Summer on Blossom Street (Blossom Street Series) [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Debbie Macomber (Author), Delilah (Reader)

Book Description

Series: Blossom Street Series | Publication Date: May 1, 2009

Knitting and life. They’re both about beginnings — and endings. That’s why it makes sense for Lydia Goetz, owner of A Good Yarn on Seattle’s Blossom Street, to offer a class called Knit to Quit. It’s for people who want to quit something — or someone! — and start a new phase of their lives. First to join is Phoebe Rylander. She recently ended her engagement to a man who doesn’t know the meaning of faithful, and she’s trying to get over him. Then there’s Alix Turner. She and her husband, Jordan, want a baby, which means she has to quit smoking. And Bryan Hutchinson joins the class because he needs a way to deal with the stress of running his family’s business — not to mention the lawsuit brought against him by an unscrupulous lawyer. Life can be as complicated as a knitting pattern. Just ask Anne Marie Roche. She and her adopted daughter, Ellen, finally have the happiness they wished for. And then a stranger comes to her bookstore asking questions. Or ask Lydia herself. Not only is she coping with her increasingly frail mother, but she and Brad have unexpectedly become foster parents to an angry, defiant twelve-year-old. But as Lydia already knows, when life gets difficult and your stitches are snarled, your friends can always help!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Macomber adds a tear-jerking installment to the Blossom Street series with this account of lives intersecting at the series-hinging yarn store, A Good Yarn. Upbeat cancer survivor Lydia and her pragmatic sister, Margaret, start a Knit to Quit group in their Blossom Street yarn store, hoping to bring in customers for weekly self-help sessions. Casey, the 12-year-old girl Lydia takes in while waiting for an infant of her own to adopt, helps out in the shop when she's not sulking in her room or causing trouble for Lydia's family. Local baker Alix wants a baby as much as Lydia does, but she and her husband agree she needs to quit smoking first. Then there's super-stressed chocolate magnate, Hutch, who takes the knitting class after his doctor suggests it. Hutch hits it off with Phoebe, who is trying to quit obsessing about a broken engagement. Rounding out the crowd, bookstore owner Ann Marie must deal with her adopted daughter Ellen's biological father, a recovering addict, re-entering their lives. Macomber deftly handles the multiple story lines and emotional terrain of families, while the predictably happy ending is very genuine. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Macomber’s new Blossom Street novel begins in Lydia’s store, A Good Yarn, located in downtown Seattle. Lydia has a new class, “Knit to Quit,” for people who need to redirect their energies while trying to quit negative habits. Phoebe joins on impulse. She’s just called off her engagement for the second time and needs to quit her fiancé, a controlling, self-absorbed manipulator. The small class also attracts Bryan, whose stress-filled job has made this young man a prime candidate for a heart attack. Both find that the knitting helps them with their problems, and brings them together. Our old friend Alix joins to help her quit smoking before she tries to get pregnant. And Lydia herself is a major player this time as she and her husband decide to adopt a baby. What happens instead is heartwarming in the extreme. Macomber’s typical strengths are at full capacity in this must-read for her fans, who will find their emotions fully engaged and completely satisfied. --Maria Hatton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged Lib Ed; Library edition (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423305280
• ISBN-13: 978-1423305286
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,016,048 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With more than 100 million copies of her books sold worldwide, Debbie Macomber is one of today's most popular authors.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author is best known for her ability to create compelling characters and bring their stories to life in her books. Drawing on her own experiences and observations, Debbie writes heartwarming tales about small-town life, home and family and enduring friendships. Every book features the delightful sense of humor that readers around the world clamor for.

Debbie is a regular resident on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times (55 times and counting), USA TODAY (currently 63 times) and Publishers Weekly (23 times to date). She is the first-ever recipient of the "readers' choice" Quill Award for Romance Fiction, for 44 Cranberry Point, the fourth book in her highly popular Cedar Cove series. Debbie has also been honored with a RITA® Award, a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Career Achievement Award and is a multiple winner of both the Holt Medallion and the B. Dalton Award.

Her recent books include 92 Pacific Boulevard, 8 Sandpiper Way, 74 Seaside Avenue and Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Cookbook, as well as Twenty Wishes, A Cedar Cove Christmas, Summer on Blossom Street and The Perfect Christmas.

For more information on Debbie and her books, visit her Web site: www.DebbieMacomber.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read, May 7, 2009

By 

Linda Wielgosz "Linda" (Kingston, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Summer On Blossom Street (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoy Debbie Macomber's books and look forward to reading all of them, and when this book came this past week, I immediately started reading and was done within two days. Although one reviewer said she never met a woman like Phoebe, I disagree. I have met many strong women who have had to make very hard decisions about relationships. If just one reader after reading of Phoebe's decision to leave the relationship of a unfaithful/manipulative partner, the story helped someone. No one, either male or female, has the right to abuse a relationship. Yes, the book has a happy ending, but then why do I read, to escape, to be uplifted. A wonderful read, put your feet up, a glass of lemonade on a hot summer day and Debbie takes your home.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice, Easy, Uplifting Read, April 30, 2009

By 

E. M. Griffith "auntleesie" (Central Coast of California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Summer On Blossom Street (Hardcover)

Finished this book at 1 a.m. this morning--as with the other books in the series, I couldn't put it down. New characters are inroduced to the Blossom Street group, and as always, it's interesting to see how previous characters develop and mingle with the new. I would love to give this book a five star review, yet feel unable to do so. It's a good, easy, uplifting novel (as are all of the author's books), and that's a huge plus in times like these. I appreciate the "everything turns out well" style of Debbie Macomber, aware that some might criticize a seriously happy-ending style. What can I say? I love a happy ending.

My main disappointments in this book (versus the others in the series) have to do with characterization. I've lived all over the country, known many, many women in all walks of life, and have never known someone like Pheobe. She just didn't seem plausible to me. By that, I mean her inner struggle didn't seem appropriate for a relatively short term relationship and fiance. Had she been involved with the man she hoped to "knit to quit" over the course of many years, or had she been married to him, her emotional tug-of-war would have made better sense. Perhaps there was something in her background to cause her to question herself repeatedly? The reader doesn't know if there is. Her character's background isn't developed... in previous books, the character's backgrounds come into play and help readers understand why they think and act as they do.

I also wanted to know more about Casey. A lot of critical information was void there. Some of her background was touched upon, yet left me wondering about more specific details.

Then, having "gotten to know" Ellen in the last book fo the series (Twenty Wishes), I felt it unlikely she'd immediately warm up to people she'd never met before in an environment away from Blossom Street. The scene (and chapter) seemed rushed in my opinion.

Finally, the ending felt rushed, as if the auther were trying to wrap up everything far too quickly. Overall, though, it's a worthwhile read. To those with editorial tendancies, there are a few oops (wrong name used, etc.). Nothing too serious.

I'd expect this to be a great beach blanket read.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This One is a Little Tired, May 10, 2009

By 

Marcia Brinkley "Book Lover" (San Pedro, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Summer On Blossom Street (Hardcover)

I like Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street series, but this latest entry was somewhat disappointing. I'm sure it's difficult to create new characters to interact with the shop owners who have been part of the series since the beginning, but these are only half-drawn and, in the case of Phoebe, difficult to like. I enjoyed the addition of a man to the knitting classes, but his love affair with Phoebe progresses too easily to be believable, especially since she is something of a pathological liar. The plot is predictable, and the writing filled with cliches that should have been reworked before publication. The term "phoning it in" came to mind.