Unfortunately I went on a requesting spree during lockdown and my tastes have since changed.

As the book has been on my shelf since 2020 or 2021 I believe I need a cull as I am highly unlikely to ever read it.

To be fair to the author I have star reviewed based on the average.

A slow burn of a read that's ultimately charming if you stick with it!
It didn't live up to the hype for me

This has the bare bones of being a heart warming and feel good story but it was so painfully slow that I found myself skin reading just to get to the end. It was neither purely a romance nor a “community coming together” type book and it just felt like it was lacking direction.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

A few months ago I lost my love of reading and I found it hard to connect with any form of book. So, i recharged my e-reader and took some reading time back and honestly, this book has made to regain my love for reading. Way back when I first requested this book I was drawn in by the title. My first thoughts were, yes, this book will show that stereotypes are rubbish! I enjoyed so much about this book; the fact that from the first chapter you are dropped straight into the action and the main focus of the novel. The way that the author tackles difficult subject matters (loss, grief, bullying etc.) throughout the narrative with such grace and dignity makes it a heart warming and heart wrenching read in places.

I connected personally with the narrative which I was greatly surprised about. From the small business worries to the loss of loved ones, the way that the author writes such a believable but interesting storyline for all the characters, and creating such community spirit within the novel made it such a beautiful and refreshing read.

Lastly, I loved the characters of the OKG and Errol ( amongst others but they were my favourites). Thank you for writing such a wonderful story and I really hope this is just the beginning of the stories from these characters. I would love to see more from each of the brothers points of view. I am absolutely invested in Strong Knits. Thank you for giving me my love of reading back.

This was an easy-enough to read family fiction/romance, with a lot of back and forth plotline about saving the family yarn shop.

Unfortunately, the romance aspect really didn’t work for me. There are four brothers here and the main character, Kerry, is like an adopted kid sister according to three of the four, which makes the romantic bits of the novel feel slightly incestuous – even though they technically aren’t. In fact, I spent a large chunk of the read assuming that it was developing into a ‘reverse harem’ novel, until three of the four men made it very clear that Kerry was already considered close family. As it goes, most of the eventual sex happens ‘off-screen’ anyway, with the main focus of the story on the lovers’ issues with self-doubt and the other problematic internal thoughts keeping them apart… and the issue of saving the yarn shop, of course.

The pacing is slow-build all the way through, and I actually did begin to feel won over to the relationship development – along with beginning to fantasise about a series of books, each focused on a different brother, as the others felt more interesting than the constantly self-flagellating Jesse – but then the book suddenly, unexpectedly and abruptly ended. It felt like the simmer suddenly imploded, as the author rushed to mash her lovers together like dollies, without resolving the issues that were keeping them apart in the first place.

This left me with no certainty that the main characters are actually on the path to their happily-ever-after ending, instead of just more of the same vacillating.

I really think this had some promising characters, but the romance got lost amongst all the yarn.

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

I enjoyed reading this and I featured it on my blog. I liked both the story and characters. Knitting and reading are two of my favourite things so this was a win-win for me.

When four brothers have to keep their late mother's knitting shop running, they all have different ideas of what to do. Jesse asks his friend Kerry for help and through this process, feelings develop.

I struggled with this, I must admit. I love a romance normally but struggled to connect with the characters and get invested in the love story. I would be open to reading more this author publishes.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

It was a sweet book but not quite as what I expected.

Kerry works part time at the the knit shop which was run by Joy Strong who has just died. Joy has four sons who have inherited the shop and Jesse the youngest son wants to run the shop he is not the most reliable person never holding a job down. Kerry agrees to help him until she gets a job she wants, she has always liked Jesse. Jesse has always dumped woman as quickly as he could.

I enjoyed the pretext of this book but didn’t quite find it exciting.

i wasnt too keen on this one. I felt likei it wasnt what I was expecting from reading the description and it really didnt deliver. I tried so hard to get into it and I just couldnt find it enjoyable,

Real Men Knit is more of a family drama than a romance, but it has fun moments and ends on an uplifting note.

I've got to be honest, this wasn't my favourite read of the year thus far. The pacing was a little off and I didn't feel much of a connection between the two main characters. It took a long time before the two main characters developed even a hint of a romantic connection which was unfortunate given it's been marketed as a romance.

