I really wanted to love this one and while there are some great things here, it ultimately fell a bit flat for me. I might try future books in the series to see how things go because the premise is a cool one. In a nutshell, this first book had too much telling rather than showing, and had a hero that I just wasn't rooting for. I thought the heroine deserved better and unfortunately the point of this sort of romance is to convince me that the couple should be together.

As I said, the concept is a really fun one. Four brothers inherit a knitting shop in Harlem when their adoptive mother dies. Only two of them are biologically related, but they are all attractive and racially diverse, so I imagine the rest of the series could focus on each of them. This book follows Jesse, the lazy playboy who never sticks with anything, be it a job or a woman. And then there is Kerry, who grew up basically alongside the brothers, helped their mom in the shop, and has been nursing a secret crush on Jesse for years.

I think what's great about this book beyond the idea is the community and the commentary on the value of small, locally owned businesses especially in communities with many people of color. And Kerry is smart, kind, and determined. Definitely a heroine I can root for.

Unfortunately Jesse is incredibly immature and insecure, hooks up with another woman during the course of the book, and is terrible at communicating. Yeah, sure they have physical chemistry, but I just never bought into him as a good long term love interest for Kerry. He fears her taking him as just a short-term physical thing, and honestly I couldn't help thinking that might have been the best choice for her. Good for her trying things out, but she definitely could move onto a better long term choice.

Also, Mama Joy, the boys mom, sounds like an amazing woman, but we spend the first several chapters hearing ABOUT her, but she is never on the page. I think using something like flashbacks could have really helped. Instead these chapters drag and we lack the emotional connection to the grief these characters may be experiencing because of the distance between the reader and this recently passed character.

Again, I kind of hate that this had such big issues because I love what it's trying to do. I would try the next book and see if it improves. I receive and advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this book isn’t working for me - DNF at 25%. I’m not feeling connected to the characters and don’t feel like much of anything is happening yet. I’m a knitter and was so into the premise but I feel like everything that happened so far could have been done in much less time and on to the romance. Or even struggles with the store - but this is taking too long to get started.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy.

Jesse Strong’s mother suddenly passes away. He presents the idea of running her business to his brothers just to be shot down. Let’s face it, Jesse’s reputation of being lazy and a bit of a joke doesn’t help him. Since he knows he is the family screw up, he sees the opportunity to prove he can make business. The problem is that he doesn’t know all the in and outs of the shop but lifelong friend Kerry does.

Kerry doesn’t mind helping out with the shop. It has been a part of her life since childhood. It doesn’t help that Jesse is still good looking and she is attracted to him. She knows he barely sees her as nothing more than a fixture of the shop. There is also the annoying nickname the guys give her, KerryGirl.

Jesse is a bit of a manwhore. There are women in the beginning though they are not real relationships or anything but it doesn’t help me buy that he sees Kerry as a woman. It is challenging to form a relationship with that in the back of any woman’s mind.

The beginning of the book moves slow. The author sets up the importance of the community and gives a lot of details into all of the characters. There is a lot of background information and not enough pushing the story along.

I kind of felt like this was more of a women’s fiction than a full on romance. The romance doesn’t hit too much further in the book which makes it hard for me to get behind Kerry and Jesse’s romance as much. I kept her in the friend of the family box for so long that at times when the flirty banter started to happen, I had a hard time connecting to it. The romance doesn’t start to move until 3/4th of the story and mind you the characters are in close proximity with each other day and night by then.

The author does a really great job setting up the stories for the other brothers and any secondary characters. I’m interested in reading more about the Strong brothers.

Overall, I would still recommend this story for fans of a slow burn and low angst romance.

~ Samantha

Well, this was one of my most anticipated and I’m so disappointed.

Kerry and Jesse were just meh. She’s a Good Girl and he’s A Player and neither of them seem to grow into anything else but those labels. The brothers had potential, but were easily interchangeable and Kerry’s BFF didn’t add the levity I think she was supposed to. The highlight was the older group of women knitters.

Plot wise, it was a struggle. There’s loads of inner monologue, repetitive conversations that don’t go anywhere, and it’s mostly telling, not showing. I didn’t see the connection between two MCs, the grief the brothers were supposed to be feeling, or the warmth I expected this story to have.

Overall, it did have a few sweet spots here and there, but I found myself setting this down on multiple occasions and could have easily left it unfinished.

