Twenty Wishes (Blossom Street, No. 4)

One can always count on Debbie Macomber's books to make you feel good. She is the only romance writer whom I read (and only her knitting books) and I always feel so content when I finish one. I love the setting in Seattle, even though I have never been there - she makes me feel like I have. Her characters are realistic and well described too. Looking forward to the next already!

Thirty-eight-year old Anne Marie Roche's husband Robert died less than a year ago, while the couple was in the midst of reconciling from a painful separation. During her marriage, Anne Marie dreamed of becoming a mother. But Robert, who had been married before and had a daughter and son by his first wife, wanted no part of her dream of motherhood. Now, Anne Marie not only mourns the loss of her spouse, she also grieves for the child they never had together.

As the owner of the popular and successful Blossom Street Books, her days are filled meeting her customers' needs, spoiling Baxter, her beloved Yorkie, and spending time with her friends. Yet she yearns for happiness and desperately feels the need to do something more with her life.

On Valentine's Day, Anne Marie and several of her widowed friends get together to celebrate their friendship and console one another over lost loves. They also begin to make lists of 20 things they've always wanted to do but never pulled off. The lists of 20 wishes are as varied as the women writing them down. Lillie wants to "fall in love with an honorable man." At the top of Anne Marie's list is "Find one good thing about life."

When a friend mentions the satisfaction she receives from being a "Lunch Buddy" for a student at a local school, Anne Marie decides to volunteer for the program herself. Her previous relationship as a stepmother to her stepdaughter Melissa wasn't a pleasant experience, so she's not quite sure how to act around Ellen, the eight-year-old girl she is paired with for lunch. After sharing a meal with Ellen in the school cafeteria, Anne Marie realizes that volunteering to be a friend to this child is quite rewarding and uplifting.

But when Anne Marie returns home, she receives a message from her troubled stepdaughter telling her they need to talk. Later, after receiving distressing news about Robert from Melissa, Anne Marie begins to doubt if she will ever be able to find one good thing about life at all.

Debbie Macomber knows how to connect with her readers. In TWENTY WISHES she has created a novel with sympathetic and realistic characters who care deeply about others and have a zest for life. It is a feel-good story about forgiveness, love and new beginnings.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

Debbie Macomber writes a feel good story revolving on Blossom Street. It's easy to read and enjoyable.

The Blossom Street series is one of my favorite series by this author. She brings women together with one common thread. Literally! and again and again teaches the gift of friendship. This novel is based on a wonderful idea of 20 Wishes and brings joy and love to women who have each suffered unbearable sorrow.

I just love reading Debbie McComber's books on Blossom Street. This was one of the greatest written. I like how she inter-twines the charaters. I have read most all the her books.