Meet Me on Love Lane is a slow-burn small town/second chance romance. Charlotte lived in Hope Lane as a child, but her parents' divorce took her away from the town, and her best friend Henry, when she was just 10 years old. Years later she returns, expecting it to be a short stay, but the town has a way of pulling her back in.

A lot of time is spent on the town, on the ambiance, and the setting. Charlotte and Henry don't actually start interacting until well-into the book, which is a little bit too slow of a slow-burn. We don't get to really experience them falling in love until very far into the book, which makes it a little hard to become invested in their relationship. You're pretty invested in Charlotte and Henry individually, thought.

This is a sweet small-town romance. An easy read.

What I Liked

-I’m obsessed with that cover! I think it just screams Fall, which is my favorite season. I’m just going to ignore the fact that this book mostly takes place in the Summer and not the Fall, though…

-I love the small town setting. I wish Hope Lake was real because I would totally move there. I loved how close the residents are and how they support each other.

-I liked seeing the characters from the the first book again. We get to know Henry and Nick a little better in this installment and I am looking forward to Nick’s story next.

-I liked Charlotte’s relationship with her father and grandmother. Her grandmother was kind of crazy and unrealistic, but she brought a lot of comic relief that I enjoyed.

What Didn’t Work For Me

-While I liked Henry and Charlotte, I never really felt their chemistry. We were supposed to rely on their childhood friendship to support their strong feelings in the present, but we only get one scene with them as children, which Charlotte doesn’t even remember, and they haven’t seen each other in twenty years. It just wasn’t enough for me to buy it. I could’ve used more development.

-After Charlotte was made to move away, she completely blocked out everything from her childhood. Honestly, this was a little hard to believe. I felt like the really traumatic part of her life was living alone with her mother in New York and blocking out those memories would have made more sense.

-There was a lot of repetition in the writing. Take a shot every time Charlotte says “You’re not wrong” and you will quickly become too drunk to keep reading.

-The whole subplot with almost dating Dr. Max didn’t really accomplish anything. It was barely a love triangle, which isn’t my favorite romantic trope anyways, and it just didn’t work for me.

Overall

Overall, Love Me on Love Lane was just ok for me. I did like the characters and loved the small town setting. However, the pacing felt very slow, I was never really sold on the romance, and most of the big plot points didn’t work for me. That said, I still plan on reading the next book in the series because I like Nick.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3 Stars

Wow what a good story. I devoured his book and want more from this series. Highly recommend this story

This was a new to me author, and I am looking forward to reading more from her. This was a fun, heartfelt romance.

A heartfelt romance that shows it’s ok to go home again!

Home is where the heart is but for Charlotte her heart wasn’t in the town she found herself in again! She made it her life’s mission to get back to New York; but the town she grew up in and the town she was standing in where total opposites and she found herself falling deeper and deeper in love with the charm and the people!

We get to experience Charlotte’s growth and see how she is adapting and learning to see the world again through different eyes! I loved this story because it’s not just a love story but a “how to love myself story” we get to see Charlotte navigate life and learn just how beautiful small town life can be!

In the quest to figure out her life Charlotte A very good looking kind doctor that enjoys spending time with Charlotte. She also reconnects with an old friend and Henry holds a piece of her heart that even she didn’t know about!

*5 Stars*

ARC kindly received in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, and much more than the first in the series (not that I didn't like that one though). I really liked watching Charlotte get to know her old friends, and learn what the town of Hope Lake was really like.

I was really intrigued to find out who the boy from the prologue was, and I had a few suspicions which were eventually proven right. And what may seem to be a love triangle on the outside, really turns out to be something else than that. I was very curious to learn about Charlottes past, and why her mother had done and said all these things.

Charlotte's friends were great (we did meet Emma, Nick and Henry in the previous book), and I truly loved her grandmother Gigi. What a larrikin! This was a wonderful tale of a young woman trying to find herself and her place in the world, and I enjoyed every second of this book. I also think we have been given a glimpse into who the next couple may be, and I cannot wait. Definitely recommend.