**Huge thanks to Berkley for providing the arc free of charge**

I really liked the premise of this book, but it was kind of a slog for me. I should say that I’m not really into slow-burn, and this was REAL slow (no action of any kind until past the 70% mark). Even at that, it’s very fade-to-black, in case that matters to you.

The book starts out in a really heavy place - the death of a beloved matriarch - and it seemed to set a kind of dragging pace from there. There is a LOT of hand-wringing thinking done from both of the MCs POVs - it was a lot. I was frustrated. I yelled at the characters many times.

So everything is slow until the last 2% where everything is rush rush rush OVER. Huh???

I feel like this might have worked REALLY well as a novella. Prune those side-branch stories that didn’t realllllly add a whole lot of weight to anything and focus on a tighter main narrative.

I do think the other three brothers’ stories could be interesting! I’m really sad there was no epilogue in this one. It was really emotionally unsatisfying even though the ending is happy.

Spoilers: I would like to talk about the issues I have with this book. Since we’re all romance readers and we know they end up together, it’s not that spoilery. But I do go into some detail on what I have issues with. If you prefer not to know some of the details then skip this review.

I’m going to start this review by saying this book did not work for me. Initially I did like this book. It has cute moments but the more I read, the more I realized how much I hated it. I want to talk about women’s relationships. The way women are described and used to uplift the heroine bothers me a lot.

The premise of this book stood out to me. Harlem set, this book centers around a group of brothers mourning their mothers death. One brother, Jesse, hopes to save his mother’s beloved knitting shop, Strong Knits. I love that concept of a tight knit, close corners city romance. A hero tries to save his mother’s dreams? Look that just gets me all sappy. It makes me think about our associations with material objects generally considered to be feminine.

I hate small town romances and this book seemed perfect for me. Then I read it and the more I read, the more angry I got.

Let me just set things out for you. Jesse is a playboy, a little sleeping everywhere really. Women are basically just plastic sex toys to him. A day goes by and he throws it out.

Where Jesse is a rebel, Kerry is a nice girl. She has ‘not like other girls’ plastered onto her face. Both are consumed by their repuatations. Kerry: teacher, family friend, proper lady well respected by the community. Her reputation acts a throne when we come face to face with Erika. ‘Sauntering’. ‘Body Defying Physics’. All this does is inspire that Erika is not a good girl but a particular type of sexy girl. A sex pot, only made and written for guys like Jesse to sleep with.

Descriptions are frequently the way the author creates hatred for ‘the Other Woman’. The author uses ‘recycling’ for trashy woman. It is not coincidental that Kerry immediately hates Erika and then the author relates recycling to the scene with Erika.

Erika’s not seen as human. She has no feelings. She’s just a tool for the author to create hatred for the Other Woman. A a piece of trash forgotten by Jesse in Kerry’s eyes. What’s more dissapointing is how I expected this to be a feminist romance.

Feminism? Who?

Let’s talk about Jesse’s mistreatment of women.

While Jesse acknowledges his mistreatment of women, it’s really impossible for me to see him as a hero because of how he sexualizes and treats so many women. They’re like trash to him, particularly women like Erika. Jesse and Kerry are certainly perfect for each other in that regard. I personally was disgusted by the time I finished the book. Women have been asking men to be treated as human beings. Women deserve to be treated like human beings. Sex does not mean cis men have permission to treat women horribly.

Look. I don’t expect all female relationships in romance to be perfect and lacking complexity. But I do expect some acknowledgement and awareness of growth. I saw no change or acknowledgement of Kerry’s perceptions of her best friend.

If there had been some knowledge and awareness of Kerry’s internal misogyny than that might have been more interesting to me. I have to ask myself ‘who would describe their friend in this way’? And I’m not totally sure it’s healthy to be making negative comments about your friend wearing sexy exercise outfits, even if she’s not going to the gym. I just don’t get why that side comment had to be made? And why are we constantly getting policing from Kerry on Val’s interest in sex? That just seems to be a complete lack of awareness to me. Val’s a young woman. What? She can’t have sex? I support that. I wish the heroine had as well.

Misogynistic female friendships are boring. Pass.

