The Woolly Hat Knitting Club
by
Poppy Dolan
Publisher: Canelo
Publication date: 25th September 2017
Pages: 300
Format read: eBook
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley
Finding happiness one stitch at a time
When
Dee Blackthorn’s brother, JP, breaks both wrists not only is he in need
of a helping hand – or two – but the knitting shop he owns can’t
function. Sisterly duties take Dee away from her demanding job and she
is unceremoniously fired amidst rumours of inappropriate behaviour. Dee
is certain that her hot-shot nemesis, Ben, is behind it all but has no
proof.
When Dee bumps into an old friend who is new mum to a
premature baby she convinces JP to enlist his knitting pals to make lots
of tiny woolly hats. Then Ben turns up denying involvement in Dee’s
sacking and she ropes him into helping the knitting cause.
But
before long Dee’s good intentions backfire and she risks losing her
friends, her family and Ben, who’s turned out to be not so bad after
all…
A feel-good romantic comedy about learning what life is
really all about, The Woolly Hat Knitting Club is perfect for fans of
Cathy Bramley, Tilly Tennant and Carole Matthews.
Delilah,
Dee to her friends and family, has a high powered corporate job that she loves.
She knows she is the best at her job always working long hours, going above and
beyond for clients. Work is her life!
Dee
gets unexpectedly fired, over rumours of her behaving inappropriately, which
leaves her free to help her brother with his knitting and haberdashery shop.
I
really enjoyed Dee and JP’s relationship. Dee is the big sister and it was
plain to see she would do anything for him. JP had found his niche in life
after dropping out of the corporate world following a break down. Initially knitting
was used as JP’s therapy but he loved it and was good at it. With Dee’s
financial help he opened a haberdashery and also started a knitting blog called
“About a (Knitting) Boy”.
Dee
throws everything into helping JP boost his business. This is what she is good
at. But she always thinks she knows best and forges ahead without consulting
JP. Cracks start to appear in their relationship. Cracks she may not be able to
mend.
Dee is
still seething over losing her job. She knows exactly who back-stabbed her and
she is going to make him pay. But is she right?
The
Woolly Hat Knitting Club is the perfect read for any knitting enthusiast. The
story is filled with knitting, humour, community spirit and a tiny bit of
romance.
Dee
catches up with a friend that recently gave birth to a premmie baby and a
scheme slowly develops across the plot to knit hats for premmie babies, getting
the whole community involved in the venture.
There
are plenty of familiar features for knitters, like CraftCon, knitathons and
beginner knitting classes. All with a good dose of humour included.
The
main characters are all likeable and relatable. Dee and JP have a wonderful
relationship, they tease each other and bicker occasionally but you can see the
closeness there. Ben, Dee’s work nemesis, knows Dee doesn’t like him and can’t
understand why. He never gives up on her. Best friend Beckie is the
quintessential new mum; she is scared, tired, and rundown but totally in love
with her new baby boy. Maggie, the adopted Grandma, is the epitome of
selflessness; she looks after her own ageing mother but always has time for Dee
and JP, never once complaining.
The
Woolly Hat Knitters Club is a feel-good story about finding what makes you
happy, with themes of knitting as therapy, new motherhood, premmie babies,
judging people by appearance, work overload, community spirit and men who knit.
‘Turns out that knitting is pretty perfect
for those times when your head is reeling and your hands need something to do.” – Dee Blackthorn
Do men
knit? I think we all know that men knit but do they knit and blog? I thought I
would do a quick Google search and this is the first one I found; Good for a
Boy Knitting www.goodforaboy.com It’s definitely
worth a look.
Content: Minimal swearing
Clean romance
My Rating 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Poppy Dolan is a rom com afficiando. After watching When Harry Met
Sally at the impressionable age of 14, she’s never stopped dreaming of
having the perfect ‘meet-cute’, that one-liner that steals your heart
and the grand romantic gesture to end all grand romantic gestures. Since
her real-life dating experiences were more often situated at Nando’s
than the top of the Eiffel Tower, she turned to fiction and wrote
romantic comedies of her own. She self-published her first novel,
The Bad Boyfriends Bootcamp, in May 2012 and made it into the Kindle top 100.
Poppy lives with her other half in Buckinghamshire and now finds
romantic value in a cup of tea appearing on her desk and someone who
gives you the other bit of their Twix without being asked. Besides, the
top of the Eiffel Tower is most likely very chilly and Ryan Gosling
won’t return her calls.