I enjoyed this sweet story of small town living and coming home. Charlotte returns to the home she hasn't visited since she was torn away by her mother as a 10 year old. She is planning on this being a temporary stay but her dad and grandmother want her to stay. Reunited with childhood friends, Charlotte finds the small town is not what her mothers rantings led her to believe and old memories are reawakened. I enjoyed the characters and the dialogue in this charming book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for a copy of this book to read and review. For me it was an ok read! 🤷🏻‍♀️ I had head great things about book 1, On The Corner of Love and Hate. I haven’t read though and I wonder if I would have enjoyed the book more if I had. This story is about Charlotte who is forced to return home but just temporarily. She meets a Dr. and a teacher. Love triangle commences. I must say though this has the best cover! I love it! Most people seem to LOVE this book so I think I’m in the minority with it being ok.

This story is sweet. It's funny and intelligent. It's heartwarming and it made me smile. I loved reading this book. The characters and the town are so much fun and I can't get enough of them. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from Nina.

Very cute read. Easy to get lost in the story of a young woman returning to her small town roots and the love she left behind. It's like every glorious romance movie set in a small town and I his just warmed my heart.

How cute is this cover?! The story inside is just as adorable. Full of heart and fun, this story of second chances brought me so much joy! The setting is idyllic, the characters realistic, the storyline sweet and happy. This is all the makings of a perfect Hallmark movie! Sometimes you just need a little sweetness in your life, and Meet Me On Love Lane was just the book I was looking for. For me, this was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 read. Thank you @gallerybooks for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

This Hallmark-esque story was brimming with sweet moments, both romantic and otherwise.

I've "known" Nina Bocci ever since I became a blogger, as she has represented some of my favorite romance authors. However, this was the first book of hers that I've read, and I was really impressed. Sometimes that transition from blogger/PR to author has been a rocky one, but that is not the case here. She featured a slew of likeable characters - Charlotte (the heroine), Henry and Max (two potential love interests), Gigi (Charlotte's sweet grandmother), Emma (one of her BFFs), and Nick (Henry's friend). On top of that, she brought a small fictional town, Hope Lake, to life - a town I wish was real so I could visit it, at the very least.

The story itself is more about the direction of Charlotte's life, having been blacklisted in her NY field of work as a florist/party planner. Short on funds and opportunities, she returns home for the first time in over a decade. Charlotte learns quickly that the town and people within it have changed a lot since her last time there. As an outsider, I was drawn in immediately and don't know why it took so long for Charlotte to see the appeal and potential for her in the town, both career-wise and romantically. There are certainly a lot of people in her corner that try to make the decision to stay, an easy one.

What I didn't understand in the story was why she has lost all memories of her childhood friend, Henry. I've heard of blocking memories, but usually those are bad ones, not happy ones. So, the reconnection between Charlotte and Henry is a very slow one (yes, I'd qualify this story as a slow burn). But ultimately, the memories are impossible to escape, and Charlotte runs out of excuses.

Although Charlotte was a little frustrating at times with her lack of direction, I really fell in love with the town of Hope Lake and its community, all focused on one thing, making the town successful. I loved how the town embraced Charlotte's new venture, making it more than a temporary one.

If you are looking for a book that is full of character, and enjoy sweet reunions, check this one out!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC.

I loved this. It happens to be the second in a series and I've also read the first. These are sweet novels with lovely characters who are loyal and kind, and it's just the perfect setting. Makes me want to live in a small town. Now I just need someone to write a book telling me how to find that perfect small town!

Charlotte moves back home to regroup and ends up falling in love. With the town, with her long time friends, with her family. A heartwarming balm that came at just the right time for me.

This was my first book by Nina Bocci, and the plot made me excited to try it! Reading it was like watching a cozy Hallmark movie. Charlotte was a good character, and I'm always down for someone having to choose between two men. This is a second book in a series, but can read as a standalone.