It focused on some hard-hitting topics such as living life after the death of a loved one, which everyone will suffer through at some point in their lives. It was lovely to see the brothers eventually come together and put some faith in Jesse. Sure he was initially put forward as your typical 'bad-boy' but he wasn't really. He'd been through a lot in life that he was looking for ways to deal with which is understandable. His love for Mama Joy was clear as, in many ways, she'd saved him in his youth when she took him in as her adoptive son. The other men, Damien, Lucas, and Noah had very different personalities which I enjoyed reading about. Even though the four of them were brothers by adoption, they clearly stopped seeing it that way many years before and were simply brothers.

There is an issue that I need to highlight as it became impossible to ignore. The writing style just didn't do it for me. I felt the plot was a little haywire at times as well. It made the story more difficult for me to read and connect with.

However, in saying this, I did enjoy finding out more about the character's backgrounds and thought there were several humorous moments in it. I rate Real Men Knit 3/5 stars.

I thought this was a very cute book, I liked the lead female character and the relationship that developed between her and Jesse. I actually found myself wanting more from the other members of the strong family too so hoping there will be future books about the other brothers. Overall a quick enjoyable heartwarming romance

Provided by NetGalley for an honest review. This started off well for me but then just got very trope-y.

It’s all a little too pat.

Easy read, but not one I would remember a few days later.

I was keen to read Real Men Knit after reading some recommendations by bloggers that I trust so I was delighted to get a copy from NetGalley. I finally picked it up recently and really enjoyed it. It’s set in a wool shop in the aftermath of the owner’s death. Her four adopted sons are deciding what to do and one of them wants a chance to run the shop and make it a success along with the help of Kerry, who worked there alongside his Mama. I enjoyed the family dynamics in this novel, and I really liked Kerry. I wasn’t so keen on all the will they won’t they romance plot, it felt very over the top at times, but on the whole this was a really cosy, lovely read and I’m glad I picked it up.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t live up to my expectations. I loved the premise and I enjoy a dual perspective more than single so I thought it sounded like my cup of tea. However, something didn’t click for me.
I can’t quite put my finger on it but while there’s a lot of emotional and difficult things going on for the characters (loss of an adoptive mother and past trauma), it still felt very ‘surface level’ for me.
I usually get swept away in books, especially those with a romance storyline but I didn’t feel it. First kiss at around 70% is a bit slow for me but I didn’t mind so I can’t attribute my distance from the storyline/characters to that. I’m confused because this book has the elements that should have been a strong 4/5 or more and I’m disappointed I didn’t connect with it.

As a keen sewer and handcrafter the title got me. I have to admit I know many women who knit but, apart from art students, I have never known any men who do so I was intrigued.
This turned out to be a delightful read that not only clarified the title but was a warming story of life with a generous dose of romance threaded in.
My only niggle was that, if the main characters really were in such a desperate rush to get things up and going in order to save their livelihoods, why weren’t they working every possible minute available to achieve that end?
A perfect book to curl up with when enjoying a refreshing cup of tea on a gloomy wet day.
Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Real men knit? Of course they do! I have happy memories of being one of a group of knitting parents who helped teach this enjoyable and wonderful skill to various classes at my children’s school, rather a lot of years ago now! Boys and girls alike had a go, everyone achieved something and we all had a great time. I don’t know how many of those children, now adults, are still knitting, but I hope some of both sexes are. It’s lovely that it’s more usual for men to knit these days, thanks to knitter-designers like Arne and Carlos and possibly even more so to celebrities, such as Ewan McGregor and David Arquette, fessing up to their secret knitting habits!
The bonding element of knitting – a skill usually passed from one generation to the next or by one friend to another – comes through very strongly in this unusual novel. And it truly is a strong bond. Mama Joy Strong’s knitting shop brings immense richness to Kerry’s life, although not initially to Joy’s adopted sons. Her character is what influenced them both.
Without giving too much away, knitting eventually begins to matter to the young men too, especially one of them, and two of our characters cast on a new future together.
The pace, appropriately, is steady: reading, like knitting, is to be savoured and we need action and character development to build gradually, just like a garment or accessory gradually takes shape on a pair of needles. But it’s not all plain sailing with either pastime. Stitches get dropped or miscounted and even the most experience knitter makes a mistake in a pattern now and again. Similarly in our novel there are unexpected hitches and unforeseen consequences to surprise the reader and make them rethink a few things.
If you enjoy knitting, and even if – horrors! – you don’t, you’ll find this knitting-inspired novel very satisfying.

Found the writing thick and clunky and terribly repetitive, and the introspection led to the characters (especially the heroine) often being unsympathetic and not people I wanted to root for, which then made this story fall flat for me. Was expecting a more lively, upbeat, and dynamic story instead of this one which was heavy and clunky and often sleep-inducing, unfortunately

Big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.

