I was so happy to read a book that combines two of my favorite things-romance and knitting! The true test of any book that is clearly the first in a series is if you want to read the next, and I definitely do! Can’t wait to read about the next Strong brother to find love-and maybe to hear a bit more about Jesse and Kerry since this one ended without an epilogue. It’s a joy to read books that also show an own voice viewpoint,

Kwana Jackson’s new novel, Real Men Knit, is a heartwarming story about what happens when a prominent Harlem business owner, Mama Joy Strong, unexpectedly passes away and her four adoptive sons are left to determine what happens to Strong Knits, her beloved knitting shop.

I was drawn into this story right away because of Mama Joy. Even though she’s deceased, Mama Joy is still such a major presence in the book. She’s the thread that ties everyone together and was clearly loved and respected by all who knew her. I also just loved that she chose to adopt not just one or two, but four (!) troubled boys who were in foster care and made them all into a family. She just struck me as one of those people you instantly wish you had had the opportunity to meet because she was clearly a force of nature.

What surprised me about Real Men Knit is that I went into it expecting a romance based on the synopsis, but while the story does have a hint of romance, I would consider it more a story about family and about growing up. One of the main characters is Jesse, one of Mama Joy’s sons. Jesse is the butt of many a joke in the Strong household because 1) he has no real direction in life yet in terms of a career, and 2) because he has a reputation as a ladies’ man, specifically for moving from one woman to the next, leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. The other thing about Jesse though is that he loved Mama Joy more than anything and it’s Jesse who is the driving force behind wanting to save Strong Knits and preserve his mama’s legacy. He also wants to prove to his brothers that he’s not the screw up they think he is. Jesse won me over right away, mainly because of his intense devotion to Mama Joy, and I was rooting for him to win his brothers over to the cause of saving Strong Knits.

The hint of romance comes in the form of Kerry Fuller, the other main character, who also grew up thinking of Strong Knits as her home away from home and Mama Joy as her second mom. Kerry is invested in saving the shop as well and agrees to help Jesse. Sparks fly and there is definitely chemistry between them, but it’s a slow burn affair because Jesse has to get past thinking of Kerry as ‘Little Kerry’ that he grew up with, and Kerry has to get past Jesse’s reputation as the neighborhood heartbreaker. It’s sweet watching the two of them come together to save the shop but I definitely would have preferred a little less of a slow burn.

Real Men Knit is a wonderful story about family and community, and yes, about love too. If you’re in the mood for a heartwarming story that will put a smile on your face, look no further.

When I saw the blurb for this, I loved the premise and was excited to read it. The Strong Brothers are a family of patchwork quilt of a brotherhood, united by the late Mama Joy, the proprietress of a knitting shop who taught them all to knit. I’m assuming this book is the start of a series about these brothers. This book starts with Jesse’s story. Jesse is the feckless Strong brother who never follows through with anything and doesn’t really have a proper job other than womanizing and not being “ish” because he’s still “finding himself.” On the other hand, Kerry has worked her way through college and is now determined to find a job and keep alive her mentor, Mama Joy’s, legacy, even if it means working closely with Jesse, her lifelong crush.

That’s more or less the premise of this. I was more excited about the premise of this than I was the delivery. I felt like this kind of dragged a lot. I found myself frequently checking my progress through it and only made it through to the end because of my militant commitment to things I read and my determination to see this through to the end. I think my main challenges with this is that a lot of time was spent building the conflict between the brothers at the beginning and we never really understood why they were so antagonistic towards each other. The chemistry between Kerry and Jesse felt a little forced and non-existent. The central conflict about keeping the store open and preserving their mother’s legacy felt a little flimsy in the delivery and lacked urgency and the hookup kind of came “because it was time in the trajectory of the novel” and not because the events leading up to it were logical. I also didn’t feel like the characters were consistent or like I had a good grasp of their true personalities or like I cared. I would potentially still check out more books in the series because I DO like the premise of these knitting brothers and I like a firefighter story and a grumpy her (Damian) story, but for me this wasn’t as interesting and exciting as it could have been.

