2011 book 72

Sarah Addison Allen's The Peach Keeper
As soon as I was done with the new Kate Atkinson, I sat down and read this in one gulp. "Gulp" is an appropriate term, since Allen's books a) always feature food in some way, and b) remind me of some light and fluffy yet rich dessert--like good cheesecake. They're predictable, you know they'll end happily, but they're so well written that it's never silly or cheesy, just satisfying. In this one, two women in Western North Carolina--one the daughter of rich society types, who feels constrained by her life and longs for a home that smells of grass and fresh doughnuts [I found that image to be fairly evocative], the other from a formerly-rich family, who now owns a sporting goods store, but like a cool one with a coffee counter--are brought together by a gala, and by their grandmothers' secrets. Of course there are love interests, and a guest appearance by the magical caterer from one of Allen's earlier works (I always kind of like when authors do that). I've loved all of her books and this was no exception. A.