Needles and Pearls: A Novel

I picked up Needles and Pearls on my hunt for a novel with a gem in the title as part of the "What's in a Name" challenge. (A pearl is a gem, yes?) And as a beginning knitter, I thought I would enjoy this.The novel begins one year after the death of Jo's cheating husband. When I first picked this up, I didn't know it was the second novel in Gil McNeil's Jo Mackenzie series. Being the second in the series, Ms. McNeil did a great job developing Needles and Pearls without leaving me feeling I was missing something. The story continues over the next few months of Jo's life with many twists and surprises around each corner. What sets Jo apart is how she deals with these surprises.Jo is quite the heroine. She is funny, charming, strong, but above all, she is full of grace. And if that's not enough, she is so authentic, I fully expect to visit her shop and have tea with her on a future trip to England. I think it's a challenge to write a character that is so real in spite of everything that has happened to her and that is exactly what Ms. McNeil has done.Needles and Pearls is laugh out loud funny at times. It reads like a TV comedy about a shopkeeper in a small town coastal with quite a cast of zany characters. Some of those characters are quite famous, some are "common" folk, and there is even an authentic Lady thrown in for good measure. She has an overbearing mother, a loving grandmother, two spunky young sons, Britain's most loved journalist as a best friend, a famous actress as a client, the boy next door as a love interest, and a crazy large dog named Trevor who wants to adopt her. Whew! Don't even get me started on the shop ladies.I enjoyed the friendship among the ladies, but more than anything I adored the promise of a romance between Martin (the boy next door) and Jo. I am pleased the author didn't rush through their courtship. It was a refreshing change to see Jo think about what is best for her family instead of her own interests. It was also refreshing to see Martin give Jo the space and friend support she needed. He was a gentleman and I loved that about him.Needles and Pearls didn't temp me to pick up The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club to find out where it all began but I am looking forward to reading the third novel in this series Knit One, Pearl One.Above all, I loved the sense of friendship embraced by the women involved. The "Stitch and Bitch" group was more than a casual place to go once a week. It was a place where the woman came together to gather comfort and strength from each other as well as knitting tips. The novel, like The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs, is a testament to friendship tightly woven with one knit and one purl at a time.

I’m just cruising through this series full speed ahead and loving every moment of Jo and her friends and family. Funny and a word I never thought I’d use: heartwarming. Well, off to Amazon to get the next book. Can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Does it get much better than this. I love her understanding of people and especially children and their mums. A lovely book to pick up and put down among the doubles of your own life, lightening the load as you take on the characters strength to just get on with it

I do love this series, even the fourth time reading it.It’s about ordinary people, with one minor exception - most ordinary people don’t have one famous friend, let alone two. Other than that, it about real people.You will smile and cry and wish you lived in that British seaside town.

I had the first and third book of the series and bought the second so I could follow the whole series story. Good read!

I read the Jo Mackenzie books for a little mindless diversion, and for that it works quite well. I care about the characters and what happens to them. The book is fun, even though it has little plot tension and is more a slice of life than it is a story that involves a lot of plot development, complication and need for resolution. I am going to read the third in the series sometime soon. It is perfect for my long nights nursing a new baby, reading on my Iphone.

I enjoyed, book #2 in this series, but it was a little slow at times. I don't read many books set in England and this author uses many calocaqual terms that I was not familiar with so that made it tedious in some places. I am enjoying the storyline though of a young widow that moves to her grandmother's hometown and takes over the knitting store that was owned by her grandmother. There are many interesting characters that I like and I am ready to read book 3.

All three of McNeil's knitting book romance/comedies are great. Even though I prefer to crochet, her descriptions of some of the yummy yarns make me want to pick up knitting again. Her character development is very good and the scenes move along at a fast pace. I love the English setting and envy those lucky people in that small seaside village.

This book is a sequel to Divas Don't Knit but can be read on its own. Jo is building up her Gran's woolshop by holding knitting groups and classes. The publicity given to the shop by Grace, the Diva of the first book, helps to put the shop on the map. The characters are warm and realistic; there's Gran and Reg, Jo's feisty friend Ellen, grumpy Elsie from the shop and Martin her son who's the man you need if you've got any jobs which need doing about the house, Jo's sons - Jack and Archie and her mother-in-law from hell who cannot understand Jo has a life to live now her husband's dead. Funny and sad this is a feel good book and an ideal holiday read. Knitters and non-knitters alike will love it.

Definitely one for the lovers of chic knitting style. The story is set in a small but bustling community. I loved Jo's style, ironic and honest. The jet set characters added a bit of sparkle but mostly I loved gran a robust advocate for her loved ones. The story tells of one families journey through adversity with humour and realistic experiences. The development of the yarn shop and the friendships made this story so enjoyable. As an avid knitted identified the yarns and styles. making it such a treat

I really enjoyed this book and the one before (Divas don't knit) They are fun,cheerful reads. I like all the characters, particularly Gran. Ok the bits about the celebrity are mostly fantasy but in a book like this you are not expecting gritty realism. The bits about the awful Annabel are so funny. This may be a light-hearted book with elements of romance but the main character comes over as a real, rounded character. Highly recommended. I don't know if there will be another but I would like to see one set in 10 years when the little boys have become moody teenagers!

I have read 'diva's don't knit and thoroughly enjoyed it, this was just as good.

Having read the two previous books in this series I found myself sympathising with the main character - life does have a way of getting you back for moments of pleasure so beware! On the whole I enjoyed the book maybe even more so than the first two and was sorry when I came to the end. Always the sign of a good book to me.