One of those family stories that Cadell does so well. There is no plot, just Harriet and her family and guests spending time together at home. I really liked Harriet as she dealt with her offspring with a good helping of sarcasm. The leading man for the romantic part of the storyline was interchangeable with several of Cadell's young men, but the rest of the characters were distinctive and entertaining (even the annoying ones). Very light, and lots of fun. ( )

I have always enjoyed Elizabeth Cadell's books, because they have a blithe spirit that gently pokes fun at people. In "Last Straw for Harriet" the author attempts to imbue the book with the same spirit, but it somehow falls flat. The book appears to go off in different directions and fails to achieve a coherent whole. There's the uninvited persnickety self-centered Admiral uncle who wants to get away from his wife, the again self-centered troublesome son who is always getting into trouble either by playing jokes on people or because he's a bit of a numbskull, the Junoesque beautiful neighbor girl with dysfunctional parents who tries to snare the older son, the older son with a broken foot who's suspicious of girls because of past experience, the girl from the North to help the mother Harriet, but who is initially suspected of chasing after the older son, and then there's the deus ex machina who should pull it all together, but somehow doesn't. There's a romance that is almost non-existent and when it does pop up - it is tepid. I do feel sorry for Harriet, the mother, who only wants to spend the summer hoidays with her family and no one else, but she too fails to interest. ( )