On the Corner of Love and Hate

Nina Bocci

Aug 2019 · Hopeless Romantics Book 1 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

For fans of Lauren Layne and Kristan Higgins comes a delightfully “fun bit of fluffy entertainment” (Publishers Weekly) in the first book of a charming new series, in which a young woman is forced to help her old friend revamp his image for the upcoming mayoral elections...and discovers that she might not be as immune to his charms as she once thought.

When Emmanuelle Peroni’s father—and current mayor of Hope Lake, Pennsylvania—suggests she help with Cooper Endicott’s campaign, she’s horrified. Cooper, one of her (former) oldest friends, drives her crazy in every way possible. But he’s also her father’s protégé, so Emma reluctantly launches her plan to help him win the local election.

It’s not as easy as it looks. Cooper’s colorful love life is the sticking point for many voters, and his opponent is digging up everything he can from his past. It seems that every time Emma puts out the flames from one scandal, another one flares up. Emma knows that if Cooper wants to win, he needs to keep his nose clean. The only problem? She might just be falling in love with the one person she promised never to pursue: the mayoral candidate himself.

Ratings and reviews

From childhood friends to teenage crushes, on to frenemies and co-workers ensures On the Corner of Love and Hate gives the term IT’S COMPLICATED a whole new meaning. Emmanuelle (Emma) and Cooper were friends all through childhood and into adolescence when those pesky hormones took over and transformed the way in which Emma viewed Cooper. The sad thing is we get the impression that those new feelings were not just on one side, unfortunately, Cooper let the attention of the opposite sex cloud his judgement and as a consequence ruin his friendship with Emma. Emma has done a fine job of distancing herself from Cooper even though they work together; only to be forced into close proximity to him via well-meaning and influential parents as well as her own wish for the best mayor for her hometown – Cooper. To be honest for the most part I thought Cooper was an emotionally lacking main character because of his previous indiscretions, of which there were more than one for Emma to be truly bothered by. It would have helped if we got to see Cooper’s perspective and perhaps an explanation for some of his more questionable decisions. While Emma is a sassy, commanding career woman she has also lost a part of herself by denying her feelings for Cooper and distancing herself from all aspects of his life. Which is quite a large part of Emma’s social life due to the friendship between their parents as well as the career path they are both on. Even though Cooper and Emma really did belong together, I struggled with how easily Emma was able to let go of the past (obviously she is a bigger person than I am). I absolutely adored the peripheral characters within On the Corner of Love and Hate and am intrigued to learn more about them as the series continues.

What an amazing start to the Hopeless Romantics series! I really enjoyed this childhood friends to enemies to lovers slow burn romance! On the Corner of Love and Hate will have you laughing out loud one moment and then tearing up the next. It's relatable and heartfelt and I fell completely in love with Hope Lake and its residents. Emmanuelle (Emma) and Cooper have a complicated history. I couldn't wait to find out what drove these once best friends apart. Sparks fly as they bicker and verbally spar, and I loved every zing of chemistry between them. As the book progresses, readers come to learn about all of their sweet and tender moments (the drawing under the desk!), but also the heartbreaking ones as well. The fates have never quite aligned for these two, and it hurt my heart over how much was left unsaid over the years. I loved all the relationships in this book so much. From parent to child and friend to friend, I loved how supportive and loyal they all were to each other. The secondary characters were absolutely amazing and I don't think I could have loved Emma's mother, Sophia, more! The Chef Boyardee incident and her fashion sense had me snort laughing every time she was mentioned or on the page. I can already tell that steadfast Henry will be my favorite of the BFF quartet though. How can I not fall in love with a character who isn't concerned with sowing his wild oats everywhere and describes himself as a sexual camel? ;) Nina Bocci's writing is witty and sharp and I laughed so hard at all the perfectly placed pop culture references. Her voice and heart really jump off the page and had me invested in these characters from the start. The epilogue left me with a huge smile on my face and I can't wait to see what's next for the town of Hope Lake! *I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

On the Corner of Love and Hate felt more like women's fiction to me than romance except that it's more fluff than fiber where the storyline and characters are concerned. That's not necessarily a bad thing, we could all use a little fluff from time to time, but the romance here is a slow burn - like the flame is barely there type of slow. I expected an enemies to lovers story, but I never really got that from Emma and Cooper. They do have some fun banter, and we're told that there were some sparks in the past, but I just didn't see much chemistry between them. They could've ended up just good friends, and I would've been fine with that. I do like small town stories and on that, this one delivers. The town is charming, and the characters are quirky and fun. I even enjoyed the politics and Cooper's double-dealing opponent made for an interesting bit of trouble in the mayoral race. I did have one pet peeve with this book, and that was the random 'Emma thoughts' that would pop up. At first they were amusing and even cute, but after so many, it was more distraction and started to wear at me. Fortunately, those do fizzle after a while and they don't happen as often in the last half of the book. In the end, this one wasn't quite what I expected or hoped for, but I did enjoy meeting the characters of Hope Lake, and I will check out other books from this author.

About the author

Nina Bocci is a USA TODAY bestselling novelist who loves reading and writing about swoony, relatable heroes and smart, witty heroines. If the story is set in a small town, even better. You can always find her chatting on social media about her massive, crazy Italian family and her favorite person in the world, her son. Find her at @NinaBocci on Twitter and Facebook and @Ninapolitan on Instagram.