Kate Cadogan is over forty years old, yet she still lives in the shadow of her demanding Irish mother. This when she is not tending to her needy husband and children. Perhaps it is this demanding life which results in Kate, the protagonist of Carrie Kabak's light but engaging novel Cover the Butter, slipping back in time. Her future seems bleak, so maybe Kate can find some satisfaction in the past. "Cover the Butter" (which is set in Wales) is more of a beach read than a demanding one. Kabak (a former children's book illustrator from the U.K. who now lives in Missouri) also pours it on rather thick when it comes to establishing that Kate's Irish mother Biddy is a tyrant. Still, it's hard not to sympathize with Kate, and "Cover the Butter" delivers a satisfying conclusion. ($23.95 / 368 pages / Dutton)