The Great Christmas Knit off – Alexandra Brown

Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Published: 6th November 2014
Pages: 378 Pages

The Blurb
Heartbroken after being jilted, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession. But after perpetrating the cock-up of the century at work just weeks before Christmas, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit to the picturesque village of Tindledale.

There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needlecraft. But Hettie, the owner, is struggling to cope and now the shop is due for closure. But when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, something miraculous starts to happen…

Rating: 4/5

The Review
Sybil is unlucky in love and she’s also made a dramatic error in work, which has cost £42,000 – a great big oops. Now, all she wants to do is spend her time knitting and relax. To Sybil, her knitting is soothing and takes her mind off all the bad things that are happening. However, sometimes her knitting doesn’t actually help and she decides to go visit her friend Cher at her new pub, little did Sybil know that it would be in the middle of country.

The Great Christmas Knit off was – as it name says – great. I loved the Christmas feel to it and also, that it wasn’t overly depressing or soppy, it was just nice. (I sound like Goldilocks). I must admit I am softening around teh Chick-lit genre (it’s not always a favourite of mine) and I think it’s because I’m slowly reading great books that make me smile, rather than cringe. Alexandra does a great job in being able to balance love and cringe – thank you for doing that for me, hehe.

Sybil’s character was very likeable and she was someone everyone could relate to. Her love of knitting made me smile because it’s not everyday you see someone so young loving to knit – it’s stereotypically linked to the older generation these days. She put smiles on a lot of people’s faces and helped them more than she knew – everyone needs a Sybil in their lives.

All I kept thinking was ‘Can I live in Tindledale, please?’ it sounds so lovely. Everyone is so kind to one another and they are always helpful. It would be nice to be part of a community that are close because nowadays people just tend to keep themselves private, I mean do you know your neighbours? Sometimes a little relaxing in the country helps to clear your mind and I’m glad Sybil found solace in a nice environment.

You can purchase The Great Christmas Knit Off on Amazon UK and Paperback.

Find out more about Alexandra Brown at her website at www.alexandrabrown.co.uk and on Twitter at @alexbrownbooks.