I got an advanced copy of this book from Berkley Romance through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Real Men Knit is a story about four aoptive brothers struggling to keep their family knitting shop open in the wake of their mother's death. Jesse Strong, the youngest but least ambitious sibling decides that he will reinvent the shop and make it better than ever with the help of his childhood friend, Kerry Fuller, and the story takes off from there.

I have to say that this book really disappointed me, I was unbelievably excited for this one but it just felt incredibly flat. The first half, maybe even the first 65%, of the story nothing is happening. Jesse and Kerry experience some mild mutual attraction but it feels like they barely have any notable interactions. I did not feel any chemistry or relationship development between these two and only in the final 50 pages is anything even mildly interesting happening in regards to them. You could say this is a slow burn but for me, a slow burn would have had more fun and intrigue to keep me engaged but this was just so boring.

A few positives were that I appreciated the complexities of the dynamic with jesse and his brothers. Loved the emphasis on community and family. Also i liked the friendship between Kerry and her best friend, Val.

However, I really don't think the writing style was for me either, it felt a bit clunky and some of the dialogue was awkward. In addition to that fact, the beginning was info-dumpy and repetitive in my opinion. The ending was really abrupt as well. It just felt like a whole lot of nothing and then the author realized she had to wrap her story up somehow and threw everything of note into the last 5o pages. I just really wanted to know more about the knitting shop and the changes they were making. I wanted more fun banter and angsty friends to lover feels, but for most of the book it felt like Kerry was babysitting Jesse rather than being wooed by him. Sadly, all I've got are incredibly lukewarm feelings over my most anticipated release.

I wanted to love this book. I have been wanting to read it since it was first announced. And maybe I set my expectations too high. It was a real let down. The first two chapters were info dumpy. And the overall story was SLOW as heck. I made it to 50% and it felt like they were just starting to even recognize each other as potential love interests. I think I was also let down by not actually seeing Jesse knit. It was mentioned that he does knit but I wanted to see (read) that in action not just be told about it.

Anyway, I decided to DNF this. I am still interested in the series and would be willing to try the next one.

I love the setting of this book and really enjoyed Jesse and Kerry's story. I enjoyed that the romance was mixed in with a refreshing story about family and community.

Though I don’t have the time for it that I used to, I love knitting. I enjoy watching my sometimes clumsy hands weave things into being out of the yarn, but perhaps more importantly, I love how it can be an inclusive and communal craft. Online and offline, knitting communities seem to spring up wherever one can find yarn. Real Men Knit captures this beautifully, and I loved this warm hug of a book.

As the book opens, we learn that the much-loved Mama Joy has died, leaving her four adopted sons grieving her loss and also not entirely certain what to do about her shop, Strong Knits. And then there’s Kerry Fuller. Kerry grew up in the neighborhood, and Mama Joy and Strong Knits have been the center of her world. She worked there while completing her degree, and the shop is clearly home to her.

That idea of the knitting shop as a home runs clearly throughout the book. As the story develops, we learn more about Mama Joy and about how her shop in Harlem did more than just sell yarn. With knitting circles and ever-expanding service projects to the neighborhood, I got the distinct impression that, in many ways, this shop gave as much as it got.

The community nature of the shop explains why the Strong brothers have such difficulty deciding what to do. As one brother points out, the shop wasn’t the world’s biggest moneymaker in Mama Joy’s later years. However, Jesse Strong, youngest of the brothers, could see that their corner of Harlem would lose more than just a store if it were to close, and he pushes for the chance to keep it open. And so it begins.

Much of the first half of the book deals with the adjustments being made following Mama Joy’s death, as well as introducing readers to the Strong brothers and to Kerry. We learn pretty quickly that Jesse is the least settled of the four brothers, still trying to find his calling and definitely something of the neighborhood heartbreaker. Kerry clearly knows Jesse’s reputation, so even if he’s gorgeous, she’s keeping her distance emotionally – even if she has been attracted to him for the last while.

Since Kerry is on board with Jesse’s plan to save the store, keeping her distance is easier said than done. When they are working together, it is obvious that in addition to being longtime friends, they have great chemistry.  If you like a slow-burn, this is going to be your thing, because the romance in this book builds gradually, and the leads don’t really get together until the second half of the book. However, that building chemistry and the vivid portrait of the family and their role in the neighborhood kept me completely engaged.

