After reading some more “serious” books, I was in the mood for something light and fun. When I read the premise for this book, I was hooked. Hot men knitting? Yep. Sign me up. The book certainly followed through on it’s promise, starring four uniquely hot adopted brothers. Although this book focused more specifically on the youngest brother, Jesse, I find it hard to believe that Ms. Jackson will not be turning this into a series. There are, after all, three other strapping young men to find attachments for.

I could be off base, but I couldn’t help but think that the author was imagining none other than Jesse Williams when she penned the character description for Jesse Strong….Aside from the locs, he pretty much matches his physical description exactly. I’m not complaining though, and I don’t think other readers will be either.

Naturally I had to investigate whether the hashtag #RealMenKnit exists and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it does. Feel free to look it up for some eye candy. Thank you, Ms. Jackson, for the share.

Berkley is on a roll! Not only are they engaging with covering the amazement in book covers such as this one, but the feature authors are getting ten times better! Seriously, I am truly in love with Kwana's writing now. Jesse and Kerry have officially become my favorites at making me swoon and laugh at the same time. A truly new romance novel that will have you swept away wanting more of Kwana's writing. I am hoping there is a standalone sequel to this one :)

This book did well to set up the remaining books of the series, but the romance felt a bit flat. The characters were too self-involved and the relationship felt secondary to the real issue at hand.

3.75**
This was so nice to read and a very fluff filled story. That being said, I think it needed... something. I thought there’d be a bit more plot. Don’t get me wrong, I am more of a person who just needs really good characters but I think perhaps the characters needed to be fleshed out a bit more. I wish we saw more of the relationship between the brothers and maybe a bit more of a backstory between the four of them.
But, I think the romance was so cute. I am personally very much an Enemies to Lovers stan but Friends to Lovers is definitely up there.
I loved seeing the mentions of how much the shop meant to the neighborhood; books with these dynamics are a treasure and there’s something so comforting about books with these relationships.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

A soothing and low-angst romance. It’s slow-paced compared to my normal preferences, but it fit my no-stress quarantine mood. It took me a while to warm up to the hero, and I wish he had grovelled more. I don't want to say that Kerry deserves better, but... Kerry deserves better. I liked Jesse; I just wanted him to prove his love to Kerry more. The ending felt abrupt because I wasn't satisfied with how their journey ended. Still, I enjoyed the setting and am looking forward to other books in the series. It's a cute premise and the author nicely set up the other three brothers' stories.

Discussed in biweekly SBTB Whatcha Reading post: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2020/03/whatcha-reading-march-2020-edition-part-two/

Discussed in Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: Episode 398. Bitches Assemble: Recommendations for Comfort with Sneezy, Ellen, Tara, Maya and Aarya

https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/398-bitches-assemble-recommendations-for-comfort-with-sneezy-ellen-tara-maya-and-aarya/

What I loved about this book was the focus on the role of the local knitting store in the lives of people. It was particularly uplifting to focus on people of color and men in the knitting world. I liked the details about keeping a knitting store afloat. The nuts and bolts of it made for good reading.

I was a lot less enthused about the romance angle and I didn’t need that at all to enjoy the story. There is some overtly sexual language and situations that might be off putting to many who would enjoy the rest of the book. Mostly for me the romance aspect just didn’t work as well as the rest of the book.

This is a romance where, for me, everything but the romance itself was working. I love the transformative power of knitting and I love Harlem (it was my home for 3 years). The scenes with a young boy bringing in his knitting for help made me cry, because it reminded me why I volunteer teaching teens to knit. This book really communicated what knitting can do for people, and I just loved reading that. I loved the character of Mama Joy, the yarn shop owner who fostered and adopted the four boys who inherit her shop as grown men. Her world was so richly imagined.

The romance itself fell a little flat for me. It was a very slow burn, with so much mutual pining, and what I think was supposed to be banter seemed like two people who were always setting each other off, and not in a good way.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing and ARC in exchange for my honest review.***

I really wanted to love this book. I fell in love with the gorgeous cover and the name.

But I couldn’t get past the characters. I didn’t really care for most of them honestly.

It was a cute story overall but it could have been executed much better.

