Herron steps briskly into formula in her debut about knitting and a mismatched couple who hate to love each other. When knitting book author Abigail is bequeathed a cottage and a small piece of land on a ranch owned by her best friend and mentor, Eliza Carpenter, she decides to give it a go in sleepy Northern California. Instead of her idealized version of a quaint abode, she arrives to find a decrepit, junk-filled shack and an irascible rancher, Cade—nephew of Eliza—who, despite his anger at Abigail having anything to do with his ranch, allows her to stay in his house until she gets the cottage in order. The two gorgeous strangers quickly realize an attraction they swear to fend off, but, of course, they don't, though there's a lot of fussing along the way. Herron, a popular knitting blogger, weaves in her love of the art throughout the rote romance. It has sweet moments, but the uninspired plot gets tiresome. (Mar.)