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.

On The Corner Of Love And Hate

**received an ARC in exchange for an honest review**

4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A cute story about childhood friends turned enemies who just might not hate one another. Cooper has always had feelings for Emma, but he knows that she doesn’t think highly of him and just thinks that he has her do all the work. But in reality he wants her and he wants to be successful and show her that he can handle the pressure of being mayor. Emma has disliked Cooper for years and it seems that as they got older it grew. But at the same time she couldn’t forget that they had been friends all those years ago and that maybe there was something more between them. The slow burn between them has you rooting for Cooper and hoping that he can find a way to get Emma to see that they belong together.

***I received an ebook copy from the author at no cost***

I waited patiently for Nina’s first solo story to come out and it was so worth it.

On the Corner of Love and Hate is set in the small, cozy town of Hope Lake, PA. As the title suggests, Emma and Cooper—the story’s main characters—are the best of enemies. There’s plenty of love and hate flowing back and forth between them. Their journey was entertaining for me as a reader because, at times, I felt like I had my own love-hate relationship with both of these characters.

Bocci did a wonderful job building the Hope Lake world. It has all the elements of a small town that one would expect. Everyone knows everyone and because of that, everyone is in each other’s business. The town has its heroes and its villains, and they play their parts perfectly. There’s history between the different characters and stories about things that have happened, both past and present.

I loved watching Emma and Cooper’s story play out. I enjoyed the different twists that Bocci threw into the plot. The mayoral campaign was a fun part for me, because I love political themed anything. Both of the characters changed and developed throughout the story. I liked getting to learn about their backstory along the way as well. And Nina does a heck of a job with the comedic aspect. I laughed out loud a number of times while I was reading.

Looking forward to seeing how the rest of this series plays out. I can’t wait to see other characters get their story told.

Four stars to this novel!

A good book for fans of small town romance and enemies-to-lovers to try out! However, this was a slow burn, and the writing did lull a bit in places (especially with most of the plot revolving around their work,) and unfortunately just wasn't for me.

I found On the Corner of Love and Hate to be a little blah for my taste. I really had a hard time liking the two main characters and feeling much of any connection between them.

Emma is helping her childhood friend Cooper on his political campaign in their hometown - and boy do these two have history that goes WAY back. Emma, is very rigid though, vs Coopers Playboy, playful side. They just seem like the most unlikely match and it's almost painful to watch them banter. But will the campaign end up bringing them closer together or push them even further apart than they've already become?

Emma was bit tough to like, if I can be honest - and it was hard for me to root for her. Cooper just didn't seem like the type of guy I'd ever want a HEA with! Even though he's hot, I wouldn't ever be able to trust him based on his history and he wasn't very believable as the settle down type. I do think part of the reason I didn't love the main characters was probably because they just seemed a bit over privileged and spoiled and both got whatever they wanted in the campaign and in their jobs/life because of it.

I almost didn't want them together and was hoping for an ending where they stayed apart... so you'll just have to see what happens!

However, the plot was very cute. I don't particularly like books centered around politics or a campaign - but this one was refreshing and I enjoyed the story!

I did love some of the other characters (well, Nick and Henry, at least) and I hear there will be subsequent stories centered around them - so I'm looking forward to that!

Gosh, where to even start with this book....
It was so beautifully written.
I found myself drawn into the pages pretty much from chapter 1. I had read Nina in the past with her collab with Alice Clayton. But getting one strictly from her was so refreshing and wonderful. She writes with so much passion and emotion.
And I really jaut couldn't fond the time to put it down. (I mean I did. I had to. Being an adult stinks for sure) but I just kept wanting to flip the pages.
The story had so many wonderful characters with such good personalities. They really just came off the Pages for me. They were so life like and just.... real. And I loved the complexity and different levels of passion and emotion Nina was able to accomplish in them.

Definitely one of my favorite reads here recently

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Such a cute, feel good story that I really, really enjoyed! Who doesn’t love an enemies to lovers trope? There were times where both Emma and Cooper’s characters really annoyed me, but the more I read, the more I cared for them. The love they felt for their hometown brought them together initially, but then they reached a point where the feelings they had for each other couldn’t be ignored. I’ve definitely read much better romances, but this was a sweet read that made me smile. I’d give it about ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️📚 Thank you @gallerybooks and @netgalley for my copy in exchange for my honest review!

Super cute read! I really enjoy Bocci's humor and prose. I also found the premise a really interesting take on enemies to lovers (my favorite trope). I will definitely be reading the next books in this series

Sadly, I picked this one up after having just read Red, White, and Royal Blue, so I just couldn't get into it. I'm not over the top about romance storylines, so one in a month was enough for me!

This is the type of light, fun reading that I love to mix in with the more mysterious thrillers. It is a feel good, laugh out loud read...great setting, and quirky characters. Will definitely look for more from this author to have on my list!

This friends to enemies to lovers romance holds no surprises. Cooper is Emma’s best friend from childhood who she had a secret crush on for years. When he kissed another girl in 8th grade, the crush became “crushed.” When they ended up at the same university, she thought she’d have a second chance, and that ended in hurt again. Fast forward several years and they’re working together in their small PA hometown, but have a very antagonistic relationship. Cooper is running for Mayor, and he wants Emma as his campaign manager. The rest of the book is all about strategizing, cleaning up Cooper’s womanizing image, and does she/doesn’t she still have feelings for him. It’s not hard to figure this one out.

Overall, it’s a pleasant book, but there are a number of elements that make it a frustrating and nearly implausible read, beginning with the immaturity of the two main characters. They’re both college grads (Emma has a Masters), but they act and speak to each other as if they are still in high school. It’s difficult to believe that Cooper can go from being a “jackass” (per Emma) into a viable candidate that the voters will support practically overnight. The relationship between Emma and the bitchy rival is over the top, and Cooper is clueless to the point of being unintentionally cruel. The choice to have random “Emma Thoughts” is redundant since the entire story is from her point of view. It makes no sense that the local paper would print libelous articles about Cooper, and the election coverage with statewide journalists seems unlikely except for the fact that he’s the Governor’s son. The best part of the book is the relationship they have with their other two best friends, Nick and Henry, who will each have a book in this series. Here’s hoping that their romances are more realistic.


I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A delightful tale of 2 people who are determined not to be attracted to each other especially Emma. An easy read.