Perfect setting: The four brothers and a neighborhood knitting shop in Harlem… The youngest of Mama Joy’s four adopted sons decides to try and make a go of her neighborhood knitting shop, Strong Knits, in this fun series starter. Jesse hasn’t been the most reliable of the brothers but he is devoted to the idea of keeping the shop and their home. Luckily, Kerry, a long-time shop assistant, is willing to put off her fulltime employment plans and help him learn the ropes. A close working relationship exposes a deep attraction, but knowing Jesse’s history, Kerry’s not sure she can trust him with her heart. I enjoyed the full cast of characters and I’m interested to see more of them.

I enjoyed the writing and thought the author did a great job with the story. I really liked the unique idea but I felt like something was missing. I wanted more spark and chemistry between my characters and I felt like that’s what was lacking.

I wasn't really a fan of this book. Maybe because I didn't put it down when I knew I wasn't feeling it and pushed myself. I didn't buy or support the romance. I also wasn't a fan of our main character Jesse. Basically, this just wasn’t for me.

First, this over is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! Second, the story is heartfelt, fun, and authentic. Third, the characters are well-rounded and interesting. You are rooting for them the entire time, not just romantically but also in their business venture. This is a must-read for fans of rom-coms and a tie in for those who love knitting.

Thank you to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by this story; I thought about putting it down at 30%, and then at the half way point, but persevered through to the end of the book. I felt as unmoored as Kerry in her need to find somewhere to live while being vacated from her apartment, and as the Strong brothers seemed at the uncertainty of whether or not to continue to run the family knitting shop.

I was very much looking forward to this book!

I enjoyed the writing and thought the author did a great job with the story, but for me it was less of a romance and more about the knitting store and getting that back on track. I didn't see enough of the spark between the hero and heroine.

I'm not going to lie here the premise of this book had me totally intrigued! Men who knit and run a knitting store? Wild. But in an amazingly well done way! This story features the Strong brother, four adopted siblings who were raised my Mama Joy and taught to knit. The story starts with the passing of Mama Joy and the figuring out a what to do with her knitting store. Jesse Strong and Kerry are the main characters in this story, Jesse who's the ladies man with a good heart, and Kerry who has always been there. The love story between these two takes sometime to get going but is well worth the wait! I also really enjoyed the other brothers and characters we were introduced to and I hope we get to see them in stories in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me an ARC for an honest review.

A cute twist on knitting being for men as well.
After Mama Joys death all her loved ones must pull together to save her famous knitting shop from closing.

This heartwarming tale of four bothers taking over their foster turned adoptive moms knitting shop after she passes away.

This a charming "friends to lovers" story which I always love, but I felt it was missing something, I'm not sure what that something is exactly may be a detail I missed or details I wanted more of.

I know these are trying times with extenuating circumstances... but I'm blubbering now. This ending was precious. And I needed it.

Real Men Knit is just a warm, charming all-around real love story. Family love. Community love. Friend love. And, our favorite, romantic love. Duh.

I don't usually gravitate to "friends"-to-lovers stories. They're not my favorite. But this book hit the spot right now.

Thank you Netgalley and @berkleyromance for chance to read an advanced copy. It releases in May. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Real Men Knit has a good premise. I love a story where gender norms are reversed and I was excited to fantasize about some hot men knitting. But while I was pleased with that aspect, the romance falls quite flat. I never found myself rooting for Jesse and Kerry. They never seemed to actually talk, which would have fixed their problems within the first hundred pages, rather than the info dump that was the first 50% of the book. I almost put this book down 15 different times, but held out in case the story drastically got better...unfortunately, it didn't.

I am hopeful that with some edits at least some of the more problematic errors and syntax issues will be smoothed out. The amount of rambling and internal dialogue bogged down the plot so completely, it was sometimes hard to figure out what was going on, and who we should be invested in. Perhaps if the story were told with first-person narration, these problems would be fixed. It's clear to see that the intention of this story is to focus future books on the rest of the Strong brothers. To be honest, I'm not very interested in reading about them after reading Real Men Knit. Hopefully, that changes with some good editing and beta reading.

My only complaint about this book is wanting more. I want more of the other brothers, and I wish there was not as many time jumps. I sometimes felt like I was missing something due to these jumps. But a great story with great characters and a whole lotta heart