I will admit that Jesse’s past 'love them and leave them' attitude towards women made it a little hard for me to warm up to him at first. I wanted to see how he would treat Kerry, but I also wanted to see what, if anything, he would do to make amends for his past. He did make welcome steps in that direction, but I wanted to see a little more of his change of heart.

However, even with that quibble, I adored this novel. While the romance is central to the plot, much time is also spent developing the family dynamics of the entire Strong family. I enjoyed being welcomed into their midst, and I can’t wait to read more. Here's hoping for a sequel!

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore
Visit our Amazon Storefront

I thoroughly enjoyed the brothers at the core of this story (well, the oldest one is a grump, but he has some great moments). If this is the first in a series where each brother will get a book, I am here for it.

I felt like the pacing of this was off. There's a lot of talking and overthinking in the first half or more of the story and not much action on the saving-the-store plot or the romance. I am fine with a slow build on the romance, but I was frustrated that the store pieces were not moving along if this was so urgent. The ending - which was TERRIFIC - felt rushed then because the beginning was slower. There are some fantastic LOL moments, and I would have liked the ending drawn out a bit more - or an epilogue - to wrap things up. (Language, sexual references)

3 Stars
This was the follow up and I happened to enjoy the first one with its unique way of presenting a love story. This followed that pattern and was solid but ran a little slow.

I’ve been looking forward to REAL MEN KNIT for a while now. It released yesterday (yay 🎉 thanks for the advanced copy @berkleyromance) and I’m sure there will be a lot of you who will enjoy this one as well. Kerry and Jesse had a lot of chemistry, flirtation, banter, and somehow couldn’t quite figure out how to communicate properly. The brothers and Val… they were so much fun. I loved how they ended up forcing Jesse and Kerry’s hand. It had me laughing and wishing I knew these characters. Let’s hope we get some follow ups with them 😉

We do get some character growth out of our characters and I loved seeing how Jesse faced his past and insecurities while Kerry FINALLY goes after what she wants and deserves. Good thing too, I was about to pummel them both by the end! This one didn’t have a ton of steam and I thought it would was going to pick up at one point (you know get a little hot and heavy) and it just fizzled out. So good news for those who don’t like a whole lotta spice to their romance, but not so good if you’ve been waiting for all that tension to explode 😂 Anyways… we end with this great grand gesture but by then it had taken them SO. DARN. LONG to get it together I was kinda over it.

One of my favorite parts of REAL MEN KNIT was Errol. How freaking adorable and sweet was he and those jerks… I would have loved to see more of this with the “Real Men Knit” because that gave me all the warm fuzzies.

I started this book last week and unfortunately it's not one I'm currently interested in. The story never grabbed me. I also tried the audiobook to see if that helped and it didn't. It was more of a case of me and not the book though. The writing is great and so is the narration of the audiobook.

* * * 3/4

Mama Joy's death is a sudden and unexpected loss to her four sons and the tight-knit Harlem community they live in. Her store, Strong Knits, has been an institution providing not only beautiful ware for knitters to buy but also a haven for like-minded folk and anyone looking for a place to belong. Nobody knows that more than Jesse and Kerry.

Jesse was one of Mama Joy's four adopted sons and this has been his only family. Even though he's recently been adrift with regards to his personal life, Mama Joy never made him feel unloved. While his brothers may view the future of the shop differently, Jesse firmly believes that he can carry on Mama Joy's legacy and make the store successful. All he needs is a little help and for someone who believes in him. Enter Kerry, who's known the Mama Joy and the boys for years. She feels the loss as much as they do and wants very much to keep Strong Knits going. She offers to help Jesse whip the store into shape and show him what she learned from working with his mother.

I liked the setting of a knitting store and come on, four men who inherit it as part of their family's legacy? That's an intriguing concept. It obviously challenges the concept of gender roles with these four guys who grew up learning how to knit. They're self-assured young men with different careers, except for Jesse. But it's okay that he hasn't quite figured himself out yet because that's what he's doing now. He's filled his time with distractions, like the endless women that he's hooked up with. Now he has to prove that he can handle responsibility and make good choices. This is about keeping the store in business as it is about his own direction. Kerry has seen the parade of women and can only eyeroll at him though it never stopped her from falling for his charm. She offers to stay on to help while putting a pause on her own career ambitions.

