BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES – Debbie Macomber
Blossom Street Series, Book 14
Ballantine
ISBN-13: 978-0-345-52884-1
April 2014
Contemporary Romance

Seattle, Washington – Present Day

Lauren Elliott has just learned her little sister Carol is pregnant.  It's bad enough that Carol is happily married, but now her news about the pregnancy is simply the last straw for Lauren, who thought she'd be started on her own family by now.  Instead, she finds herself at Lydia Gomez's store, A Good Yarn, to buy supplies to make Carol a baby blanket.  Inside A Good Yarn, Lauren meets Bethanne Scranton, newly married, blissfully happy, and shopping for yarn for a baby blanket!  Finally, to add further insult to Lauren's dilemma, she walks into work at John Michael Jewelers to discover her employer, Elisa, upset with the news that her teenaged daughter, Katie, is pregnant!

This is too much for Lauren.  She wants her life to move on, and she wants it now!  Her long-term relationship with local television personality Todd Hampton is going nowhere.  Every time Lauren confronts Todd, he mumbles excuse after excuse for delaying their marriage.  Lauren broke things off a year ago, but Todd relentlessly pursued her and talked her around.  Enough is enough, and when Todd stands her up once again for lunch at their favorite restaurant, Lauren is surprised when a tall, muscled stranger asks to join her.  He's dressed like a biker, all leather and long hair, but he has the most captivating smile Lauren has ever seen.  After a delightful and refreshing lunch with this man who calls himself Rooster Wayne, Lauren is delighted when he insists on walking her right back to her condo.  He asks to see her again.  She says yes.

BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES brings us back to Lydia Gomez's shop, A Good Yarn, on Blossom Street.  There is so much going on in this newest installment of the series, the fourteenth book!  But BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES stands alone, bringing back many well known characters from the previous books, several new personalities, and, as always, the healing power of the women of A Good Yarn, along with the soothing camaraderie of knitting and sharing.

Lauren and Rooster are destined to fall in love from the first moment they meet; their instant attraction sparks their future, and they find they can't live without each other, regardless of the obstacles in their way.  Meanwhile, someone is leaving baskets of yarn all over the city, with instructions inside to "knit me" and take the finished product to Lydia's shop. This tactic is the perfect marketing tool, and Lydia wishes she'd thought of it!  This delightful little mystery keeps Lydia, her daughter Casey, and sister Margaret (and the reader!) guessing throughout this wonderful story.  On other fronts, Bethanne and Max are having some issues when Bethanne's ex-husband Grant and her daughter Annie stir up trouble for Bethanne's newfound happiness, while Lydia struggles with concerns about her aging mother.

BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES is all about the romance for Lauren and Rooster, albeit with a few pitfalls on the road to a happiness that they might or might not overcome.  Rooster is far from the polished man Todd presents, with his three piece suits and reserved poise, but Lauren is head-over-heels in love with him.  And Rooster has a few secrets he has yet to share with Lauren, so there is a rocky road ahead of their new love; the biggest obstacle is that Rooster lives in California!

Chock full of new love blooming and a little suspense and mystery, BLOSSOM STREET BRIDES is the perfect romance!  Don't miss it!

Diana Risso