Series: A Lock Story #1
Author: Toni Aleo
Published February 14th 2026
Goodreads Synopsis
She writes love stories. He’s afraid to live one.
In Holiday Ridge, a love that survives Lock Night is a love worth keeping.
Maggie Welch writes happily-ever-afters for a living, but when it comes to her own heart, she’s wonderfully unlucky. A best-selling romance author with a failed marriage living in a town full of promises she no longer believes in, Maggie has sworn off love… even as she watches couples lock theirs in at Promise Pond.
Dermot Aldridge has built his life on control. A quiet, distant doctor with a bruised heart and a deep love of romance novels, he prefers the safety of books, his dog, and solitude. Love is something he reads about… not something he’ll ever risk again.
Until a freak accident involving a ladder, a concussion, and a very unfortunate stone sculpture throws Maggie straight into Dermot’s arms.
Forced proximity turns into late-night conversations, stolen glances, and a connection neither of them expected. But with Lock Night approaching and both of them carrying scars from the past, opening their hearts may be the biggest risk of all.
Because in Holiday Ridge, love isn’t just promised.
It hangs on a fence as a constant reminder…
Is this forever?
Or just an empty promise?
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via BookSirens. This in no way impacted on my view.
Though she's an award winning romance author, Maggie Welch has never been in love herself. She's grown up seeing how her parent's love story sparked a craze in town, and wants more than anything to have a romance which survives Lock Night. Maggie's always had her eye on the handsome doctor next door, Dermot, but she's too shy to make a move. So when a freak accident involving a ladder, and a stone phallus, result in her needing medical attention, Maggie makes her move. Dermot knows that Maggie is his favourite author, and he's drawn to her like never before. But he's shy and quiet, and can't imagine someone as beautiful as Maggie will want him, right?
This was definitely the book to read on Valentine's Day this year. Maggie and Dermot were such a sweet couple, and though not completely similar, they were complementary to each other. Yes, they made mistakes, and it wasn't an absolutely perfect love story, but it was real and theirs. I liked the premise of Maggie's family being love royalty in the town, and think that the rest of her siblings will likely be the protagonists of other books in the series. I hope so at least, because it would be nice to return to Holiday Ridge.
Dates Read:
February 14, 2026
Rating
3 Stars
