Real Men Knit

By: Kwana Jackson

Narrated by: Keylor Leigh

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

"If you're looking for an easy charmer, this is the novel for you." (Shondaland)

When their foster-turned-adoptive mother suddenly dies, four brothers struggle to keep open the doors of her beloved Harlem knitting shop.

Jesse Strong is known for two things: his devotion to his adoptive mom, Mama Joy, and his reputation for breaking hearts. When Mama Joy unexpectedly passes away, he and his brothers have different plans for what to do with Strong Knits, their neighborhood knitting store. Jesse wants to keep the store open. His brothers want to tie off loose ends and close shop....

Part-time shop employee Kerry Fuller has kept her crush on Jesse a secret. When she overhears his impassioned plea to his brothers to keep the knitting shop open, she volunteers to help. Unlike Jesse, Kerry knows the "knitty-gritty" of the business, and together they make plans to reinvent Strong Knits for a new generation.

But the more time they spend together, the stronger the chemistry builds between them. Kerry, knowing Jesse’s history, doesn’t believe their relationship can last longer than she can knit one, purl two. But Jesse is determined to prove to her that he can be the man for her forever and always. After all, real men knit.

©2020 Kwana Jackson (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"A big-hearted, warm, funny story of community, family and unexpected romance, Real Men Knit is an absolute winner. Kwana Jackson never fails to give me exactly what I want in a book: a messy family, characters who fight for what they want, believable and delicious romance, and a setting that’s as much a part of the story as the people in it." (Kristan Higgins, New York Times best-selling author)

"Such a fantastic read, complete with an emotion-filled romance, and a cast of characters I’m so looking forward to seeing again." (Nalini Singh, New York Times best-selling author)

"I loved every word of Real Men Knit. It’s a sweet and satisfying slow-burn of a romance about what knits us together as family, friends, and lovers. I can’t wait for the next installment of the Old Knitting Gang!" (Lyssa Kay Adams)

FADE TO BLACK SEX SCENES! Sad face

Wanted to Like this more than I did *Spoilers*

- I like the premise of the book.
-This book should not be in the romance section. I’m going to give it a bad review because it was miscatogorized. It is women’s fiction or Young Adult. A cute little story of a family of hot dudes and one falls in love with the clerk cool. But dear gawd a missed opportunity for steam.
-I like that they are a tribe of brothers, do I smell sequel?
-I loved to see brown people with brown people issues in harlem dealing and worrying about bad landlords and gentrification.
-The brothers being as diverse as they were gave me some hope for some good swirl action later. I wish other characters were introduced for them.
-I wanted to like this book a 5 outta 5.
-This book was too dam slow. It was over half way through the book when they kiss for the first time.
-The book was front loaded with backstory and information that I felt could have been spread out throughout the book mor authentically.
-The foreplay was nice and then…. WHATTTT fade to black????? Give me the sex. That's why I’m here.
-I never got the chemistry from Jesse. He seemed immature and Kerry seemed unequally yoked with him. Now Lucas...yes
-The characters were very 1 dimensional for me. For example Erica the girl who liked Jesse was a stereotypical mean girl. It doesn’t read authentic. There was a great opportunity to see the dynamics of the brothers bond and we saw little of that.
-This burn was too slow and the writing style for me felt choppy.

Cute, but...

Cute story, but a bit boring at points which made it drag. It would've been great to have more of an explanation of the relationships between the brothers and their interest in Kerry. Also, the performance would've been great with a Black woman as the narrator. There were several colloquial phrases and opportunities to punch up the text that were missed because of the narrator. Overall I would recommend.

A good weekend listen for knitters and crocheters.

I enjoyed the book because in many respects being a long time knitters and crocheters it was like spending time in my favorite local Yarn Store and spending time in a community of friends. Give a high five for true love. I am wondering if the author is going to have each of the remaining brothers find True love true yarn and knitting or crochet hooks. I’m hoping the author makes this into a mini series.

just not good

This book had poor character development, weak storyline, bad descriptions. I'm an avid reader. this was disappointing.

Quite Enjoyable, I hope the brothers get stories,

This was a really enjoyable story. Believable characters, lovely story arc. I really hope the brothers all get their own stories and HEA.

Great, uplifting story!

This was my first Kwana Jackson novel - and first time hearing narrator Keylor Leigh - and won't be my last! I fell quickly for the characters and am hoping they each get their own book because I want them all to get HEAs. I was not expecting a "closed door" romance but the chemistry was great! 🔥

Review

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator really brought it to life. The story had me laughing, crying and cursing. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys listening to a really good book.

What an enjoyable listen!

A lovely book with real and awkward people, written without “artificial” feeling characters. Well done!

Sadly disappointing

I liked the themes of found family, community, female friendship, and of men taking up knitting. That's about it. The characters were inconsistently fleshed out, the story was slow and repetitive, and the conflict easily resolved with one conversation. A big chunk of the book was spent describing Jesse's manwhoring past. I don't know how anyone would want him as their love.

The narrator was best when she was voicing Val but her male voice was weak.

I can’t say enough! The best story!!

Real men knit! And who else to teach them, but a strong women full of firm Love and constant caring wisdom.
I think the characters are wonderful along with their emotional depths, and the intertwined community life is beautiful. I enjoyed the reference to the Harlem knights as well. I can’t wait to hear more by this author!
This is a great book.