Fiction Addict

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Publisher: Mira

Publication date: May, 2009

Reviewed by Jennifer Roman

Debbie Macomber brings back her beloved characters in Summer on Blossom Street.  Its usual residents, Anne Marie, Lydia, and Alix and their friends once again face trying personal issues: Lydia tries to deal with her mother’s memory loss and a difficult foster child; Anne Marie meets someone from her newly adopted daughter’s past; and Alix needs to stop smoking so she and her husband can have a baby.  Lydia decides to create a “Knit to Quit” class so people can substitute their vices for knitting.  In addition to the regular group, Macomber introduces some new people in the class: Phoebe, who is trying to get over her philandering ex-fiancé; and Bryan, an executive trying to bring calm into his life through knitting.  Of course the group has its usual challenges, but together they offer each other support, a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, and solutions to problems.  Regular readers will get their usual “happy ending,” of sorts; there are some complications to the situations but Macomber gives creative and interesting ways of dealing with their life’s challenges.

Macomber demonstrates again why she is a best-selling author; she makes an easy-to-read dialogue that’s entertaining and thought-provoking.  Her writing presents situations that her readers can easily empathize with and understand.  Oftentimes, her readers have similar situations of their own.  Macomber’s best trait is that she reaches into a reader’s heart and makes her feel as though she is part of the situation.  She manages to tell a story without using profanity or explicit sex.  All in all, Macomber creates an engaging story that keeps readers interested up until the wrapped up, happy end.