Bates.  They are getting married down at the courthouse on Friday, but Miss Julia decides that a courthouse quickie just isn't good enough and decides to have the wedding (a "proper" one) at her own house.  This involves moving all the furniture, filling the downstairs with flowers, hiring chairs and a piano, getting the caterers in.... and then Binkie decides she probably does not want to get married at all!

There are several more in the series, which I enjoy reading after I have finished a heavy read that either was draining, or took a lot of brainwork.  These stories are not taxing, they just take you smiling down a route you definitely want to go.  Not great literature, but then not every book has to be, they are just fun to read.  Miss Julia has a constant friend and companion at her house in Lillian, her black housekeeper of many years who although paid help, in fact has plenty to say, says it, and is much appreciated by her friend Julia.  They tend to argue and then agree on the right course of action when something needs doing.  Sam, the retired lawyer who truly loves Julia is always there, flirting a little with her and trying to get by her side for a quick hug when she least expects it..... and he will get her, have no doubt of that, eventually!

Miss Julia Hits The Road is the next in the series, in which she is involved with Sam and a Harley Davidson.............