I have to say that I was excited about how Jesse and Kerry would save the store but there didn't seem to be much time spent on that aside from vague references and ideas scattered throughout the story. I really wanted to see more of their business ideas to get a tangible picture in my mind. That was the book's major pull for me, initially. Instead, a lot of time was spent on Jesse's missteps with the women in his past and facing down his brothers when they became skeptical of his plans. Between those two subplots I was more interested in him strengthening his bond with his brothers. There was plenty of longing going on between Kerry and Jesse that took its time to come to fruition.

While I would've preferred a more streamlined plot that focused more on the store and the artistry of knitting as Jesse and Kerry gradually fell in love, Real Men Knit is still an interesting read and I'm glad I've finally read my first Kwana Jackson book!

~ Bel

Real Men Knit is a love story not just between good girl Kerry and playboy Jesse, who both want to preserve Mama Joy's beloved knitting shop after her untimely death. In my opinion, Real Men Knit is a love story between brothers, a love of community, and a love of the people within the community, highlighted with its social justice themes. The romance is good but I was very impressed at how Ms. Jackson took a community in a NYC metropolis, Harlem to be exact, and gave it that small town feel, especially since the majority of the romance/love story takes place within the knitting shop. I generally prefer more succint writing but I thought Ms. Jackson's descriptive writing was fine here because I enjoyed the community which Ms. Jackson was crafting. Many of her scenes I could visualize exactly what she is describing. Finally, Real Men Knit is a romance that anyone can enjoy.

This was one of the books on my TBR list that I was highly anticipating. After reading the blurb I was so excited to get a chance to read. I mean four brothers running their family yarn shop after the death of their adopted mother? Gimme.

This book starts out slow, introducing the main characters who are all still grieving over the death of their beloved Mama Joy, who was the heart of their community. The pacing is leisurely as Kerry , Jesse and his brothers figure out what to do with Strong Knits and spat and squabble amongst themselves.

Kerry is a hardworking, single woman just finished with her degree who offers to help the Strong brothers out of love for Mama Joy and the desire to see the yarn shop stay open. Jesse is a player, who apparently jumps from bed to bed and is free with his affections, but who steps up to the plate and offers to take on Strong Knits.
I will admit that the slower pace left me anxious. I REALLY wanted something to happen between Kerry and Jesse and soon. There is a scene at about 25% in where Jesse has an overnight guest that is NOT the heroine and I was less than thrilled. This is very much a slow burn romance so be prepared to have patience. It wasn’t until after the 50% that the pacing picked up and the chemistry between this couple started to spark. Then stuff started to happen and Kerry took the initiative and I was all YES! And then was just a little disappointed at the close door love scenes. Oh, well. Maybe we will get little more sexing in the next book.

I really enjoyed this world and I am fully invested in seeing the secondary characters get their chance at an HEA. I like this author’s voice and look forward to reading her again.

I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did - I loved the setting, I thought the characters were fun, and I liked that the idea of men knitting wasn't played for laughs or novelty. I'd very much like to visit Strong Knitting. I just didn't feel a lot of chemistry between the two leads, although I liked them, and when they finally (FINALLY) did get together it wasn't so much slow burn as meh fizzle. I'd read another one from this author with one of the other brothers, though, because there was a lot to like in this - it just wasn't a romance that worked for me personally.

I found two tiny typos while reading this book and I think it must be the Persian flaw because, aside from that, this book was perfect! Jesse and Kerry had me rooting from them from the very start. Both deeply aware of their flaws and determined to do Mama Joy proud following her untimely death, these characters followed a path that had me in turns crying and cheering.

Their community, including adoptive brothers, friends, exes, neighbours, children, and workmates, were well-rounded and fully developed. It reads like a love-letter to the close-knit urban communities that are so rarely showcased in fiction.

Bravo, Ms. Jackson!

