A fun follow up to Summer Skies about the community on a small Scottish Island.

Gertie has lived on the Island her whole life and has not desire to leave. A shy girl, she lives at home with her single mom and is part of a knitting circle. When she is offered a new job at the small local airport, life begins to change. Gertie moves in with pilot and fellow islander Morag and starts to broaden her social circle. A crush on the airline owner Calum helps her to see other possibilities in life. When a winter storm traps schoolchildren on a mountain, Gertie finds out just how strong she is.

A great cast of characters and vivid descriptions of the Scottish Isles make for a very enjoyable read.

“Close Knit” is another sweet story by Jenny Colgan, set again in the rugged and remote Scottish islands. Introvert Gertie lives with her mother, a committed knitter, and grandmother in a tiny cottage while working at the local grocery store. She dreams about a bigger world and more opportunity and eventually takes a job at the small airline that serves the islands. It’s a lovely story of breaking out of expectations and finding the bravery to go bigger.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

I really enjoyed this cozy, sweet story, full of happy endings and beginnings! The setting- Scotlands rugged, quaint, highlands, islands and small, close-knit villages- were a dreamy visual treat! It was full of likable characters- including a nosy knitting group- who work together when faced with hardship! Excellent for fans of Colgan’s other books!

Shy, introverted Gertie has been raised by her mother, grandmother, and a group of women knitters on a remote Scottish island. Her life isn’t bad. She works in the local market and knits prodigiously. She does do a lot of daydreaming. Perhaps she would like a bit more? When she is offered job with the small airline that serves the islands she takes it. Soon she is rooming with the airlines main pilot, Morag, and crushing on the airline’s owner. These are big changes for a young woman who has never been on a plane.

Jenny Colgan is one of my favorite cozy authors. Always enjoyable with lovely settings, believable characters, and an interesting plot. Close Knit is no exception. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy!

3.7 / 5.0

Close Knit by Jenny Colgan is exactly that, a close knit story about small town relationships, dreaming about possibilities, and being a true version of yourself. This reminded me of a movie from the 90s, How to Make an American Quilt, and how the people we live with, known and unknown, shape our perceptions of the world and our own lives. I enjoyed the way these lives all wove together and the HEA of it all.

I was not a fan of the pacing of this book or the perpetuation of some stereotypes that I felt were unnecessary. This is a slow story, which might be a regional thing, since I am not from this part of the world and so not familiar with what’s normal to audiences, but it was almost agonizing how long it took to get to the point sometimes.

This brings up the next major issue I had, which was the use of stereotypes, grounded in the GenZ vs Millennials saga, to jump through explanations of why a character behaved in a particular manner. Instead of building a better character through background scenes, Colgan just drops in casual shaming or outright prejudice behavior as a way to move the story along. It felt sloppy and unnecessary, but again, I am not from the Northern UK so it might be I am not the intended (primary) audience.

Overall, it is good. It is entertaining and I was able to read it in one sitting, but it could very easily be even better. I haven’t read any of the author’s other books and probably will not in the future since I do not think this author writes my particular brand of cozy, contemporary, slice-of-life romance. I appreciate getting to read and review this book, so thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author.

Until Next Time,
MC

I love jenny colgan, but i just cant get into this series. I finished the first book in the hopes it would capture me, but i gave up halfway through this one. The writing was great, i just dont like the characters or the plot. It seems incredibly dry and boring and i dont care what happens. Its not the escape that most jenny colgan books are, and i hate the mentions of the pandemic. It doesnt make me happy or do anything for me....im so disappointed because i love jenny colgan books

Gertie grew up in a small town in the north of Scotland. She's never left. She lives in a very small cottage with her mother and grandmother. When she's not working at the local grocery store, she spends her time with local Knitting group. She passes the time fantasizing about how her life could be different; one day she gets the opportunity to find out.

Another delightful book by Jenny Kolgan

This was delightful. The plot was well-paced and captivating from start to finish. The characters were well-developed; complex, and intriguing. I highly recommend this beautiful telling of the power of love. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Voyager for providing me with the ARC in exchange for my objective review. However, I'm not very objective about Jenny Colgan as she's one of my favorite authors!

What a wonderful story! I really loved it! It had all the elements that I love about Jenny Colgan's writing:
- Great main and supporting characters
- Snarky dialogue
- Heartwarming love story
- Healing family dynamics
- Quirky animals including a chicken and a goat
- HEA

This is a sequel to "The Summer Skies". It can definitely be read as a "stand alone" but reading Book 1 first enhanced the experience as some of the same characters played supporting roles in this story.. Also, as a small bonus, the island of Mure and some of it's characters were mentioned. As this is my favorite series by this author, that was a nice touch.

There was a smattering of f-bombs but, like many of Colgan's more recent books, somewhat appropriate based on the two characters who were swearing. Definitely not as bad as Coltan in the "Mure" books, thank goodness! Also, Colgan has moved away from explicit love scenes which I find to be a big positive as well. She does tend to insert some mildly political beliefs that I'm not in agreement with but I just skim over them as they're not too "in your face" and don't detract from the overall story.

Overall a great read and I will definitely be buying the final version of this in ebook and audiobook format.

I am glad I got to read this novel thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and of course Jenny Colgan. I was pleasantly surprised to be returning to the same location and some of the characters from her previous book Summer Skies. It’s not a sequel but I was glad I had background on those characters. The author does it again and writes a beautiful story in a beautiful location with humor, love and and a scary situation. Looking forward to more in this possible series.

I always look forward to a new Jenny Colgan book but gave up on Close Knit after 15 chapters. While Colgan’s style of separating the main characters into individual chapters is usually seamless it does not work in this book. And the daydream reveries of Gertie make it even more disjointed. What could be conveyed in a short paragraph drags on far too long.