Paper Hearts

Abigail Pressman is more than the owner of the Book Nook in Loves Park, Colo.; she’s a descendent of the city’s founders. To her mother’s chagrin, Abigail is also one of the few single women in a town dedicated to romance, in keeping with its name. When Jacob Willoughby buys her building, Abigail faces eviction if she can’t convince the handsome doctor that the Book Nook needs to stay. As Abigail and Jacob waffle between disdain and affection for each other, Abigail discovers the paper hearts contained in a love letter. Sent to Loves Park to obtain the town’s romantic postmark anonymously each Valentine’s Day, the letters (and accompanying hearts) reveal a couple’s intimate love story, and Abigail’s frosty stance toward romance begins to thaw. When she decides to share the decorative paper hearts, and the story behind them, with her customers, the result is a boom in business that may just stay her eviction. Walsh (A Sweethaven Summer) pens a quaint, smalltown love story, complete with an overbearing mother, an unscrupulous business partner, and a group of busybodies whose hearts are in the right place even if their actions are questionable. While certain elements are predictable, Walsh develops enough plot twists to make this enjoyable to the end. Agent: Sandra Bishop, Transatlantic Agency. (Feb.)