Real Men Knit starts with the passing of a beloved character, Joy Strong, whom we never get to meet. We learn about her devotion and selflessness through the people that knew and mourn her. Her passing leaves a large hole in her family and community which motivates them to action. The story follows Mama Joy’s children as they cope with her passing and have to decide what to do with her knitting store—a store which has been a source of hope and unity for the neighborhood.

Strong Knits has also literally been home to Mama Joy and her sons. They live in the apartment attached to the store as so many small business owners do in the Harlem district of Manhattan, New York. The brothers must decide if they’re going to keep the store to generate income or if they must sell to settle debts Mama Joy made to keep the store afloat. Youngest brother, Jesse, decides he’s finally going to ditch his playboy reputation and take charge of updating and running the store. He enlists the help of Kerry Fuller, their part-time employee who knows everything there is to know about running the store. Jesse and Kerry went to school together. Even though she’s familiar with Jesse’s reputation, she’s always had a crush on him. The relationship develops as they work together to update the store and get it open again.

Kerry is a more sympathetic character. She has a life outside of the shop and is trying to live it. She goes into the relationship with her eyes open. Jesse kind of flails around before he is able to pull himself together and be worthy of Kerry. Even when he got there, I was a little weary that he would fall back into old habits under stress. I guess we’ll see in future books.

The plot is not complicated although it is thoughtful and full of details. Still, as there would be in real life with the death of a loved one, there was a dark cloud that clung to the story and cast a shadow over all the characters. It was hard to relax into their love story because it felt like it was too soon to be happy.

The peripheral characters really shine to fill out the big picture of the community beyond the store. There are the knitting circle regulars and people from the community center where Kerry works her other job. The store “knits” them together and they need it up and running. Jackson has set us up with additional characters to have their own books, Jesse’s siblings and Kerry’s best friend Val. This has the potential to be good series.

My Rating: C+ Liked It, but I had issues

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for access to this arc. Sadly add me to the list of was thrilled to get it but found it underwhelming. What I liked was the set up that included tons of diversity and hints that we'd see the struggles they face. I was also hoping to see the brothers banding together to save their adopted mother's legacy. That last bit quickly disintegrated but it did feel more realistic that the brothers would actually clash and rub each other the wrong way on this subject.

What I didn't like, unfortunately was most everything else. The book starts with a ton of backstory and a massive info dump. As the first of what is no doubt a series, I expected some of this but it just drags on - first from Kerry's POV and then from Jesse's. I agree with the other reviewer who mentioned that a bit of set up for the other three brothers would have been fine but not as much about them - or at least not so quickly - as we got. I struggled to keep them separate in my mind and then wondered why I was having to. Letting their personalities and professions be explained along the way would have been better. It was time to move on.

Kerry seems more background noise for most of them but now Jesse is taking notice. Too bad that his history as a player has to be backed up with so many current day examples. Damn if he doesn't have a sexy female flinging herself at him every chapter. I get it, women love him and love to be loved by him but after a while, it got tiresome and I wanted the story to move past that.

Scenes were set up and started only to suddenly end and then us get a recap of "told without showing." The book meandered along and I found myself mentally snapping my fingers wanting something to actually happen. It was an effort to keep my interest focused and I was constantly checking to see how many pages I'd managed to make it through. Sadly, I stopped about the halfway point. I wanted to like this so much more than I did.

Brother Damian really pisses me off being so dismissive of Kerry and Jesse.

Finally some business stuff with specialty yarns and revamping was included but it took a while to get started.

This was a cute read. I wasn’t all that interested in the romance, I just wasn’t convinced of it. Jesse and Kerry wasn’t imo meshed well together; they were okay as friends…. Lovers not so much. I did like other aspects of the story especially Jesse's fight to keep their adoptive mothers knitting store open. But at the end of it all, this is a romance and “it” was lackluster to say the least.

However, what doesn’t work for me may work for someone else. If you have a love for a slow-burning, low angst romance, then add Real Men Knit to your TBR list.

Jesse Strong and Kerry Fuller have known each other most of their lives. Jesse as a foster son of Mama Joy who owned a knitting shop called Strong Knits in Harlem while Kerry spent more time there than she did with her own single mother. He is one of four adopted sons who now are owners of the shop since Mama Joy passed away. Jesse wants to keep it going but his track record of responsibility and work ethic is sadly lacking. As well as being a womanizing player, Jesse has never really gotten serious about being a grown up.

