Emmanuelle aka Emma Peroni gets duped into being the campaign manager for Cooper Campbell-Endicott; a man she has known and had intense feelings for most of her life. Her father the mayor and Cooper’s biggest supporter wants Emma to do all she can to help Cooper win. The biggest problem besides Emma’s very conflicted feelings about Cooper is he seems to be a player man-child. Cooper’s good looks, charm, and wealthy family make him a ladies’ magnet and not in a good way.

The other candidate in the mayoral race is not above using dirty tricks and Cooper’s past and present behavior to torpedo his campaign so Emma has a lot of work to do to go for the win. They live in a small town where everyone is their business which makes the politics even more challenging. Emma’s feelings for this man she knows so well are all over the place. She spends a lot of angtsy moments obsessing on or denying her feelings while giving Cooper mixed signals.

The style of writing is this book is clever and entertaining; however, I had a very hard time liking Cooper because of his level of immaturity and continual slip ups. Emma was frustrating because she is so relentless in her goal to loathe Cooper instead of love him partly because of some old, but not forgotten deep hurts. Throw in a former girlfriend whom Emma cannot stand to remake Cooper’s image which is another element I am not a fan of and you get quite a recipe for drama and emotional flame outs on Emma’s part. The humor helps balance the book out to some extent though be prepared for a very slow burn romance.

awwww Cooper and Emma are totes cute!
Childhood friends turned enemies, turned coworkers, turned...they turned into something not quite friends but not quite enemies.
It was so cute to read their story and how they evolved and grew together.
Emma didn't take any crap from Cooper, and trust me he gave it...
Cooper pushed Emma's buttons at every turn.
#ChefBoyardee #Chopsticks #FriendshipGlue

Adorable. Relatable. Funny. Satisfying.

There really isn’t much more I can say about On The Corner Of Love and Hate. Emma’s internal dialogue and imperfections made her likable.

Cooper is the man you love to hate, but ultimately his charm and true intentions will win you over.

I’m a sucker for romantic comedy. Add in a political campaign and I’m sold.

On The Corner of Love and Hate was an enjoyable read.

It’s a hate to love story which is a storyline I find highly entertaining. Emma is a tough but funny character who loves everything about her small town except for Cooper, one of her former best friends, who drives her completely crazy any time they are in the same room together and often when they aren’t. I liked the interactions between Emma and Cooper a lot. He gets under her skin which is all the funnier because she’s such a pragmatic person but she seems to lose her head when Cooper is around.

I liked Nina Bocci’s writing style and this was an expected and pleasant read. On The Corner of Love and Hate is a good choice for those looking for a light and fun book about a small town romance.

I adored this romantic read by Nina Bocci. Full of fun, flirting and politics, it grabbed my interest right from the start and kept it till the end. I loved the characters and the development of the story. Such a fun read for anyone looking for a contemporary romance!

On the Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci is an enemy-to-lover romance published by Gallery Books. This novel is the first in the Hopeless Romantic series and is set to be released on August 20, 2019. I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Emmanuelle Peroni and Cooper Endicott, two former childhood friends with a messy past, cannot stand each other. But when Cooper decides to run for office, Emmanuelle, who tries to suppress her feelings for Copper, is dragged into the campaign as a campaign manager, forcing the two to spend more time together. When an ex-girlfriend is added to the mix, the situation deteriorates. Both try to make the campaign work without them constantly bickering and fail. As the story evolves, the author reveals why the main characters are fighting, and the reason will steal your heart. Both characters made mistakes, but their love story is beautiful.

This novel has everything I desired. On the Corner of Love and Hate kept me up late into the night. I appreciated the character development, the banter between the characters, and how human they felt. No one is perfect, and this story reminded me how important seeing flaws in a character makes them even more relatable.

The plot line was interesting because it veered slightly away from the normal enemy-to-lover trope. I appreciated the author’s take on this theme. In addition, I did not always agree with the characters’ choices, which made this book interesting and less predictable. The chemistry between the characters was off the charts. This story made me laugh, cry, and swoon.

If you enjoyed reading The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, On the Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci should be your next book. I highly recommend this story. This book is a five-star rating for me.

A cute enough romance. The writing felt a bit repetitive and formulaic. An easy afternoon read. The love/hate meet-cute trope is starting to be too prevalent (just like the unreliable female narrator in psychological thrillers, for example).