What I liked:
• this story doesn’t shy away from the grief the characters feel and the different ways they each cope with their feelings
• the characters are developed without judgement
• complex interpersonal relationships are beautiful
• Mrs. Robins and her disaster preparedness :)

What I didn’t like:
• nothing comes to mind . . . (two tiny typos?)

CW: death of a loved one, mention of substance abuse, grief

I think my followers will enjoy Real Men Knight by Kwana Jackson. I have made it Book of the Day and shared it on all my social media platforms.

I was really hoping I would have enjoyed this one more than I did.

I felt that the pacing of the story was a little off. It starts very slow with a lot of info dumping of backstory and inner thoughts that don’t add that much to the story and then when it hits the 70% mark it rushes real fast. Just so you get why I’m saying this, here’s a timeline:
- The book stars right after Mamma Joy’s funeral and they re-open the shop more or less a month after.
- The last three weeks and half take place in the last 12% of the book, as in, they don’t happen but instead we are told that “the past week and a half has been quiet”, “he hasn’t contacted me in a week” (I’m paraphrasing here)
- This all means that 70% of the story is basically the first two weeks in which not much ever happens.
- The main characters kiss at 74% (if I remember correctly) and then have sex at around 80%.

In short, it just all fells very odd when you read. I was so confused how they go from having fun sex at 80% to avoiding each other and being all closed off sex in a matter of a week without us even witnessing the change for more than half a chapter.

Then there’s the question of the chemistry between Jesse and Kerry. I didn’t feel it that much. I don’t think Jesse was the “right” brother for her and I didn’t buy the whole “he had been in love with her since he was a teen” part because he definitely never showed that he was and we’re just told that so we believe they are meant to be together. I would have preferred them not having had any romantic feeling towards each other as kids and then fall in love while working together to open the shop.

I actually like Jesse’s character and although I thought there could have been more improvement, I did enjoy the bits of character development he had.

Kerry is a very good character too. She’s intelligent and hard-working. I love how much she cares for her community and Mamma Joy’s legacy. But I think it was very strange the way that she’s described by Jesse as a little shy girl and we never see that. It’s like he went away for 10 years and came back to meet a whole new person when we get the impression he’s the only brother that has not left the nest. Maybe I missed something, I don’t know.

However, I did enjoy some things about the story.

- The idea of men knitting and that being one of the main plots in the book is really refreshing and endearing.
- The different familial bonds between the brothers, their individual backstories and how Mamma Joy brought them all together.
- The cultural and community importance of Mamma Joy’s shop and her work and what it means to keep it alive.

Although I had a tough time getting into the story, I did enjoy it. I don’t know if I’d recommend it for the romance but I’d definitely recommend it for the familial aspect of it.

Family, Romance, and yarn. Kwana Jackson’s debut was bursting with hope, heart, and brotherly love. At its core this was a story about a family coming together after the loss of their beloved mother, Mama Joy. Jesse, Noah, Lucas, and Damien may not be related by blood but they all have a deep tied to one another and are grieving the loss of their adoptive mom. The family has owned a knitting shop in Harlem for a long time, but it might not make financial sense to keep the business going. Jesse the youngest brother is determined to keep the business going and recruits long time family friend and knitting expert Kerry to help revive the store. Kerry has been crushing on Jesse forever, but he has always been a player. So what will happen when these two end up working so closely together? And more importantly will the knitting store stay strong?

This was such a charming story! I loved all these characters. The Strong Brothers were quite scrumptious and I love their banter. Kerry was a sweet girl who I would love to be friends with. Jesse and Kerry were cute together and I liked their slow burn romance. My one Kniggle with this book is we never really got to know these characters more than just on a surface level. I knew both Carrie and Jesse were dealing with things from their past, but we really never got into it and they never really discussed it with one another. This book however was the perfect set up for future books, so I’m hoping to get to know these characters better in the future. A sweet story that made me smile and want to learn to knit.

This book in emojis 🧶 🧣 🎨 📸 📻

*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

This was a cute and sweet read. I was able to read it really quickly. The chemistry between the main characters was great & I enjoyed the development of their relationship. I do feel like this one was lacking a little bit since I didn’t feel very connected to the characters. It was still an enjoyable read.