I have never in my life wanted to crawl into a book and give the main characters a hug as much as I did with this one.

Lucus, a firefighter at the point of total burnout, carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He holds onto guilt for things that were out of his control. He is absolutely terrible at conveying his emotions which is a huge part of why his high school crush was the one who got away. A year later he’s still dealing with the grief and guilt from the death of his adopted mother, Mama Joy. He’s struggling to handle his sudden fame as Mr. November in the FDNY calendar and all the unwanted attention that came with it. Lucus is just struggling.

Across the street from Strong Knits where Lucas works part-time in his family knitting shop and lives above it, Sydney Harris is also struggling. She’s struggling to reclaim an identity she lost over the years married to a man who wanted a trophy wife more than a partner. Sydney turned herself into what everyone needed and forgot who she was. When her grandfather’s failing health landed him in the hospital, Sydney used it as an excuse to escape her shell of a marriage and headed back to Harlem with her young daughter to help out at the family laundromat.

Lucus and Sydney were the couple that never was. Both of them unable to express themselves in high school they each seemingly pushed the other away but were still inexorably drawn to each other over the years. Their relationship over the course of the book was a lot of push and pull and uncertainty of the other’s feelings and motives despite them both being head over heels for each other.

This book was everything you could want in a contemporary romance. The characters were struggling and flawed and didn’t have it together but helped each other find their way to being better. It was sweet, it was funny, it was a little bit heartbreaking. And while this wasn’t the spiciest book I’ve read in a while, there is a lot to be said for the boy scout, and all-around good-guy, determined to prove how much he wants his girl.

Their childhood crush revisited in the wake of her divorce. Lucas is a fireman and Mr. November um he also knits. Sydney is taking over for her grandfather at his laundromat, with her daughter, while she tries to get back on her feet.

This was a enemies to lovers since they had a teasing dynamic when younger and it stuck. Lol I love when ppl review saying two people like eachother why aren't they acting like adults and being honest. Lol when do people willingly let themselves be vulnerable and put themselves out there without having a clear idea of the others thoughts. Idk just wondering.

Thank you berkleyromance and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Read/Listen if you like:
❤️ Romance
🧶 Crafting
🥈 2nd Chance Romances
👧🏼 Single Parent Stories

Thoughts:

I feel like the fact that I didn’t read the first book in the series impacted my enjoyment of this one so I would recommend that if you want to read this one you go back and read it first then this one.

This book follows Sidney and Lucas for a second chance romance. They had a history but at times, I also struggled to understand the depth of their history and why that would lead to those unresolved feelings where they would still be interested after all this time.

This novel did not work for me, and it was DNF. The romance was awful, and I couldn't understand why they were so timid on the relationship when they were so attracted to each other. But then next they'd be mean to each other or ghosting one another - so why become a couple? Truly immature behavior when they both have such adult lives.

Knot Again just felt like I was reading a one big rambling that someone put on paper.

I absolutely loved the hunky calendar-worthy firefighter, Lucas. He is such a sympathetic character, especially with his tough start in life. He helps with his family’s knitting shop and saves lives as a firefighter. I really appreciated that the book started with his POV.

Sidney was the girl next door who has come home with her daughter to help with the family business and get away from her cheating husband.

The romance between Sidney and Lucas takes a circuitous route with a few starts and stops. I think this is why the romance elements of the book didn’t work for me. I just never felt the connection between these two characters.

I haven’t read the first book in the series, so I did have to spend some time getting to know the characters. Well, all the characters except Lucas where it was insta love for me!

3.5 rounded up

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy second chance romance.

The premise of Knot Again will never cease to hook me. I love the idea of not only a firefighter knitter, but also a single mother trying to figure out her future. And the characters form the backbone of Knot Again. Sidney and Lucas has chemistry and sparks. And not just from their recent run in, but from their past as well. So if you're a fan of second chance romance and childhood crushes come back to life - this is for you! Back at home to re-orient herself, Sidney wonders what happened to her life. How did it turn into being divorced and back to living with her grandfather.

That alone made Knot Again so relatable to me. We can think we know where our life is going, and when we leave our hometown that is how it feels like. But life has a way of getting away from us. Both Sidney and Lucas have to reconcile their past, the water under the bridge, and unspoken conversations. Can they make this flame, the embers of their attraction, burn again? I love Sidney's character, love that she has to figure out not only what she wants, but her relationship with her ex. But I also loved Lucas.

