REVIEW: Meet Me on Love Lane by Nina Bocci

OUR REVIEW:

I've been thinking about this novel since I put it down--thinking about why I enjoyed it so much and how to adequately describe it. It's really a combination of things and it's a bit of a ramble--so please be patient as I try to make sense of it all.

One of the first things that made me enjoy this novel is the small town feel of it. Many times you read about people from small towns want to run from them (myself included) so it's always nice to see a novel series showing all of the wonderful things about living in a small town. Both books in this series have really done a good job of portraying the small town as utterly charming. Meet Me on Love Lane charmed me maybe even more because it does confront that prejudice against small towns and showed me how wonderful it might be to live in one. 

I also really enjoyed that this book was focused on Henry's story via Charlotte. Their friendship and courtship was sweet and heartbreaking and I loved how honest it was. Along those lines, I enjoyed getting more time with Cooper, Emma, and Nick and can't help but hope that Parker comes back to play in the third book. 

If all of these things weren't enough to make me fly through the pages, the overall warmth and humor definitely were. The sense of family with Charlotte's dad and Gigi and how all of their neighbors and friends were so welcoming and wonderful was sweet without being sappy. 

If you're looking a small town romance filled with humor and love, this will be a perfect fit for you.

BUY IT: https://amzn.to/2LIPAnj

Synopsis:

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of On the Corner of Love and Hate comes a romantic comedy about a woman who grudgingly returns home to small-town Pennsylvania, only to find herself falling in love—not only with the town, but with two of its citizens.

Charlotte Bishop is out of options in New York City. Fired, broke, and blacklisted by her former boss, she’s forced to return to her hometown of Hope Lake, PA to lick her wounds. Although she’s expecting to find a miserable place with nothing to do, she is pleasantly surprised to discover it is bustling and thriving.

She’s only supposed to be in Hope Lake temporarily until she can earn enough money to move back to New York. She’s not supposed to reconnect with her childhood friends or her beloved grandmother. She’s not supposed to find her dream job running the local florist shop. And she’s definitely not supposed to fall for not one but two of Hope Lake’s golden boys: one the beloved high school English teacher, the other the charming town doctor.

With a heart torn between two men and two cities, what’s a girl to do?

A perfect blend of humor and heart, Meet Me on Love Lane is the second in a new series from USA TODAY bestselling author Nina Bocci that is sure to charm fans of Josie Silver and Sally Thorne.

Nina Bocci is a USA TODAY bestselling novelist who loves reading and writing about swoony, relatable heroes and smart, witty heroines. If it’s 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. 

REVIEW: On the Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci

For fans of Christina Lauren and Lauren Layne comes a delightfully sassy and sexy romance about a campaign manager who reluctantly works with the local Lothario to help revamp his image for the upcoming mayoral elections, only to discover that he’s hiding something that can turn both their lives upside down.What’s a campaign manager’s worst nightmare? A smooth-talking charmer who’s never met a scandal that he didn’t like.

When Emmanuelle Peroni’s father—and mayor of her town—asks her to help rehab Cooper Endicott’s image, she’s horrified. Cooper drives her crazy in every way possible. But he’s also her father’s protégé, and she can’t say no to him without him finding out the reason why: Cooper and her have a messy past. So Emmanuelle reluctantly launches her father’s grand plan to get this Casanova someone to settle down with and help him lose his lothario reputation.

Cooper Endicott wanted to run for Mayor, but he never wanted the drama that went with it. Now that he’s on the political hamster wheel, the other candidates are digging up everything from his past. Even though he’s doing all the right things, his colorful love life is the sticking point for many of the conservative voters. He wants to win, badly, and he knows that if he wants any chance of getting a vote from the female population, he needs to change his image. The only problem? He might just be falling in love with the one person he promised not to pursue: the Mayor’s off-limits daughter.

A perfect blend of humor and heart, On the Corner of Love and Hate is the first in a new series from USA TODAY bestselling author Nina Bocci.

If you like a slow burn, frienemies, workplace romance, On the Corner of Love and Hate by Nina Bocci is the book for you.

Source: Netgalley

Purchase a Copy: Goodreads | Amazon

OUR REVIEW:

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! 

Roman Crazy by Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci

OUR REVIEW:

Where to start? Hmmm. 

Maybe I should start with Alice Clayton, Nina Bocci and the cover of Roman Crazy. I didn't even have to read the synopsis to know I was interested. But I did read the synopsis and stalked Net Galley, constantly searching for it, until it magically appeared and I couldn't click fast enough to request it. 

Or maybe I should start with Avery and Marcello and Daisy (because I really can't leave Daisy out when gushing about this book). 

Avery and Marcello falling in love not just once but twice? Gah. Their love story is passionate and sweet and hopeful. We not only get to read about their love in Italy but how they found each other in Spain. We get to see them meet again and work through hurt or guilty feelings--facing some uncomfortable truths, and then get to the business of learning all about who they are now, all these years later. I enjoyed every step of their journey. A journey I feel like we have to thank Daniel (the ex) and Daisy (the best friend) for. Daniel may have started Avery's chance to rediscover herself but Daisy gave her a place to do it and made it a joyful experience; we all need a Daisy in our lives, don't we?

Maybe I should mention how this is a massive love letter?

In my mind this is a love letter to second chances to love someone who got away..or you let go of...or the time and place weren't right..or...you get the picture, right? The way Avery and Marcello's grown up love affair developed just seemed so right--I wasn't hung up Avery and where she was in her divorce proceedings--instead I was falling in love with the way Avery and Marcello loved each other. 

This love letter wasn't just one for romantic love though; unless you can be romantically involved with Rome and the food porn in this novel. I swear to God I have the hugest desire to book myself a trip to Italy and sample every delicious bite of food and sip every glorious wine I can (and I don't even drink wine!). The descriptions of the sights of Rome were vivid and written with such care and the food? Well, I think I gained 10 lbs just reading about everything they ate. 

Maybe I should...

I should tell you to buy it and read it. It's glorious. Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci paired up to write a romance that sweeps you away to Italy and when you're not laughing at all the funny things these characters say, you're swooning at the love story, and googling "local authentic Italian cuisine" in the hopes that your area has something close to what you were reading about. 

BUY IT: http://amzn.to/2c2zcd8
Synopsis:
Avery Bardot steps off the plane in Rome, looking for a fresh start. She’s left behind a soon-to-be ex-husband in Boston and plans to spend the summer with her best friend Daisy, licking her wounds—and perhaps a gelato or two. But when her American-expat friend throws her a welcome party on her first night, Avery’s thrown for a loop when she sees a man she never thought she’d see again: Italian architect Marcello Bianchi.

Marcello was the man—the one who got away. And now her past is colliding with her present, a present where she should be mourning the loss of her marriage and—hey, that fettuccine is delicious! And so is Marcello…

Slipping easily into the good life of summertime in Rome, Avery spends her days exploring a city that makes art historians swoon, and her nights swooning over her unexpected what was old is new again romance. It’s heady, it’s fevered, it’s wanton, and it’s crazy. But could this really be her new life? Or is it just a temporary reprieve before returning to the land of twin-set cardigans and crustless sandwiches?