Knit One, Pearl One by Gil McNeil

Knit one ..... It's been a busy few years since Jo Mackenzie lost her husband. Life has brought adventure, surprises, unexpected pleasures, and, of course, lots of knitting. Jo's seaside yarn shop, with a brand-new cafe, has taken off, keeping her busier than ever. And being a single mum to two boys and headstrong Pearl is just as exhausting and enchanting as she thought it would be. On top of all that, celebrity diva Grace has a secret; Jo's firecracker best friend Ellen is launching a new television series; and lovable but hapless Martin continues his oft misguided attempts to woo Jo. Just when Jo thinks she has about all she can handle, Daniel, Pearl's globe-trotting dad, turns up out of the blue.....

Purl one .... But with a little help from her friends, and her beloved Gran, Jo is building a new life for herself by the sea, stitch by stitch. Warm and witty, Knit One Pearl One will delight new readers to the Beach Street series and give the legions of existing fans a chance to visit the British sea-side again, without having to worry about the weather.

Sometime ago I discovered Gil McNeil and Jo MacKenzie a number of years ago and have enjoyed following her as she took over the wool shop and has made it her own, and her plans and ideas to get the locals knitting and build a knitting community in the seaside town where she lives.

The first book in the series, Diva's don't knit, has been renamed 'The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club' and introduces Jo and her family following the sudden death of her husband and Jo's change in career to run the knitting shop. The books follow Jo's journey in building up the business, building up customers, a regular knitting group and getting the community and local school interested in knitting. Jo has both family and friends which play a big part in the books. 


Although I enjoyed this book, I did think that this book was slower than the previous books with little happening to the main characters. However, it was nice to revisit the knitting shop and find out how Jo's new baby was growing up and how the business is going following the fire in the shop. 


I really enjoyed Gil McNeil's writing, easy to get into and you can loose a few hours reading it but I would recommend reading the other books in the series first to get the back-story of the characters.


I would also recommend readers read other Gil McNeil books - she has written a number of books other than this series, not related to knitting or wool shops.


Thank you to the publishers. Voice, for sending me the book to review.


I would love to visit Jo's knitting shop and meet the staff - it sounds like a lovely shop to visit and be part of a real knitting community.