Colgan is the queen of creating warm, funny, quirky characters that you want to root for to the end! Gertie, Morag, Straun, and the KCs (otherwise known as the Knitting Circle ladies who gossip and interfere winsomely just as much as they knit) are both loveable and charmingly irksome as they navigate change and exemplify community. This coming-of-age (at any age) story will have you cheering for Gertie as she learns that maybe we do have to "practice being brave" and steps out of her comfort zone into a life filled with colorful relationships, career changes, and adventure.

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon for the ARC.

Welcome to Jenny Colgan’s new cast of Scottish characters that you will grow to love! As always, Colgan has created an interesting cast of quirky characters that keep you reading.

The circle of friends for introverted Gertie revolves around the Knitting Circle of her mom, Jean, grandmother, Elpspeth, and their friends. Gertie is overdue for change and cautiously, takes a chance on a new job. We get to go along on her journey to independence and growth.

Close Knit is a cozy read that celebrates friendship, village life and change! This is a delightful read and I wholeheartedly recommend it! I eagerly look forward to more stories with these characters. Colgan never lets me down!

Thank you to NetGalley Avon and Harper Voyager for the complimentary eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Super cute, cozy little story set in Scotland.
Getting is a 30 year old that still lives at home and has never traveled anywhere. She finally gets out on her own. A job, an apartment, and discovers who she is as we follow along. Who doesn't love small town relationships and discovery. It wasn't my typical book and I struggled finish it. However, I am grateful I did get to experience some of Scotland through Gertie.
3.5 stars 🌟

Close Knit is the story of a young woman who has let her insecurity hold her back from enjoying her life. When circumstances coincide so that she is offered a new job, she is forced to examine how she has been living and decide whether she wants to make new choices for her life. Along the way, she finds some romance and new friendships.

This book is tender and sweet and oh so easy to read. It is set in the north of Scotland and has several short vignettes about the weather and terrain there. It gives you a nice picture into what modern life is like there without feeling kitschy.

For me, this would have been the ideal read: sweet and clean coming of age story with a little bit of clean romance thrown in. But there was one glaring thing that I cannot overlook.

It is the fad in publishing right now to always include a token gender bending LGBTQ character. In this book, it is a man who thinks he can be a woman by dressing like one. This was very offensive to me, especially since it made no sense for the story was just added for activism. I find this trend especially offensive when it is women who are propagating this lie.

For this reason, I am giving the book a lower rating. It soured the whole book for me.

Gertie MacIntyre doesn't have a romantic life, and she's tired of it. She's tired of her grocery job and she's tired of feeling like she's the same person she was in high school. What Gertie isn't tired of is knitting. Her designs and work are works of art, even though she's under appreciated for her palette choices in her mum's knitting circle. When Gertie's offered work at the town's small airport (even though she hasn't been on a plane) she jumps at the chance for something new.

As old friends and new and old crushes and new converge in this delightful story set in northern Scotland, Gertie has the chance to show what she's made of and find friends and love who appreciate her for who she is now.

I received this ARC for honest feedback.

I've yet to meet a Jenny Colgan book that wasn't wonderful. I love how this one still followed Morag, but also focused on Gertie's character. Watching Gertie go from timid, to finding her voice was lovely!

As a hooker, (I crochet), I loved how knitting and yarn played such a big role in this book. I'm always looking for cozy books about yarn shops and such, and this one was done so well. I look forward to the next book Jenny puts out!

I did not finish as it was not my cup of tea. I might try an audiobook version when it's out. I felt like I got dropped in the middle of a story and just never caught on.

Carso, Scotland - Present Day

Living in the tiny, far northern Scottish town of Carso, where everyone knows everyone and everything about everyone, Gertie Mooney is trying to find her way in life. At thirty years old, she still lives with her mother, Jean, and grandmother, Elspeth. It's a tiny cottage, and most of Gertie's bedroom is taken up with skeins of wool that her mother orders for the Knitting Circle (KCs) that bases themselves at her house. Gertie, by a tradition of the women in her family, is a prolific knitter. But she's also a dreamer, and her latest dream is to get her own apartment, and maybe meet a rich man who will fall in love with her.

