Member Reviews
I really liked this book enjoyed the storyline liked all the characters really enjoyed the character jp was a feel good story and a light hearted read now I really want to learn to knit.
When Dee’s brother breaks both of his arms, she has to head home to take care of him and his knitting shop. However, when she is fired from her demanding city job and her professional reputation is ruined, she has to accept the slower pace of life and turns her focus to helping to improve her brother’s business. The move home to her childhood village is a shock, but the friends that she make being a whole new set of challenges to her life.
This book was a really lighthearted and fun read, with a sweet cast of characters and, as a knitting fan, I absolutely loved the focus on knitting. This book felt like one of those warm and fuzzy hallmark movies – big corporations trying to take over a small family run business, a charity fundraiser to knit hats for premature babies, an old friend blossoming into romance. This is a perfect lazy weekend read!
The only reason that this book didn’t get a fifth star was that the pacing felt a bit off at times. There was a long middle, with a lot happening in the last few chapters. Of course, the genre of book isn’t one that means that this feels overwhelming, with lots of action and drama, but some of the storylines could have been a bit better spread out over the course of the book.
Delilah, Dee to her friends and family, has a high powered corporate job that she loves. She knows she is the best at her job always working long hours, going above and beyond for clients. Work is her life!
Dee gets unexpectedly fired, over rumours of her behaving inappropriately, which leaves her free to help her brother with his knitting and haberdashery shop.
I really enjoyed Dee and JP’s relationship. Dee is the big sister and it was plain to see she would do anything for him. JP had found his niche in life after dropping out of the corporate world following a break down. Initially knitting was used as JP’s therapy but he loved it and was good at it. With Dee’s financial help he opened a haberdashery and also started a knitting blog called “About a (Knitting) Boy”.
Dee throws everything into helping JP boost his business. This is what she is good at. But she always thinks she knows best and forges ahead without consulting JP. Cracks start to appear in their relationship. Cracks she may not be able to mend.
Dee is still seething over losing her job. She knows exactly who back-stabbed her and she is going to make him pay. But is she right?
The Woolly Hat Knitting Club is the perfect read for any knitting enthusiast. The story is filled with knitting, humour, community spirit and a tiny bit of romance.
Dee catches up with a friend that recently gave birth to a premmie baby and a scheme slowly develops across the plot to knit hats for premmie babies, getting the whole community involved in the venture.
There are plenty of familiar features for knitters, like CraftCon, knitathons and beginner knitting classes. All with a good dose of humour included.
The main characters are all likeable and relatable. Dee and JP have a wonderful relationship, they tease each other and bicker occasionally but you can see the closeness there. Ben, Dee’s work nemesis, knows Dee doesn’t like him and can’t understand why. He never gives up on her. Best friend Beckie is the quintessential new mum; she is scared, tired, and rundown but totally in love with her new baby boy. Maggie, the adopted Grandma, is the epitome of selflessness; she looks after her own ageing mother but always has time for Dee and JP, never once complaining.
The Woolly Hat Knitters Club is a feel-good story about finding what makes you happy, with themes of knitting as therapy, new motherhood, premmie babies, judging people by appearance, work overload, community spirit and men who knit.
‘Turns out that knitting is pretty perfect for those times when your head is reeling and your hands need something to do.” – Dee Blackthorn
It was ok i guess. It took me absolutely ages to trawl through it because i constantly lost interest and found something better to do.
Review: This book was one I choose as the title sounds interesting. However, it wasn't a favourite of mine. It is a great book if you like to read about creativity and Poppy does that well. It is a good comfort read.
This book is wonderful. A story of finding yourself, finding out what you want from life, connecting and reconnecting with family and friends, and knitting.
At last!! a theme in this type of book I haven't read...so refreshing rather than the old tried and tested tropes!
I want to learn to knit now!!
This book was absolutely delightful. It was heartfelt and inspiring.
I saw the title of this book and wanted to read it. I am not a knitter, but my mother and grandmother were and several friends are as well. The story started very promising and engaging. When Dee gets a text message from her brother JP saying "come" she panics, leaves the meeting she is presenting at and heads home, not knowing what to expect. She finds her brother with two broken wrists and in casts that pretty much prevent him from doing anything related to his job of running the haberdashery (knitting store). Shortly after this, she very suddenly gets fired from her beloved job and heads home to help JP. At this point, the story slowed down and I kept waiting for it to pick up. Well it did and I am glad I kept reading. The story is really about Dee and how she remakes herself after this disaster. She never gives less than 100% in anything she does and that included helping with the store. JP is not only a knitter and store owner, but he runs a blog and does vlogs. She also runs into Becky, her BFF from school, who has just delivered a preemie and they rekindle their friendship. This is the second theme in this book where JP jumps on the idea of kitting hats for preemies and a fundraiser begins. When Ben, a co-worker searches out Dee, she finds out that her suspicions that he sabotaged her are unfounded. He jumps in to help with the fundraiser and the vlogs.
