Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs

Ah, a Christmas book. Sadly it wasn't that good. I've read some of Kate Jacob's other stuff and liked it, but just wasn't as impressed with this one. If you haven't read any of the other books in the series, I don't really recommend reading this one as you'll be completely lost.

Its a few years down the road and Dakota is busy in pastry school and running her late mother's knitting shop. She lives with her dad and is growing closer to him, but can't always decide what she wants from family. She has two friends in her knitting club that are getting married too; Anita who has been planning and replanning weddings due to her sons interference, and Catherine who has finally found love late in life. But the biggest problem to face is Dakota's decision on her life. She needs to decide whether to pursue an internship good for her career or go visit her great-grandmother in Scotland.

I just didn't feel as close to the characters in this book as I had before. They weren't as likable; Dakota especially. She just seemed kind of wishy washy yet people still bent over backwards for her. The other characters kind of took a back burner to her too even though their stories were much more interesting. And Dakota's father, James, I never have been a fan of. He's very flaky.

If the description made the book sound boring, that was about right. I had a hard time trying to read this book just because it was quite dull. And for being a Knit the Season title, it didn't really have much holiday type stuff incorporated into it. The characters dramas were pushed forward ahead of it so you didn't get that warm fuzzy feeling you normally do from reading holiday books. Jacobs was thoughtful enough to include some knitting patterns and recipes in the back of the book though, so that was something.

Not my favorite from Jacobs and I wouldn't really recommend it. I can only hope when more of her books come out that they'll go back to being as good as the original.

Knit the Season
Copyright 2009
260 pages

Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

Originally I thought this book was going to be a sequel to the Friday Night Knitting Club novels; mainly because the main character's daughter liked cooking. However, I should have read a little better. That is not the case, this is actually a stand alone novel. And once I got past that, it was pretty good.

Gus is a famous tv chef with two grown daughters. When she finds out that her show may be canceled she is desperate to stay on air. In a plan that goes awry, she ends up co-hosting a new show with Carmen, a model turned actress who appears to only be in it for herself with no cooperation. Also thrown into the mix are a series of odd friends and family of Gus's to be featured on her live show. Its moments of hilarity and tension between the two main cooks for the most part, but there are hints of love between the actors and even some appreciation.

Just as they are getting settled though, Gus gets even more bad news and has to find some way to keep the show running. But with Carmen's attitude, her daughter's emotions, and a hectic show, its hard to tell if she will be able to keep everything afloat.

I liked most of the characters in this novel. All that is except Carmen, I realize she was important to the book's plot and that she was supposed to be showing two different sides to the reader, but I still couldn't stand her. The other characters were mostly good, a few could have been fleshed out better but being that there was so many I could understand when they weren't.

Jacobs writing is always easy to read, although I noticed that in the first few chapters of this novel she gets a bit overzealous with description. However, her writing is unoffensive and she cools a bit on the detail in most of the book. This novel is written in the 3rd person.

Overall it was a decent read. I enjoy Jacob's work and look forward to reading more from her.

Comfort Food
Copyright 2008
325 pages

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

I enjoyed this book much more than I did the first one. I was a bit skeptical to begin with; how could Jacobs write a sequel after the tragedy she created in her first novel?

Well she did and it was excellent. Knit Two takes us back to all the characters five years later. Dakota is eighteen and attending NYU while trying to please her father instead of following her own dreams. Anita is planning her marriage. Catherine is running her store. Peri is running the knitting shop. Lucie now has a five year old and is a successful producer of music videos. KC, although not mentioned much in the novel, is enjoying her life as a lawyer. And finally, Darwin is pregnant with twins.

As with the first novel there is not an overt plot to follow. Each character has a new set of realistic life problems that they are helping each other through. Dakota just wants to be a pastry chef, and no one is supporting her, instead they want her to follow in her mother's footsteps. Catherine keeps falling in bad relationship after bad relationship and seemingly not content with herself. Peri has aspirations of making it big with her knit line, but just can't get there. Lucie has a mother who is slowly slipping away to Alzheimer's and a daughter who's favorite word is "no". KC can't stop smoking. Darwin is overwhelmed by caring for twins and still managing her career. And finally, Anita is in search of her sister and dealing with her sons' disapproval of her future marriage.

This novel is definitely cheerier and more uplifting than the first. The characters are described better and seem to grow throughout the novel. They have real depth and you feel yourself caring about what happens to them and wishing them the best.

As usual, Jacobs writing style is easy to read and enjoyable. She describes everything with perfect clarity but doesn't bore with wordiness.

I enjoyed this second installment and have seen that there are a few more in the series that I will definitely check out.

Knit Two
Published in 2008
320 pages plus two recipes and a knitting pattern

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

I started out loving this book; and then got to the ending. The Friday Night Knitting Club started out as what I thought to be the perfect chick lit, intriguing characters, problems to work through, and an overall sense of camaraderie. Not to mention there was knitting involved, lots of knitting.

Georgia Walker is the owner of a yarn shop in New York called Walker and Daughter. Funded by long time friend and part time yarn store worker Anita, she was able to open the store when she was pregnant with her daughter Dakota.

Dakota is a biracial child whose father has been out of the picture for all twelve years of her life. She has a fond love of baking, and inspired by her mother she longs to star on food tv or run her own baking shop. The members of the Friday Night Knitting Club are often her guinea pigs.

James, while not a huge character in the story is the father of Dakota. He comes back into their lives with a keen interest in getting to know to Dakota, and perhaps re-getting to know Georgia.

There are many other characters in the story, most members of the knitting club. Darwin is a graduate student who is doing a study on women and knitting, Lucile is in film and makes a documentary on the club, and KC is a woman searching for a new job.

Another woman from Georgia's past also comes to call and they reestablish a friendship despite many problems.

While there is not a really definite plot line, there are several problems that the characters work through and grow closer because of.

Then there comes the end. I'm not sure what Jacobs was thinking when she decided to turn the story the way she did. It seemed like she was perhaps tired of the whole thing and needed a convenient out. Regardless, it was hurried and added nothing to the story at all. It was almost as if she just wanted to see if she could make someone cry and not really develop a true ending. It made me completely disappointed in the book.

Jacobs writing style is very flowing. She doesn't waste words or try to be flowery. Its straightforward and easy to read.

The Friday Night Knitting Club
Published in 2007
340 pages plus a knitting guide for a scarf and a recipe