This book is begging to be made into a Hallmark Channel movie. A big city girl who comes back home to her small town after many years, to reconnect with her childhood best friends, finds her dream job, and of course gets inadvertently stuck in a love triangle between the hot high school English teacher and the sexy doctor. Charlotte was a bit of a mess. She was undecided, unsure, and completely lost. She came back hoping to find direction in her life, but she ended up finding herself along the way. Henry was a book lovers dream. Seriously, where can you find a more caring, patient, and oh so swoon-worthy lead. He’s an English teacher ✔️, who reads to kids at the local bookstore✔️, with a banging bod and is completely unaware how good looking he is✔️, and wants to be in a committed relationship and isn’t looking for something temporary✔️. The first half of the book was a bit slow for me because I felt there was a lot of explaining and background of each of the characters and how they all intertwined. It made me a bit impatient for the romance story to start. There’s also a lot of the story that references parts of the first book and I feel like you wouldn’t understand if you didn’t read it. I felt like there was a missed opportunity to give Charlotte’s characters depth. I felt like her mental health and her relationship with her dad were just brushed over. Also I would have loved to have seen this book with alternative POV’s. Henry was an amazing character in this and I was dying to see what his thoughts were. What this book had going for it were its strong side characters. Gigi was amazing. She was the wit, humor, and a bit of the heart of the book. She was the stable constant that Charlotte needed, encouraged her when she needed it the most, and was there for her when she needed a good laugh or a shoulder to cry on. The writing was captivating enough to keep me interested and the author has a way of making the scenes and characters come to life. Here’s to hoping Nick gets his own story soon!

This book was very sweet, which is something I’m not always into, but there was just enough mystery and comedy to spice it up and make it perfect. I really enjoyed Hope Lake and the cast of characters. The details about floral arrangement and the quirky, techie grandma, Gigi, were great touches. I liked the mystery surrounding Charlotte’s lack of memories from her childhood in this cute hometown and it was nice to see her get back involved with not only the town, but her friends, family, and business dreams as well.
Just like any hallmark-movie-ish-book, it was a little unbelievable in its cuteness. Of course there was a festival, a quirky cop, a local watering hole... the perfect building to fall into place for a dream business and creating town council committees and park developments were just easy-as-pie, but the dialogue and details were enough to keep me from rolling my eyes.
The love story was very sweet. Of course Henry & Charlotte are dramatic about their romance and both unnatural stubborn for anyone actually “looking for love.” I didn’t love the “love triangle” aspect or the forwardness of Dr. Max (seemed way too unbelievable for me), but he was a fun addition otherwise.
Random side note: I’m not sure why the cover has a pile of fall leaves when the entire book is set in summer, but it’ll definitely draw the attention of basic girls like me, haha.
I’d recommend this one to fans of romance, small towns, grandparents, flower shops, and cute friend groups.

I really love a series and a story with overlapping characters. I love getting to know them better and really digging into their personalities and lives. I didn't finish this because I just never felt the hook of the story. I am a really fast reader and spent a week trying my best to feel connected and just didn't. I do think that a reader who likes a light fun story and Hallmark movie days with blankets and coffee will love this book. It's warm and cozy and perfect for a light blanket read.

This is a lovely little love story between a man and a woman, and also between a woman and a small town she left behind and then found again. Thoroughly enjoyable, with relatable characters and good storyline.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Meet Me on Love Lane is the second book in the Hopeless Romantics Series, but can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. When Charlotte falls down on her luck, she finds herself returning home to Hope Lake. She hasn't been home for a very long time and is about to find out that a lot of things have changed since she's been away. Her hometown is nothing like she remembers. It's thriving and filled with people and hope. And while Charlotte's return home is supposed to only be temporary, she's quickly finding reasons to stay. Her heart is torn between two men and two cities. To find out which guy and city wins Charlotte's heart, you're going to have to pick up Meet Me on Love Lane to find out...

