"The Great Christmas Knit-Off" by Alexandra Brown

After being left at the altar, Sybil threw herself into knitting to cope with her heartbreak.  Her house is full of knitted goodies but other than that, her life is a mess.  And she may just be responsible for a major mix-up at work.  What Sybil needs is to get away for a little bit.  

Just a few weeks before Christmas, she sets off for the charming village of Tindledale, where her best friend Cher lives.  And it is there that she discovers the delightful Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, a store dedicated to knitting and needlecraft.  But Hettie, the store’s owner, is struggling and her nephew is doing everything he can to put her in a home and close down the shop.

When Hettie gives Sybil an opportunity to display her beautifully hand-knitted Christmas jumpers in the shop, the community responds in a positive manner.  And the ladies soon realize that together, they may just be able to save Hettie’s store.  All it will take is a bit of community spirit and a whole lot of yarn.

The Great Christmas Knit-Off is the start of a new series by Alexandra Brown, author of the Carrington’s department store series.  And I loved this novel just as much as I loved that series (which is a whole lot.)

You don’t have to be a knitter to enjoy this book, but if you are you’ll find a whole lot of extra fun in this book.  As an amateur knitter who never seems to finish anything (or as my husband puts it, only seems to knit squares), it made me want to grab my needles and get back into the hobby.

Lots of novels involve plots with a character who is down in the dumps and makes a big mess of things and then runs off.  But this has a great twist to that, taking place in a wonderful winter setting and bringing the community together through a fun hobby.  All the knitting aside (which honestly doesn’t make up the entire book), it is a very lovely story.

I pre-ordered this book and the day it arrived on my tablet, I woke up, made sure it was there, took my kids to school, then came home and read.  And I didn’t stop reading until I finished the book.  Alexandra Brown is such a wonderful writer and her words just flow through the pages.  She is great at making you feel as though you are right there in the book with the characters and she can whisk you away to far-off places in an instant.  


This is a fantastic holiday book that you can read and enjoy at any time of year.  I can’t wait for more Tindledale books!

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