Then my head blew off when I read the possessive behavior coming from Jesse when their relationship started to develop. Trying to act like she ‘belongs’ to him when she gets hit on, blowing up at his brother for putting his ‘paws’ on her, and disliking it when her boss is talking to her. The ultimate thing hat made me want to cut a bitch? Jesse getting jealous and then having sex with her (albeit with her permission) like he’s trying to stake his territory. It just felt gross to me that they have sex immediately after he pretends not to be mad and jealous, like he needs to spray his pee on her or some shit. Self assured guys don’t need to act like possessive jerks. That’s not an alpha, that’s an asshole. The women in this book deserve better than that type of behavior.

I would also recommend checking out Mina’s review from Mina Reads. She also addresses some much needed concerns. She’s also ownvoices and I recommend following her opinions because she’s honestly one of the best romance reviewers out there.

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson was a fun little romance. When their foster-turned-adoptive mother Mama Joy suddenly dies, four brothers struggle to keep open the doors of her beloved Harlem knitting shop. Jesse, the free spirit of the bunch wants to try keeping the shop open while the other brothers don't see how they can. Jesse asks childhood friend Kelly Fuller, who also loved Mama Joy and has had a secret crush on Jesse, to help him. She agrees to help him get started and the rest is history.

I would like to thank Berkley and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I loved how strongly you could feel the love Kerry had for Mama Joy and the knitting club, and I love the rich sense of Harlem you get. However, the writing stretched scenes for too long in my opinion, making simple scenes longer than necessary. I also didn't really buy Kerry and Jesse's connection- they felt like bickering siblings.

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson was a family centered novel leaning more towards women's fiction with just a tad bit of romance.

Four brothers lose their beloved Mama Joy and must make the decision whether to keep her business alive or sell it and divide the money amongst themselves. All brothers are adopted; Lucas is a firefighter, Noah is a backup dancer, and Damian the oldest, is a corporate financial analyst.

Jesse, being the youngest Strong brother and the hero of this book has always been seen as the spoiled one. Presently, he's seen as the lazy one who doesn't have a career or a stable plan. He's unable to hold down a job for too long... but Jesse wants the chance to prove that he can make this happen. He's also seen as the type to never settle down. The womanizer, always chasing girls.

Out of the four, Jesse has been the only one with interest in knitting. None of the brothers have truly let go of the weight of Mama Joy's loss and Jesse finds himself running from his feelings.

Kerry was one of those kids in the neighborhood that came to Strong Knits as a means to seek comfort. Mama Joy was the mother figure she didn't have in her life as her mother had her real young and didn't show her much love and affection. Now, Kerry has finally graduated and gotten her degree. This is her chance on forging her own path and creating a future for herself away from Harlem but in her heart she knows she can't let Strong Knits go. She volunteers to work along side Jesse and help him run the business. But secretly she's harbored a crush on Jesse since they were young.

Strong Knits has become a safe haven amongst the community especially for the youth who come and take lessons. It's a place of refuge from the outside world. The shop has been more than a home to all of them, especially for Kerry. Jesse wants to continue Mama Joy's legacy but the brothers seem to be in peril with a loan luming over their heads. In order to save the shop, the Strong brothers need to come up with the money before they lose the one thing left that reminds them of the mother they hold dear.

Soon Jesse begins to see Kerry as a woman and no longer that young girl who he would ask to shush so he could hide from his brothers and Mama Joy whenever he got into trouble. Yet Jesse struggles with putting his feelings out there when it comes to Kerry. He knows with her it's not a one time deal. Kerry can't fathom that Jesse would ever like her or that she's even apart of the Strong crew. This I found frustrating because she continuously brought herself down. Also, the ending felt too abrupt for my liking. Jesse and Kerry know each other and are connected on some level but I needed much deeper interactions between the two that would have made their love more believable for me.

Overall, this book was a light slow-paced read. I enjoyed the author's writing style and look forward to books on the secondary characters, especially Val and Damian!


*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Berkley through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

3.5 stars

I knew that I wanted to read Real Men Knit from the moment I saw the adorable cover and read the blurb. It ended up being more women's fiction to me than romance, but there are definitely romantic elements and a nice slow burn between our two main characters. Throw in some forced proximity and it was an enjoyable ride.

