(Hopeless Romantics Book 2)
Nina Bocci
December 10, 2019
Gallery Books
Blurb: 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.
At the end of my review of Nina Bocci’s first novel in the Hopeless Romantics series, On the Corner of Love and Hate (see my review here), I said: “I am anxious to read the next novel in the series, especially if it includes sweet, sensitive Henry.” My wish was granted! The “hero” in Meet Me on Love Lane is Henry. Unfortunately, Henry didn’t get the kind of story I was hoping for him.
While I enjoyed reading Meet Me on Love Lane for the most part, the story never came together for me the way On the Corner of Love and Hate did. This was due to the indecisiveness of Charlotte, slow pacing, and the fact that the book couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a romance or women’s fiction. A love triangle was introduced (see blurb), which just fizzled out, and lovely, sweet Henry was not involved enough. Charlotte was a likable enough character, but the indecisiveness in a situation where it wasn’t warranted made her seem clueless.
All in all Meet Me on Love Lane is not a bad read. The novel has a sense of humor and sweetness that partly mitigate the pacing. If you’re a fan of small (ish) town stories and quirky characters, you should give the Hopeless Romantics series a try.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
rating:
3 butterflies and a ladybug out of 5 butterflies