I'm going to be totally honest with you and say that when I picked up this book, I wasn't sure what I was going to be getting myself into. I had kind of a love/hate relationship with the first book, but couldn't resist giving Meet Me on Love Lane a chance. And let me tell you, I'm so glad I did. This story totally won me over and gave me all the feels. 

Meet Me on Love Lane grabbed me from the very first page and had me super excited to dive into Charlotte's story. I wanted to know why she left town and never returned before now. I wanted to know why she didn't remember a lot of her past and couldn't wait to find out the answers. Now, usually I'm not a huge fan of love triangles, and this one has one, but it's well done and not over the top in any way. Charlotte finds herself torn between two different men, but I knew right away who was going to be the one to win over her heart. 

Meet Me on Love Lane was well written and entertaining. It was a sweet second chance romance filled with hope and the message that you can always return home. Overall, this was a pretty quick read for me and I enjoyed every single second of it. Meet Me on Love Lane totally won me over and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next book in this series!

*I was provided an ARC copy of this book via the publisher & NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review*

Oh lord! What a fantastic, enjoyable, witty, energizing, heartwarming, joyful, humorous reading I had! I was about to cut some points because of the indecisiveness of heroine (She couldn’t choose between a hot English teacher and hot doctor! Okay, when I say it loudly, I know most of you think she is so right! I think I invested our hero so much! But when you read more, you found out it was never a love triangle, wasn’t it?) so for the love those vivid characters, gripping story-telling, amazing word building, all the sighs and “aaawwww” sounds I made, let’s round 4.5 stars up to 5 irresistible charm of the small town stories stars!

First I had to give the awards to those characters perfectly rounded, created and stole my heart, stay in my heart forever:

GIGI is the bat shit craziest, funniest, dreamy, best supporting grandma/housemate character: I think this diamond girl grandma who is in her 90’s, addicted to Apple products, sarcastic, funny, down to earth hippy is my future self (If I could make it after all those delicious white wine, greasy burger consumptions!)

EMMA is the smart, determined, loyal, honest, best supporting adorable friend.

NICK is the hot, trouble maker, entertaining, cupid, Cyrano De Bergerac version of matchmaker, best supporting friend of hero.

HENRY is the shy, golden-hearted, intellectual, cute, devoted best hero/ book-boyfriend.

And CHARLOTTE: even her indecisiveness and some actions she took made me fantasize slapping her forehead several times, I think she is quite fine, talented, genuine, sweet heroine. She just lost her way, her life direction. She just only needed to remember where she belongs.

The book makes you smile so much. At some parts I laughed aloud and got thrown away from the coffee shop so yes I got banned from another place. Dammit! They said I terrorized people because my laughter tunes are hysterical and I terrorized the young mothers and their sweet kids. (Come again?)

Anyways, my cheeks still hurt for too much smiling but this small town story miraculously captivated my heart. It is fast pacing, swoony, romantic page- turner. Especially final revelation about Charlotte and her mom’s story finally made me cry.

And Henry… He was one of the most amazing, loveable, gentle, honest, caring, sweet heroes that you cannot easily find lately on rom-coms. (I’m sick of know-it-all, cocky, pretentious douchebag kinds of Alpha heroes, treating the women like they’re dirt under their shoes!)

If you want to take a break from heavy dramas, angsty fictions, heart throbbing thrillers, this book is AMAZING ESCAPE AND FRESH BREEZE FOR YOUR SOUL, SUNSHINE FOR YOUR HEART!

It’s about friendship, family bounding, discovering yourself, facing your past and finally an epic book about finding your soul mate again!

I think I’m looking forward to read Parker and Nick’s upcoming book. And of course I already added “Roman Crazy” (She co-wrote this book with Wallbanger’s author! I cannot wait to get my hands on it!)

So much special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Pocket Books for sharing this lovely ARC COPY in exchange my honest review. And of course special thanks to Nina Bocci for creating this fantastic, heartwarming, memorable story!