This charming sequel to The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society returns readers to the truly sweet little town of Sweetgum, where six women meet every month to work on knitting projects and discuss books that they are reading.  The blend of the two hobbies, and the mix of the various women, work together seamlessly as the women's stories unfold both to the reader and the characters themselves.

The characters are at different stages of their lives, ranging from a confused 14-year-old girl to a newly widowed and suddenly poor stalwart of the town, to the town librarian who is learning what it means to be the wife of a pastor when she herself is in her 60's. The story includes the effect of a child's illness on the family, teenage rivalry and cliques at the high school, and the effect of the pastor's new wife on the church finances.

Some of the women are facing having to move from their long-time homes, and coping with that loss, as well as loss of family members from both expected and sudden deaths.  They find ways to lean on each other while retaining their own strength and dignity.  Each of the six has their own romantic issues to deal with and they support each other in this area as well, but without overt interference.

The women's stories are infused with truth, life, fear of commitment, fear of rejection, and the yearning to find and accept love.  Fittingly, the Knit Lit Society is reading Great Love Stories in Literature and they are able to draw parallels with their own lives over the course of the six months and six books they read.

Women both young and older will enjoy this book. It is open-hearted, heart-wrenching and thought-provoking. Beautifully written, The Sweetgum Ladies Knit for Love is a treasure of a fictional book about a fictional town and characters in which both the town and its people feel altogether real to the readers.  I very highly recommend this book to women of all ages. Who knows? Maybe you can get your boyfriends and husbands to read it too!  Men could most certainly find some insight as to how women think about love and romance from this book.