This book was really cute, but nothing special. It's a typical, feel good romance where the main characters pretend to hate each other when it is so evident that they will get together. The "filler" and build up to that happening fell a little short to me and seemed to drag. I was pulling out my hair thinking "get to it!" Reflecting back, I think part of what I disliked was that there were two story lines, both evident, and both dragged. You knew Emma and Cooper would get together and you knew he would win the mayoral race and the whole book was just the build up to that. I will give the sequel a chance, but this one fell a little flat.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This was a cute haters to lovers story. Although, I felt the book took a bit to develop I'm glad I stuck with it to that happily ever after.

Cooper and Emma were friends growing up. Life got in the way and now, even though they work together, they bicker and Emma claims to hate Cooper. Cooper decides to run for Mayor of their hometown in which Emma’s dad has been Mayor for the past 23 years. Emma and her father back Cooper, and Emma ends up running his campaign.

This is a bit of an interesting book for me to review. I didn’t get as pulled into it as I thought I would, but in the end I did really enjoy it. It look me about a month to read this book and I think in the end that kind of helped me? I had a lot of other books that I was reading and had to get read by certain dates, so this became my background book that I would read when I didn’t have my other books around. But in the end, I think that helped because it made me feel like I had known Cooper and Emma for a long time. I became more invested in the slow pace of their relationship and I really got behind them by the end.

I loved the energy between Cooper and Emma. Cooper is a bit of a cocky womanizer but he’s a genuinely good guy. Emma is the mayor’s daughter and is good at her job. When Cooper doesn’t do his part of the job, she gets irritated with them and I enjoyed their banter.

The other part of this story I enjoyed was the suspense of who was going to with the mayoral election. I liked the tension between Cooper and the other candidate. In fact, I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more. There were bits and piece that seemed like they were going somewhere seedy that were never touched on again.

While I wouldn’t put this book on the same level as the Christina Lauren books, it was still a well written romance. The smut level is very low, so if you want a romance story that is all about the relationship development and not a lot of physical romance, I would recommend checking this out. Since it is the first in a series, I am looking forward to the next books. The town is adorable and I liked Cooper and Emma’s friends, Nick and Henry, so I would love to read their stories of finding love.

I'll start off by saying that I love Nina Bocci's writing. The synopsis sucked me right in; I knew I wanted to read this book. This book has been described as a slow-burn romance. It definitely is, but the part that made me stumble is the slow beginning. I struggled for a long time to get past the first stages of world building (longer than I want to admit), but once I did, I truly enjoyed the imagery, details, and depth of her characters.

Emma and Cooper have an interesting rapport. They're friends but Cooper seems to bring out the worst in her - isn't that all kinds of fun? He's running for political office, and she's doing her best to make sure he keeps in line. It certainly adds to the angst and anticipation of what will happen next. If you enjoy the intrigue of a political setting - behind the scenes - then you'll certainly enjoy how these situations push and pull at Emma and Cooper.

At first Cooper cam across as too arrogant for my taste, but then I realized I had to temper my assessment of him because I was merely viewing him through the distorted perceptions of Emma. And taking another step back, I realized if Nina could make me see and think that, then she did a good job of pulling me in.

But you know what they always say...there's a thin line between love and hate. That's why they meet on a corner!

I wanted to love this one because I enjoy a good enemies to lover story and it was compared to Christina Lauren’s books so I was expecting some hilarity. However the book fell a little short for me. I didn’t like either main character much and without that connection I found that I could easily put it down. That being said it was well written and still an interesting read. It just wasn’t for me.

While this book is technically an enemies-to-lovers romance I feel like I just did not get enough of that sweet, page-turning tension that should come from that trope. There was not enough sexual tension or chemistry for me to truly become invested in this one, especially because the characters ended up being people I just couldn't really relate to. I did enjoy the small-town setting and the local politics, and I think that this would make the *most* fun Hallmark movie. But there was just something that kept me from fully falling for this one.

I’ve been reading a lot of this trope lately, frenemies to lovers. There’s something about the angst and love that comes from a long history full of trials and tribulations that draws me in and keeps my interest. This story is set in a sweet little town, with great lead and supporting characters that give you that lovely small town feeling. Complete with drama, scandal and nosey townspeople that will keep you cracking up with their antics. This story had me infuriated at times, swooning in others and laughing out loud throughout. What more could you ask for in a solid contemporary romance?

Oh how I loved the sound of this story right from the start! Two childhood best friends, Emmanuellee (Emma) and Cooper, who definitely don’t get along as adults now and have to work together as Emma the campaign manager is put on task by her father to fix Cooper’s bad-boy image as Cooper runs for mayor himself. Oh and, side note: they might actually be falling for each other.

Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope when it comes to romance, so this book 100% hit the mark for me. I loved it! We’ve got great main and secondary characters (from Sophia’s, Emma’s mom, to Nick and Henry... in fact, give me more of those two please!), a small town vibe, politics/a mayoral election, and a flirty, fun, charming story full of heart. Really, this one had it all and I couldn’t help but breeze through it in just a couple of sittings.

About my only complaint here was that the romance was so slow-burn to the point it was almost non-existent for most of the story. That said, there still is a whole lot of angst and sexual tension throughout, though if you’re into romance low on the steam factor, this one is for you.

