A cynical writer fired by his publisher falls in love with a bookstore owner struggling to stay in business and defies his fear of crowds to rally the community and save her store.

SYNOPSIS:

Leon is a famous novelist with a big problem: He’s been fired by his publisher because he’s missed all of his deadlines for his next book. He’s also been dumped by his girlfriend Natalie. When his agent banishes him to a small New England island to write, Leon meets Penny, the owner of Seaside Books. Penny grew up on the island, and running a bookstore has been her lifelong dream. She’s poured everything into her store, but she’s just found out that her rent is going up and she’s out of answers for how to keep her business from going under.

When Leon gets to the island, he’s Mister Grumpy to Penny’s sunshine: he’s dressed all in black and scowls at everyone he encounters. At the store Leon wants to remain anonymous, Penny doesn’t recognize him and he brushes off her warm welcome as he ducks behind the shelves.

Her most loyal customer Lucia arrives with news of a famous author staying on the island. Penny gossips with her about Leon’s latest book—in her opinion it’s pretentious and 50 pages too long. Leon steps out from behind the shelves and introduces himself. Penny is mortified and Leon leaves. Lucia says it’s too bad, because Leon could create a huge amount of buzz for the store.

After their awkward first encounter, Penny creates a towering display of Leon’s books in her shop’s window as a peace offering, even though she doesn’t have the money to pay for it. Leon begrudgingly attends the town’s carnival with Penny and discovers that they have much more in common beyond their love of literature. After Penny opens up to Leon about the dire state of her business, he agrees to do a signing event, but has a panic attack when he sees the crowd. Penny rushes him out the back door. Leon is on the brink of a panic attack, so Penny goes for it and plants a big kiss on Leon’s lips. It shocks him out of his panic —and then he shocks Penny by kissing her right back.

Penny’s friends invite Leon to a dinner party and he and Penny nearly kiss, but Penny walks away when they’re interrupted. Leon realizes that he’s finally found the inspiration he’s been searching for and starts to write a new book. Olivia shows up on the island to check up on Leon. Penny learns that her landlord plans to break her lease for a higher paying tenant. She decides to close the store for good. Penny is heartbroken and not sure what to do next, but Leon is unavailable to help when his ex-girlfriend shows up and tries to win him back.

Leon rejects his ex-girlfriend and tells her he’s in love with someone else. He rallies the community and hosts an event that raises more money than the store has ever seen. Facing his fear of public speaking, he gives a speech and declares his love for Penny in front of everyone at the store’s final event. She runs to him and they kiss. A year later, Penny and Leon are living happily ever after, and Leon’s new book is on display in the local authors section. Leon has finally found the community he has always wanted.