I love the author Nina Bocci, but this book wasn't my cup of tea. I liked the writing style of the book, but didn't love the characters. It won't stop me from recommending this book to those I think will love it, and I still plan to read more by Bocci in the future.

Personally I find enemies-to-lovers to be the most fun type of romance to read, because I love that tension when the main characters think they are at odds, but I just know something is brewing between them! I also love when they realize they are attracted to one another, and that they challenge one another to be a better version of themselves. This was no exception!

Emma is the daughter to the Mayor of Hope Lake (which is an adorable town nestled between a lake and a mountain that I definitely wanted to move to) and she works for the local government for the town that is so important to her and her family. Cooper is her former best friend from childhood, and now the current thorn in her side at work. And let’s not let Cooper off the hook for what exactly turned their friendship to a battle ground.

Emma ignores Cooper at work for the most part, until the day that her father asks her to assist with Coopers run for Mayor and help him improve his image. Cooper should be a lock for Mayor, having grown up as the son of the current Governor, but Cooper has a bit of a play-boy image to contend with, and Emma’s father thinks she is the one to help fix that.

The chemistry between Emma and Cooper is evident from page one, but of course these two have quite a few hurdles to overcome before they acknowledge it. Their best friends Nick and Henry and some other quirky townspeople will help push them along, since Emma in particular is not interested in discussing what led to their falling out. Filled with snarky banter and fantastic characters, this one was easy to lose myself in for a few hours! I am excited to read more about some of the other characters from the town in future books.

This is also quite timely since the mayoral election is front and center in the book, and there is a consistent message of the importance of voting and getting involved, especially in local politics.
Full of small town charm, humorous dialogue, and heart-warming moments—this is sure to a be a great escape read!

Thank you to Gallery Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.

DNF at 20%. This book has a pretty slow start and I’m not feeling attached to find out how things are going to go. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

As the first book in the Hopeless Romantics series, I enjoyed this new release from Nina Bocci.

I am a fan of the Enemies to Lovers trope, and Cooper and Emma really walked that line! Overall it was a cute and quirky read that was a slow burn, and I’m excited to continue on in the series!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Gallery books for the free copy for review. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 11%. I was interested in this romance but I could not connect with the writing or the romance. I decided to put it down.

I started this book over a year ago and was not a fan. After going back and still not connecting with the writing I had to put it down. 

Overall, the writing was not the best and with romance novels I can tell pretty quickly if I will like a book and this is not one of those.

always impressed with nina bocci. although i am only just reviewing this book, i read it quite sometime ago and fell in love with it and have recommended it multiple times

Thank you so much for the copy. I tried to pick this one up but it did not work for me. Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

I really appreciate the publishers sending me an eARC of this directly, I thought it was really cute and a fun read! If you love Christina Lauren or Salley Thorne, I think that you would enjoy this story. This is definitely not my favorite iteration of the hate-to-love trope, but I am interested to see what else Bocci comes up with.

Thank you, Gallery for our gifted review copy. 

I had super high hopes for this one! I certainly love a small-town romance & especially if it's an unlikely match. While I loved the setting, unfortunately, I was missing the connection between the main characters. I didn't really love either of them so it was hard to root for the romance. That being said, I will gladly read and look forward to more of Nina's writing.

Loved this slow burn and loved the idea of politics and romance. Great characters and plot line. Good beach read or a weekend read.

I wanted to love this story, but it was sadly a little too slow moving for my taste. The characters felt true to life, but I did not feel engaged in their story at all. Women’s fiction is not a genre I gravitate towards and I do see how others could enjoy the plot and characters. I probably should have DNFed, this one was just okay for me.

This story really surprised me. I don't mind over-the-top in my romantic fiction, but overall I most enjoy when the characters come off as authentic (particularly in relational contexts). This book nailed the everyday interactions in an everyday town, especially between men and women. I can't believe how real the conversations between Emma and Cooper sound. And the fact that they started off as good friends and the fact that she lost that friendship is why Emma starts off so bitter toward him strikes me as so...well, real. That actually happened to me; one of my best friends in jr high and high school totally ghosted me the second he started seriously dating in college, to the point where 14 years later we're no longer even in touch much less friends. And to this day it still hurts. Kudos to the author for nailing such a niche friendship transition experience that is still so relatable.

