The Great Christmas Knit Off

by Alexandra Brown

[Leah]

When I heard Alexandra Brown was writing a knitting book I was quite excited. Don't get me wrong, knitting is so not my thing (I don't have the patience or the time to learn knitting, although I do love the idea of being able to knit yourself your very own chunky knit jumper). The Great Christmas Knit-Off is the first of her new series of books set in Tindledale and I was absolutely chuffed to pieces to receive a copy to review via Netgalley. The cover for the book is stunning (and available in white or red - after reading the book, I'll be getting BOTH covers) and so is the book itself, actually.

The Great Christmas Knit-Off is set in the fictional, picture-perfect village of Tindledale. I literally want to up sticks and move there, pronto. It has the olde-worlde feel I adore, and I absolutely love that the residents there have no idea what it means to purchase something on the Internet, and mobile phones do not work. That is like my idea of heaven. It also has the best village-y feel ever - the neighbours literally know everything that's happening to you (sometimes before you even know it yourself) and it was just the absolute most perfect place for Sybil to recover after being jilted at the altar (on May 4th, no less, to her boyfriend named - yes, really - Luke). (I was actually offended she was jilted on May 4th as that's my birthday and I felt bad and for the past few years all I've heard is May the 4th be with you jokes even though I've only seen one of the Star Wars films - oops).

I flew through my copy of The Great Christmas Knit-Off in two evenings. It was the most delightfully sweet novel I have ever read. I'm not joking, it's hard to explain just how captivated I was by the novel. Knitting so isn't my thing, but I loved how it pulled the community together. I loved that Sybs was willing to do so much for Hettie, despite not even knowing her days prior to her arrival in Tindledale. It just had that really fabulous community spirit, and I was taken aback at how delightful it was. It was like stepping back in time - with Lawrence, at the hotel, offering Sybs a room to stay at; Ruby with her vintage clothes shop, offering Sybs clothes; Tindledale is the kind of place where you go and instantly feel at home. I felt at home and I didn't even live there. I absolutely loved getting to know the characters of the village, and see them all pull together for the good of their neighbour.

I was so impressed with the novel. Alexandra Brown is a fantastic writer - she really gets to the heart of a story, and really injects such warmth and passion into her novels. This is most definitely her best book yet, and she makes Tindledale come to life. The characters were amazing, the plot was the sweetest, and the village is somewhere I want to live. Who needs the hustle and bustle of New York or London or Tenerife, when you can have the familiarity of a village where everyone knows who you are? It's my idea of heaven. It was a pleasure getting to know Sybs, Cher, Laurence, Ruby, Hettie, and Dr Darcy and everyone else in between. I'm even more chuffed to know this is the first book of a new series - more Tindledale! HOW WILL I COPE UNTIL JUNE FOR MY NEXT TINDLEDALE FIX?!?!?! And who will it be about? Sybs? Someone else? Kitty? WHO WHO WHO???? The Great Christmas Knit-Off is the perfect Christmas read and if you read only one Christmas book this year, make it this one, it's perfect. Now, let's see if I can convince Alexandra to teach me to knit....This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read