Review: Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

Summer on Blossom Street is part of a wonderful series by Debbie Macomber called the Blossom Street Series. This is book five and I've read them all and they are one of my favorite series. Blossom Street is a friendly neighborhood in Seattle and the series centers on A Good Yarn, a cozy yarn shop owned by Lydia who also teaches many knitting classes. There are other shops along Blossom Street that are featured in the books and they include the French Café, Susannah’s Garden and Blossom Street Books.

The main character of the series is Lydia, who owns and runs A Good Yarn. She is a cancer survivor, married and a stepmother to a young boy. She runs the shop with the help of her often critical but supportive sister Margaret. Lydia decides to start a new class called Knit to Quit. It's for those who want to quit something or someone and start a new page in life. The members of the class include a few new characters and a familiar one. The new members include Phoebe who just ended an engagement to an unfaithful man and wants to get over him. A familiar character from previous books joins the class as well, Alix . Alix and her husband want to start a family but she needs to quit smoking. Another new member is Hutch, who needs to deal with stress in his life caused by running his family chocolate factory business as well as deal with an impending lawsuit brought about by a greedy and unsavory lawyer. His health has been affected and his doctor suggests he learn how to knit. Hutch decides to give it a try and finds he likes learning to knit and has more than one reason to stick with the knitting class.

Life is complicated on Blossom Street as it can be in "real" life and as it can be to learn to knit. I consider myself a newbie knitter as I have just made a few scarves and basically taught myself to knit as the knit shop I went to had a very impatient owner try to teach me how to knit. It was in no way like A Good Yarn. I ended up teaching myself with my mother-in-law's help. The members of the class learn to knit a Cable Sampler Scarf and there is even a pattern included at the end of the book.

Some other complications develop in the book among other characters such as Ann Marie, who owns and runs Blossom Street Books. Ann Marie recently adopted a daughter, Ellen and things are going along well in their family which includes their cute Yorkie named Baxter. I assume that may be him on the cover. Things change when a handsome stranger stops by the bookstore one day and starts to ask some questions about Ellen. Also, things are challenging for Lydia as she is helping her aging mother who they are helping adjust to a recent move to an assisted living facility. Then, Lydia and her husband Brad unexpectedly become foster parents to an angry and defiant 12 year old girl. She has a lot of uncertainty in her own life being shuffled from home to home while in the foster system. What she really wants is a family and a home but is uncertain that this will ever happen for her.

I savored this story when I read it. Debbie Macomber has a style of writing that for me, just pulls me right into the pages and I feel as if I know the characters on Blossom Street. They have become so familiar to me that they feel like old friends. These books are comfort reading at it's best. They lift you up and touch your heart and they make you yearn for more. As soon as I finished this book, I wanted more. I cannot wait for the next book in the Blossom Street Series. While I wait, I am going to work on catching up in another favorite Debbie Macomber series called The Cedar Cove Series. That will have to hold me for awhile. If you are a fan of this series, you will certainly enjoy this book. If you've never read a Blossom Street novel, dive in and start at the beginning with The Shop on Blossom Street. If you want you can even start with Summer on Blossom Street or any of the others in the series. Each book gives you enough background to follow the story and you can go back and catch up on the rest.

Summer on Blossom Street will be released on April 28, 2009. Check out the Debbie Macomber website here. You will find information about all of Debbie Macomber's books, readers guides, Knitters club including knitting & crochet patterns from her books, recipes, contests and more.

Thanks to Kim from Nancy Berland Public Relations for this ARC copy.