Reading this book was like a reunion with old friends. I am always eager to see what these ladies are up to, and Kate Jacobs did not disappoint with the third installment of the series.
When I read Knit Two, I really liked it, but also felt like it required you to have read The Friday Night Knitting Club prior to reading it. Whether intentionally or not, I believe that while Knit the Season is definitely a continuation of the stories of all the club members, it could also be a stand alone novel. As a fan of the series, I would love for everyone to read it from the start, but you could totally just pick this book up and understand these people without having done so.
One of the things I really liked in this book was the memories of Georgia mixed in with everything else. I felt like Dakota must have, getting an entirely new perspective on her mother based on who was telling the memory. Georgia was something I missed in Knit Two, like all the club members I profoundly felt the loss of her. But just as everyone in the novel is learning better how to cope with her no longer being around, the passages describing her helped me cope with it as well, what I genuinely feel was the loss of a friend.
For me, the book also continued to dispense real life advice, something I love about these books and Kate Jacobs as an author. I feel like I can take the advice the ladies give each other to heart, as though they were giving it to me, such as when KC tells Peri that timing is more important in your life for a relationship to take hold, rather than who the person is – meaning there isn’t just one person for everyone, and it has to be right for you and your life.
The glimpses into Georgia’s past were also really interesting to me, and I’d honestly love a book just about Georgia in her younger days. Seeing her always looking for the best, and trying to find a way to get to the big city, it’s a quality I hope to find in myself some day. Perhaps Georgia can teach it to me.
I really loved watching Catherine, in particular, continue to grow and mature as time has gone on. Although Dakota is the one who started out as a young teenager and has grown into a woman over the course of these novels, Catherine has had an even more important growth cycle into a wonderful maturity. It’s very refreshing to see someone like her coming into their own, and figuring out what they really want.
Along with Anita as the voice of reason, we get to spend more time with Dakota and Georgia’s Gran from Scotland, as well as Bess Walker, Georgia’s mother. These ladies always seem able to give the best advice, whether that be because of their own age and wisdom or simply because you do feel so close to them…although we never got much of Bess prior to this novel. I feel as though I’m Dakota in these situations, learning from women who know better than I do. I often thought maybe they were speaking directly to me, such as when Gran tells Dakota she doesn’t need to figure her entire life out at once, or when Bess explains that it doesn’t really do you any good to push people away to protect yourself. It does more damage in the long run anyway.
Not only did this book reconnect me with characters I love, it also made me feel a new appreciation for the fast approaching holidays. I’ve never been a huge holiday person myself, often choosing something like work over time with family. But this year, perhaps because of my own new situations, I want to make an effort to be involved and spend time with the people I care about. While I think those feelings were brewing inside me already, Knit the Season really helped to bring the thoughts to the forefront of my mind, and make it a priority this season.
And I consider this a fresh reminder to get cracking on my Christmas knitting!
Read this book if: You’re a fan of the series, or would like a fun, fast holiday read. It would make a great book to sit down with during the holiday break this year, a wonderful way to unwind. I, for one, hope there are more books to come!