I really also love how capable Emma is. She doesn't walk into every room with the need to trample over everyone in order to prove how smart and gifted and capable she is...she just rocks at her job. As a woman who is constantly pressured in my field to "prove" myself and barrel over the competition, I love this as an example of a modern woman confident in her abilities who has no need for the professional spotlight every second. The author also does this really tricky thing where her main male protagonist is flawed and has some horndog tendencies...and yet even before we know that some of his reputation is not based on reality, already he's just super darn likeable. So yeah...I highly recommend this read. It's a slow starter, but stick with it.

*An ARC of this book was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. Apologies for the long overdue review…

You guys. I was told A Curse So Dark and Lonely was a slow burn romance. No, no, no, no. On The Corner of Love and Hate is the slowest burn of all the burns. If it had burned any slower, it would have sizzled itself out. Holy. Cow.

This was a romance set in a politically charged world. Our main character, Emma’s, father is the sitting (and soon retiring) Mayor, and her long time best frenemy, Connor, is running for Mayor in the upcoming election. If you don’t like a romance that is centered around workaholics, an office setting, or a political campaign, this may not be your cup of tea. I think the political atmosphere electrified this novel, and pushed these characters to act, or not act, in specific scenarios. It reminds me of Red, White, & Royal Blue only in the sense that that novel also centers around a romance of political figures.

The absolute best thing this novel had going for it, aside from the chemistry, was the support systems Emma had. Her parents were wonderful with her, her neighbor/coworker had her back on the job, and her two other guy friends from birth were the perfect guiding force whenever she needed reassurance.

I felt a lot of different emotions while reading this book. I felt jealous when an ex-girlfriend is introduced, I felt hot and bothered when Emma and Connor were briefly together, and I felt sad at their rather dumb, emotionally stunted reactions to each other. Thankfully, I also felt ecstatic by a happier than happy ending.

Did I mention this was a slow burn? If you’re looking for a novel with smut, this probably isn’t the best choice (with the exception of one scene towards the end). Despite that, I could see myself reading this again one day. I really liked how fleshed out all the characters were, and I loved the setting of this novel.

Set in a small town in Pennsylvania, I could practically see the leaves changing colors and littering the ground around the lake and mountains in the background. Emma loves to ride her bike around town, and those scenes were so picturesque that when I finished this novel I cleaned off my bicycle and took a ride around my own neighborhood (while maintaining proper social distancing measures, of course).

I am so sorry I couldn't get through this book
We are positive blog and only review books we love so this review did not post as it was DNF

This was such a pleasant read, I loved the love/hate relationship between Emma and Cooper. So happy Emma could hold her own when needed. Emma is helping Cooper to get reelected as mayor and the tension between them builds more and more. Also loved the small town setting, so many great characters.

This was my first Nina Bocci book and I really enjoyed it. It was definitely a slow-burn romance and I felt a little disappointed at that - I really would have liked to have more romance throughout instead of rushing to fit it in at the last few chapters.

This book was a fun book to like and enjoy. It had many charming aspects with location and characters. There were funny parts that help make the plot more relatable. I can definitely see this book being a great book club read because it offers something for everyone.

3.5 stars! Can this book be made into a Netflix show? I think that's my initial thoughts here. I would love to watch this. An enemies to lovers book is a trope I always enjoy and this one took a twist on that because it was friends to enemies to colleagues to lovers in a small town in Pennsylvania. And add politics into the mix. 

While I did enjoy this book, there were also things I personally didn't like. The romance was toooo much of a slow burn but it was really sweet. If you're someone who prefers a slow burn romance, this will be right up your alley! For me, it's part of what made it miss the mark but I still really enjoyed it and would love to see it on my tv screen!

Unfortunately, this book was a tad too slow moving for my tastes. Honestly, the political part was just not holding my interest. Perhaps today's climate is the reason. I found that reading this story was often exhausting as I tried diligently to maintain my interest.

Sorry to say, this was not really a book for me.