What I really liked:
- Kerry. She came into her own through the course of the book and I liked that she never gave up her personal goals and dreams. Her friendship with Val was a highlight of the book and I loved how they supported (and pushed) each other.
- The Old Knitting Gang (OKG). This mish mash of women, all with their distinct personalities and quirks, were so much fun. I loved how they came together for the Strong siblings, Kerry, and the neighborhood, and I had a huge smile on my face during the grand reopening scene.
- The diversity and setting. I felt like I was right there in Harlem and the neighborhood itself almost felt like a secondary character. Thanks to google, I also now know what a chopped cheese sandwich is ;) The cast of characters, especially the Strong brothers, felt like a celebration of individuality.
- Family. I loved that family in this book was by choice, not blood. It's an active choice that our characters make every single day. All of them different, not just physically, but united together by love. I would have liked to see a little more about Mama Joy and her time with the boys though.

What didn't quite work for me (skip this if you want to avoid possible spoilers):

- Jesse. I ended up liking him, but the reformed manwhore is always a tough one for me. I found it hard to believe that he had secretly harbored any feelings for Kerry while growing up and for most of the book, his interest in her felt more like a crutch than actual love. He was overly territorial/jealous and his hot and cold behavior gave me whiplash. I understood his abandonment issues and his feelings of unworthiness regarding love, but I think I just needed more development between him and Kerry. They didn't even seem to be that friendly with each other at the start, so I would have liked to see more time spent with them actually getting to know each other away from the store. I also needed more groveling. A LOT more.
-The OW/OM drama. I really just didn't need it. It only served as a reminder of what an insensitive manwhore Jesse was and how jealous and petty our characters could be.
- The pacing. It took me a bit to get invested in the story and then I felt like the end wrapped up very quickly and too conveniently. The author did a great job setting up possible future books for the other Strong brothers (I'd love to find out more about grumpy grump Damian), but it's Kerry's BFF, Val, who I really want to read about.

Overall, this was an enjoyable family story, but I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

A sweet, funny slow-burn romance that really emphasizes the importance of family and community! As someone who lived near Harlem for a good chunk of my time in New York, this made me miss the neighborhood so much; there's a terrific sense of place in this book. I agree with other reviewers that the romance aspect could have been punched up even more, but overall I was drawn in by the character dynamics and the potential for future sequels. It was a fun world to lose myself in for a weekend read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2020/05/14/real-men-knit-by-kwana-jackson/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I enjoy knitting and couldn't miss reading a romance with a knitting shop.  <strong>Real Men Knit</strong> was a fun romance with some great characters. I would have preferred a bit more of developing them, than some of the off-track internal thoughts of the two main characters, Jesse and Kerry.  I also could have done with less bickering of the brothers.  Not everything felt quite authentic, but I did have some emotional connections.

Kerry was awesome and I loved seeing her strength while she helped the community and the brothers. She took some risks to get things she wanted and improve her life.  I enjoyed her  progression in the story.

Jesse had his own journey and he really did work on himself. He didn't have issues before, but other people had some issues with <em>him</em>.  It was really a matter of him deciding on his priorities in life and spending time there.

I did hope there would be a bit more time on the business, as that aspect was a bit vague. I love the parts which were included like the hats and the Instagram stuff.  The story has developed a great set of characters which could be furthered,  along with loves for the other three brothers.  I hope we might see more books in this world.

Real Men Knit is a love note to family and community that would be perfect for a movie. It was oh-so-easy to fall for Kerry and the Strong family; so much so that I didn’t want to put the book down.

In the wake of his adoptive mother’s death Jesse Strong finds himself at loose ends. He’s always been seen as the brother who didn’t live up to his potential and now that Mama Joy is gone he doesn’t seem to know what to do. But when his brothers start to talk about selling their mother’s shop, Strong Knits, Jesse finds his focus. Strong Knits isn’t just important to their family – it’s a piece of the heart of their Harlem neighborhood. I loved watching Jesse find his passion, seeing him carry on his mother’s legacy but also making it his own. Jesse finds himself over the course of the story and he’s so loveable that you can’t help but be sucked into his journey.

But Jesse can’t reopen the knitting shop on his own. He needs the help of Kerry Fuller, his mother’s part-time employee and the woman who knows Strong Knits best. Kerry has just finished her degree in children’s counseling and art therapy and should be looking for a full-time job in her field, but she can’t resist helping Jesse. Kerry has always been the typical “girl next door” to the Strong brothers and sometimes that frustrates her…especially when it comes to her longtime crush, Jesse. Kerry has always been in the shadows and I enjoyed her journey over the course of Real Men Knit as she takes her place in the sun. She’s an incredibly giving person (sometimes to her own detriment) and her heart of gold plus the way she cares for everyone around her makes her a heroine you can root for.

