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.
Release Date: May 19, 2020
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $9.99
Jesse Strong’s mother suddenly passes away. He presents the idea of running her business to his brothers just to be shot down. Let’s face it, Jesse’s reputation of being lazy and a bit of a joke doesn’t help him. Since he knows he is the family screw up, he sees the opportunity to prove he can make business. The problem is that he doesn’t know all the in and outs of the shop but lifelong friend Kerry does.
Kerry doesn’t mind helping out with the shop. It has been a part of her life since childhood. It doesn’t help that Jesse is still good looking and she is attracted to him. She knows he barely sees her as nothing more than a fixture of the shop. There is also the annoying nickname the guys give her, KerryGirl.
Jesse is a bit of a manwhore. There are women in the beginning though they are not real relationships or anything but it doesn’t help me buy that he sees Kerry as a woman. It is challenging to form a relationship with that in the back of any woman’s mind.
The beginning of the book moves slow. The author sets up the importance of the community and gives a lot of details into all of the characters. There is a lot of background information and not enough pushing the story along.
I kind of felt like this was more of a women’s fiction than a full on romance. The romance doesn’t hit too much further in the book which makes it hard for me to get behind Kerry and Jesse’s romance as much. I kept her in the friend of the family box for so long that at times when the flirty banter started to happen, I had a hard time connecting to it. The romance doesn’t start to move until 3/4th of the story and mind you the characters are in close proximity with each other day and night by then.
The author does a really great job setting up the stories for the other brothers and any secondary characters. I’m interested in reading more about the Strong brothers.
Overall, I would still recommend this story for fans of a slow burn and low angst romance.
~ Samantha
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