How To Knit A Wild Bikini by Christie Ridgway

From Amazon.com: The beachside knitting shop Malibu & Ewe is the perfect place for L.A.’s hip young crowd to enjoy colorful yarn and intimate conversation. For personal chef Nikki Carmichael, it could be the softest place to land if her new job falls through. Working for magazine writer Jay Buchanan has come with some strange conditions—like pretending to be his girlfriend. As for Jay, he finds himself drawn to the kitchen, where he’s intrigued by his sexy cook’s ability to withstand the heat between them. And now he thinks it’s time to turn up the flames.
This is the first book I have read by Christie Ridgway and I enjoyed it. This is the first book in series of books centering around the yarn shop Malibu & Ewe. I give this book three stars because I felt like there were to many subplots that were not processed through enough....they seemed a bit rushed and squeezed in. The reason Jay needs Nikki to pretend to be his girlfriend is to throw off his neighbor, Shanna and then she all of a sudden falls in love with the gardener. Which is fine, I just felt there was more to tell. . . The author also sets up the connecting storyline for all three stories, they are "sisters" from the same sperm donor. Not sure how I feel about that, seems a bit odd for a storyline but we will see.
Overall, this was a good first read for me and I am looking forward to reading the next two novels, Unravel Me and Dirty Sexy Knitting. Be warned though, if you are reading this for the knitting aspect, that really is not a main focus at all! It is not like Debbie Macombers knitting series, this is more they just hang out at the shop for a bit and cast a few rows. This book has some quick humor and a darker undertone that you do not expect in a funny romance. Hopefully the next two will be a touch better.