Real Men Knit is Jesse and Kerry’s story, but author Kwana Jackson brings the world of Strong Knits alive with an endearing supporting cast. Jesse’s sometimes troubled relationship with his brothers was one of my favorite parts of the book. I desperately hope each brother gets a book of his own (especially my favorite, the sensitive Noah). All four men are so different but Mama Joy brought them together and made them a family. Mama Joy may have passed before the beginning of the book, but her presence and the impact she had on her boys’ lives and her community is felt throughout. The only downside to this is that she sounded like such a generous, strong, loving, downright incredible woman that I wish I could have “met” her.

The romance is where Real Men Knit falls short. It had the potential to be a good slow-burn love story, but it never quite hit the mark. At one point, one of Jesse’s brothers indicates that he doesn’t know if Jesse sees Kerry as a mother figure, sister, or lover and that’s part of the problem. The romance plotline doesn’t really take hold until near the end of the book and I never felt any growth or true change in their relationship, aside from giving into mutual attraction. Jesse and Kerry aren’t a bad couple – they’re far too likeable for that. Rather, there was something missing that made the romance fall flat. If this book were general fiction instead of a romance, my overall enjoyment of the book wouldn’t have really changed if they hadn’t ended up together. Ms. Jackson definitely showed that Kerry and Jesse love each other, but even by the end it didn’t feel like they were *in love*. That one plot issue aside, I adored Real Men Knit and I’m eager to read more about the Strong family.

OKAY THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD

AND THAT TENSION 🔥🔥🔥🔥 daaaamn I loved this so much!!!!


Okay so, I was in desperate need for a good romance books featuring some new adult themes and I was so happy to receive an E-arc of this book in my mailbox. I think I actually finished it in one day and I remember reading through most of the night as well. It was just so enjoyable.

What made the story very captivating was the fact that it was so easy to connect with the characters on a personal level. I loved the innocence of the female main character and the softness of the male main character. AND YES GUYS; there were two P.O.V.’s aaaaaaah!!!! I just looove to read from both point of views.

I really really really liked this! Definitely a 5 star read for me.

Real Men Knit was not a romance. It was a nice story about banding together to keep a business alive in a vibrant community, but the romance never felt important. The strongest aspect of Real Men Knit was its portrayal of Harlem, but a setting is never enough to make a book memorable. Jackson introduced characters at a rapid pace with lengthy histories, but they never grabbed me. The audio didn't enhance my experience either because the narrator never varied her voice, even though Real Men Knit was told from both Jesse's and Kerry's perspectives. There were times I would zone out and not know which perspective I was listening to because the voices were too similar. There is a possibility that Jesse's brothers will have their own stories, but at this moment I'm not compelled to learn more.

Review will be published on May 15.

I found this book hard to get into and I ended up skimming halfway through. I think the writing could of been better but the concept of the story is strong and different!

I won’t say I had very high hopes for this book, but I was excited about a contemporary romance novel centered around knitting. The amount of time I’ve spent in yarn stores is a little ridiculous (I even used to work in one when I was in college), so I was familiar with the setting and I was ready for a warm, cozy read. You can probably see where this is going… disappointment. This book was… not great.

Predictability is just the nature of romance novels. You go in pretty much guaranteed a happily ever after at the end, so there is a little bit more pressure for the journey there to be good. And this one wasn’t. I honestly hate giving bad reviews (hello anxiety), but I didn’t like this book. And I knew I wasn’t going to like it two pages in. Because the writing was just… Cringe City. There are only so many romance clichés a girl can take!

I know this is a second-chance love story with characters who have known each other since they were children, but there was SO MUCH backstory. Like paragraphs upon paragraphs before the story even started. And by then, I was kind of bored. I honestly don’t remember too much about this book other than that I struggled. A lot. It’s pretty obvious where the story is going from page one, and if it wasn’t fun getting there, what’s the point?