This book was exactly what I was looking for, apart from the smut, or lack thereof. The build up to the romance was so good, there was a good amount of tension between the characters and this book was charming throughout. I absolutely loved the Strong brothers. They are all brilliant in different ways however they are all charming and well.. strong.

The story surrounding the romance as well as the side plot of found family and a yarn shop and this just gave me all the feels. I love that Kerry sticks by the brothers as they find themselves going through one of the worst times of their lives. She never gives up and she is determined to try and help them all and get the shop up and running. However that isn't her only reason for staying. She is in love with Jesse and she always will be.

Honestly throughout this book there were times when I thought that it was going to become a reverse harem, I wouldn't be mad, however it never did.

This was a cute and charming read and I really enjoyed it.

amma Joy has sadly passed away, but, she leaves her legacy, her 4 adopted boys and her knitting shop.

But with the knitting shop in debt and the collateral on the family home, the boys must pull together with the help of Kerry, to get it back up and running out of the red.

Jesse's said he'll take on the task, asking his brothers to give him time.

But can Jesse truly focus on the business and keep his personal life of drinking and adding another girl's name to his bed in check?

What no one knows is he's always truly loved Kerry; the girl who grew up in the shop with Mamma Joy and her sons. Will the project together make or break them, only time will tell.

The strong brothers!!! Yes, I fell in love with them, and I wanted to know more!!!

Each character has a distinct ethnicity and personal background which I thought was written really well, allowing the reader to picture each character as they read. (Some authors are still scared to do this, or don't know how... if you don't, this is the author to ask for tips)

I felt the characters were realistic and there was enough that you could follow and keep up with who is who, especially when the setting is based in a community centre and a knitting shop.

I think this would be great as a series. Each book being about a different strong brother. Please say you're going to write more about the strong brothers?!?!?!

This is a novel I really enjoyed and one I hope continues.

Originally, I went into this thinking that Jesse and Kerry were the best of friends when they were younger. But, that is not actually the case. We have the classic trope of the girl who has always been there by the side of the male love interest but he has always ignored her and seen her as a little sister - or so she thinks. To start of with the negatives and finish with the positives about this book; it does lean into a lot of stereotypes in this book in terms of setting up the dynamics between the characters. Jesse is your typical misunderstood 'bad boy' character in that he moves around girls like there is no tomorrow and is reckless with his drinking and one night stands. Everyone judges him for it and believes he will never dedicate his life to anything worthwhile. It is nice that in this book, he proves people wrong but his character is a little stereotypical in that way. It is nothing we haven't seen many of times before.

In terms of the writing style, I thought it was okay for the most part however, to say that it was a third person perspective, it almost read like a first person because of its conversational style. I was not a fan of some of the internal monologue that we got from the characters as it felt a little repetitive at times. I also openly cringed when the word 'convo' appeared in the text - conversation would have done fine. It was only small problems that I had with it that I could put aside to enjoy the novel as a whole but, they were still there.

Now, moving on to the more positive aspects of this book because there are plenty! In terms of characters - I LOVED the element of men being able to have a more emotional side and do a wide range of professions, not just the typical 'manly' ones. You have the main storyline relating to knitting and you have the brothers who are all in different professions from fire-fighting, to business to being a dancer. I loved the variety there and think this was a very important part of the positive representation within the characters. My boyfriend did suggest that the 'Real Men' part of the title is a little problematic in that sense however, I think this is overruled by the acceptance of the may professions within the book. In terms of race representation, you also have characters in here of many different ethnicities which is always good to see and something I would like to read more of in romance in particular.

An important part of a romance is, of course, the romance itself. I was rooting for these two to get together so much! One of the major selling points of this one was the incredible sexual tension that came of the page. The smut when it finally happened was also great and is just enough to make the reader feel a little hot under the collar. The attraction itself was great. Again, there is a little too much emphasis placed on the miscommunication or misjudgement trope in this one and the ending was a little too cringe for my liking. However, that being said, it was a very fast paced book as as a reader, you are just eagerly anticipating that final moment.

It is a bit of a mixed bag of a review. I loved the sexual tension and overall relationships with this book - both familial and romantic. However, there were lots of little things throughout that I didn't enjoy as much. I would have rather a more private resolution at the end - though this is personal preference - and, as I have said, some classic character archetypes were laid on a little thick. All that being said, I still am so glad that I read this book as it does contain some important messages, especially surrounding unpicking the assumptions surround masculinity as well as the traditional family.