The Ingredients of You and Me

March 2, 2020
The halfhearted third romance in Nina Bocci’s Hopeless Romantics series (after Meet Me on Love Lane) introduces a charmless couple who behave in unbelievable ways. After Parker Adams sells her successful New York City cupcake shop, she visits her best friend, Charlotte, in small-town Hope Lake, Pa. Parker has a secondary motive for the trip: on a previous visit she secretly began a relationship with Charlotte’s friend Nick Arthur, which continued long-distance. They were in the midst of planning Thanksgiving together when he ghosted her, leaving her so heartbroken she couldn’t bake. Despite Parker’s desire for answers, when she sees Nick again she refuses to let him explain. As their communication issues get increasingly tedious, readers will find it hard to care about a couple who so consistently hurt one another. More successful are the mouthwatering descriptions of Parker’s baked goods and the quirky older ladies who welcome Parker to town and inspire her to figure out a career that will allow her to stay in Hope Lake with her undeserving beau. This misses the mark. Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary & Management.

March 1, 2020
A big-city baker faces off with her ex-boyfriend when she moves to his small town to start a new chapter. Parker Adams made her name in New York City with a chic bakery and appearances on a cooking competition show, but six years of 12-hour days have taken their toll. When she gets a buyout offer too good to refuse, she takes it but finds herself at loose ends with no firm plan for "Parker Phase Two." She accepts her best friend Charlotte's invitation to visit the small town of Hope Lake, Pennsylvania, with equal parts desperation and reluctance. Desperation, because she sold all her recipes along with her shop and cannot seem to find a new groove in the kitchen. Reluctance, because a secret long-distance affair with Charlotte's friend Nick ended badly when he suddenly stopped answering her texts. Parker sees the move as a way to "kick the cobwebs off the creativity pool in my brain and help me find what's next." She tries to ignore Nick, focusing instead on working with local seniors to reconstruct recipes from their childhoods. Soon, Parker rediscovers the magic of baking, but lingering mutual attraction and unfinished business draw her to Nick again. It turns out that the thing that ended Parker and Nick's relationship--poor or absent communication--still infects their relationship to a frustrating degree. They begin an air-clearing conversation without finishing it so many times it's hard to keep track. Worse, Nick is incredibly dull, but at least Parker's journey through a transitional period is interesting, and her close relationships with her girlfriends add humor. A competent small-town romance.

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March 15, 2020
Bocci continues Parker Powell's story (On the Corner of Love and Hate, 2019; Meet Me on Love Lane, 2019). After painstakingly building her bakery, Parker made the heart-wrenching decision to put her mental health first and sell Delicious and Vicious. But she is lost without the structure of running a demanding bakery and competing on baking shows. When Parker's best friend Charlotte invites her to visit her in little Hope Lake, she surprises herself and hops on a bus. While there, Parker gets some unexpected help for her baker's block from a group of fiery senior ladies known as the Golden Girls. Recreating the Golden Girls' long-lost family recipes sparks new ideas for Parker's YouTube channel as well as the possibility of a new business venture. While she is finding professional direction, though, she isn't making any headway in her love life. Nick, a beloved Hope Lake local and friend of Charlotte's, ghosted Parker after months of secretly dating. Parker's presence derails Nick, and while trying to build a friendship, old feelings resurface. With all the makings of a Hallmark movie, this story will delight small-town romance readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2020

Parker is at loose ends after selling her successful bakery. Not only does she not know what her next steps will be, but it seems she's lost her baking mojo. Then, her best friend talks her into vising Hope Lake, PA, to find inspiration. With the help of some delightful senior women and the support of Charlotte (the heroine from Meet Me on Love Lane), Parker starts to rediscover herself. The only complicating factor is Nick, the man from Hope Lake whom she was secretly dating for months until he ghosted her. Now Nick and his practically perfect new girlfriend are popping up everywhere, yet the attraction between Parker and Nick is still just as intense. Will Parker be able to make her cake and eat it too? VERDICT The romance is predictable yet satisfying, but the true charm of this story is the path Parker takes to rediscovering her passion for baking with help from a cast of supporting characters that will make readers want to reach for the first two books in the series and look forward to future installments.--Courtney Pentland, Omaha, NE

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