Charming romantic read...
The entire cast is funny as heck. I’m not big on political reads but this one was so enjoyable.
~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
Plot~ 4/5
Main Characters (hero/heroine)~ 4/5
Secondary Characters~ 4/5
The Feels~ 4/5
Pacing~ 4/5
Addictiveness~4/5
Angst~ 4/5
Steam/Hotness/Chemisty ~ 4/5
Theme or Tone~ 4/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 4/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 4/5
Originality~ 4/5
Ending~ 4/5
Book Cover~ Simple but effective
Series~ Hopeless Romantics #1
Source~ Kindle eBook - ARC provided by NetGalley
Would I read more from the author? Yes
Would I recommend this book? Yes

This was difficult to get through. The character development, pacing, stakes, and dialogue were weak. The chemistry and tension between the two leads seems manufactured; there’s no reason to root for them to be together and no reason to believe the “hate” is mutual. I appreciated the opportunity to read it and applaud the author’s effort, but this was a laborious read, on a few levels.

This is a romance whose political plot really takes center stage, along with all the delightful side characters Bocci has created.

In this fraught, anxiety-ridden political climate, it's a relief to read about small-town politics in which the ordinary people manage to get their voices heard.

Our heroine, Emma, is secretary to the town's committee for development. Her father, the much-loved mayor, is retiring, and the man he wants to replace him is running against an unpleasant candidate who is not above smear tactics to win.

The problem? Cooper, the mayor's pick--with a mother in national politics--is Emma's current hate.

The romance is enemies to lovers, a trope I usually love, except when . . .the motivation is them not talking to each other for five minutes to clear up misunderstandings]. Despite my dislike of that particular motivator, Bocci gives us enough conflict in Emma to almost make it work. But there is not enough screen time for the pair for the usual romance and a great deal of their history is included as backstory, far too late in the book .

It was still a delightful read. I suspect the readers who will enjoy it most will be those who like an ensemble cast and a feel-good story about small towns, with a romantic subplot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book! I loved every minute of it and read it within 24 hours. The back and forth banter between Cooper and Emma was both funny and frustrating while waiting for them to figure out how their lifelong relationship was going to end up. Whitney’s character was so well written and so easy to hate! The title is such a perfect fit for this story. I would definitely recommend!

Fun story. A few typos and grammatical errors pre-publishing. I actually really liked Cooper. He seemed sweet and genuine and realistic. Emma was a little self righteous. Obviously, Whitney was her nemesis. She needed to come down a notch. Hated that she referred to her father as Mayor Dad throughout the entire story. That go old fast! There needed to be a touch more back story on how Cooper could’ve been pining for her all these years. The friend group was nice. The three wheeler bike needed to go and go fast! I did enjoy most of this story. Thanks for the ARC!

On the Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci was a fun book to read. The author was able to tackle the difficult topic of politics with heart and class. The characters were both flawed and fun to read about. They had a depth that isn't easy to achieve.

The beginning was a bit slow for me, but it was well written so I kept on plugging on. About 40% I noticed that the story picked up and that's when I really fell in love with Cooper and Emma. OTCOLAH is set in a small. idealic town where the town busybodies are a hoot and even the bad guy isn't really horrible.

If you need a break from the drama of everyday life, I recommend OTCOLAH for a fun, fabulous, summer read.

3 stars
Hallmark type story about enemies who become lovers. A little slower than I would have liked.

This is a cute story about what could have been with a childhood friend. Emma is a little too wishywashy about her feelings for my taste.

This book was delightful. It was a fun political romance without the heavyweight most accompanying political stories. It's just a small town in New England and their mayoral race. That being said, Emma would make a much better Mayor than Cooper. She was capable, and his only claim to fame was that an ancestor founded the town. As much as he cares about the town, this book perpetuated the idea that an unqualified man can easily do the job better than a woman. His opponent was a caricature which is what made Cooper a better option, and Emma said she had no interest, but the machinations of small-town politics escape a neophyte like me.
There did seem to be something missing from the friends to lovers story here, like the animosity that Emma repeatedly talked about really wasn't there. It was one-sided for most of the book. Cooper and Emma weren't thrown together and forced to work together. Cooper constantly put himself in her world to be near her. Overall, this was a cute story, but there are some holes that need to be filled in.