This review was originally posted on <a href="https://booksofmyheart.net/2022/07/24/knot-again-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 enjoyed <strong>Real Men Knit</strong> where a knitting shop is owned by four brothers in New York City.  It looks like each book will feature the romance of a different brother.  Continuing the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/330347-real-men-knit" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><strong>Real Men Knit</strong></em></a> series,  the next up is Lucas, who is a firefighter.  He has always been caught up in the girl across the street from the laundry Scrubs.

Sydney is the grand-daughter of the laundry owner.  Her mother did everything to get her off to a good school in DC, married to a "successful" man.  She's been living in DC for about 10 years. Now she's divorced and back at Scrubs with her daughter, Remi.  Her grandfather's health has been failing and she is helping him. Plus, she needs to figure out who she is now.

The very beginning of the book was enjoyable and helped develop some of the characters and understand their history and current situations.  Unfortunately, then came the middle section of the book which was a miasma of Lucas' or Sydney's jumbled thoughts or hookups without much character development or progression of the plot.

Finally, at about 80%  <strong>Knot Again</strong> got back on track.  There were some scenes where things happened.  Lucas and Sydney were honest about their feelings and what they wanted. They each made efforts to head in the right direction for the future. Lucas had primarily emotional issues to resolve and Sydney supported him with them.  Sydney needed to decide on the direction financially how she could support her grandfather and daughter, and have a relationship with Lucas.  She had to work out some problems with her ex-husband.

I really loved the last part of the story and somehow wish some of that progression or analysis of options could have been started earlier.  Probably though, they both needed some time just to relax together and re-connect after being apart 10 years, but I didn't feel that until the last part.  They relaxed together but Sydney didn't seem to allow a connection other than physically.

The Strong brothers are back in this follow up to Real Men Knit. This book follows Lucas, the fireman, as he runs into his high school crush at the laundromat. Sidney is back in Harlem with her daughter after leaving her husband and her life in DC behind. There has always been an attraction between the two, but neither of them has ever been willing to admit it. Will they finally be able to express their feelings?

This second-chance romance was such a slow burn and I wanted so badly to tell the characters to talk to each other. I could understand why neither wanted to be first to make a move and admit their feelings, but I also knew they could so easily solve the tension and get together! I loved the characters individually - Lucas is such a cinnamon roll and I loved Sidney’s strength to start over and how deeply she cared for her daughter. And I especially loved the cameos from the other Strong brothers and Kerry. I hope the other brothers get their own stories soon!

Thank you to Berkley romance for the advance copy.

I received a gifted galley of KNOT AGAIN by Kwana Jackson for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, PRH Audio, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Publication Date: 7/26/2022
KNOT AGAIN is the second book in Kwana Jackson’s REAL MEN KNIT series. Lucas Strong is dealing with the lingering fame of participating in the FDNY’s charity calendar. He retreats to the local laundromat to hide out for a bit with his knitting, only to find that his one time crush is back in town with her daughter.

Sidney is dealing with the breakup of her marriage and navigating single motherhood, returning home to help her family with the laundromat. She’s determined to make a good life for her daughter and avoid the attraction she is reluctant to admit she still has for Lucas.

I really like the premise of this book, with brothers reuniting to help keep their grandmother’s knitting shop alive. I did not read the first book and did feel like it probably took me a bit longer to get into the book as a result, but I love to see the way the knitting and the businesses act as a community center to give people a way to connect.

Second chance romance isn’t always my favorite and I there were times in this book that I struggled to see what the original connection was between the characters and where the tension came in that was keeping them apart. That said, I did like the way the whole cast of the book worked together overall.

I do think it would be worthwhile to pick up the first book in the series first, but this book is worth picking up on its own as well. KNOT AGAIN is out now!

I wanted to like this book - I have vague memories of enjoying the first one in the series but this one felt like it was missing something. We weren't shown why the main characters like each other, and it felt like we skipped important parts of their story.

I am sad to say this one was not it. There were just too many things that didn’t work for me.

