Book Review: Close Knit
I think it’s safe to say we’ve all daydreamed a bit from time to time, but what happens when one of those more vivid daydreams happens to come true? That’s the question facing Gertie Mooney in Jenny Colgan’s Close Knit, a small-town romance every bit as cozy as the knitwear Gertie has a talent for making.
Close Knit follows the aforementioned Gertie, a shy 30-year-old whose life has been a bit on pause, the pandemic, and the size of her small Scottish town not helping matters. When a job opens up at the tiny, local, island-hopping airline, Gertie accepts: partially to shake off the funk she’s in, partially because she’s developed a crush on the owner.
The story doesn’t just follow Gertie, it also touches on the ensemble cast of Carso residents, particularly Morag, the heroine of Colgan’s The Summer Skies, and Struhan, a local elementary school teacher, a friend of Morag’s and most importantly, Gertie’s high school crush.
While it is definitely a story with romance, and most importantly, with a happy ever after, Close Knit breaks with the structure of a romance novel, instead weaving a story of friendship and community, as well as romance. Interestingly, it also feels a bit like a coming of age story for Gertie, despite her being 30 years old. It’s that type of underexplored coming of age for those who might have been on the verge of changing their lives as the pandemic rolled in and overhauled everything.
Colgan’s Close Knit is sweet, charming, and the perfect cozy read to pick up as the weather slowly but surely turns cooler - once we break free of this heat wave!
Close Knit is available now. Special thank you to Avon for the advance copy for review purposes.
