A review by kj468
Knit Tight by Annabeth Albert

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

rep: MLM, Bi MC, Gay LI, Turkish LI, ADHD side character
narration style: 1st person, single POV

First and foremost: This book lost an entire star rating due to (in my opinion) completely unnecessary biphobia from the love interest (Evren). I easily would have given this book 4.5 stars if the biphobia just didn't exist. I dive into the biphobia in my first dislike bullet point.

Things I liked:
  • KNITTING!!!! So much fun to have a queer romance that so heavily focuses on knitting! If you love knitting (or crocheting, or any crafting), you'll probably love this aspect too. Every chapter opens with a small snippet from Evren's ( the LI) knitting blog, even though the rest of the book is told from Brady's POV (the MC). I loved these small snippets into Evren's head, and how they brought the theme of knitting to the forefront.
  • I liked the integration of Evren's Turkish culture into his character. His culture shows up in the way he interacts with Mira (his aunt), the food he cooks, and the pet names he uses. Overall, it was difficult to forget that Evren was Turkish, but his culture didn't feel performative.
  • The spice was great. 10/10. If you like toppy, dommy energy (and the subsequent submissive begging energy), this is the book for you.
  • As an asexual person, I really loved Evren's discomfort around mess, particularly in the bedroom. He's not comfortable with the mess of bodily fluids, or even lube really, and it very consistently affects the way he has sex with Brady. Brady was absolutely excellent about this facet of Evren -- very respectful, never once pushed Evren to do things he was uncomfortable with, and found compromises that worked for both of them without making Evren uncomfortable.

Things I didn't like: (these two caveats are why I responded "it's complicated" to the loveable characters question, instead of yes).
  •  Biphobia: Early in the book, Evren explicitly states that he "does not usually do... bisexual" guys (a direct quote, page 26). It seemed pretty clear that this biphobia was used to give Evren trust issues to complicate the plot, and was "justified" by the fact that the two previous bisexual guys he dated were unfaithful to him. Biphobia is a real and powerful thing, and if the author was trying to explore that, there needed to be better conversations in the latter half of the book to heal the biphobic comments and make the lesson clearer. I think it is reckless to portray biphobia and unkind stereotypes about biphobia ("unfaithful", "unable to pick a gender") without having on-page conversations about why those stereotypes are harmful and damage the bisexual community. Granted, Brady does push back against the comments, both in his head and verbally, directly to Evren, but I guess I just didn't see the full growth from Evren I would have liked to have seen in order to make this plot line palatable. In the end, Evren is okay with Brady's biphobia and seems to fully trust him -- but there's no conversation about how he feels about bisexual people at large. For all I know, he could think Brady is completely trustworthy, but that he's the "exception to the rule". 
  • I didn't love Brady's relationship with his oldest sibling (Renee, 19). I understand it was supposed to be strained because of stress and her age, but to me, she just came out selfish and unlikeable. While she makes amends after fights and says she loves her brother, she is barely physically present (and not at all mentally present), even at key points like Brady's birthday. I think she could have been written to be a more balanced, complex character.

tw explanations:
biphobia: see dislike bullet point #1
cancer; terminal illness:
Mira, the aunt (and past guardian) of Evren, has pancreatic cancer. She undergoes treatment throughout the book and eventually dies as a result

death of a parent, grief:
1) probably clear from the description, but Brady's parents both suddenly died before the beginning of the book, leaving him as the guardian for his siblings. 2)  *not technically a parent, a guardian* Mira, the aunt (and past guardian) of Evren, has pancreatic cancer. This is largely why Evren moves back to Portland. She undergoes treatment throughout the book and eventually dies as a result

homophobia:
Evren's biological parents, who he doesn't speak to anymore, kick him out when he came out as a teenager. At this point, he went to live with his aunt, Mira, who owns the knitting shop in the book.
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