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!
In this HaBO, we’re trying to track down the first romance Reader Esti ever picked up:
I was talking to Bea at the Ripped Bodice about the first romance novel I ever read, and she suggested I contact you because I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the book (to be fair, I was only ten. Someone messed up and put it in the kids section at a book sale and I bought it. It definitely gave me an education, lol.)
Anyway, the story was about a divorced couple whose son was kidnapped around Christmas time. Of course they fall back in love while searching for their son. I believe the kidnapper was the hero’s partner, who wanted the heroine for himself.
I’m pretty sure the cover was blue (I know, how cliche) and that it was they type of books that come out every month, like the Silhouette romances.
Blue cover alert!
Maybe “Their Only Child” by Carla Cassidy?
https://www.fictiondb.com/author/carla-cassidy~their-only-child~42021~b.htm
Can you give us an approximate year?
I like to google and see what I can come up with…
OMG YES I THINK THAT IS IT!!! I have been trying to find this book for years. I just ordered a copy, I can’t wait to reread it again! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
@NT: Got it in one try! Great work, Bitchery!
Wow, that was fast! Impressive.
I almost prefer it when it takes ages to find the book, because in the meantime we get so many good suggestions.
But one shot? Way-To-Go
If it helps, it actually wasn’t the first book that came to mind. When I read the description of a book with a blue cover where the heroine’s son is kidnapped at Christmas, I first thought of a different Harlequin Intrigue, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” by Dawn Stewardson, but a check of the synopsis showed the father was actually the kidnapper, and the hero was the single father next door. Then I remembered “Their Only Child.” Intrigue was one of the main Hq lines I read in the 90s. If the book is one of those, I’ll probably remember it.
Wow, NT! SUPER impressive! Great job!