Lastly, the writing was so well-done here (I really like the author’s style and thought the “Emma thoughts” on the side were a cute touch). Now, I’m just left really excited to return to Hope Lake in the next book of this Hopeless Romantics series, releasing in December... yay! Highly recommend!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Gallery Books for the complimentary copy.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a fun "chick-lit" read that's well-written with interesting characters. It's set up as a hate you/love you romance that I thought was executed well. The plot revolves around the mayoral race in a small town. Cooper Endicott is running for mayor to replace Emmanuel Peroni's father, and she's asked to run his campaign. Unfortunately, she thinks he's a heartbreaker and the two of them have a messy history.

I recommend this book, it was a nice escape for an afternoon.

Thanks to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

On the Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci follows Emmanuel and Cooper, lifelong childhood frenemies. They grew up together in the political circuit with both of their parents involved in local government. Now Cooper has decided to run for Mayor and needs Emma’s help to run his campaign. Only one small problem, they are constantly at each other’s throats.

Emma reluctantly agrees to help with the campaign but begins to have a difficult time navigating her feelings for Cooper. At one time she thought he could be it for her but a friend’s betrayal shattered that and Emma is still reeling nearly a decade later. As they work more closely on the campaign, could desire be simmering under all this hate or will Emma’s hurt from the past keep her from pursuing what she’s always wanted?

Overall I liked this one! The campaign planning and strategy took up much of the book with the romance being a slow burn but it pays off in the end. Emma also really struggled with forgetting what happened in her past and it really didn’t allow her to move on with her life. Much of the story is Emma’s arc as she learns to let go of the hurt, take down her walls and stop running away. I did find myself at times wanting to shake her out of it but I understood it was needed to bring the characters together in the end. The next one in the series comes out in Dec and I look forward to checking it out! For fans of enemies to lovers with a side of political thrills - this one’s for you! // ☕️☕️☕️

3 Stars

Predictable and Cute!

How could i not be drawn in to the a story about childhood friends who become enemies and then well, you know? Love Strikes! Emma and Cooper sure got my attention in Nina Bocci’s novel “On the Corner of Love and Hate”, when Emma works on Cooper’s campaign. While I guessed what would happen, this was a sweet enjoyable read that kept my attention and stole my heart.

Another buddy read with Kaceey!

Thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Nina Bocci for the arc.

Published on NetGalley on 9.21.19.

On the Corner of Love and Hate was a delightfully fun enemies to lovers story. I really enjoyed Bocci's writing throughout this story and the way she made me connect with not only our main characters, Cooper and Emma, but also the rest of the town.

I found myself getting lost in the story along with these characters, getting to know the town, watching as these two realized there was something there between them they didn't expect and often finding myself left with a giggle or two. There was just the right amount of drama, and course all the swoons to keep me hooked on every word.

Bocci hit it out of the park with this one, and I can't wait to see what happens next in the series.

Nina Bocci is a new author to me, but I enjoyed this book. It got a tad confusing at times; I think the author was trying to play down the relationship of the two characters and at times I couldn't figure out if they were really friends or if they didn't like each other based on the descriptions. I did really enjoy the setting; I had no trouble picturing myself in Hope Lake and would love to live in a town similar to that.

If you're looking for a frenemies turned lovers romance, this is a book for you! I'm happy to see this is book one of a series, and am excited to see which character the second book will focus on.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I love the enemies to lovers trope
and On The Corner of Love and Hate was sweet. The steam is on the mild side(IMO 😆), and this is a slowww burn so it’s only at the end.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I looove the characters & I can’t wait for the next book in the series... GIVE ME HENRY.

I absolutely loved this book! It was practically as soon as I started that I was sucked in and couldn't put this down. The characters were well-developed, and I absolutely fell in love with the main characters as well as the town in the story. I can't wait to see what Nina Bocci has next!

A lighthearted enemies-to-lovers romance with great characters! Just what I needed! I'm usually into romance that's full of angst and drama, but once in a while I need to take a break from it. Thank God I stumbled upon this book!

I always love to read a good hate to love story, and this was no exception. Great banter between the two main characters, and I thought I would get tired of the political side of the story but it was okay. Would make a great movie!

This book just wasn't for me. Normally I love enemy to lovers but I just got super frustrated with the characters in this book. Emma seemed to overreact to everything and didn't allow anyone to give explain themselves. I DNF'd at 65%.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the ebook of On The Corner of Love and Hate.

I love romance stories where characters go from hate to love. My favorites include The Hating Game and The Unhoneymooners. I can now add this to my favorites list.

I loved Emma and Cooper’s relationship. I thought their banter was hilarious. I thought Emma’s strength and no b.s. attitude was a highlight in the book. You can not go wrong with strong female characters.

Cooper’s antics were frustrating, but in a good way. I could not stop turning the pages to see if his antics were going to make Emma realize her feelings for him.

I also loved the characters of Henry and Nick. I can not wait for their books!

I loved everything about this story and the characters except the fact that there was way too much political mumbo jumbo and logistics when there should have been more romance! I wanted to feel all the feelings when Cooper and Emma were in the same room but the focus was solely on his political campaign. Emma needed to be a little more playful and fun but she could not let things go that related to work and that started to lose me at times. I am all for aspirational and being a work-a-holic but she needed to have other hobbies in her life to make her more likable. Other than these few issues, this was the sweet romance I needed. I liked the writing style; I could see this as a great Netflix romance. It read like a movie and I loved that.

Will post review and call to action on Sept 8th in instagram. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you for the galley copy.