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 … 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.
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**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
On the Corner of Love and Hate is Nina Bocci’s solo debut and it was a good one. While it did take me some time to get into the book, in the end, I enjoyed it. This friends to lovers romance was a good start to this series.
Emmanuelle (Emma) and Cooper were best friends, but there were a series of incidents that drove them apart. One of the biggest issues between the two is their communication. Emma has never shared what made her so combative and snarky toward Cooper, and Cooper has never shared his true feelings. Now that the two work together in the development office, they are constantly under one another’s feet and are always bickering. When Cooper decides to run for mayor, he knows the person to help him with his campaign is Emma, but because of the state of their relationship, that is anything but smooth sailing. Will these two obviously attracted to one another people make it through the campaign unscathed?
There were times throughout the book that I felt Emma was way too hard on Cooper. I know she had hurt feelings, but I really felt for him at times. I enjoyed the secondary characters a lot and felt like they helped to balance everything out. In the end, I enjoyed the book and I will be interested to see what lies ahead for the rest of the residents of Hope Lake.
I really enjoyed my first read by this author. On the Corner of Love and Hate is a great friends to enemies to lovers story. I used to really enjoy political thrillers and stories…it’s been a long time since I read one like this one. I read it in a couple of days…an easy read with some fun snark which I absolutely adore…references to the Golden Girls had me cracking up. But throughout the story, what stuck with me was how MOST everyone was working together to keep this small town together and successful. AND how even when you are feeling you want to throw in the towel on whatever you are dealing with, talking to others about how you feel becomes so very important so you don’t waste time. But in the end, what should happen will happen, just not in the way you expect it to. I would most definitely read more from this author.
ARC received for an honest review
Nina Bocci has been a big part of the book world for years, and after collaborating, On The Corner of Love and Hate is her first solo release – yay Nina!
I live in a small town, so I adore a story set in a small town. I love a friends/enemies to lovers story.
Though our lovelies Emma and Cooper are not on the corner of love and hate – they are pretty much toeing the white line down the middle of a national highway!
It did take me a while to get into this one – I think Cooper at the beginning was so unlikable that he just frustrated and annoyed me. I hated that he had everyone snowed and they all thought he was the bees knees when we could see that he wasn’t all that.
And Emma – hoy, make up your mind girly! If you don’t want to do something he asks you, don’t get sh!tty when someone else does it.
This does have that small town, a bit prudish feel to it (that’s probably just me though. It felt more like a bible belt, southern town rather than up in Pennsylvania. I think the only thing missing was somebody clutching their pearls lol.
I did like the secondary characters. and am looking forward to Nick and Henry’s stories to come in the future.
I did like that there wasn’t toooo much drama or angst – yes, our lovelies had their problems, however there was nothing too OTT or stupid.
I also did find that at times, this story was a bit verbose (look at me, pulling the big words out today!) and could have been 20 or 30 pages shorter.
I liked the story, it flowed well and kept me captivated.
I am now looking forward to see what happens in Hope Lake next.
I was so excited when Nina’s publicist invited me to read On the Corner of Love and Hate and let’s be frank, the title couldn’t be more perfect! And although Nina’s covered the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers trope pretty darn well, this first stand-alone in the Hopeless Romantics series has so much more to offer. Smalltown romance is one of my favourite subgenres; throw in a race for mayor in a politically charged campaign spices up the read no end. Bocci’s given life to loveable characters whose rib-tickling one-liners had me grinning from ear to ear. Realistically narrated and despite my ignorance regarding US politics, learning what goes on behind the scenes kept my interest piqued throughout the book.
So, Emma Peroni’s dad is the mayor and decides it’s time to call it a day, making room for new blood. Leaving his position in the capable hands of the town’s blue-eyed boy he’d watched grow up was on the cards. Trouble was, Cooper Campbell-Endicott needed help and fast. His sense of loyalty to Hope Lake’s constituents is unquestionable, but convincing them to vote for him is hard work, especially seeing as his opponent’s not playing fair.
