Review: Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson

When their foster-turned-adoptive mother suddenly dies, four brothers struggle to keep open the doors of her beloved Harlem knitting shop, while dealing with life and love in Harlem.

Jesse Strong is known for two things: his devotion to his adoptive mom, Mama Joy, and his reputation for breaking hearts in Harlem. When Mama Joy unexpectedly passes away, he and his brothers have different plans on what to do with Strong Knits, their neighborhood knitting store: Jesse wants to keep the store open; his brothers want to shut it down.

Jesse makes an impassioned plea to Kerry Fuller, his childhood friend who has had a crush on him her entire life, to help him figure out how to run the business. Kerry agrees to help him reinvent the store and show him the knitty-gritty of the business, but the more time they spend together, the more the chemistry builds. Kerry, knowing Jesse’s history, doesn’t believe this relationship will exist longer than one can knit one, purl one. But Jesse is determined to prove to her that he can be the man for her—after all, real men knit. ~ Goodreads

Source: e-arc provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Review: Dnf - here are a few thoughts as to why...

I SO wanted to love this. I was really looking forward to it but the writing style didn't work for me.

First the good stuff! I really liked both Jesse and Kerry and was rooting for them. Jesse is a bit of a jerk at times but is trying to step up to the plate after Mama Joy's death to be the man she saw in him. Kerry is a kind soul - a little lost but understanding of how much the shop means to their Harlem community and is willing to jump in to help save it and reunite the quarreling brothers.

However, the writing felt so awkward and clunky that I couldn't get a rhythm going while reading. There is a lot of set up, being a first book and all. Some of it is understandable - you need to meet the brothers and have a little bit of backstory. But this is Jesse's story and we don't need so much detail about every brother yet. And, honestly, the brothers were real jerks. I expect some drama since they have differences on what to do with the shop and expectations for each other but damn. They were mean at times.

But the real problem I had was how the author would start a conversation or scene and just drop it - only to drift off in another direction, with inner monologue or backstory, then come back to it 3 pages later. For example - Jesse or a coworker would say hi to Kerry and instead of answering she'd describe what they're wearing, past conversations, their job, and then 3 pages later - she'd say hi! back. It was like this for both Kerry and Jesse's pov and it was a struggle to read.

I love, love, love the premise for this book but the writing style didn't work for me. But if you are looking for a slow burn, lower on the romance side of things, story with complicated familial bonds and a tight knit (get it -knit! ha) community give this one a go.