Gertie works at the local market, although she'd love to find a more exciting job. When former schoolmates, Morag the pilot of the island hopping small plane, and Morag's friend, Nalitha who runs the check-in for the airline, notice how effective Gertie is at handling personnel situations, they think she may be the perfect person to step in for Nalitha when her baby is born. Gertie, who always felt left out of school affairs, was stunned, but eventually agreed to work at the airport. She also knew that the new owner of the airline, Calum Frost dropped in occasionally to the shack where she would work. A crush ensues.

For Morag, the best part of her job is that she can, during down times, fly to the tiny island where her boyfriend, Gregor, lives studying the island's birds. The worst part of the job is having to live in her beloved grandfather's house where his "housekeeper", a local grumpy woman, has taken over, showing her daily dislike and jealousy of Morag. If only she could find a local apartment!

Struan McGhie, the music teacher at the tiny Carso school, loves his job, also plays in a band on the weekends, and for special occasions. But his live-in girlfriend hated living in the little town, and has bullied Struan into moving south with her and living in a modern apartment. So he needs to rent out his two-bedroom flat.

Ironically, Gertie, who has long had a crush on Struan, showed up at the flat to make an offer, just as Morag arrives. What better way to share the flat and the expense? Between the new job and the new apartment, Gertie sets out to attract Calum. What could go wrong?

CLOSE KNIT is a delightful story of a woman who doesn't think she's at all interesting or desirable. How could she possibly attract a millionaire playboy? Her knitting talents could come into play, and her growing understanding of what she has to offer the world will be revealed.

Don't miss the latest Jenny Colgan! It's a sweet tale!

Gertie McIntyre is a member of the local knitting circle on a remote island. Never going away from home but with an urge to see the world. She apples to help on the small airline that services the island and finds adventure and friends. She is supported in her quest by the women in the knitting circle who as all knitters know are the best people you can meet. Good luck with your knitting and more books about knitters.

The beginning seemed unlike Jenny Colgan’s other novels, but once I really started to know Gertie, the story came alive. What an adventure! Loved it and feel like we need more of Struan. :)

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Gertie lives in a small town in Scotland. She has lived their her entire life. One of her favorite things to do is knit when she has free time. She decides to apply for a job at the local airline. This new job opens up her world in many ways. A quick read.

This was so close to being 5 stars! I love Jenny Colgan for her romance! She always delivers a relatable, quirky heroine and equally interesting side characters and love interests. The setting is, as always, a 10/10, and I loved the small town and the knitting group that fueled the gossip. Gertie was such a great FMC, and I loved her development as the story progressed. I highly recommend Jenny's stuff to anyone looking for something cozy on a rainy day.

A gentle read about Carso Knitting Circle’s youngest member, Gertie Mooney, and her journey towards finding out what she really wants - both romantically and professionally.

Carso is an idyllic town with a school, supermarket, airline, and not much else. Throughout the story, we’re introduced to a host of characters - Gertie, of course, but Jean and Elspeth (her mother and grandmother, respectively), Morag (the pilot), Ranald (her grandfather), and Struan (music teacher and aspiring musician), and each of their dreams and hopes (and annoyances).

My only qualm with the book was that while Gertie’s character development was strong, none of the rest of the characters had strong storylines. In a lot of places, characters just did things, without really showing the reader the why. And, because the plot took a back seat to the character development, parts of the book felt slow.

That being said, I did enjoy the read, and I would read another one of Jenny Colgan’s books.

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The sequel to Jenny Colgan’s The Summer Skies is finally here! Close Knit is the story of a 30 year old young lady, Gertie, who is concerned that life is passing her by. Gertie lives at home with her mother and grandmother and her life consists most of her job at the local market, knitting with the KCs (local knitting circle) and daydreaming about how life could be. When she gets a job offer from the local tiny air port and the chance to have her own apartment, she hopes this will be the change she needs to finally start over.

