Meet Me On Love Lane by Nina Bocci

Meet Me On Love Lane by Nina Bocci
Published by Gallery Books ISBN 978-1982102043
Trade paperback, $16, 282 pages

This past summer I read On the Corner of Love and Hate,  a sweet romance novel by Nina Bocci.  (My review here) It is set in the small tourist town of Hope Lake, Pennsylvania, and tells the story of Emma Peroni,  who works in the Ecomonic Development Office of the town and is the daughter of the long-serving and popular mayor.

Emma is terrific at her job, and resents her coworker Cooper, the handsome ladies' man her father is grooming to become the town's next mayor. I loved the small town setting of Hope Lake, and coming from a small town, I felt the characters to be realistic portrayals.

So I was happy to find that Bocci has a second novel in what she calls her Hopeless Romantics series, Meet Me On Love Lane. Charlotte Bishop returns to her hometown of Hope Lake after having left with her mother when she was ten years old.

They moved to New York City after her parents' divorce, and 21 years later she comes home after her mother's death and her career as an events planner falls apart. She shows up unannounced at her doctor-father's office, much to his delight and surprise.

Charlotte moves in with her elderly grandmother Imogen, a retired doctor and popular figure in town. People are constantly stopping by Imogen's house to drop off food, run errands, or pick her up for her one of four book club meetings. One of her many visitors is Henry, the high school English teacher.

 Henry also works at the town's bookstore, and runs several book clubs. He is popular with town's residents, from the very young to the more mature. He is single, and seems to be keeping his eye on Charlotte from a distance, yet always there when she needs a ride or a helping hand.

Charlotte reconnects with her best friend Emma, and Nick and Cooper, her other childhood friends. She doesn't recall Henry at all, even though as children they were all thick as thieves. She also meets the hunky Dr. Max, who works with her father and would like to become better acquainted with Charlotte.

With no plan in sight (or money), Emma convinces Charlotte to stay in town and temporarily run a new florist shop. Charlotte is still trying to sort out her conflicted feelings about being back in Hope Lake, her attraction to Dr. Max, and why she can't remember Henry from years ago.

Meet Me On Love Lane is a strong second novel in the Hopeless Romantics series, beautifully picking up where On the Corner of Love and Hate left off. It made me happy to be back in Hope Lake and to meet more of the town's residents. The way Bocci describes the lovely town square, I can picture it clearly in my mind's eye.

I enjoyed that Emma and Cooper also played a prominent role in Charlotte's story, it felt like catching up with old friends, and I liked meeting more of the town. I want to shop at the bookstore, grab some lunch at Casey's, and stop by Late Bloomers to pick up a bouquet of flowers. Give me a terrific love story in a small town, with a local business owner in it and I am all in!

I went to Nina Bocci's website and was overjoyed to see that there is a third novel in the series due in April 2020. I cannot wait to return to Hope Lake then.

If you are a Hallmark Channel fan, Meet Me On Love Lane is the novel for you. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to TLC Tours for putting me on Nina Bocci's tour. The rest of her stops are here:

Monday, December 2nd: Bookchickdi

Wednesday, December 4th: Reading Reality

Thursday, December 5th: Read Love Blog – review and guest post

Friday, December 6th: @lifeinlit

Friday, December 6th: The Sassy Bookster – guest post

Monday, December 9th: @pieladybooks

Tuesday, December 10th: @everlasting.charm

Thursday, December 12th: Audio Killed the Bookmark and @beritaudiokilledthebookmark

Friday, December 13th: @inquisitivebookworm

Monday, December 16th: Blunt Scissors Book Reviews and @bluntscissorsbookreviews

Tuesday, December 17th: Nurse Bookie and @nurse_bookie

Wednesday, December 18th: Hallie Reads

Thursday, December 19th: Girl Who Reads

Friday, December 20th: Tar Heel Reader and @tarheelreader

Monday, December 23rd: From the TBR Pile – review and guest post

Monday, December 23rd: Thoughts on This ‘n That – review and guest post

Tuesday, December 24th: Jathan & Heather – review and guest post

Thursday, December 26th: Openly Bookish

Friday, December 27th: Not in Jersey and @notinjersey

Monday, December 30th: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Monday, December 30th: Broken Teepee – guest post

Tuesday, December 31st: Books & Bindings

Thursday, January 2nd: Kahakai Kitchen

Friday, January 3rd: What is That Book About

Monday, January 6th: The Romance Dish

Tuesday, January 7th: Bookish Bliss and Beauty and @bookishblissandbeauty

Wednesday, January 8th: Kritter’s Ramblings

 

Two under-the radar books

Reprinted from the Citizen:

If you liked watching TV’s Parks and Recreation for the description of small-town government, Nina Bocci’s latest novel, On The Corner of Love and Hate is perfect for you.  

Emma Peroni works in the economic development office of her small town in Pennsylvania. Emma’s dad is the popular mayor of the town, and now ready to leave politics and enjoy retirement. He would like to see Emma’s coworker, handsome, charismatic Cooper, run for mayor, and he asks Emma to help Cooper win the election, just as she had done for her ol’ dad.

The problem is that Emma is not a fan of Cooper’s. They have known each other since high school, and Emma feels that Cooper tries to skate by on his charm. She has been picking up his slack at work while Cooper has been courting the voters, and she has no desire to help Cooper even more.

Being from a small community also means the dating pool is smaller than in a big city, and Emma’s love life is less successful than her work life. Her mother would like her to date someone nice (like Cooper), and Emma’s recent dates haven’t exactly been winners, but Cooper is catnip to all women and that does not appeal to Emma. But when Cooper appears to be involved in a scandal, Emma has to come to the rescue.

On The Corner of Love and Hate is a delightful, sweet story, with characters who seem like people from your own small town.

Now that school is back in session, Laurie Gelman’s You’ve Been Volunteered (her sequel to Class Mom) is a timely September read. Jen Dixon has three children, two adult daughters and an elementary-aged son. Her best friend has moved away, and her husband is preoccupied with trying to expand his sporting goods store business.

Once again Jen has been asked to be room mother for her third-grade son’s class, and since she was so successful at that, she has also been asked to head up the volunteer program for safety monitors. As we all know, the better you are at a job, the more jobs you are given. Unfortunately this job is not as easy as class mom.

And once again, readers are treated to Jenn’s hilarious emails to parents about classroom activities, parent/teacher nights and what not to bring to the Halloween party. We delve more into Jen’s life, and I especially liked Jen’s interactions with her aging parents and her loving, supportive husband.

If you enjoy American Housewife on TV, You’ve Been Volunteered is a book for you.

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

GRADE: B+

PUBLISHER: Gallery Books

COST: Trade paperback, $16

LENGTH: 336 pages

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BOOK: You’ve Been Volunteered by Laurie Gelman

GRADE: B+

PUBLISHER: Henry Holt & Co.

COST: Hardcover, $26

LENGTH: 268 pages