What a fabulous knit-tastic story and was a joy to read. Poppy Dolan has created the most delightful, charming, romcom that has left me with a wonderful warm cosy feeling. I want to wrap myself up in a rainbow coloured knitted blanket and read it all over again with a cuppa. This is my first introduction to the works of Poppy Dolan and I have absolutely no idea why it's taken me so long to read her work, such a gem of a writer.

Delilah (Dee) is a workaholic she thrives on the buzz surrounded by her very busy scheduling and fits in with the city life of London. However, when her younger brother, JP, sends a cry for help she has no hesitation of rushing to his needs. I loved this about Dee, even though she was so focused with her work her family means everything to her especially her brother who had suffered with his health in the past. Dee finds JP with two plaster casts on his arms after breaking his wrists. As he's totally immobilised Dee steps in and helps him run the knitting shop. However, during her call of family need Dee is unceremoniously fired from her prestige job. Dejected and totally mystified by this she returns back to the knitting shop pulling all her emotions into helping move JP's knitting shop into the crafting stratosphere. One of the highlights to the knitting shop is the great blog that JP set up which had a fabulous topical catchy name. JP was one of few male knitters and the crafting universe loved him. Following a chance encounter with one of Dee's old school friends, Becky, who had recently given birth prematurely to a little boy, Dee quickly realised that JP and his friends could help out her little baby boy by knitting tiny little hats for him. Tiny little knitted parcels soon started flocking into the shop overwhelming Dee with the generosity of the crafters. What started off as a small act of kindness spirals into an inspirational challenge of making more hats to widen this wonderful gesture to help more premature babies in need.

We follow Dee, JP and the ever growing circle of friends bringing this challenge into fruition. Obstacles are a plenty but the knitters will not give up.

Dee also hopes to get her career back on the right footing but helping her brother and the premature babies brings a different perspective to her life. What was once the thrill of the chase of her working life doesn't look quite as appealing anymore.

A gorgeous romcom that I simply didn't want to end. I feel quite uplifted and invigorated and want to cosy up with wonderful colours and textures. The perfect book to read on a cold day which will soon envelope you in a cosy cuddle of warmth.

A story with a difference. Some romance, some mystery, friendships, relationships all entwined and at a gentle pace. An effortless book to read.

I hate this ending and it's really hard to go into what I hate stories (including movies) that have this type of ending without spoiling. I have seen Hallmark give me these endings so many times that I've been burned out on them.

I really enjoyed this book, which bought the old fashioned craft of knitting into the modern era with technology. Sensitive and informative.

ARC Reviews

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

The Woolly Hat Knitting Club is the first book by Poppy Dolan I've read. It's a tender story about Delilah, a woman who has forgotten the importance of family and friends, lost in a world of work. Delilah's story is worked through her interactions with Becky, an old and forgotten friend with a premature baby, JP, her brother, the former lawyer turned knitter, Ben her co-worker, and the delightful supporting cast of Patti, Mags, and Stan.

It's a thoughtful and engaging story, through Delilah we explore what it means to slowly replace a set of priorities with others, to value love and friendships, to misread and make situations worse, and to resolve problems borne from false assumptions. The story is anchored by a knitting store and a crafting club. I am a knitter and I found the descriptions of crafting and the craft community very compelling, I would expect that either the author is one, or she did extensive research to make her book credible.

Two things the reader should know about this book. First, it's very English. It's set in England and that's very reasonable, but the book has quite a lot of English-isms in it, enough that I would expect some American readers to potentially have to Google that. Some of the phrases, some of the places they referred to (not the Tower Bridge but ASOS) might make it a bit harder. I don't think this is a problem exactly, reading is a way we can all travel and learn, but it is something that I would highlight so the reader knows to keep a Google search window open.

Second, the way the story predominantly moves forward is through Delilah's thoughts. Not thoughts exactly, but a recount of what happened. This is opposed to books that move forward through a scene with dialog and then reflection by one or more of the characters on what happened. I have to admit that this is what I am more used to, and what I like about the dialog scene with emotional reflection gives me a richer connection to the characters. Their thoughts become more worked out through the context of the scene. It's not that we don't see Delilah grow, but just that it sometimes feels more distanced than I would prefer.

A fairly interesting book, although a bit young in manner for me. Since I am in my early fifties, a lot of what Dee is going through seems a bit silly and unimportant, and made me skim a bit. The writing is fun though, and many of the concepts are new and a different play on the expected gender roles. Would recommend, especially if you were in your 20s.

One of the best romance/women's fiction novels I've read on a while. There are a lot of women's novels centering on knitting right now, but I like this one because it's not from the perspective of a knitter. I don't knit, either, and sometimes the jargon is distracting. I can certainly identify with the descriptions of the textures and colors, and the warm fuzzies one gets in a well-designed craft store. The characers are realistic and the situations feel organic, not contrived. The romance is sweet, too, and gratifying even without "sex" scenes. Will seek out this author again.