Gertie MacIntyre is about to leave her comfort zone. Living on a small island in Scotland, Gertie stays close to home. Her family and friends are very important to her, and she has enjoyed being part of a knitting circle. However, the job that Gertie takes, become an air stewardess, just might present more than one challenge for her.

Indeed, Gertie’s circle is opening up, and this actually might put her in the path of love, even if it started with a crush that she has for her new boss, Callum Frost. Oh, and don’t forget the adventures that lie ahead for her.

Admittedly, I didn’t know that this book was part of a series, and so I hadn’t read the previous books. I love continuity and no doubt would have better understood the dynamics between the characters. However, the series is on KU, so I hope to rectify that situation in the very near future.

Many thanks to Avon and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Sadly, a DNF at 7%. Too many characters and too many minute details for me. Love the setting and the descriptions of the weather and town. Overwhelmed with the number of people continuing to be added to the story.

This is a charming story set in the Scottish highlands. Gertie lives in a small town. She has a close relationship with her small circle of friends in her knitting group and works at the local market. Gertie is a little shy and awkward and has a lot of trouble dating. Gertie is approached by some women she went to school with about taking the new position they have at the local airline.

I thought this was a cute story about starting over and finding your tribe. I did think the storyline development was slow paced and I had a lot of Trouble connecting with the characters. Also Gertie seems out of touch with reality and day dreams a lot. Normally I would find her quirkiness endearing but at times the daydreaming and wandering thoughts took away from the story.



Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book.

I have heard a lot of good things about this author, but this is the first one I've picked up and read. I loved the story-line and fell in love with the characters. Some slow parts. Hang in there, it's worth it to stick until the end! This book is a total change from what I normally read, but I noticed the yarn in the cover and took a chance. I'm glad I did. Made my love for Scotland even more so.

Morag is in desperate need of someone to take over for her pregnant airline check-in assistant, so she hires Gertie. Introverted Gertie is used to a quiet, sheltered life surrounded by her mother and grandmother’s knitting circle. She’s desperate to get out of her shell and make friends of her own, so she leaps at the chance to work for Morag’s airline.

But Gertie’s inexperience and tendency to have her head in the clouds makes it hard for her to adjust to life on her own. Morag, as both her employer and new roommate, finds her a bit of an enigma, but she’s too wrapped up in running the airline and shuttling to a remote island to visit her boyfriends.

Why Kirsten likes it
It was fun to revisit Morag, but I still don’t love the airline storyline as a whole. It’s the nervous flyer in me. Gertie is a frustrating character as well, always with her head in the clouds. I could have done with less daydreaming, thought I came around to Gertie in the last 30-40% of the book when she found her inner strength.

This starts out kind of like a cozy little light romance, then evolves into a terrifying rescue mission when kids are stuck in the mountains in a snowstorm. What a ride!! I really enjoyed the book and the cast of characters. I always find Jenny Colgan’s books to be easy but poignant reads.

It was good to get back to Scotland, one of the magical places that conjures extraordinary stories with some of the most amazing people. The characters in “Close Knit” are the definition of “Salt of the Earth” and prove it over and over again. Getting reacquainted with some of Jennie Colgan’s favorite characters was seamless and her introduction of new characters while weaving their stories together is what Colgan does best. Many characters in this story are important but Gertie is our protagonist, our heroine and just the best woman in a crowded room. If only she could minimize her daydreams.

There is a lot of movement in this story but the divergent stories all come together in the most outrageously scary but satisfying way. These people have real grit and I like them. This a great sequel to “The Summer Skies”. Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for a copy.

Jenny Colgan books are always a perfect comfort read for me with her lovely settings and unique characters. Add in a yarn store and of course I was all in! An auto read author for me and another great cozy read.

This is a sweet story set in a small town in the Scottish Highlands. A close-knit community which can be a bit too close at times but also can pull together to support one another when they most need it. I really enjoy Jenny Colgan's books, she creates likable and memorable characters. This book was a little slow going from the beginning and the transition from one chapter to the next just didn't help the flow of the story IMO. It started to come together better in the second half and by the last third I couldn't put it down.

I did not finish this book. I just could not bring myself to care about any of the characters. They didn’t seem “real” to me at all.

Gertie MacIntyre lives lives on an island in the northernmost reaches of Scotland. She is definitely an island girl and loves her home but wants to do something more with her life. She enjoys the knitting circle she is a part of and all the woman who are a part of that. Soon Gertie finds herself with a crush on Callum Frost who owns the local airline. Wanting more to come of the crush she decides to become the air stewardess on the small plane that serves the islands. Gertie soon loves the freedom and the little bit of adventure her new job is giving her. She just needs to decide if this job is what she wants or does she want to move onto something bigger and better. Follow along with Gertie on her path to self discovery will she get the man, will she choose to remain where she is or decide to move on to bigger and better things?

Jenny Colgan books are always a delight from her quirky characters to the cozy suspense of an air rescue. Through in some knitwear and you have it all.

I generally love this author but this one was a miss for me. The writing was disjointed and the book did not flow well at all. I was bored with the characters and not invested in their story. I finished the book, but it was a slog to get there.

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i love jenny colgan's holiday books so i was looking forward to this one. i found it to be more predictable than her previous books but still enjoyed the story. my favorite part was the Scotland setting.

I really enjoyed this book. Very lovely story and cute characters.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my copy

Yet another gem from Jenny Colgan! Her books are opportunities to be swept away to beautiful places and experience lovely communities — but also, to laugh, to be amused, and to see people doing both amazing and silly things.

While Close Knit might be shelved by some readers as a romance, I’d categorize it as contemporary fiction that includes a romantic subplot. Yes, there is a love story in Close Knit, but it’s such a slowly building element of the story that it’s just one piece of the whole. Gertie’s growth and development is the main story here — over the course of the book, she learns to take chances, stop living only in her dreams, and create a new and meaningful life for herself. (As an introvert, I loved seeing such a shy, dreamy girl get a chance to shine!)

Gertie is a wonderful main character, and the town of Carso is a community I hope Jenny Colgan continues to explore in future books. Close Knit is a cozy, sweet, utterly enjoyable book, but that’s really no surprise. This author’s books have become can’t-miss reading experiences for me, and as always, I’ll be waiting for whatever she writes next!

I will be completely honest. I did not finish this book, I thought it was going to be a cozy little romance. Which I hear it technically is. However, I just could not get on board with constant POV changes. And the POV of the main character (at least I think she's the main character( is just hard to connect with. I made it ten percent in and honestly couldn't identify any sort of plot.

It is well-written. That, I have no problem with. It just didn't capture me in the way I hoped.

Another winner from Jenny Colgan! Sweet, awkward Gertie. She's newly moved out of her familial home and taken a job that requires assertiveness—will she be tough enough for the job? And then there's the awkwardness of her infatuation with her boss and of her new friendship with her old high school crush. Will she self-combust with embarrassment, or will she be bold enough to reach for the life she wants? The latest from Colgan is a lovely tale of getting over oneself and growing up.

Close Knit was a disappointment for me! I love Jenny Colgan books, but I just couldn't get behind a main character that was described as such a simpleton.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

A delightful read! Jenny Colgan is the queen of novels featuring quirky characters coming into their own, spectacularly beautiful locales and close knit communities, and Close Knit is a lovely example of just that. Set in the Northern islands of Scotland, the sense of place in this novel is especially strong and well drawn, as is the populace of the small village in which protagonist Gertie resides. The novel features some of the same characters featured in Colgan’s Summer Skies, but stands alone.

Other fans of Colgan’s Scottish-set romances will definitely want to add this to their TBR piles.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.