Coop and Emma had been the best of friends since youngsters but when they returned home after finishing their studies, something just didn’t feel right. I liked how I didn’t get to find out what caused them to fall out until quite a way into the read. Working in the same office complicated matters even further, and signs of a huge lack in communication kept cropping up. This made me question Emma’s stance many a time because I wanted her to be more honest with her feelings.
Emma holds her own up to a certain point. She’s a feisty lass and goodness me, does she work her you know what’s off! In the first place, she’s been cajoled into being campaign manager against her better judgement. Not only is she the best candidate to troubleshoot, but she also knows the ins and outs from her father. Although the idea seemed logical at the time, having to deal with someone who’d been brought in to help causes an inner turmoil. I can’t say her attitude towards this person surprised me, but she’s strong, discrete and well…thoroughly kickass.
I really liked how the story revolved around Coop’s family’s historical reputation and despite him wanting to carry on the political legacy, he comes up against pretty difficult problems. Emma respects his mother, the governor. Listening to her advice as one would do after having had quite a tight relationship with the family over the years didn’t exactly convince Emma or me. There seemed to be far too much water under the bridge to let bygones be bygones.
I couldn’t quite work out which one of these two dug their heels in more. Iron-willed, it felt like the Clash of the Titans on nearly every page I turned. Their constant bickering drove me around the bend, but the quirky banter made up for them constantly having a go at each other. On reflection, their persistence to win the elections together was without a doubt, a goal on a much more personal level than just politics. Dormant feelings knocked at the door; proving that they’d both chosen not to address certain issues… On Emma’s part, I think it was out of cowardice. On Coop’s, I truly believed he thought she’d look for all the excuses to turn him away.
Harsh, eh? I have to say I unjustly blamed Coop most of the time. Stressed out, he couldn’t have envisaged winning without Emma by his side. They needed to see what was staring them in the face personally and professionally. Both families are perfectly imperfect. Getting to know their life-long friends was a joy and I hope to see them in this series. Narrated from Emmanuella’s POV as Coop insists on calling her, left me yearning for his side of the story. That being said, this romance is totally worth reading. Bravo, Nina!
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.
I read the blurb for this book and thought I would love it as the author’s work was compared to the likes of Christina Lauren. Boy was I wrong. Emmanuelle (Emma) Peroni works In Hope Lake government with her former BFF Cooper Endicott. When we first meet Emma, she seems like a harried modern 28 year old who is type A and has to cover for womanizing Mayoral candidate Cooper. My first impression of Cooper was that he was a self-centered jerk who blew off work and expected Emma to pick up the slack. But as the book went on I realized that I may have misidentified who the jerk was, Emma became increasingly whiny, a bit of a martyr and unreasonable. While I decreasingly disliked Emma, I felt more empathy for Cooper. While he made some dumb mistakes when he was younger, Emma vilified him when he couldn’t read her mind that she was infatuated with him. I just wish that the author hadn’t made her such a neurotic nut job, as the other characters in this book were interesting. This book had a lot of potential, but sadly fell short.
Emma and Cooper, typical friends growing up that finally get appart. They are now working, when Cooper runs for mayor, Emma finds herself as his campaign manager. The political world romance built in this book is a story you have to read. The heart and emotional wrench comes from Whitney, her school nemesis, the reason they fell apart and broke her heart, but becomes a key player on Coopers agenda to win. I definitely recommend you reading this book, you will find wonderful characters, a great story and all the feels you love while reading a good romance.
This story was adorable! Emma is a typical workaholic whose dad is the mayor. Emma works with one of her best friends Cooper who hasn’t been pulling his weight because he is running for mayor because Emma’s dad is retiring. Well Cooper has that playboy thing going but it won’t get him elected so Emma agrees to be his campaign manager behind the scenes but not in public so there wouldn’t be a scandal. When Emma suggests Cooper get a steady girlfriend to show he is stable he gets Whitney, Emma’s nemesis from college and the reason Cooper broke her heart. The story is told from Emma’s point of view is it was funny and sometimes heartbreaking but very enjoyable. The author is new to me but I am looking forward to reading more from her as her writing was comfortable you felt like you knew the characters.
Reviewed on behalf of Once upon an Alpha