I wanted to like this book so much! I mean, knitting, romance, diverse characters! Come on! But nope. It wasn’t even a fun distraction, which is honestly all I want from a romance novel. Maybe I would have liked it more had I not read some great adult romance novels, or if I was a little younger. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

2.5 stars

After their beloved African-American mother, Mama Joy Strong, dies, three of her four adopted sons (each from a different ethnic background) want to close and sell off her Harlem knitting shop, Strong Knits. But Jesse, the youngest, refuses to "close down his mother's life work at the first hint of adversity." Twenty-seven year-old Jesse's tired of being the family fuck-up, a man of whom everyone assumes the worst, even though his "take-no-responsibility" attitude has been more than earned. But his mother's death makes him want to change his irresponsible ways.

Twenty six year-old Kerry "Oh, it's just you" Fuller has long been a fixture at Strong Knits, practically growing up beside the Strong boys. Now, since graduating from college, she's been working in the shop part time while she searches for full-time work as a child educator. She's shocked that her longtime crush, the irresponsible Jesse, would rally so hard for Mama Joy's store to remain open, and finds herself offering to help him learn the ropes when his brothers finally allow him a six-month's trial period to make good on his promises. And then, due to a convenient plot twist, she finds herself living with him. Just temporarily, of course...

What follows is a "I'm hot for you, therefore I must love you" romance, not a romance where the two characters get to know one another and then fall for each other. We are told that both protagonists have been nursing crushes on the other (Jesse's claim not as believable as Kerry's, given his womanizing history), but have not expressed their feelings to the other. Each spends big chunks of the book telling themselves that they shouldn't fall for the other ("I'm not good enough for her"/"he's just a player"). There's also <i>a lot</i> of self-sacrificing and apologizing by Kerry ("I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been all up in your business, Jes." "I'm sorry I'm being such a pain in the ass when what I should be is grateful." "I'm sorry Jes... I didn't mean to doubt you." "I'm sorry. It's just been a long twenty-four hours." "I know you don't want to hear it, but I'm sorry for being an intrusion, and thank you.") I couldn't help but cheer when eldest brother Damian finally shouts at her, "Oh, enough. Stop apologizing, and cut it with saying 'thank you' already. You sure know how to beat shit into the ground, Kerry Girl."

Since I'm a reader who loves character-based romances, this one was rather unsatisfying for me. The romance comes with a big side helping of verbal fighting between the four brothers, and a bit of love from Strong Knit's former customers, which makes this as much of a family/neighborhood story as a romance novel (as well as a set-up for future books featuring the other 3 brothers). The plot events don't have much to do with Kerry and Jesse's romance: renovating the store to get it ready to reopen; a mortgage suddenly abruptly due; a boy being bullied about liking knitting; and whether the "diversity-challenged" director of the community center where Kerry volunteers and wants to work at full-time will get her come-uppance.

Along the way, Jackson also criticizes some of the sexist tropes of older romances, even while simultaneously indulging in them. For example, when Jesse's brothers find him and Kerry lip-locked, they say "This is Kerry. She's not one of the usual women you run in and out of." Jesse replies "So, you insult me and every woman I've ever been with all in one fell swoop while thinking you're complimenting Kerry. Good job, dicks." But his treatment of said women doesn't suggest that he's a sex-positive respecter of a women's right to express and enjoy her sexuality, either. Another example: the novel does seem to hold Kerry up as different from Erika, the tough, aggressive girl currently chasing Jesse (Jesse thinks of Kerry as "sweet and innocent"). And even though Kerry expresses sympathy for the "mean other woman" ("Besides, for all her hard looks and flexing like she was the shit, it was easy to see [Erika] was just insecure and trying her best to get Jesse's attention"), it is Kerry, not Erika, who ends up on the receiving end of a very public declaration scene at book's end. Jackson's struggles demonstrate how difficult it can be for a writer to break completely free of the sexist trappings of past romance tropes.

Kudos for the message that it's not emasculating for boys and men to knit.

2.5 stars

As someone who loves some angst in her romances, I found this slow burn romance to be sweet, but not the main reason I stuck with the book if I'm honest.
For me, this book's sense of community and family is what sold me on it. I loved getting to know all of the characters, and the area of Harlem in which they live. I think if Jackson continues to write with these characters, I think the future books will be more romance centered. I felt like this first book had to set up so much that it did the romance a bit of a disservice.
I do think the romance we did get was nice, but considering that this was marketed as a romance, it clearly falls closer to a women's fiction novel than a romance novel for me.
With that said, I would recommend it. It was a joy to read. It would have gotten a higher rating for me had it been more properly marketed to me.

An author to watch, Jackson invokes lively characters and a sweet romance. Looking forward to more from this author.