Member Reviews
This enemies-to-lovers second chance story was a bit of a struggle for me. Overall I enjoyed it, but I couldn’t connect and love the characters, which made it difficult to love the book. The storyline was pretty good, with Cooper running for mayor, and Emma struggling with the decision to help him, but feeling obligated. The last ¼ of the book was a bit redeeming, and I was glad I continued to read the whole thing, as it was the best part of the book, IMO. On the Corner of Love and Hate was the first book from author Nina Bocci that I have read, and I would read another from her. 3.5 stars
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
If you're looking for a sweet romance with a tad bit of drama then look no further. One the Corner of Love and Hate will take you to a small town in Pennsylvania that's in the middle of election season for it's mayor.
There's an obvious good guy and obvious bad guy. The bad guy is so awful it's a wonder anyone would support him ever. The good guy - Cooper Endicott - is the understudy of the current town mayor. Who better to help him on his campaign is the current mayor's daughter (Emma)! She knows all the ends and outs of the town plus the job. There really is no better person.
Cooper and Emma have a history together - one she would rather not rehash. Live and let live so to speak. Only she's not over him as she would hope to be. Some of their antics in this book will have you chuckling if not even LOL'ing.
I enjoyed these characters and the town. This romance does have a HEA and I think you'll love them all as well. You'll want to pull your hair out over some things but for the most part you're right there with Emma thinking her thoughts and feeling her feelings.
I hope you give this book a chance. It really is a great story.
Roman Crazy by Nina Bocci and Alice Clayton is one of my favorite contemporary romance books, so I was expecting the same magic from On the Corner of Love and Hate. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it at all. I liked the premise of the book, I enjoy enemies-to-lovers and second chance romance, but it just didn't work for me in this book. Both characters were unlikable, and the main conflict didn't make a lot of sense to me. Every aurgument the characters had was driven by misunderstanding and/or pettiness. I didn't have a lot of patience for all the drama. This was a disappointing read, especially considering my high expectations.
Emmanuelle and Cooper were already lifelong frenemies turned co-workers so it wasn't a huge stretch for Emma to take over Cooper's campaign for Mayor of their beloved town. As campaign manager, Emma is tasked with cleaning up Cooper's playboy image, but the one thing she'd rather not think about is his love life. Mostly because she's deep in denial about her feelings for him. Are those feelings mutual? OBVIOUSLY.
I liked Emma and Cooper, but I have a difficult time with conflicts that could be solved with honest conversation. Emma is supposed to be this put together, accomplished, kick ass woman, but she avoids vulnerable conversations at all costs. I also didn't think Cooper was as big of a player as the author wanted us to believe. Basically a little bit of grown-up conversation could have ended this book in 2 chapters.
I absolutely love the enemies to lovers trope. Emma and Cooper used to be best friends, but somewhere between high school graduation and college graduation they became enemies. Now he's running for mayor of their small town, a position Emma's father currently holds, and is being endorsed in full by her father. There's just one snag...his reputation. One way to combat that is to give her a girlfriend, and who better than Emma? There were times when Emma was straight up mean to Cooper, her blows a little to direct. But when their dialogue was witty and on point, the story picked up steam. The last 20 or so percent was really great. Ended well. A cute enemies to lover story.
Emmanuelle or as she likes to be called Emma, is the daughter of the Mayor of Hope Town. She works in the local Government. She’s also the coworker of Cooper Endicott. Emma and Cooper were childhood friends but now are enemies after a betrayal that happened in their past. They keep their relationship professional since they work close together and she tries to ignore him as much as possible. When Emma’s father asks her to be Coopers campaign manager when he decides to run as Mayor, she’s less than thrilled you see Cooper has a bad boy image he flirts and hasn’t been in a serious relationship ever. So Emma’s father wants her help to turn Coopers image around. Coopers mother whose also the Governor is excited for Emma’s help. Along the way Emma tries to extinguish one scandal after another that keeps popping up in Coopers Campaign. With Emma working alongside Cooper she starts to realize that maybe she does have feelings for the one person she told herself she hated! When someone shows up from their past Emma soon finds herself questioning her feelings and herself. This was all told in Emma’s point of view. The tension was perfect between Emma and Cooper. I found myself wanting to yell at them a couple of times and I even found myself falling for Cooper! I enjoyed this book I give it four stars! This was perfect small town romance!
|Thank you @netgalley @gallerybooks #partner|
On The Corner Of Love And Hate is set in the fictional small town of Hope Lake during a mayoral election. Hope Lake is written beautifully and becomes a character of its own. If a place like Hope Lake truly exists, let me know because I desperately want to move there. Nestled between the waterfront and the mountain, this town is quaint, charming, and picturesque.