I really loved the characters in this story. From Dee, JP and Ben to the minor characters and others in the town, they are all honest, real and easy to like. There is a major plot twist that involves Dee and her friends that seals the story. I loved how Dee is able to drop everything to take care of her brother and make sure he is going to be okay in the future. I also love that she realizes that she needs to back off some times and let others follow their own path. There are a few budding romances and the added storylines about preemies and the value of keeping those friendships real and close make this a wonderful story. It was light-hearted and various parts were pretty funny. I recommend this book to lovers of chick-lit, whether you knit or not..
Thank you Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in return for my honest opinion. It is always a delight to read a Poppy Dolan book and this one does not disappoint.
My opinion is this is an absolute stunner of a book - it just made me happy to read it. The characters were fantastic and I absolutely bought into the world created in JP's craft shop - I wanted to immediately sign up for any kind of knitting class just to be immersed in this place.
Dee Blackthorn is a great central character because while she had the biggest heart of anyone I have ever read about, she came with an enormous bag full of flaws. This made the story even stronger. Dee, a rather high powered businesswoman, suddenly finds herself unemployed in rather an abrupt fashion. At a loose end, she heads home to help her brother, JP, in his craft store, a place where she has previously only been a silent partner, as he has injured himself and is unable to use his arms. While Dee tries to get to bottom of her firing and apparent blacklisting in her industry (she is absolutely sure Ben from the office is probably the culprit), she occupies herself with reconnecting with an old friend who has just had a premature baby as well as dragging her brother's store into the 21st century. It is through her friend's situation that JP starts a movement to knit wooly hats for premature babies - something that rapidly becomes an almost viral concept. Dee is in for a bit of surprise when her chief suspect for villain of the year, Ben, shows up to help in the most unexpected ways.
Along the way there is a solid dose of romance, actually there is quite a lot of romance all around but that's something that you need to discover for yourself - no spoilers here.
This book is written with a light touch even when focusing on more serious situations. It makes you laugh out loud in places and roll your eyes in others. The characters play off each other brilliantly - the brother /sister relationship is awesome and everyone needs a Mags in their life if only to enjoy her amazing cooking. An absolute must to add to your reading list if you want to be entertained and even inspired to pick up a pair of knitting needles for a good cause.
I got this book through Net Galley and, honestly, requested it purely on the basis of knitting content. It was a bit of a gamble! And although I did have some moments where I struggled with this book, I really liked it. As a knitter I probably spent far more time considering potential parallels between characters and the real world knitting community than was really fair on the author! But eventually I blocked all that out and enjoyed the book a lot. It didn’t feel as formulaic as some knitting content fiction an, and I did like the fact that the main knitting character was a man.
The Woolly Hat Knitting Club is a delight! Dee's brother JP manages to break both of his wrists and his wool shop in which Dee is a silent partner, is not going to run itself so Dee has to step up to the plate. But in doing so she takes her eye off the ball at work and finds herself sacked and someone is also spreading rumours about how unreliable Dee is. She is devastated, Dee has worked so hard to achieve her success and now someone has set out to sabotage it.
JP's shop is in the village where Dee grew up and she quickly reconnects with her old friend Becky; she is the frazzled new mother of a premature baby. Becky explains how premature babies need small woolly hats to maintain their body temperature; Dee wastes no time in roping in JP to help make some hats and he then sees a bigger opportunity to help and Dee can't help but see the benefits to the business. But maybe this is where she has been going wrong, not everything has to be business related, has she lost sight of how to simply be happy?
This book was a very enjoyable read, I found Dee a little annoying at times but the good thing was that she gradually became aware that she was over-stepping the mark. I loved her relationship with Ben and the way in which she changed over the book.
The Woolly Hat Knitting Club is funny and entertaining plus it inspired me to dust off the knitting needles again so that's good!
Mini Review:
I was really intrigued to read this book because it features a story line about premature babies, a cause that is close to my heart, I thought it was a great thing to shed some light on in a book. Dee is a really fun character and I love the dynamic between her and her brother, refreshing narrative for a book that feel very fresh and modern wih direct references tto today’s pop culture. overall, this book was a great bit of escapism and I can’t wait to read some more of her books when I need to chill out. You feel very safe in Poppy’s very capable hands.
This book is such a fun read! Dee is fired from her fast paced job after leaving an important meeting when she receives an alarming text from her brother. He has broken both wrists and needs her help running the local yarn shop that they own together. She runs into an old friend who recently has had her baby prematurely and decides to ask her brother's customers to knit some tiny hats for the baby. That begins a lovely charity movement to help other mums of premature babies. There is romance, mystery and mentions of resistance knitting as well in this truly fun read! I highly recommend this book to knitters and non-knitters alike!