3.5/out of 5 stars
First of all, this entire story reminded me of hallmark channel original movie that you secretly adore. I would 100% recommend this to anyone looking for an enemies to lovers trope where the two main characters typically aren’t complete assholes to each other beforehand. Some minor editing is definitely needed but obviously since this was an advanced copy, i’m not to pressed about it.

Emma is a very interesting main character to say the least. She has her embarrassing moments (like all of us), and literally puts her all into everything she does. I personally would’ve loved to know more about her background and previous personal life in her inner monologue instead of it being shortly explained in dialogue.

When it comes to Cooper, he’s literally every small towns “Golden Playboy” yet he manages to not even notice it. It got frustrating at times when he would flirt with all of these women and then act like he didn’t remember right afterwards but *sigh* some men will be men i guess. The character development he goes through is so worth it though.

Politics play a huge role in both Emma and Cooper’s lives, so it’s obviously a main focus in the book. I personally am not a fan of political heavy books, but I truly liked how all of the political aspects of this story were well thought out and amazingly executed in this novel. The romance was slightly slow burn but still managed to keep me entranced enough to see what would happen next. Long story short, if you want a hallmarkish, political, slow burn romance novel to pass the time...i would definitely go ahead and give this one a try.

Shel: I really enjoyed how long Bocci had Emma resist the feelings she had for Cooper. When I'm telling you this novel embraces the slow burn, we're talking s-l-o-w, but I liked it. Maybe it's because I'm petty and stubborn and when I'm hurt it takes me a while to get over it so I like to see that truly mirrored in other characters?! If you're the same, you'll like Emma. She was so oblivious to Cooper's feelings and resistant to the idea of giving him an inch that it takes a good long while for her to soften to him. She's straight up a hard ass and I loved her for it (and felt sorry for Cooper, once I got to know him better). When we got to that HEA, it was quick...maybe more of that please?!, and sweet after the long build up to get there.

Court: I am like you, girl. The slow burn was delicious, though as always I think the ending could've gave us a few more pages...we always want more, though! I really enjoyed the characters and the dynamic that their story is in. I love how much they love their town and honestly I wish my town had this kind of department and people working for it! It is a team that I would love to be a part of that for sure!

Shel: Another thing I enjoyed was what a boss bitch Emma was. She excelled at her job and her criticisms of the people who were slackers felt so accurate and spot on that I feel like Nina Bocci must have had some of those experiences, right? She nailed it-the frustration that pushes you to feel like you have to micromanage and take on too much because it's not getting done...that then turns you into a control freak that has to relearn how to delegate--totally recognizable responses for those of us who've had to live through that experience.

Court: I KNOW! I really enjoyed though as she grows and figures out her life and the direction she wants it to go in and just makes a decision and GOES for it! You can tell her friend's get her, and they accept her as she is and I loved that too!!

Shel: The revival of a precious small town also spoke to my heart in this novel. She wrote with such love, care, and vivid description that I found myself wanting to visit this town or maybe even move there. Could she bring Emma to life and have her make over my small town please? Court: YASSS! I completely agree...let's go, and get houses next door to each other! C'mon y'all!

Shel: The mayoral campaign, romance in a small town, the friends and family who make appearances, and all of the love and care in the details and characterization made On the Corner of Love and Hate a sweet, fun novel. It'll be interesting to see how the secondary characters find love in their novels and to hopefully get another look at Emma and Cooper when we all meet up again.

Court: I REALLY HOPE we get to see Nick and Henry fall in love...PLEASE Nina, let us see that! And like Shelley said get more Emma and Cooper...but honestly, I'd be most excited for Emma's parents!

I've heard Nina Bocci's name mentioned in the book world as a publicist to several authors whose books I have enjoyed so I was really excited to see that she wrote a book of her own. I love a good enemies-to-lovers story and this one did not disappoint. I was hooked from the very first chapter and it was a really fun, quick read and I can't wait to read more from Nina in the future.

A charming rom-com about local politics that will reminded me of Parks and Recreation in the best way. Emma, a straight-laced go-getter, is dismayed when her father asks her to help mayoral candidate Cooper with his campaign, especially since she and Cooper used to be friends. Working through their differences (and obvious attraction) as they fight an underhanded candidate determined to run out local businesses, Emma and Cooper are drawn together despite their rocky past. You can't miss this opposites-attract novel set in an adorable small town.