I am a big Jenny Colgan fan and was very pleased to see there is a follow up to The Summer Skies. Gertie Mooney is a dreamer and a knitter. She lives with her mother & grandmother in Northern Scotland and feels like she's in a bit of a rut, working at the local grocery and spending most of her free time with her mother, grandmother and their Knitting Circle(the KCs). Gertie is always making up romantic dreams about men and crushes hard on Calum Frost, the Norwegian owner of the local airline run by pilot Morag MacIntyre, from the Summer Skies. When Morag's right hand/best friend needs to go on maternity leave, she runs in to Gertie, who she knew from school, and tries to convince her to take leave from her shop job and fill in during the pregnancy leave. Gertie takes her up on it, and they end up sharing a flat rented by musician Struan McGhie, who happened to be Gertie's crush in school. MacIntyre Air flies people to and from the islands north of the Scottish Highlands and Gertie now assists in the hangar with check in and boarding of the small plane. Will Gertie change her life with her new job, and will Calum Frost notice her if she knits him a beautiful scarf? What I like about all Jenny Colgan novels is that she makes you want to visit the Highlands, if not move there for the slower pace and simpler life, it's described as beautiful, but also realistically as cold, rainy, long summer days & short winter days. I highly recommend all her books and this one is no exception. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Books for an ebook advance reader copy to review.

Once again, the lovely Jenny Colgan has given us a snippet of small town Scottish life. Quiet Gertie MacIntyre, whose life is defined as much by her daydreaming as it is by her knitting, dreams of a bigger life. When she’s offered a new job AND a new living arrangement away from her childhood home, Gertie’s life begins to expand until she finds herself facing a number of “firsts,” including an unexpected mountain rescue.

What works (or not) for me:
This is a slow-paced, comfort read. While a bit jumbled at the beginning, alternating viewpoints between three different villagers, it did all come together before too long into a cohesive storyline. Had I known this book is the follow-up to last year’s The Summer Skies, I think it would have made sense sooner.

Loved, as always with Jenny Colgan, the quaintness of Scottish village life!

Didn’t love the daydreaming aspect, or maybe the in-depthness of the daydreams? It made me pity Gertie a little bit and made her seem a little immature. She’s nearly 30, I think?

Loved seeing Gertie grow in her confidence and capability and achieve her “bigger life.”

Thank you to Avon Books, Harper Collins Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

What an enchanting story. The book jacket is a little misleading as I felt like the story was more of an ensemble than specifically about Gertie. Did I mention I love ensemble stories. Having so many perspectives made the story so much bigger. I loved the character development, not only Gertie and Struan, who had the largest ones, but also her mother Jean, and others. The story remained engaging, and when the ending came I was disappointed because I wanted to hear more from this lovely place and fascinating people. This was just such a lovely book, which I highly recommend. Disclaimer: I received an advanced book copy from NetGalley for an honest review.

I found this novel really challenging to get into and I have to admit, I stopped about 1/3 of the way through. The main character didn't grab me, and the Scottish brogue/phrases kept bringing me out of the story. I will continue to read Jenny Colgan's books however as I have enjoyed her stories in the past.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Gertie, if I remember correctly, is in her late 20’s and daydreams like I did in junior high. She quits her job at a grocery store to work at a small airport with her former classmate, Morag. The story takes place in northern Scotland, and after a freak blizzard Gertie helps to rescue a group of kids from the top of a mountain on a remote island. This is when the story picks up speed, about three-fourths of the way through the book. I liked the last part of the book, but it sure took a long time to get to that point. I really wish Gertie wasn’t so insecure. I might have enjoyed the book a little more if there wasn’t so much focus on Gertie’s daydreams.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have really enjoyed some of Jenny Colgan's other work, but I found this one less easy-to-read. Expect long sentences and drawn-out paragraphs, reminiscent of an old writing style that I know some will absolutely enjoy. We have a large cast of characters, and I definitely liked some of our secondary characters more than our main character (the grandma was my favorite). Our main character was vastly different at the end of the novel than she was at the beginning, but I'm not sure I understood or saw the journey she went on to get there - it seemed to happen rather instantly. The plot at the end was GREAT, really the whole ending was, and has definitely encouraged me to pick up another book from this author in the future. If you're interested in reading a small-town Scottish book about a woman (finally) coming out of her shell and attempting to strike out on her own, amidst a large cast of characters, and you're a fan of Colgan's work in the past, I would encourage you to pick up this book. Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC, and for the opportunity to leave an honest, voluntary review.

If you’re looking for a charming tale of family, community and personal growth, with a touch of romance and adventure, then #CloseKnit is for you.
The story includes a large cast of characters, including several from Colgan’s previous novel, #TheSummerSkies.The setting is once again the far northern islands of Scotland. The main protagonist is Gertie Mooney, a 30-year-old islander who was raised by her mother and grandmother, who were both enthusiastic knitters. The other main influence in Gertie’s life has been her mother’s fellow knitters, the Knitting Circle, or KCs. A shy introvert with a tendency to daydream, Gertie works at the local supermarket, a job she has had for 10 years, has never traveled anywhere and is beginning to feel like her life is passing her by.

