Synopsis:

There’s a little yarn shop on Blossom Street in Seattle. It’s owned by Lydia Hoffman, and it represents her dream of a new life free from cancer. A life that offers a chance at love . . .

Lydia teaches knitting to beginners, and the first class is “How to Make a Baby Blanket.” Three women join. Jacqueline Donovan wants to knit something for her grandchild as a gesture of reconciliation with her daughter-in-law. Carol Girard feels that the baby blanket is a message of hope as she makes a final attempt to conceive. And Alix Townsend is knitting her blanket for a court-ordered community service project.

These four very different women, brought together by an age-old craft, make unexpected discoveries — about themselves and each other. Discoveries that lead to friendship and more . . .

This is the first book in The Blossom Street Series. I have already read Back on Blossom Street – the thrid book, and that did not effect my reading at all. We meet Lydia, a woman determined to live life having beaten cancer twice. She opens a knitting shop on Blossom Street, Seattle – A Good Yarn. She offers a knitting class, and this draws in three different ladies – Carol, who has given up her job to try and have children; Alix, a rough girl who had clashed with the law and Jacqueline, an uptight high society woman. With the classes these four women’s lives have been entwined and friendships have been formed.

This is the typical chick-lit book – enjoyable, quick to read, fairly predictable, and fun. I liked all the characters, Alix in particular, I liked her no-nonsense attitude. I like Macomber’s writing style. It flows and she writes in an enjoyable way. Macomber touches on family issues, women who can’t get pregnant and the fear and reality of cancer. She writes well and sensitively and all issues were dealt with in a sensible and realistic manner.

I have enjoyed both of the books I have read. I don’t really have any complaints, it is your average female fiction. I look forward to reading the next book in this series, and other books by Macomber.

8/10

Synopsis:

There’s a new shop on Seattle’s Blossom Street– a flower store called Susannah’s Garden, right next door to A Good Yarn. Susannah Nelson, the owner, has just hired a young widow named Colette Blake. A couple of months earlier, Colette had abruptly quit her previous job– after a brief affair with her boss. To her dismay, he’s suddenly begun placing weekly orders for flower arrangements Susannah and Colette both join Lydia Goetz’s new knitting class. Lydia’s previous classes have forged lasting friendships, and this one is no exception. But Lydia and her sister, Margaret, have worries of their own. Margaret’s daughter, Julia, has been the victim of a random carjacking, and the entire family is thrown into emotional chaos. Then there’s Alix Townsend. Her wedding to Jordan Turner is only months away– but she’s not sure she can go through with it. Her love for Jordan isn’t in question; what she can’t handle is the whole wedding extravaganza engineered by her mentor, Jacqueline, with the enthusiastic cooperation of her future mother-in-law. A reception at the country club and hundreds of guests she’s never even met– it’s just not Alix. Like everyone else in Lydia’s knitting class, Alix knows there’s a solution to every problem… and that another woman can usually help you find it.

This is the third book in the Blossom Street series by Debbie Macomber. However, I read this is a stand-alone book and really enjoyed it. It did not effect the book at all that I had not read the first two books. I will now be reading them though

The story follows Lydia, Alix and Colette through family traumas, pregnancy, love and knitting. I found the story similar to The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs in places, yet this did not negatively affect the story. It was very different in places too – such as the wedding and the carjacking. Cancer and people trafficing add a unique depth to the book too.

My favourite character was Aunt Elizabeth. She was warm and intuiative. She loved her family and did all she could to keep them safe. She was instantly likable and friendly. A similar character was Grandma Turner. Both were old, wise women who you just fell in love with.

I enjoyed the whole book. Although a fairly predictible ending I was gripped and was longing for a happy ending. I will be interested in reading the first books and the fourth books.

9/10