Kerry also feels at a loss now that the shop might close; more importantly, the woman who was most influential in her life is gone. After overhearing the “boys” discussing Jesse’s very out there plan, Kerry volunteers to help Jesse make it a reality even though the shop is heavily in debt. Jesse’s brothers are more than skeptical about his ability to follow through and actually save the shop. Kerry has had a crush on Jesse for years; however, she knows how poorly Jesse treats women so the last thing Kerry wants is to get entangled with this man-child.

Jesse and Kerry work to the best of their abilities to freshen up and reinvigorate the knit shop that means so much to them and the community. Kerry fights her feelings for Jesse as he does for her; however, working in such close quarters means resistance is futile and passions flair. Jesse has left such a trail of broken hearts and angry women the last thing Kerry wants is to be another one left by the wayside. Jesse not only has self-esteem issues; he knows his brothers value Kerry as one of their own and for him to hurt her would not go over well.

While Kerry is a very sympathetic and likeable character, Jesse is at times hard to take. Kerry’s best friend, Val’s pushiness about Kerry “hooking up with Jesse” got old fast. The idea of a group of men running a knitting store is unique and different with each brother’s personality and peccadilloes adding to the story. I actually think the other brothers’ stories will be more interesting since Jesse’s past behavior and some of the present becomes tiresome fairly quickly. At least for this story, it seems leopards do change their spots.

I have to admit that I wanted to like this book much more than I actually liked it. The synopsis sounded cute and I liked that there was a diverse cast. I was looking forward to some fun family dynamics between the brothers, too. Unfortunately, I found everything that happened really lackluster.

I wasn’t very impressed with the writing, though it did get better as it went on. The first couple chapters were extremely heavy on the internal monologues that set up the story was a massive info dump of characters and circumstances. I would have liked to have seen things start out a little more naturally and get to know the characters in a more authentic way. After two chapters I almost decided to DNF it since I knew I couldn’t take a whole book written in this way. However, I kept reading and it got a little better. There were still some parts where I skimmed when things got a little dense, but it became much easier to read.

While I liked Jesse and Kelly well enough, all the other characters were pretty one-dimensional. I was really looking forward to seeing the relationship between the brothers, but it was pretty underwhelming. I had a hard time even telling some of them apart. I expected to see them bond and come together as they grieved the passing of their mother, but that didn’t really happen. I felt like there was so much potential there and it just didn’t live up to it.

Overall, Real Men Knit left me underwhelmed. I really wanted to like it, but poor character development and a writing style I didn’t connect with kept me from really enjoying it. There were a few funny or cute moments, but they were too few and far between to make up for the rest of the story. While the book wasn’t for me, I’m sure there will be some others than can overlook the issues I had with it and enjoy the romance.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 2.5 Stars

As an avid Yarnivore, this was right up my alley! And hot guys knitting? Yes, please. I was very happy to read a Romance novel that centered around people of color, as there are not nearly enough from a different perspective. The Romance community sorely lacks diversity. I loved all the characters and am praying that this is just an intro to the Strong brothers. I'd absolutely love a standalone Damian story.

REVIEW PROVIDED BY: Kelly
NUMBER OF HEARTS: 4
We get to follow the Strong brothers after the loss of their beloved Mother. They are left to pick up the pieces and try to decide what to do with the knit shop Knit Strong. While none of them know how to run a business they thankfully have Kerry Fuller. Kerry has been a part of the Knit Strong family from the get go and is as much family as the 4 brothers are. Between the five of them they just might be able to save the shop and the only real home the boys ever had.

But only if Jesse doesn't screw it up.

This is the first story by Kwana Jackson (she has other books listed under K.M. Jackson) and I love it. I love the characters that she created and the world that revolves around a small local Knitting store. As an avid crocheter (and can knit a washcloth) I loved the setting of this story.
The tension between Kerry and the boys was great. But Kerry and Jesse took it over the top and was a great slow burn.

I do hope that we will get to see the Strong brothers again soon.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & Berkley in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

I SO wanted to love this. I was really looking forward to it but the writing style didn't work for me.

