All serious knitters know about the boyfriend sweater curse: knit a sweater for a boyfriend, and he’ll break up with you soon after. Gabriel Sutton isn’t the superstitious type, but after the curse strikes three times, he isn’t taking anymore chances. His new boyfriend, Noel Rivera, will have to be content with store bought gifts.
Yet as their relationship develops, Gabriel begins to believe Noel might be the perfect man for him. Noel doesn’t make fun of Gabriel’s holiday traditions and wants to create new traditions of their own. As Christmas draws closer, however, Gabriel sees signs of Noel pulling away, and he worries this relationship will be as big a mistake as the others. Are Noel’s late nights and secretive phone calls a sign he’s cheating? Or will the magic of Christmas bring Gabriel the love he’s been searching for all along?
With the holiday nearly upon us, its safe to say that I have read more than a few tales of the season over the past thirty days or so. Some might find themselves becoming even more critical when it comes to reviewing or what they are expecting well I am no more critical now than I was at Thanksgiving when I really started with this years holiday reading. I like to think I keep an open mind all the way through and I was intrigued to read The Boyfriend Sweater Curse by Ari McKay. I mean lets be honest, knitting is not a commonplace hobby for the younger males today so Gabriel's love of all things yarn really piqued my interest before even beginning. And who doesn't love the element of a good curse? Despite the dreaded sweater curse that Gabriel has potentially fallen victim to, this holiday tale is a delight. Did the ending surprise me? No but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the journey that Gabriel and Noel took getting there. Simply put: The Boyfriend Sweater Curse is a true gem that will warm your heart and make you smile.
RATING:
Six years ago –
Gabriel Sutton leaned forward in his chair, watching eagerly while Jack opened his present. They were celebrating together on Christmas Eve since Jack had plans with his family on Christmas day. Gabriel had set the mood by dimming the lights in the living room of his apartment so the white lights on his tree illuminated the room with a cozy glow. His tree was decorated with an array of ornaments that reflected his various fandom interests, and he loved it.
Jack tore off the shimmery red wrapping paper, opened the oblong white box, and peeled back the tissue paper to reveal the sweater Gabriel had knitted for him. They were both Star Wars fans, and Gabriel had spent almost six months knitting a sweater in fair isle colorwork using Star Wars images. The pattern consisted of five horizontal rows repeated on both the back and front; he’d used black yarn for the background so the images would pop, and he’d added a ribbed crew neck and cuffs.
The first row alternated with the Rebel Alliance symbol in white and the Empire symbol in red. The second row X-Wing and TIE fighters in charcoal gray. The third row was a line of AT-ATs in white. The fourth row was a line of R2D2s in white and blue, and the last row was a row of Death Stars in white and gray. In between each row was a thin border made of lightsabers with either a blue, green, or red blade. It was by far the most intricate colorwork project Gabriel had ever knitted, but he thought the hours he’d spent on it were worth it. Jack was worth it.
Jack held up the sweater, his eyes growing wide. “Wow, that’s really something!”
“Do you like it?” Gabriel scanned Jack’s face for signs of enthusiasm, but while Jack was smiling, he didn’t seem overwhelmed.
“Of course I do, babe.” Jack kissed him lightly, then put the sweater aside in favor of retrieving Gabriel’s present from under the tree.
Gabriel didn’t see Jack wearing the sweater over the next couple of weeks, but they didn’t spend every day together, so he assumed maybe he missed seeing Jack when he wore it. Then in late January, Gabriel stopped by Jack’s apartment to pick him up for a date. A new restaurant serving Ethiopian food had opened in downtown Asheville, and they both wanted to try it. Jack opened the hall closet to get his coat, and Gabriel saw the Star Wars sweater still in its box and half-obscured with tissue paper on the floor next to Jack’s hiking boots.
A heavy sandbag lodged in the pit of Gabriel’s stomach as he retrieved the sweater and held it out to Jack, who looked sheepish. “You haven’t worn it?”
“It’s a little busy. I prefer simpler designs,” Jack said, offering an apologetic smile. “Do you want it back?”
Gabriel ran his hand over the soft wool stitches, disappointed that he had misjudged what Jack would like. He didn’t like taking back gifts, but if Jack didn’t want it, fuck it. He’d wear it himself. In fact, he wore the sweater to his knitting group’s next meeting at the local independent yarn shop. They gathered each month in the cluster of comfortable secondhand chairs by the large picture window at the front of the shop, and they spent two or three hours knitting and chatting over sweet iced tea when it was warm and coffee when it was cold.
“Isn’t that the sweater you were knitting for Jack?” Miss Hilda May asked.
“He didn’t like it, so he gave it back,” Gabriel said, his lips twisting in a moue of annoyance, and the circle of ladies made sympathetic noises. They all knew how it felt when a handmade gift went unappreciated.
“Better be careful,” Miss Betty said. “You might have triggered the boyfriend sweater curse.”
“The what?” Gabriel put down the cabled hat he was knitting and turned to her.
“The boyfriend sweater curse,” Miss Oleta said, nodding sagely. “It’s real. I knitted my first boyfriend a sweater for his birthday. We broke up less than a month later. I didn’t knit my husband a thing until we were married, and we’ll celebrate fifty years together this summer.”
“Wait, what curse?” Gabriel frowned as he looked around the circle of older ladies.
“You haven’t heard of the boyfriend sweater curse?” Miss Betty’s penciled eyebrows climbed to the roots of her dyed blond hair. “Oh, shit, honey. I guess we should’ve told you when you started working on that sweater, but we thought you knew. Never knit a sweater for your boyfriend, or you’ll break up for sure.”
Gabriel shook his head and scoffed. “We’ve been together almost a year. I think we’re solid.”
Jack broke up with him by email the day before Valentine’s Day.
Ari McKay is the professional pseudonym for Arionrhod and McKay, who have been writing together for over a decade. Their collaborations encompass a wide variety of romance genres, including contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, gothic, and action/adventure. Their work includes the Blood Bathory series of paranormal novels, the Herc’s Mercs series, as well as two historical Westerns: Heart of Stone and Finding Forgiveness. When not writing, they can often be found scheming over costume designs or binge watching TV shows together.
Arionrhod is a systems engineer by day who is eagerly looking forward to (hopefully) becoming a full time writer in the not-too-distant future. Now that she is an empty-nester, she has turned her attentions to finding the perfect piece of land to build a fortress in preparation for the zombie apocalypse, and baking (and eating) far too many cakes.
McKay is an English teacher who has been writing for one reason or another most of her life. She also enjoys knitting, reading, cooking, and playing video games. She has been known to knit in public. Given she has the survival skills of a gnat, she’s relying on Arionrhod to help her survive the zombie apocalypse.
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