I love crafting although I am not a knitter myself but I was drawn to this book. I have not read any of Poppy Dolan's other books and I really enjoyed this.
A light hearted easy read with a beautiful message. This is a story about the importance of family and friends. It is thought provoking but has a lovely easy reading style. The characters were warm and multi-layered. Wonderful setting in a knitting shop. I was drawn into the story and it kept my attention throughout. I really enjoyed the thoughtful theme throughout the book.
Highly recommended. I loved this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love knitting and crochet so this title caught my eye straight away! When I say I love knitting, I should clarify that I love the IDEA of knitting and enjoy the many Pinterest boards of projects I could complete (if I knew how to knit...). But I didn't let that stop me from enjoying the story - if anything it's given me more of an incentive to learn! I love the way the JP is bringing a new life to his knitting store with the blog and videos, he genuinely cares about what he does! He, along with many of the characters, is instantly likeable and a pleasure to read about. It's a lovely story about family, friends and life which leaves you feeling happy and smiley.
I only got a little into this book and it didn't capture my interest. I do love cozy mysteries but this wasn't for me. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity read it
What a wonderfully heartwarming story from Poppy Dolan. There are some very strong messages that I was getting from this book which I will explain in a moment. It is a very well written book touching on all manner of things from finding yourself after an unexpected sacking, love creeping up on you, premature babies and friendship.
One of the most important things I have gained from this book is a reawakened knowledge about premature babies, their chances of survival and just how little clothing is available for them, which is why what JP managed to do with his knitting blog and shop is so remarkable. He fired up the crafting community and lots of baby sized hats start to get knitted.
Actually that is putting it in far too basic terms but you get the idea. The other message I got from the book was just what an amazing thing the crafting community is, and how crafters are quite happy to help out for a good cause. That and just how relaxing knitting can be.
Dee was a workaholic until circumstances meant that she had to spend prolonged time in her brother's haberdashery. Watching her get to grips with crafting, find her place in the world without a high powered job and be surprisingly oblivious to the obvious was all rather charming to read.
What I also really loved where the descriptions of the craft convention Dee, JP and friends attend, not just for the fabulous stunt that JP pulled for publicity of the cause, but also for what Dee was finding at the other stalls which then lead to a hilarious scene involving an alpaca!
This is a fabulous book and don't let the words wooly hat in the title make you think this is just a wintery book, this is an all year around fabulous story that is well worth reading.
Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
I was given an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This is an enjoyable romance about a career girl who has it all wrong, goes back home and eventually gets it all right. She reconnects with family and finds love, all while learning about the magical world of knitting little baby hats for premie babies.
If that sounds a little corny, well, that's because it is! But in a very charming way. Great to take with you on your Christmas holiday.
Dee is a workaholic, so much so that she is unable to sustain relationships and friendships, her high flying job is her life..... until her brother JP falls off a ladder and breaks both of his wrists. Rushing out of a meeting to go to his aid she she later finds our that she has been sacked..... surely that must be down to her rival Ben!
Helping out in her brother's haberdashery shop she has to come down to a much slower pace of life and she gets involved with her brother's knitting blog.... even though she can't knit.... and soon to help out a friend who has just had a premature baby getting his friend's to knit baby hats. She is actually starting to enjoy life.... and then Ben turns up.... can she actually believe that he wasn't out to sabotage her career?
A lovely story, great characters that you can relate to and although predictable an enjoyable read
Dee Blackthorn is a high flying professional who thrives on working hard and making money. She could not be more different from her brother JP, who runs a knitting shop and blogs regularly about all his knitting pursuits. When JP accidentally breaks both his wrists (that bunting is a danger!!) Dee finds herself rushing to his aid. Following her brief absence from work she finds herself fired from the job she loves (which of course is her nemesis Ben's fault) and back home, adjusting to a slower pace of life. What follows is Dee struggling to find herself again as she has to re-evaluate her life up until this point.
I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book - I have no idea how to knit for a start, but now I feel like I should learn! I loved the fact that the knitting theme of this book revolves around a man rather than a woman, it really turns the idea of knitting being an older womans pastime on its head. I also liked seeing Dee, JP's sister, as the 'bread-winner'. She was a driven woman who knew what she wanted from her career, which in turn enabled her to financially support her brother to achieve his dreams.
This novel also explores what Dee gives up in order to pursue her dream career. She did not manage to maintain friendships or hold down relationships, something that she wasn't able to see until she was back home helping her brother. This is a novel about a woman who when faced with serious life changes is forced to rethink her priorities and work out what she really wants. Thrown in for good measure we have family, friendship, love and knitting! This is a great easy read, and I really enjoyed it. Go grab yourself a copy!