Emma and Cooper are kind of like Hope Lake royalty. They grew up as best friends in Hope Lake and chose to return after college, not to mention that Emma's father has been the mayor of the town for 24 years and Cooper, the Governor's son, is running for mayor in the current election. Things started to get complicated for Emma and Cooper's friendship in the teenage years, really hit trouble in college, and in present day even though the two work together they are definitely "frenemies." I adored the interactions between Emma and Cooper in this book. They are ripe with sexual tension, sarcastic banter, and heated angst that I just love! My only complaint is that I wish there had been more of them!
A lot of Cooper and Emma's story is told as they interact with other people in the town, which is great for developing the atmosphere of Hope Lake and the various townspeople, but I preferred watching these two actually interact. Their flirtatious contempt was witty and steamy and I wanted more!
Even though I'm not typically drawn to the political scene, I enjoyed experiencing it through this novel. I also loved the underlying message about the importance of voting and making your voice heard, whether it's the popular opinion or not.
On The Corner Of Love And Hate is the first book in the Hopeless Romantics series and I look forward to reading future books. Now that I'm invested in the people and town of Hope Lake, I'm eager to see what other adventures author Nina Bocci has in store for them!
A charming enemies to lovers story with great characters. I loved the local politics angle and having a character I loved to hate.
Emma & Cooper were frustrating though, I wanted to bash their heads together but that’s what made it such a good read.
I loved Emma and Cooper. These are two of the most stubborn and oblivious characters I have ever read. I adored the banter between this group of friends. I laughed so many times while reading this one. The small town setting was perfect and made me wish I could visit. The side cast of characters, especially the seniors, were entertaining as well. I even enjoyed the political aspects, which was unexpected. This series has a lot of promise and I can't wait for more.
On the Corner of Love and Hate, the first book in the Hopeless Romantics series, was a fun frenemies-to-lovers story. Set in picturesque small town Hope Lake, PA, Emmanuelle (Emma) Peroni and Cooper Endicott have been friends since childhood. These days they’re not exactly friends. What they have is a strained friendship and a complicated history plagued with bouts of animosity. This means there’s a story in there about these two and the how/when/why this friendship shifted so dramatically. Currently Cooper is running for mayor and against her better judgement Emma has agreed to become his campaign manager. She’s a take charge kind of woman and Cooper drives her crazy in every possible way. Trying to manage his image is more than just a challenge, and trying to make his campaign scandal free is a total nightmare. These two could be an incredible team on and off the political circuit if only they could get over everything that’s lead them to this point. What’s lead them to this point slowly unravels and we’re catching glimpses of the many feelings involved. It was never going to be easy, but then again the best things never are... This is Nina Bocci’s first solo release and I can’t wait to see where this series goes next. I’m eagerly waiting the release later this year of Meet Me on Love Lane (Hopeless Romantics book #2) because Hope Lake, PA seems like it’s the place to be!
Frenemies with political flare set in a small town, On the Corner of Love and Hate is a slow burn romance cataloguing a mayoral election. When you work with your nemesis, misunderstandings ensue and a lot of them.
Hope Lake provides a small town setting, complete with a tight knit community. Cooper is a player with a past. He's unreliable and a bit childish at times, but there's something about him. Emma was relatable but I honestly had a hard time connecting with her. She was contrary and at times just mean. They both had unresolved emotions, but I struggled with the pace of the story. The end, made the entire thing.
I loved the foursome of friends and enjoyed the writing. Will I read book two? Absolutely. I think the series has great potential.
While I enjoyed some aspects of this read, I ultimately didn't LOVE it. I didn't feel very connected to Emma, she was very hardworking and driven but seemed to constantly have a chip on her shoulder or an excuse for everything. Cooper was OK at the beginning and definitely grew on me but I didn’t feel the spark beneath the hate throughout the book that I generally love in a enemies to lovers romance. This was a pretty slow burn and I didn't really feel the connection until they get together which is where I found the most enjoyment in the story.
I did find myself really enjoying the side characters, especially Henry. Lucky for me, the next book is about Henry and I am here for that!! I also really enjoyed Emma's mother, the description of Sophia was hilarious!
Emma and Cooper used to be best friends. but they're not anymore. When Emma's dad, the mayor, ropes her into helping with Cooper's campaign, she is going to have to spend lots of time with the man she's been pining for practically all her life. Cooper has a reputation for being a ladies' man and needs to clean up act and settle down or hes never going to win this election. Somehow, Emma and Cooper have to manage the stress of the campaign and years of unresolved feelings for one another before the votes are tallied.
This book had a slow start for me, but I loved the second half. For fans of Christina Lauren's enemies-to-lovers stories or books with a political plot like the Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for my review.
Well the title of this book is perfect. There seriously is the fine line between Love and Hate so you might as well meet on the corner.
