You did it! We figured this one out! It is a truth universally acknowledged (by me for certain) that the Bitchery pretty much knows everything, and really, it's true. Scroll down to see the solution for this HaBO - and many thanks!
This HaBO request is from Megan. Y’all, there is a Purple Sweater of Love.
So I love you ladies, and you have been detrimental to my wallet on several occasions.
I remember tiny, teeny tiny, parts of the plot and remember liking this book, but now have no idea what the heck it could be. There’s almost nothing to go on, but the Bitchery is pretty amazing, so here’s hoping.
I read it in the ‘90s I think, possibly the early 2000s.
It may have been a Harlequin monthly contemporary novel. This is one of those “I’ve loved him from afar for ages, and I’m totally going to wear a wig and some color contacts, bang him, have great sex and then disappear.” I’m not 100% on the color contacts.
The chick may have been a bartender, but I don’t feel like that’s true. Either way, she definitely knew him for a while before, propositions a hot one night stand in a bar, they have great sex, and she ends up pregnant (condom broke maybe? I’m really hoping she even had a condom).
Anyway, I think they’re friends or acquaintances when she’s not picking him up, he finds out she got pregnant and wants to go beat the SOB who’s not helping, etc. but she won’t tell him. They may possibly be neighbors? Or she gets kicked out of the house when it’s obvious she’s pregnant and ends up living with him. Or he ends up living with her because he’s helping with home repairs? (The more I try to remember this, the more I tangle it in my head.) I know she’s not rich since she buys all her maternity clothes at Walmart. At some point, I know they’re sleeping in the same bed and she’s freezing so she has the huge purple sweater she got at Walmart, and there’s something about the sweater that leads to love or sexytimes or something. Somehow, Purple Sweater is important.
Also, I think he hated all her maternity clothes except the sweater? At some point he finds out he’s the dad, and there’s love and unicorns pooping rainbows everywhere and they throw out all the horrible clothes except the special enormous Purple Sweater.
A Purple Sweater of Luuuuuuuurve®? That drives the hero wild and creates all sorts of sexxytimes? OH, yeah. Do you recognize this book?
How would that even work? Is the guy that oblivious to the heroine that he doesn’t recognize his friend? But then again, Lois Lane never recognized Clark Kent as Superman.
It’s come to me, like a bolt of lightning, that pregnancy in romance seems a bit fetishized (to me). It’s always made me a little bit squicky.
I don’t feel like finding your partner’s body (or for that matter the body of someone that you know fairly well), while she is pregnant, sexy, as being fetishized. It’s the idea of finding a woman, who you have not established a relationship with, sexy at that time that seems like a fetish.
I’m generalizing. I don’t even go for women and I find pregnant bodies somewhat sexy. But I think it SEEMS fetishized to me, when in romance.
Am I alone?
Either way, this sounds like a terribly fun book to read. I think, between close personal friends, pregnancy and sexy times are totally okay. In fact, this sounds like there might be a purple sweater fetish, and I’m all over that.
I hope we figure out which one it is.
No idea about the book (though now I wanna read it) but @Coco — I think that many women feel terribly fat and gross and un-sexy when they are pregnant; at least I sure did. There is something appealing about a hero who is turned on by me at my (physical) worst?
After all, why did Mary Challoner fall in love with Vidal? When he held the basin for her when she was seasick!
I’m going to be insanely disappointed if the Bitchery can’t find the purple sweater of lurve.
I apologize for nitpicking, but I would like to clarify that research has shown that unicorns actually piss rainbows. They poop cupcakes.
Silliness aside–I don’t generally read contemporaries but your description of the purple sweater is compelling enough that I want to know what this is!
Coffeefaery, I took to the Google to dispute your research, and look what I found!
I’m a believer! You’re absolutely correct!
http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/imagebuzz/web04/2009/12/22/11/special-unicorn-26737-1261498263-0.jpg
Too bad we can’t see the size of his horn. *leers*
(Hit SUBMIT too soon. LOL)
Lynda, your research is SO much better than mine! Ha!
After all these years I should know better than to drink a beverage while reading a post here at SBTB…..
Thanks for the treat Lynda!
Please, someone, find a knitting pattern for a Purple Sweater of Love!
I have no idea about the book, or the excretions of unicorns.
Sweater patterns, however:
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/1176AD.html?iP=1
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/L30260.html?iP=1
But that’s just a quick flip through a site everyone can see. I would absolutely undertake extensive research or offer up an original design but we need to find the book so I know what I’m working with here.
I’m picturing something she thinks she can hide in but is super touchable, possibly something so oversized it offers tantalizing glimpses of her shoulder, say. But we don’t know! It might be hugging all those pregnancy curves. It might have an easy access nursing neckline. Is it long enough she isn’t wearing pants? Short enough that he can see her irresistible belly? Cardigan?
We need to find this book, people.
Out of all the friends who have sex and accidently get pregnant and she keeps the pregnancy a secret, how are we ever to discover this particular book, despite the Purple Sweater of Love?
I have no idea what this book is, but I did discover that someone has made a goodreads list of romance novels with accidental pregnancies – maybe it’s on there. If only the title were “The Girl in the Magical Purple Sweater of Love” I could start reading it immediately, which I really, really want to do.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/22303.Best_Accidentally_Pregnant_in_Romance_Novels
There is even a goodreads list of Harlequin accidentally pregnant romances.
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/39420.Harlequin_Unplanned_Pregnancy
I apologize for my unicorn excrement error – I will remember in future!
@scifigirl I don’t remember how he’s that obtuse, but he is. I can’t remember how close they were either.
Off to scan the enormous Harlequin list… will let you know if I find Purple Sweater of Love
Sadly none of these is the Purple Sweater of Love. Although accidental pregnancy is apparently huge with Harlequin Sheikhs. Neither of them was rich, royal, sheikh, etc. I feel like they were hardworking Midwest Americans or something. Dude may have been in construction.
@kkw I’m pretty sure it was a cardigan (perhaps soft and delightful cotton)
I am pretty sure I read this. The plot seems SO FAMILIAR. It would have been in the early 2000s, though, because I wasn’t into romance before that. Hopefully it comes to me.
Also, for unicorn poop proof: http://ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com/unicorn-poop-cupcakes/2013/02/18/
I could swear I’ve read this book too, though I don’t specifically remember the sweater of love..
marilyn pappano SIM Heartbreak Canyon #3 The hero and heroine went to school together she was shy and not very social b/c of controlling abusive father –she hooks up with hero on bar while he is in town for his brother’s wedding and then he leaves town -he is a bad boy small time crook con man his sis in law mails a picture of the girl regnant and he realizes who the hookup was and goes back to help her she doesn’t want his help b/c his past and hers so he keeps it a secret that he is the father and does handyman stuff to help out they start to fall in love he buys her a big sweater and she wears it to bed because it is cold and crawls in with him and there is sexy times one of my favorites 🙂
OMG YES! I am 90% sure. Will buy and read tonight. Thank you April!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For those who want to join me: http://www.amazon.com/Rogues-Reform-Heartbreak-Marilyn-Pappano-ebook/dp/B005Q07FPC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1436363423&sr=8-3&keywords=rogue%27s+reform
What I want to know is why isn’t the model on the cover wearing the purple sweater of lurve?