This book! Jenny Colgan has fast become a favorite of mine, and I was so excited to find another Jenny Colgan book to review on NewGalley. I also just found Summer Skies in my library as well, so I was even more excited to see this was the sequel. Colgan's writings always feel like coming home, and I find her books so comforting when I'm stressed. They have just the right amount of action and twists, as well as flawed, interesting characters who I still really root for.

Picking up several months after Morag saved the day in Summer Skies, Close Knit returns us to northern Scotland, where Gertie is tired of her job at the supermarket and not quite sure how to move her life forward. She falls in with Morag and her tiny airline, and Gertie quickly falls for the charming, rich airline magnet Callum Frost. With only her knitting skills to impress him, Gertie sets out to create a romantic comedy, amid flying sheep, belligerent passengers, and the meddling of her mama and the rest of the Knitting Circle.

Gertie is absolutely precious. Colgan has a gift for relatable characters, making us see ourselves in each of her heroes. Gertie is kind and thoughtful, awkward and prone to daydreams, but also brave and steady in the face of danger. I loved getting more of the feisty Morag, as well as seeing Morag through Gertie's perspective. The male leads are equally charming and clueless, and the plot moves well, with enough twists and turns on the way to true love to keep things interesting but not stressful. The characters and dialogue were perfect, and I really hope we get another book in this series!


Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy for review. All opinions are my own.

A weaving tale of mystery and enchantment as we follow Gertie MacIntyre and her group of friends. In a small Scottish town, we learn all the gossip and island life as we listen to the women as follow them on their daily lives. If you like sweet, charming slices of life stories, you'll love to curl up with a blanket and a hot cup of tea for this cozy tale.

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley for letting me read this book! I was very excited to read another Jenny Colgan book because I loved "The Bookshop on the Corner". I also recently traveled to Scotland, so it was fun to revisit the country in this book. In addition, I love to crochet, so a story revolved around a knitter was right up my alley.

Initially this book was very hard to get into. I didn't really identify with any of the characters (except the mom and her desire to purchase all of the yarn - I also have this problem). I also found it hard to believe an almost 30-year-old woman would have her head in the clouds. In my mind, 29 is so far from high school. Maybe I'm a cynic now, but I feel like we all become cynical when we have to live in the real world. I found that after I continued to read, the book became really addictive and difficult to put down. I did sometimes find it hard to believe that a character who was so often characterized as meek would demonstrate such strength later in the book, but it doesn't mean I wasn't rooting for her. We all never know what we are made of until we are tested. Without giving too much away, I was glad to see Gertie succeed in the end and fulfill some of her dreams.

While this book was challenging to begin, I think it's worth a read.

4.5/5

I love everything Jenny Colgan writes, she has such a way of creating a community of characters that engage you and pull you in. Set in the islands in north Scotland Close Knit follows a female main character Gertie who’s trying to figure out how life got away from her, when a health scare of a loved one shocks her into action she takes bold steps that drive her to a new life.

While it’s not her strongest book, I found the characters charming and the book moved quickly

This delightfully sweet story felt like sitting down for a cup of tea with a good friend or a cozy night reading by the fire. Our FMC, Gertie, is shy and unsure of herself, struggling a little with "failure to launch" in the post-pandemic world. She lives with her elderly mom and grandmother in a small village at the northern edge of Scotland and works as a cashier at the local shop. When she's offered a job running the check-in desk for the (tiny) local airline, she starts to imagine a bigger life for herself. I loved getting to know Gertie and her family, the gaggle of women in her knitting circle who always have her back, and the town's other residents. At the heart of it, this story is about love and belonging, and how even the shyest among us can demonstrate great acts of bravery.

Normally, Jenny Colgan's books read such that I finish them in about 2 days. They are small town life, but the pace keeps moving and the dialogue is snappy. Not in Close Knit. The title and description make it sound like this is about a knitting group, but they are on the periphery of the plot. This book also takes a long time to get moving and catch your attention. I almost set it aside at about the 50% mark and then the pace started picking up. I think the characters in this series are just not as memorable as those in the Mure series. This was a decent second book in the series, but definitely did not live up to my usual reading experience with a Jenny Colgan book.

I would also add that it seemed like this book needed a bit more editing. There were places, especially early in the book where the paragraphs were just a jumble of words. On more than one occasion, I had to go back and re-read. It almost seemed like extra adjectives and adverbs were added to meet a word count.

I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher via NetGalley

Close Knit by Jenny Colgan is classic JC style with friendships, romance, and written with lots of humor and heart. I adored the Scottish Ilse rustic natural setting. The author's lovely location descriptions make you feel as if you're standing on the seashore windblown and loving it. The main protagonist, daydreaming Gertie, is a joy and I felt for her as she struck out on her own and put her heart on her sleeve. I laughed with her hilarious group of knitting friends (the KCs) along with her mother Jean and grandma Elspeth.
The Scottish colloquialisms made reading it enjoyable and gives the reader a sense of life in small town (but not a village) Scotland. Overall, the entire book and Gertie's search for individualism, finding her path, and maybe some romance is like a big cozy sweater knitted by your gran (color approved and not the scratchy kind).

A sweet story with engaging characters and a beautiful setting but the author’s style of writing just wasn’t my cup of tea. I found it to be disjointed and excessively wordy which left me stumbling over paragraphs and re-reading sections. This detracted from my overall enjoyment of the book but did not change the fact that it’s a fun and easy read that many will enjoy!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy - will be sharing my thoughts on Goodreads as well!

