By Iris Sanchez/Mosaic
A Los Altos bookstore provided an escape for the heart at a Valentine’s Day event on Saturday.
Romance lovers gathered at the Bay Area’s first romance-only bookstore, A Novel Affair Bookshop, for a trade show in downtown Los Altos on February 14. The bookstore was filled with merchandise, vendors, special edition books, and local authors.
“I love romance books,” said Gaby Azcarate, who attended the event with her best friend. Both are from San Francisco. “It’s pretty much the only thing I read.”
The pair took turns smelling book-themed candles scattered throughout the merchandise area, their hands full of bookmarks and stickers.
“This is the perfect place to spend Galentine’s,” says Vaish Patel, who traveled from San Francisco with her two best friends, Maya Ghosh and Vanita Mundhra.
The trio were decked out in matching pink and red outfits, which matched the surrounding heart streamers strung along crowded bookshelves. They said they remember making friends at their local bookstores growing up, and how much that has changed with social media platforms.
“A lot of my experience with the book community is online,” Ghosh said, holding a stack of books. “But there’s nothing more fun than coming to an event and talking to someone.”
The friends sat together in the romance section, a genre mix of romance and fantasy, looking for their next book club.
- Decorations at the Valentine’s Day Fair at A Novel Affair Bookshop in downtown Los Altos, California on Saturday, February 14, 2026. (Iris Sanchez/Mosaic)
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Decorations at the Valentine’s Day Fair at A Novel Affair Bookshop in downtown Los Altos, California on Saturday, February 14, 2026. (Iris Sanchez/Mosaic)
“Reading is my escape,” Mundhra said. “I’m finally meeting friends who resonate with that.”
Andrea Ressi, owner of Whimsy Blooms Floral Co., displayed bouquets of flowers as customers passed by her table during the event.
“A Novel Affair is just a very lively place to be,” said Ressi, from San Francisco, as she arranged flowers for a customer. “It’s such a nice, generous experience to be invited today and share the love.”
Ressi has been teaching for more than 11 years and says she hopes events like the book fair provide young people with a safe place to connect with their community.
“Books are such a window to the world,” says Ressi. Gesturing to her display of bouquets, she said, “I know the only way this was possible is because I’ve been in spaces where people believed in me.”
Iris Sanchez studies at San Jose State University.
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