The Shop on Blossom Street

I have never been a reader of romance novels. I sneer at pretty much everything that comes in a mass market paperback trim size. I loathe raised, foil-stamped titles. However, The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber was about a knitting shop, so I thought I'd give it a whirl as my latest gym book. (Knitting is a favorite hobby of mine.) And, I was pleasantly surprised!

Centering on 4 women who come to know each other at the titular shop, it's more grown-up chick lit than a romance novel. (Hen lit? I've never liked that term . . . ) One woman opens the shop after a couple of battles with cancer, another has just quit her job to try for a baby, an older upper-class woman decides to knit a baby blanket to feign enthusiasm for her unborn grandchild, and a younger woman chooses knitting for Project Linus as an easy way to fulfill her court-ordered community service. You can imagine the kinds of scenarios that ensue. And, it pretty much plays out like a Lifetime movie . . . but one of the better Lifetime movies that you don't regret watching!

I have a couple more of these books--hand-me-downs from my mother--stashed away somewhere. I will probably give them a whirl, too.