First the good stuff! I really liked both Jesse and Kerry and was rooting for them. Jesse is a bit of a jerk at times but is trying to step up to the plate to be the man Mama Joy saw in him. Kerry is a kind soul - a little lost but understanding of how much the shop means to their Harlem community and willing to jump in to help save it and reunite the quarreling brothers after Mama Joy's death.

However, the writing felt so awkward and clunky that I couldn't get a rhythm going while reading. There is a lot of set up, being a first book and all. Some of it is understandable - you need to meet the brothers and have a little bit of backstory. But this is Jesse's story and we don't need so much detail about all the brothers yet. And, honestly, the brothers were real jerks. I expect some drama since they have differences on what to do with the shop and expectations for each other but damn. They were mean at times.

But the real problem I had was how the author would start a conversation or scene and just drop it - only to drift off in another direction, with inner monologue or backstory, then come back to it 3 pages later. For example - Jesse or a coworker would say hi to Kerry and instead of answering she'd describe what they're wearing, past conversations, their job, and then 3 pages later - she'd say hi! back. It was like this for both Kerry and Jesse's pov and it was a struggle to read.

I love, love, love the premise for this book but the writing style didn't work for me. But if you are looking for a slow burn, lower on the romance side of things, story with complicated familial bonds and a tight knit (get it -knit! ha) community give this one a go.

I loved the idea of this one SO MUCH, but it did not come together in a way that worked for me.

As others have said, there was too much internalized monologue and too little communication. This may have been an unrealized contributing factor to my thoughts on the book, but this didn't even fully register for me until after I read a couple reviews after finishing. For me the biggest thing was that I felt as though I was reading about two entirely different characters at about 60% into the book. There was also the ending, which was very abrupt and rushed and felt wholly out of character for basically everyone involved.

I really liked the friendships between Kerry/Val and Jesse/His Crew, and I liked the idea of the four foster Strong men a lot (two of which are actually brothers). This one might not have been my favorite, but I have interest in continuing if this becomes a series!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley, & Penguin Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

This was a very cute story that had me invested from the start. I liked all the guys and how they interacted with each other. The book was lacking in romantic spark for me. I would have also liked more knitting talk like the title suggests. I will read more from this author in the future and hope it’s a little more developed and I like it.

I really enjoyed the story and the idea of the Knitting Store. I felt like the beginning dragged on (a lot of apologizing from Kerry and the boys just back and forth) and then all of a sudden they were sleeping together, It seemed unlikely to me that Kerry for her entire life would be secretly in love with Jesse and super shy around him and then boom be the instigator in their first kiss and first sexual encounter.

DNF at 20%

This book is SO slow, I could not get into it. 20% in and we are still on backstory. It has potential but it is so info-dumpy I can’t get past it.

I really enjoyed this book! Who would have thought that guys who knit could be so hot? I'm hoping books about each of the brothers is in our future.

Exactly the kind of fun & Gentle read I want to have on my docket during quarantine. Great style of writing, looking forward to more from this author.

This book was a pleasant read. I enjoyed the main characters separately and all of the secondary characters, but I was looking for more spark or heat in the romance. I was also looking for more knitting... Overall, it was an enjoyable romance that has promise for the more in the series. I sincerely hope that all the boys get their own story. I definitely appreciate the interesting take on the modern romance.

Real Men Knit is the latest book for best-selling author Kwana Jackson. This book is about Jesse Strong and Kerry Fuller, two childhood friend/rivals that have to work together to save Jesse's deceased mother's knitting shop. When feelings start to emerge can Kerry believe that this former ladies' man is being true?

I was intrigued by a book where men would be knitting, with a group of brothers that had been adopted by a loving mother, and the love story between childhood friends. The colorful cover and the blurb made it hard to resist when this title came up in NetGalley. The writing and character work that Jackson does in this novel is very good, this is my first book by her and I will definitely be checking out other titles. I enjoyed the sense of community she created through the knit shop. It almost had the feeling of a small town romance in the middle of Harlem.

