“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 … 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.
more
This is so much more than a romance—it’s the story of an unusual family made up of four foster brothers, all eventually adopted by one remarkable woman, brought together by her sudden death. It’s the story of community and belonging and being seen, finding your voice and making your mark. Kerry Fuller, who worked in Mama Joy’s knitting shop, has long harbored a crush on one of the Strong Brothers—Jesse, the one brother who wants to keep his mother’s shop open. A gorgeous, heartfelt friends-to-lovers story wrapped up in a neighborhood where everyone knows your business.
Kwana Jackson combines everything I look for in a story: family, heart, romance; and knits it into the perfect reading experience. Prepare to fall in love with the Strong brothers!
Mama Joy is one of those people who truly leaves her mark on the world. She’s gone – but her positive, caring influence lives on in the hearts of those she loved – not just the four brothers featured (Jesse, Lucas, Noah, Damian) but to others in the neighborhood as well, like Kerry who worked in the shop part time. They think of her as a little sister – until she and Jesse focus on the knitting shop and grow closer in a sweet romance.
(Pretty sure the other brothers will get their stories too – and it feels like each one will be very different!)
Overall this is a wonderful story on community, family, and emotions, showcasing how we individually deal with grief – and how a difficult past can linger in our outlooks.
BTW, I have never knitted, but now I’m intrigued!
An irresistible premise! Recommended by a trusted friend and some of my favorite authors, this is a breezy, emotional read with a huge heart.
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson was a family centered novel leaning more towards women’s fiction with just a tad bit of romance.
Four brothers lose their beloved Mama Joy and must make the decision whether to keep her business alive or sell it and divide the money amongst themselves. All brothers are adopted; Lucas is a firefighter, Noah is a backup dancer, and Damian the oldest, is a corporate financial analyst.
Jesse, being the youngest Strong brother and the hero of this book has always been seen as the spoiled one. Presently, he’s seen as the lazy one who doesn’t have a career or a stable plan. He’s unable to hold down a job for too long… but Jesse wants the chance to prove that he can make this happen. He’s also seen as the type to never settle down. The womanizer, always chasing girls.
Out of the four, Jesse has been the only one with interest in knitting. None of the brothers have truly let go of the weight of Mama Joy’s loss and Jesse finds himself running from his feelings.
Kerry was one of those kids in the neighborhood that came to Strong Knits as a means to seek comfort. Mama Joy was the mother figure she didn’t have in her life as her mother had her real young and didn’t show her much love and affection. Now, Kerry has finally graduated and gotten her degree. This is her chance on forging her own path and creating a future for herself away from Harlem but in her heart she knows she can’t let Strong Knits go. She volunteers to work along side Jesse and help him run the business. But secretly she’s harbored a crush on Jesse since they were young.
Strong Knits has become a safe haven amongst the community especially for the youth who come and take lessons. It’s a place of refuge from the outside world. The shop has been more than a home to all of them, especially for Kerry. Jesse wants to continue Mama Joy’s legacy but the brothers seem to be in peril with a loan luming over their heads. In order to save the shop, the Strong brothers need to come up with the money before they lose the one thing left that reminds them of the mother they hold dear.
Soon Jesse begins to see Kerry as a woman and no longer that young girl who he would ask to shush so he could hide from his brothers and Mama Joy whenever he got into trouble. Yet Jesse struggles with putting his feelings out there when it comes to Kerry. He knows with her it’s not a one time deal. Kerry can’t fathom that Jesse would ever like her or that she’s even apart of the Strong crew. This I found frustrating because she continuously brought herself down. Also, the ending felt too abrupt for my liking. Jesse and Kerry know each other and are connected on some level but I needed much deeper interactions between the two that would have made their love more believable for me.
Overall, this book was a light slow-paced read. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and look forward to books on the secondary characters, especially Val and Damian!
Kerry and Jesse have known each other for most of their lives. They could have had a brother-sister relationship, but were probably destined from the beginning to be more. Kerry didn’t think Jesse saw her and Jesse thought Kerry knew the “real him” and thus had no interest. As they both struggle with the loss of Mama Joy, they team together to keep her shop Strong Knits going and things get a little crazy. Watching these two work through their grief as they struggle to find their place and realize their place is with one another is quite the journey!
This book was a slow starter for me. I liked the concept of the book. I loved the characters in the story. The dynamics between the brothers and Kerry was a little confusing to me. Did more than one brother have feelings for her or just Jesse. After Kerry and Jesse got together, it started picking up for me while they worked through what they really meant to each other. I really enjoyed the ending where the brothers shut up the bully by admitting they knitted and discussed the skills that knitting allowed them to obtain.
Real Men Knit had a nice romance element, but my favorite part of the story was the family connection. I love those Strong brothers and find them so interesting and complex. Watching them finding their footing after their mom passed away was inspiring and I loved how their community stepped up to support them. I thought Kerry and Jesse were a good fit, but their romance was second to the drama going on with the store and brothers. I can’t wait to read more in this series!
