Knit Two, by Kate Jacobs

The sequel to The Friday Night Knitting Club went much more quickly than the original book in the series. Knit Two (published in 2008 by G.P. Putnam's Sons) follows the same cast of characters as its predecessor, but is more engaging simply because by this time the reader is more interested in the characters' lives. I found myself caring about the characters as if I knew them personally, and that kept me reading straight to the end in just a few days' time.

As far as the plot goes, one character gives birth to a set of twins, a couple of others find love, business booms, and most of the characters go to Italy for a summer. And that's about all I can say without giving the "meat" of it away.

Just as with the first book, I wouldn't call this series exceptional (though it did make the New York Times bestseller list, so what do I know?), but its character development pulls you in (and makes you want to have a tight-knit circle of lifelong friends that faithfully meet up once a week).