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By A. Janine Taylor Published July 1998

Whether you're in the mood for a grand adventure, quirky comedy or a steamy mystery there's plenty to embrace in the latest batch of summer escapism. These beach companions are undemanding and each has a charm all it's own.

Into the Wilderness

By Sara Donati (Bantam - Aug 1998, $31.95HC)

Rejoice. Here is the perfect summer treat for those epic adventure fans impatiently awaiting a new release from Diana Gabaldon. Into the Wilderness immerses the reader in the untamed New World of 1794.

Elizabeth Middleton moves from England to Paradise, New York to teach school but to her dismay discovers her father is planning her marriage to local doctor, Richard Todd, to whom he owes money. Todd is offering to cancel Judge Alfred Middleton's debts in return for land rights to a mountain called Hidden Wolf. Although the Judge owes his life to the Mohawk patriarch, Chingachgook, who lives on Hidden Wolf, Todd bears a grudge against the Mohawks and wants them evicted. The Judge is trying to include his daughter's hand in marriage as part of the land deal with Todd in an attempt to keep the mountain in the Middleton family.

Shortly after arriving in Paradise, Elizabeth meets and falls in love with Chingachgook's grandson Nathaniel Bonner. She soon realizes that she's a pawn in Todd's obsessive game of revenge. Nathaniel and Elizabeth embark on adventures and schemes to thwart Todd's plans to take over Hidden Wolf.

Donati's style is flowing and by times even poetic yet her plot generally marches along briskly. Elizabeth and Nathaniel are breathing people by the end of the 690-page yarn, which luckily seems set up for a sequel.

Sara Donati has suddenly become another author whose books you will impatiently await.

To Catch An Heiress

By Julia Quinn (Avon - July 1998, $7.99)

A slapstick style and snappy dialogue make this a charming choice.

Caroline Trent flees into the night to escape a bumbling attack by her guardian's son only to be mistaken as a traitor to the crown. Dashing Blake Ravenscroft thinks he has captured the notorious Carlotta DeLeon, but feels a completely inappropriate compassion and attraction for his devious young prisoner. Caroline decides to use Blake's mistake to wangle a place to hide for the next 42 days, until her twenty-first birthday, when she gains control of her inheritance.

The efforts to hide Caroline on Blake's estate, while keeping her reputation intact leads to the type of odd predicaments that would do any sitcom proud.

The author, similar to Cathy Maxwell and Amanda Quick, favors quirky heroines. Caroline is an enjoyable combination of self-confidence and naiveté.

Stranger in My Arms

By Lisa Kleypas (Avon - July 1998, $7.99)

This is a scorcher for a hot summer night. Kleypas has woven a compelling hero into a good story, then padded it with a nice, thick layer of sensuality.

Hunter Crossland, Lord Hawksworth is back from the dead. But, Hunter has changed. His wife, Lara finds it difficult to accept that he's the same obnoxious, self-centered brute she married.

Certainly this new responsible, thoughtful and sexy man is much improved over the one who left her for India three years earlier. He seems to actually care for Lara and seems determined to win her heart. He respects her charity work, admires her taste and desires her wholeheartedly. She can hardly be blamed for falling in love with her own husband, assuming he is her husband. And there is the rub.

When suspicions are raised about Hunter's identity, Lara must decide if she believes in her husband or if she has been a passionately willing dupe.

Although there is a bit of a mystery, this is basically a story of seduction. If you are looking to indulge in a little lighthearted sexual tension, Stranger In My Arms is a splendid choice.

White Hot

By Carla Neggers (Pocket - July 1998, $8.50)

This book is aptly named. White Hot is a sexy story about beautiful people in a dreamy locale working on a spunky mystery.

Mollie Lavender is an entrepreneurial publicist in West Palm Beach. When an old flame arrives to accuse her of jewel theft she is outraged, embarrassed and reluctantly intrigued.

Hard-nosed journalist, Jeremiah Tabak, following a weird tip from an even weirder source, is hot on the trail of a story. He's trying hard to be objective and get past the guilt he feels for breaking off a spring break fling with Mollie a decade earlier.

Carla Neggers continues to meet her high standards.

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