I really liked the premise of the story – 4 brothers of the heart adopted by a single mom who runs a knitting store and a girl who finds her found family. It was sweet, sexy, full of drama and heartache but heartfelt and full of wonderful side characters. I loved young Errol, who loved Mama Joy and had the joy of knitting but was also bullied. It was so emotional when the 4 men stepped up to support him and show that yes, real men knit!
Audiobook Review:
Overall – 4
Performance – 4
Story – 4
I liked this a lot.
I enjoyed listening to this book; it’s the first audio I’ve listened to performed by Keylor Leigh. My only complaint was that I sometimes had difficulty telling which character was speaking. Although the story wasn’t written in first person, I think most audiobooks I’ve listened to recently have had more distinctive voices when the thoughts of individual characters are being read (I hope that makes sense). Keylor’s voice was pleasant to listen to but there really didn’t seem to be a lot of differentiation in character voices.
I loved how Jesse stepped up and became so much more than what his brothers thought he would be and that Kerry worked with him to reopen Mamma Joy’s knitting store. The chemistry between Jesse and Kerry was good and there were many hot scenes in the book.
I was a tiny bit disappointed that it ended so abruptly but all-in-all, I really enjoyed this.
The characters were wonderful. I enjoyed this book very much.
Enjoyed this refreshing premise, looking forward to reading more about the Strong brothers.
Another winner from Kwana Jackson…and with three more Strong brothers in the mix, readers can look forward to this series. Although Mama Joy is dead, I loved her and think we all need someone like her in our lives! As usual, the author masterfully creates a wonderful sense of family and community with this foster-sibling set and the knitting shop community. Kerry is a great heroine and in addition to the romance, I enjoyed her personal arc with her mom, too. Jesse is the bad boy with a good heart, so i liked watching him and Kerry overcome the issues keeping them from admitting their feelings. I recently started to learn how to knit and now wish there was a store like this near me! Thanks to the author for the ARC!!
Like a hand-knit sweater, you’ll want to wrap yourself up in this delightful love story. Jackson weaves a unique and inviting atmosphere and readers will love spending time with these fun, sexy, engaging characters.
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!
3.5 stars
I knew that I wanted to read Real Men Knit from the moment I saw the adorable cover and read the blurb. It ended up being more women’s fiction to me than romance, but there are definitely romantic elements and a nice slow burn between our two main characters. Throw in some forced proximity and it was an enjoyable ride.
What I really liked:
– Kerry. She came into her own through the course of the book and I liked that she never gave up her personal goals and dreams. Her friendship with Val was a highlight of the book and I loved how they supported (and pushed) each other.
– The Old Knitting Gang (OKG). This mish mash of women, all with their distinct personalities and quirks, were so much fun. I loved how they came together for the Strong siblings, Kerry, and the neighborhood, and I had a huge smile on my face during the grand reopening scene.
– The diversity and setting. I felt like I was right there in Harlem and the neighborhood itself almost felt like a secondary character. Thanks to google, I also now know what a chopped cheese sandwich is 😉 The cast of characters, especially the Strong brothers, felt like a celebration of individuality.
– Family. I loved that family in this book was by choice, not blood. It’s an active choice that our characters make every single day. All of them different, not just physically, but united together by love. I would have liked to see a little more about Mama Joy and her time with the boys though.
What didn’t quite work for me (skip this if you want to avoid possible spoilers):
– Jesse. I ended up liking him, but the reformed manwhore is always a tough one for me. I found it hard to believe that he had secretly harbored any feelings for Kerry while growing up and for most of the book, his interest in her felt more like a crutch than actual love. He was overly territorial/jealous and his hot and cold behavior gave me whiplash. I understood his abandonment issues and his feelings of unworthiness regarding love, but I think I just needed more development between him and Kerry. They didn’t even seem to be that friendly with each other at the start, so I would have liked to see more time spent with them actually getting to know each other away from the store. I also needed more groveling. A LOT more.
-The OW/OM drama. I really just didn’t need it. It only served as a reminder of what an insensitive manwhore Jesse was and how jealous and petty our characters could be.
– The pacing. It took me a bit to get invested in the story and then I felt like the end wrapped up very quickly and too conveniently. The author did a great job setting up possible future books for the other Strong brothers (I’d love to find out more about grumpy grump Damian), but it’s Kerry’s BFF, Val, who I really want to read about.
Overall, this was an enjoyable family story, but I didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would.
*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*
Nice twist that there was no wealthy guy to sweep her off feet.
I’m a sucker for a series with a bunch of single brothers. The brothers in Real Men Knit all came from horrible beginnings and then were adopted by a kind woman who also supported the neighborhood with her knitting shop. In this first book of the series, their mother has just died and the youngest brother decides to try to keep the shop going with the help of his mother’s assistant. He’s known her since childhood and she’s always secretly like him. It’s a romance, so of course things eventually work out – that’s not even a spoiler – but it’s told in such a believable way and the characters are so charming and lovable, that it feels fresh. And there are hints about the older brothers that made me want to find out more about the loves that would eventually heal each of them.
Easy read
Set in Harlem, four adult adopted brothers have to decide what to do with their adop mother’s yarn shop after she dies.