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    Love by the Book

    6.2/10 · 1,502 ratings·2015·1h 30m·Weirdness 3/10
    Love by the Book poster

    At a glance

    3/10

    Mostly standard issue

    What bumps it up: Enemies to lovers.

    Season
    Multiple
    Setting
    Small Town
    Time period
    Contemporary
    Leads start as
    Complete Strangers
    Runtime
    1h 30m
    Watch trailer
    IMDbLetterboxdTMDBJustWatch

    Where to watch

    We haven’t pinned down where Love by the Book is streaming yet — check JustWatch.

    The premise

    A bookstore owner and hopeless romantic meets the man of her dreams and tries to save her business with the help of a business consultant. She discovers what she needs to make the fairytales she bases her love life on true in this romance story. Throughout the movie, she also tries to help her younger sister work through her recent engagement and prepare for the wedding.

    How unusual is it?

    Mostly classic comfort-watch, give or take an enemies-to-lovers arc.

    Who’s in it

    Leah Renee headshot

    Our Girl

    Leah Renee

    as Emma Graham

    Kristopher Turner headshot

    Our Guy

    Kristopher Turner

    as Eric Donovan

    Alongside them

    • Cherilyn Wilson headshot
      Cherilyn WilsonJane Graham
    • Ryan Bittle headshot
      Ryan BittleLandon Crest
    • Cuyle Carvin headshot
      Cuyle CarvinGreg Thompson
    • Michael Ensign headshot
      Michael EnsignPhilip
    Show all 10 castShow fewer
    • Stefanie Powers headshot
      Stefanie PowersMarilyn
    • John Schneider headshot
      John SchneiderFrank Donovan
    • Lola Wayne Villa headshot
      Lola Wayne VillaYoung Emma
    • Joelle Better headshot
      Joelle BetterYoung Jane

    Behind the camera

    ShowHide

    Directed by

    • David S. Cass Sr. headshot
      David S. Cass Sr.

    Written by

    • Jeff Bonnett headshot
      Jeff Bonnett
    • Abbey Cleland Lopez headshot
      Abbey Cleland Lopez
    • Jennifer Notas Shapiro headshot
      Jennifer Notas Shapiro

    Every trope, all in one place

    Here’s everything this one has going on, from the setting to the way it wraps up. Tap any of the 28 to find more movies that do the same thing.

    Setting2

    🏘️Small Town📚Bookstore

    Time & season2

    🔀Multiple🗓️Contemporary

    Characters5

    🏪Lead: Small Business Owner💼Love interest: Executive/Corporate🐕Dog⏰Workaholic lead🐕Pet

    Conflict6

    💼Business vs Love⚡Economic Downturn💼Career stakes📉Business in peril💔Love triangle⚖️Profession clash

    Romance7

    💕Start as complete strangers💕First kiss: late (final third)⚔️Enemies to lovers💓Instant attraction🔥Slow burn💗Love confession🎁Grand gesture

    Tone & quirks3

    🎬Light/Heartwarming👨‍🍳Cooking scenes🎞️Montage

    How it ends3

    💒Wedding ending💋Ends with a kiss🏪Saves the business

    28 tropes in one movie

    We counted 28 distinct Hallmark tropes packed into this one — a genuine greatest-hits reel.

    How it stacks up

    Where this one’s rating lands against every other rated Hallmark movie.

    Rating 6.2 vs every rated Hallmark moviemedian 6.4This movie · 6.245678

    Higher-rated than 31% of every rated Hallmark movie. The median is 6.4.

    Where this one fits

    The corners of the catalog Love by the Book belongs to — handy if you’re after more of the same.

    • 💢Hallmark Enemies-to-Lovers MoviesStarts with sparks of the wrong kind.
    • 💍Hallmark Wedding MoviesWedding bells are involved.
    • 🐶Hallmark Dog & Pet MoviesA four-legged matchmaker.
    • 🧁Hallmark Baking & Cooking MoviesPlenty of time in the kitchen.
    • 🏘️Hallmark Small Town MoviesA classic small-town setting.

    Meet the characters

    Who’s who before you press play. Nothing here gives the ending away.

    • Emma Graham

      Lead

      Bookstore owner

      romanticwarmdetermined

    • Eric Donovan

      Love interest

      Business consultant

      Love interest

      practicalgroundedkind

    • Jane Graham

      Supporting

      Emma's sister

      Sister preparing for her wedding

      youngsearching

    • Landon Crest

      Supporting

      Emma's dream-man date

      The man Emma initially pursues

      charming

    • Greg Thompson

      Supporting

      Acquaintance

      Person in the story

      friendly

    • Frank Donovan

      Supporting

      Donovan family

      Eric's relative

      warm

    Questions people ask about Love by the Book

    How long is Love by the Book?

    Love by the Book runs about 1 hour and 30 minutes, and was released in 2015.

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    Data and sources

    Curated by the Talking Hallmark team.

    Sources:IMDb·TMDB·JustWatch

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