What didn't work for me was that a lot of page time was spent on the shop, daily business, knitting specifics, and generally everything else besides the romance. This may be a personal preference, but when I pick up a romance novel I want the relationship between our main characters to be the main plot point. I think this relationship was always going to be a slow burn, which I'm a fan of, but I felt like the lead up was spent on business matters and not on the two characters falling in love.

I liked Jesse and Kerry separately and together, they were both interesting and engaging characters. Even if I did want Jesse to grovel just a bit more to Kerry for his errors. The additional characters were also well developed and interesting. I'm hoping the other brothers will get their happily ever afters in additional books. Overall I gave this a 3 because I think this is an excellent book, but I just didn't feel like it was a romance novel which was how it seemed to be marketed. Instead, this read like regular fiction with a romance sub-plot to me. Your mileage may vary, and I think many people, especially die hard knitters, will give this 4 or 5 stars.

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Kwana Jackson's story about family, community, knitting, and romance! Kerry is a teacher at her Harlem community center, and she works part-time at the local knitting store, Strong Knits. Mama Joy, owner and mother figure of Strong Knits, has just passed away, and her four adopted sons find themselves in the position to either sell it off and go their separate ways, or make it work, keeping their community - and their relationships as siblings - together. Jesse, the ne'er do well of the family, pushes to keep the store going, and Kerry, who's always harbored feelings for Jesse, agrees to stay on and help relaunch the store before leaving to pursue her career in education. But as the relationship between Jesse and Kerry deepens, she starts questioning whether she should stay and make a go of their relationship after all.

I loved this story for so many reasons. We have a strong, smart female character who goes into a relationship with her eyes wide open. She is just fine embracing a friends with benefits situation, and it's Jesse that finds himself conflicted about his past with women and his feelings for Kerry. I love a good Friends to Lovers trope, and this has the added fun of Stuck Together, while renovating a knitting shop and fostering community. All around good feelings and sexy times make this way too much fun to read. I think I'll introduce this one to my knitting group and create a book club.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

When local legend, Mama Joy, passes away, the fate of Strong Knits hangs in the balance.

Overall, I thought this book was good. I liked it, but didn't love it the way I thought I would. I am just starting to believe, that super slow burn romances are not for me. I like them more in my face and front and center, and that was not what I got here. I think they finally kissed at about 75%, and then the romance part of the story had to be rushed through. Maybe it was a case of adjusting my expectations, but after reading my slow burn this month, I feel like I just am not a fan.

However, there were many aspects of this book, which I enjoyed.

The Brothers - I loved how this group of men became brothers, and found their dynamic interesting. There was tension, but a lot of love, and I liked how they came together when it counted most. Each of the Strong men had a story to tell, and I wouldn't mind reading those stories.

Jesse - I was very pleased with the way Jesse stepped up to the plate, and how he was finally able to shine in his own way. It was a sort of redemption for him in the eyes of his brother, and I liked that he surprised me as he worked to bring Strong Knits back to life.

Community - Strong Knits was an integral part of this Harlem community, and I really enjoyed the parts, where Jackson focused on the community and the denizens, who made it such a wonderful place.

History - I always appreciate when my hero and heroine have history, and these two have been part of each other's lives for a long, long time. It was fun and sweet reliving some of their childhood memories, and also finding comfort in each other as they mourned the loss of Mama Joy.

Overall, I loved the community and family aspects of this book, but wish the romance played a bigger role in the story.

This is tough, because had I been expecting more of a story about family with a splash of romance, this would be closer to 4 stars. However, as a romance, I didn't find this wholly satisfying. Some of this is that the male lead was an interesting character, but didn't work for me as a hero in a romance very well. He does learn/grow, but the grovel ultimately didn't match the crime for me. I did really enjoy the writing, and the characters were engaging, so I would try something else from the author

I was so excited for this book. It had everything I thought I would love. The premise of this book sounded like a complete win for me, but it never reached it potential.

So much of the book was telling not showing. Honestly, it was mostly too much telling, especially at the beginning. Literally nothing happens for the first half of the book. It could have been heavily edited to make it read more smoothly and keep the reader entertained. Sadly, even the dialogue didn’t have a natural feel to it.

The grief part of the story felt like it was all just on the surface. I never felt any deep emotions from any of the characters when it came to how they were feeling about loosing someone they loved so much. Honestly the characters as a whole fell flat for me.