This lively quick easy read is humorous, touching and all rounds delightful. Close knit introduces us to some new fun characters while revisited some of our old favorites. I always enjoy Jenny Colgan boos and this one does nor disappoint. You won’t want to miss this one.

I didn’t know cozy suspense was something I was missing in my life, but I found it in Close Knit. It wasn’t the story I was expecting but I’m happy I stuck with it.

The book is broken up into two parts. Part one feels like a cozy slice of life view of a tiny seaside town in Scotland and it’s quirky inhabitants. Part two is a lot more action driven, with quickly mounting suspense. This makes for a very slow start with a dramatic finish, but you really have to push past the initial set up to get the full effect.

I loved how vivid the descriptions of the land and town were. It makes the setting itself feel alive, and I could easily understand what was drawing the characters to stay there. It feels isolated, but not lonely.

There’s sort of an omniscient perspective. You bounce between the inner thoughts of each character multiple times per scene in a way that was a little jarring. I never quite got used to it, but that might just be my personal taste.

The last thing I’ll note is that the blurb is a little misleading. I expected a straight forward romance when in reality the romance is more of a sub plot. The suspense was a pleasant surprise. This is my first Jenny Colgan book, so maybe this is standard, but as a first time reader I would have enjoyed it more if I had different expectations going into it.

This was delightful! Just delightful. One of Jenny Colgan's best. Loved Gertie and especially her growth in the story! The book contains a large cast of "minor" characters who really flesh out the plot. Such a cozy read. Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy - made my day!

Close Knit by Jenny Colgan is an excellent continuation of her Summer Skies story. Both books are fun reads with appealing characters. Morag and her grandfather are still running their small airline between the northern islands off of Scotland. They are in need of someone to replace their very pregnant ticket/stewardess. Gertie the female main character who lives with her mother and grandmother is tired of working in a supermarket. She is thirty and would like to get a different job and change her life. She becomes the replacement ticket/stewardess for the little airline. Things get wild and woolly from there. There are a lot of heroes and heroines in this story, including Gertie's interfering mother and her knitting group. The plot is complex with twists and unexpected turns. The descriptions of village and sea and countryside give the reader a strong sense of place. Things work out for Gertie and for a lot of other people in this closely knit community. It is lovely to see different generations working together to accomplish what is needed. I particularly liked how Gertie finally got recognition for her creative knitting talent. Many of the plot strands were neatly tied up at the end, but not all--maybe we will be lucky enough to see another book in this series. Strongly recommended.

This Jenny Colgan novel was a beautiful, cozy read filled with lovable characters and vivid descriptions of the Scottish coast. The protagonist is Gertie, a late bloomer, who has been sheltered by her mother and her knitting circle. At age 30, Gertie decides to break out of her mundane routine by moving out of her mother’s home and taking a new job. In the process, she gains new friends and experiences, and finds her place in her community. I honestly loved every single character in this book and was surprised and delighted by the action/suspense scenes that popped up in the middle. The carefully crafted ending was perfect and left me feeling warm and happy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really liked this cozy book about a small Scotland town all coming together.
I felt that the author did a great job blending all of the viewpoints, all of the characters, and the storylines.

I had no idea how the airline and the town were going to come together for the children.

This was just a bright spot among good cozy novels.

My only drawback was I didn't know some of the Scottish terms/names and had a hard time following what was going on in the story.
However it did not distract too much from the story itself.

This novel felt like a warm hug. It’s a character driven love letter to the Scottish highlands. The best kind of predictable story where the reader can see a love match before the characters themselves do. I enjoyed watching the FMC, Gertie MacIntyre, embrace her quirkiness and come into her own with the help of a cast of sweet, charming, and lively supporting characters. What a cozy delight! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.