Miss Julia Stands Her Ground – Ann B. Ross
3 stars
Miss Julia has a problem. She must prove that Little Lloyd is without doubt the biological child of her late husband while preserving the reputation of the boy’s mother Hazel Marie. I love the cast of characters and the ridiculous situations they find themselves in. Hazel Marie’s passion party had me laughing out loud. I’m a Yankee who married into a Southern family and there are personalities here that I recognize. This is not great literature, but I found Miss Julia’s strong moral sense a relief after reading Witches of Eastwick.
This was my first Miss Julia book although I'd bought several of them to give to my mother. Stands her Ground is the 6th book in the series. I didn't have much difficulty following the plot or getting to know the characters as Miss Julia seems to do a great deal of reminiscing.
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Well, maybe 3.5 stars.

I love Miss Julia, but this book spends a lot of time in reminiscence of their first Christmas with Little Lloyd and Hazel Marie. The main issue of his paternity was only dealt with in the last few chapters. ( )

Miss Julia continues to soften up after her marriage; while she continues to care deeply for her family (nonconventional though it may be) we see her becoming a bit less worried about the opinions of the rest of the town. But in this story, little Lloyd's paternity is questioned, and she goes into Miss Julia Overdrive Mode to make sure Hazel Marie escapes unharmed. ( )

http://blogmybooks.blogspot.com/2007/12/genre-light-humorous-fiction-published.h... ( )

As always, Miss Julia is at her best when called upon to defend her loved ones. Hazel Marie's uncle Vernon Puckett returns to stir up trouble for Hazel Marie and Little Lloyd. He'll have to reckon with Miss Julia, though, who will do everything in her power to thwart his plans.

I alternately laughed and cried as I read this book. Miss Julia's visit at the doctor's office is one of the funniest scenes in any of the books in this series. Miss Julia's extended reflections on her first Christmas with Little Lloyd and Hazel Marie were touching, and it was pleasant to revisit characters like Coleman and Binkie, who were featured in early books in the series but have only been mentioned in passing in more recent series entries.

The only aspect of the book that marred my full enjoyment of the novel was an unnecessary passage describing a home sales party for personal items that, through a series of circumstances, ended up at Miss Julia's house. The scene was superfluous to the plot of the book, and it described the wares in more detail than many readers would be comfortable with. ( )