Close Knit is a cozy little story set in northern Scotland. It stars Gertie, a 30-year-old knitter who lives with her mother and grandmother. She works in a supermarket and has never travelled. She makes the decision to get an apartment of her own and a new job, and slowly learns to love herself as she discovers who she really is.

The description of this book is really misleading. The “stewardess” job is at the tiniest airport and the plane doesn’t even have room for a stewardess, so she’s only really weighing bags and checking people in; which means that she’s not traveling, she’s simply working a different job with different people. In addition, the book description doesn’t mention Morag at all, despite half the book being in her point of view.

It was a little slow to start, but once I got into the book, I enjoyed it. It was cute and fluffy, and a nice palette cleanser.

Great setting, started off in a lovely, lyrical way, but ultimately not my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm a huge fan of Jenny Colgan and this latest book does not disappoint! The warmth and joyfulness of her writing style are a pleasure to read. I love the humor, the place descriptions and the relationships built through her characters.
Having a bad day? Read a book by Jenny Colgan
Planning your next vacation? Read a book by Jenny Colgan
An excellent read for those of us who enjoy a behind the scenes romance!

There is a lot to love about this book, not the least of which being the motley cast of characters that you come to know and love. The whole time I was reading this book, I was imagining the movie it should be made into, because I want to meet them all, especially Gertie. Excellent story!

A fun follow up to Summer Skies about the community on a small Scottish Island.

Gertie has lived on the Island her whole life and has not desire to leave. A shy girl, she lives at home with her single mom and is part of a knitting circle. When she is offered a new job at the small local airport, life begins to change. Gertie moves in with pilot and fellow islander Morag and starts to broaden her social circle. A crush on the airline owner Calum helps her to see other possibilities in life. When a winter storm traps schoolchildren on a mountain, Gertie finds out just how strong she is.

A great cast of characters and vivid descriptions of the Scottish Isles make for a very enjoyable read.

“Close Knit” is another sweet story by Jenny Colgan, set again in the rugged and remote Scottish islands. Introvert Gertie lives with her mother, a committed knitter, and grandmother in a tiny cottage while working at the local grocery store. She dreams about a bigger world and more opportunity and eventually takes a job at the small airline that serves the islands. It’s a lovely story of breaking out of expectations and finding the bravery to go bigger.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I really enjoyed this cozy, sweet story, full of happy endings and beginnings! The setting- Scotlands rugged, quaint, highlands, islands and small, close-knit villages- were a dreamy visual treat! It was full of likable characters- including a nosy knitting group- who work together when faced with hardship! Excellent for fans of Colgan’s other books!

Shy, introverted Gertie has been raised by her mother, grandmother, and a group of women knitters on a remote Scottish island. Her life isn’t bad. She works in the local market and knits prodigiously. She does do a lot of daydreaming. Perhaps she would like a bit more? When she is offered job with the small airline that serves the islands she takes it. Soon she is rooming with the airlines main pilot, Morag, and crushing on the airline’s owner. These are big changes for a young woman who has never been on a plane.

Jenny Colgan is one of my favorite cozy authors. Always enjoyable with lovely settings, believable characters, and an interesting plot. Close Knit is no exception. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy!

3.7 / 5.0

Close Knit by Jenny Colgan is exactly that, a close knit story about small town relationships, dreaming about possibilities, and being a true version of yourself. This reminded me of a movie from the 90s, How to Make an American Quilt, and how the people we live with, known and unknown, shape our perceptions of the world and our own lives. I enjoyed the way these lives all wove together and the HEA of it all.

I was not a fan of the pacing of this book or the perpetuation of some stereotypes that I felt were unnecessary. This is a slow story, which might be a regional thing, since I am not from this part of the world and so not familiar with what’s normal to audiences, but it was almost agonizing how long it took to get to the point sometimes.

This brings up the next major issue I had, which was the use of stereotypes, grounded in the GenZ vs Millennials saga, to jump through explanations of why a character behaved in a particular manner. Instead of building a better character through background scenes, Colgan just drops in casual shaming or outright prejudice behavior as a way to move the story along. It felt sloppy and unnecessary, but again, I am not from the Northern UK so it might be I am not the intended (primary) audience.

Overall, it is good. It is entertaining and I was able to read it in one sitting, but it could very easily be even better. I haven’t read any of the author’s other books and probably will not in the future since I do not think this author writes my particular brand of cozy, contemporary, slice-of-life romance. I appreciate getting to read and review this book, so thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author.

Until Next Time,
MC

I love jenny colgan, but i just cant get into this series. I finished the first book in the hopes it would capture me, but i gave up halfway through this one. The writing was great, i just dont like the characters or the plot. It seems incredibly dry and boring and i dont care what happens. Its not the escape that most jenny colgan books are, and i hate the mentions of the pandemic. It doesnt make me happy or do anything for me....im so disappointed because i love jenny colgan books

Gertie grew up in a small town in the north of Scotland. She's never left. She lives in a very small cottage with her mother and grandmother. When she's not working at the local grocery store, she spends her time with local Knitting group. She passes the time fantasizing about how her life could be different; one day she gets the opportunity to find out.

Another delightful book by Jenny Kolgan