It took me a while to get into this book and become invested in the characters, but once I did I was completely hooked. The more I got to read and experience of Cooper and Emma, the more I loved them and could understand why they were the way they were.
Emma and Cooper grew up together as friends, part of a friendship foursome, even though Emma had a secret crush on Cooper but things changed when they went to college and they have ended up frenemies.
When they are thrown together to get Cooper voted in as Town Mayor the feelings they have ignored for years start coming to the forefront and the countdown until they can't deny them anymore starts.
I loved the banter and relationship between Cooper and Emma, throw in their friends Nick and Harry and its even more entertaining.
This was the first book of Nina's I have read but I am looking forward to Meet Me on Love Lane due out in December
Not really enemies to friends, more like two people who had a thing and then they didn't and now they're pushed together again. Emma and Cooper - what a pair! Her dad the mayor wants Cooper to succeed him but Cooper is a mess in so many ways. He's mostly a rake and this is the one area where his political savvy fails him. Emma's a smart cookie so when her dad enlists her to get Cooper elected, she knows she can do it, even though she's not really sure she wants to. This focuses on small town politics as much as the romance and while I found that interesting, others might be looking for more steam. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. An entertaining read for a summer afternoon. WHIch characters will Bocci follow up with for the next book?
3.5 ⭐️ This was a fun “gap” read between more substantive books. While not quite on par with Sally Thorne’s books Of similar genre, I enjoyed it and would recommend if looking for a light read. Thank NetGalley for an ARC.
3.25 Angst, Push/Pull Stars
* * *1/4 Spoiler Free
I was introduced to Nina Bocci's writing skill when she teamed up with Alice Clayton on a terrific book called Roman Crazy. I saw flair and talent and I am so happy to say Nina Bocci still has it. Her writing style works and when she wants to make you feel, you do.
In this new book and series, she has made a small-town wonder chalked full of interesting secondary characters really adding to the tale.
The core of the story is about two people who deep down have always wanted each other...but due to childhood errors and continued miscommunications, they are not the lovers they should be...Instead, they hold some negative stuff too close to their hearts causing lots of angst and miscommunications to go awry.
This is mainly told from one point of view which can leave the reader in the dark a bit but again, the way Nina Bocci writes and turns a phrase makes it worthwhile. You have the run for mayor, the hotshot candidate and the daughter of the former mayor tasked to make him perfect for the voters.
I mean, what could go wrong...
This is the beginning of a series and all those secondary characters I mentioned earlier...Here's to them having their own books.
On The Corner of Love and Hate is my first read from this author. And I loved it, enemies-to-lovers is my favorite troupe of all. Sometimes there is a thin like between love and hate, and Nina hit the nail on the head with Emma and Cooper!
They grew up together and were once so close, but now they can be called frenemies. Unfortunately for them they work together, and are completely at odds with each other because Cooper isn't pulling his weight and Emma is constantly picking up his dead weight.
His excuse is that he is that is running for Mayor and his time is of the essence. What makes the situation worse is that Emma's father is the current Mayor and endorsing Cooper. She thrusts aside her reservations and helps him.
I think the underlining thought with her was that she loved Cooper deep down and is in denial. I believe those feelings were completely mutual and but they had a long road to walk down before we got their ending. There were somethings and someone that you may not like, I sure didn't but I will leave those for you to discover yourself.
I can't wait for the rest of the crew books. Especially Henry! Those I imagine will be just as entertaining and interesting. I definitely recommend. Nina's voice is sharp and witty, you will laugh out loud! She has a way of making you want to be invested in these characters, and I loved her pop culture references!
ARC was generously provided by Netgalley, the publisher and author!
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Review Friend to Enemies to Lovers? Nina Bocci wrote a contemporary romance that I think atleast a few readers can put themselves in. I read this with so much anxiety because I was Emma and those feelings sat there with me. If that isn't good writing that I felt her anxiety, dread, hope and everything else with her. I fell in love with the town of Hope Lake and the foursome of friends. I hope Nick and Henry have stories to come so I can visit again. I was recommended On The Corner Of Love And Hate because I'm a huge fan of Christina Lauren and I will gladly pass that recommendation on.
Thank you to Gallery Books, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the oppurtunity to read an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Emma is the daughter of her town's Mayor. Cooper is her "complicated" lifelong friend who is hoping to be the next Mayor. So when he asks her to help, by being his campaign manager she agrees for the sake of the town. She is willing to stuff her complicated feelings for Cooper and his womanizing ways.
The other candidate is more than willing to fling Cooper's past flings in his face, which leaves Maya flailing to minimize the damage. Cooper has a charm to him though, so he is in the lead. It seems clear to everyone but them that they love each other. But there is a thin line between love and hate. Until they figure it out, the sassy mudslinging fights are quite entertaining.