The first 40% was pretty confusing. I felt like things were all over the place. I couldn’t understand why Sydney and Lucas didn’t like each other. And why they simultaneously didn’t want to see each other and also wanted to see each other.

And then their romance and that whole things really didn’t start until 40% into the book. The first part felt unnecessary because there wasn’t much backstory there.

The last 60% was still a bit all over the place for me. With such a weird push/pull between Sydney and Lucas. Even after somewhat being told about their history, I still didn’t understand the impact it had on them. But perhaps that is because second-chance romances are hit or miss for me.

There were bits I liked, but overall this was not the best. I skimmed a lot. (Giving it a generous 2.5 rounding up).

Knot again has knitting and romance which are two things I adore !! I also thought the title “Knot Again” was incredibly cute.

I loved the first book in this series, Real Men Knit. It was nice to return to the setting and characters, but this second in the series didn't have the same magic. There was a bit too much explaining and not enough happening. I am looking forward to the next in the series, though!

Lucas Strong never wanted to be a pinup but being in the FDNY charity calendar has made him one. He finds solace in the 24/7 laundromat across the street from his home but his peace is shattered when Sidney returns to the laundromat, its her grandfather's, with her daughter. Lucas and Sidney had a friendship with the potential for more in high school and spending time together now ignites the long dormant sparks. But with their own baggage can they figure out how to be together?

I was a fan of Real Man Knit and had the joy of talking to Kwana during a book club chat and loved her. So, I was very excited to see another Strong Brother book.

The writing is fun (except for the casual use of AF which does bother me…), the characters were lovely and had depth as they dealt with their insecurities and past.

But in the end, this one did not work for me at all. It seems like it might be an issue of mis-editing. Some paragraphs just didn’t make sense in the flow of the narrative or jumped around so much, I never truly understood the romance and why they were attracted to each other AND why they were so scared to be together was never really fleshed out. It almost felt like a three way miscommunication trope between the reader, Sydney, and Lucas because no one was following what was going on. Even the pacing where our MCs had a brief, awkward conversation and nothing else until 50% then go straight to sex (then straight back to ignoring) but have been pining the whole book. I just don’t get it!

Honestly such a shame because I can see the bones of it there but, again, I think it needed a different direction in editing to make it more cohesive and coherent.

I can see what the author was trying to do here, but the narrative leans heavily into guilt and angst, which is just not my jam with romance novels. Sydney feels guilt over divorcing her controlling husband and wanting something for herself AND not being enough for her daughter. Lucas feels guilt over, I'm not sure, being too perfect maybe. His internal narrative is very confusing. He is clearly the one everyone counts on to get stuff done, but also thinks he's unreliable and not good enough. I just did not understand him. If guilt/angst and finding love anyway is your jam (and it is for some!) this will be fantastic for you, but it was a miss for me.

SUPER hot Lucas and Sydney had so much appeal! ANd Lucas's relationship with Sydney's daughter was adorable. This was a s olid follow up to Real Men Knit. I cannot wait for the other books featuring the rest of the boys. I love Kwana's writing style.

Overall, this book was okay. I didn’t feel any particular investment in the characters or the story.
I liked the character growth with Syd and how she ended up in the epilogue. I also liked how protecting her child was a priority for her. I also liked when Syd finally stood up to her ex.
I didn’t like how the characters continued to have conflict until the last possible second. I prefer more resolution by the last chapter instead of continued issues.
I don’t feel compelled to recommend this title. If you’re into a second chance romance with a single parent storyline then you might enjoy this. I gave 3 stars because I thought this book was overall average.

This story was ok for me. I wanted to really like the first book but it also wasn't for me. I'm not into slow burn romances so it may just be me but I did like Lucas and Sydney and that they had a second chance romance.

This second book in the Real Men Knit series was a good read. I will start by saying that I didn’t love the first book. I was hooked (harhar) early on and then the story waned for me. This second book was slightly better and I loved to see Kwana Jackson’s writing strengthen in this book.

The Real Men Knit series is a fun and playful romance that deviates from the stereotypical macho man and introduces men who are more in touch with their emotions. The romance is a slow burn between Lucas and Sidney… but it is possible that the burn is TOO slow.

Looking forward to continuing with her series. I feel invested in the characters and need to know what happens next.