A chance encounter with two former schoolmates leads to a temporary counter job with the local airline and an opportunity to move out of her mother’s cottage and share a flat. When an unexpected spring storm strands a class of 10-year-olds on one of the islands during an annual Outward Bound class trip, Gertie ends up being part of the rescue effort.

Reading a Jenny Colgan novel is like having a long, rambling conversation with a friend. It’s funny and touching with many humorous asides. The pace is slow and measured but filled with heart and warmth, so the pages fly by. It’s a nice expansion of the world she introduced in Blue Skies, and a lovely story on its own merits.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #ReadAvon for the ARC.

This is just a lovely story!! The book is a perfect for someone who loves the camaraderie of a shared activity / craft, enjoys flying, Scotland, and a happy ending. I liked it much more than the first book in the series, although it was nice to revisit Morag and her Gramps.

I love how Gertie gains confidence as she makes friends and takes on new adventures. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the Scottish Islands and now I need to plan a visit.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

3 Stars I was drawn to this one as soon as I read that it was set in Scotland. I'm always down to read a book with the gorgeous Scottish highlands as the backdrop. Sadly, this one was a bit of a let down. The MC is an introvert, same as me, but there was a little too much introspection and not enough dialogue. It threw the pacing off and made the story drag. It was cute otherwise!

3 Stars I was drawn to this one as soon as I read that it was set in Scotland. I'm always down to read a book with the gorgeous Scottish highlands as the backdrop. Sadly, this one was a bit of a let down. The MC is an introvert, same as me, but there was a little too much introspection and not enough dialogue. It threw the pacing off and made the story drag. It was cute otherwise!

This seemed ideal for me, an introvert knitter. Gertie was relatable for sure and the setting is gorgeous. But the book just dragged for me. The pacing just was off with too much introspection and not enough dialogue for me.

romance, highlands, scotland, northern-isles, friends, friendship, self-identity, small-town, personal-growth, knitting, women-s-fiction, support-system*****

This is not an unbiased review because I love reading the stories that Jenny Colgan writes. They give me an escape or simply perform a relaxation technique for me. This one combines the best of Scotland, love of knitting, and learning to love someone else while learning to love yourself.
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon via NetGalley. Thank you!
Pub Date Aug 06, 2024

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I love Jenny Colgan and was so excited to receive this book early.

I enjoyed very much the oddball cast of characters and the small town setting, the sense of coming to love where you’re from while growing as a person beyond that element spoke to me,

I thoroughly enjoy Jenny Colgan books. This one returned to Scotland which I really enjoyed the setting. As a pilot I enjoyed Morag’s love of flying. This story centered on a knitting club and its circle of friends. I thought the characters were believable and fun. Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Unfortunately I was not able to get into this book and had to DNF it at 20%. For me it felt dry and disjointed, like there wasn’t a clear direction to the plot and there was a lot of explanation that felt unnecessary. I really wanted to like this one, but it just didn’t work for me. I do still plan to give other books by Jenny Coglan a try, as I know she’s a well-loved author!

This is a cute little book & I loved reading it!!!!!!!!! It was a very enjoyable read. I recommend this book

4.5/5

Background:
Gertie is a very shy person but is offered a job while her old classmate Nalitha goes on maturnity leave since Morag and Nalitha couldnt find any replacements during the time. Gertie has never flown in a plane before but she is up for the challenge as she accepts her job as a flight attendant. This book has several POVs, loveable characters, and is action packed.

Overall:
I was in a reading slump when reading this book so for me it did have a slow start but I think it pulled me out of my slump as now I am back at my normal pace. The ending was so good and I did not expect the romance that took place.

Quote:
“You can’t believe it’s all gone, and all those years have gone past. You think it can’t possibly be me.

Once again, Jenny Colgan gives us a book with beautiful descriptions of Scotland. I always want to book a trip when reading her books. This time we follow Gertie, who has lived a sheltered life, finally broadening her horizons. I found the story a little slow in the beginning and almost gave up. 3.5

Poor Gertie, she was quite the wall flower. A little socially awkward, but quite talented. It does seem though that as we grow up that as adults most of us know how to be better people and how to be more accepting. Also it seemed that a lot of times she read way more into situations that there actually was. She finally found where she fit. Sometimes it takes people longer than others. This was a little bit slower paced story until the end.

Close Knit is a slice of cozy, small town Scottish pie.

This book took a while to grow on me. I will admit, at first I found it boring, and the characters a little too.... weird? But I stuck with the book, and watched those characters build depth, and develop into quirks of just normal people. Imperfect people. And I grew to love that over the course of the book.

The descriptions of island life also really had grown on me as well. At first, it seemed more descriptive to explain the setting, and how characters have not experienced a wider world. But then it grew to appreciation, pride, and like a real home. That people weren't stuck in the small town, they CHOSE the small town.

Happy with this selection, and would love to read more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for digital advanced reader copy.