Starting Now

January 7, 2013
Macomber’s latest (after The Inn at Rose Harbor) is a by-the-numbers tale of midlife crisis and renewal. High-powered attorney Libby Morgan has abandoned her friends and marriage in order to make partner at her firm. One morning, in the sixth year of her eight-year partnership track, her boss lets her go, offering Libby some advice: “take this time to find some balance in life.” Rather than following his advice, Libby looks for another job, but soon decides to reconnect with old friend Robin and take up knitting again, which leads her to Ava, a troubled, pregnant teen. Helping Ava leads Libby to Dr. Phillip Stone, another workaholic attempting to re-evaluate his life. Libby decides to open her own law practice, which would give her time to spend with Stone, Ava, and her friend. But when a tantalizing offer comes from her old firm, she may drop everything and return to her old ways. While the narrative thread of Ava’s pregnancy is an unexpected addition, Libby and Stone are archetypes who come with no surprises. Readers have read this story too many times. Theresa Park, Park Literary.

February 15, 2013
When Libby Morgan is expecting to be named partner of her law firm but instead gets laid off, she's shocked and angry, but it may prove to be just what she needs to create the life she deserves. Libby's whole life has been devoted to making partner, working as hard as possible to hit the mark that will make her feel like a success and to live up to the promise she made to her dying mother as a young teen. So when she not only doesn't get the coveted partner position, but is fired despite all her talent, effort and hard work, everything changes. Libby never sets out to find her center or discover what truly matters; somehow, though, as her job hunt encounters one dead end after another, it happens anyway. Living on a dwindling severance, she first joins the gym, then discovers the yarn shop on Blossom Street. But it's when she starts rocking the preemies at the nearby hospital that things really get interesting. Things like meeting the handsome pediatrician, Phillip, and actually taking time to smell the roses, knit the yarn, connect with old and new friends, and invest emotionally in the people around her--including a troubled young teen with an unsettling secret. So what happens when her new life is in place and her old profession comes calling? Macomber's newest book takes her fans back to the popular Blossom Street, with the familiar characters and businesses that populate the series. Best-selling Macomber became famous for her romantic fiction, though she seems to have taken more of a women's fiction tone with some recent titles, and this book falls into that category. The romance is integral to the plot, but Libby's journey is more about self-discovery and understanding what "a good life" truly means for her, while opening her heart to other damaged characters in the story broadens her understanding of love and purpose. Macomber's writing and storytelling deliver what she's famous for--a smooth, satisfying tale with characters her fans will cheer for and an arc that is cozy, heartwarming and ends with the expected happily-ever-after.

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2012

No. 1 New York Times best seller Macomber takes us back to Blossom Street, site of her popular series and a fabulous place called A Good Yarn. That's where Libby Morgan washes up after the law job she's sacrificed everything for comes crashing down. Libby becomes close to Good Yarn owner Lydia, her teenage daughter, and the daughter's best friend and even has time to fall for the local doctor. Then she faces a tough decision. Fans will clamor.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2013
There is a reason that legions of Macomber fans ask for more Blossom Street books. They fully engage her readers as her characters discover happiness, purpose, and meaning in life. The ninth title, which stands well alone, focuses on Libby Morgan, a driven attorney who has eschewed everything and everybody in her pursuit of a partnership. Summoned to the managing partner's office expecting a well-deserved promotion, she is devastated to be laid off and told to enjoy life. After fruitless months looking for a new job in a bad economy, she joins a gym and reconnects with an old law-school friend. At A Good Yarn, she reconnects with the love of knitting she had learned from her mother, who died when Libby was 13, and makes friends, including 13-year-old Ava, who recently lost her mother. An errand takes Libby to the hospital, where she is recruited to rock newborn babies and where she meets heart-of-stone Dr. Phillip Stone, who has also seen his devotion to work wipe out any personal life. Macomber's feel-good novel, emphasizing interpersonal relationships and putting people above status and objects, is truly satisfying.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)