The Valentine Proposal

Author: Beth Pugh
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Pine Valley #1
Release Date: February 1, 2022

Can Love Be 10 Years in the Making?

Award-winning photographer Mason Montgomery is back in Pine Valley, Kentucky. Hopefully, for good, if his business proposal is accepted. On paper, he’s the perfect buyer for Forget-Me-Not Photography. Too bad the seller, Ol' Man Rowe, doesn't see it that way. He's looking for a family man to take over, and Mason's bachelor status doesn't fit the bill.

For shy Lily Anne Dawson, life has not turned out the way she'd hoped. Working at her mother's bakery and editing for the local newspaper is a far cry from her journalistic dream. She's a failure. A lonely failure worrying about infertility with no romantic prospects in sight.

That all changes when a decade-old promise to marry on Valentine's Day pushes the two together at their high school reunion. The impromptu proposal offers a solution to their problems. But marriage requires honesty―and both have secrets. Secrets that could make or break their budding love.

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Reviewer: Erin Stevenson

Beth Pugh’s debut novel, The Valentine Proposal, is a sweet story about two people for whom life hasn’t turned out the way they had hoped (can anyone relate?). Lily Anne feels like a failure in every area of her life, and all Mason wants is to return to his hometown, plug into the community with his photography career, and reconnect with the girl he’s always loved. Then, a decade-old promise to marry on Valentine’s Day pushes the two together at their high school reunion.

It took a little while for me to get invested in these characters, but they were well developed, and their dialogue was natural. Soon I was rooting for their happily-ever-after and enjoying the roller coaster ride as they dodged various roadblocks.
 
I was intrigued when early in the story, it was revealed that both Lily Anne and Mason had made a purity pledge in high school. I was hoping it would be developed into a major theme and was a little disappointed when it was not. Today’s teens need to hear the message of staying pure for marriage more than ever.
 
When Mason brought up going ring shopping, I looked forward to experiencing that in real time, getting into their heads and discovering what they were thinking and feeling, but it was told rather than shown. The ring was unique and special, and I was looking for the back story.
 
The Valentine Proposal is a great introduction to Pine Valley, and Pugh has set things up well for future books in the charming small town, which is a successful trope in inspirational fiction. Devoted readers of the genre will enjoy this story. 

This book was provided courtesy of the author through Interviews & Reviews.

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