The Ingredients of You and Me by Nina Bocci ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Nina Bocci takes her readers back to Hope Lake in book 3 of the Hopeless Romantics trilogy.  It was great to catch up on the women from the first two books and to read Parker's story.  All three of these books are romances with strong female characters but they also about the importance of friendship.  As all three women worked to fulfill their dreams, they depended on each other to keep them on the right path.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 2020; Gallery Books; 978-1501178894
audio, ebook, print (320 pages); women's fiction

Parker is a well-known baker.  Not only did she have a highly popular bakery in New York City but she had also been on Food Network in various shows and had a following of people from those appearances.  She decides that it's time to sell her bakery and make some changes in her life.  Along with the bakery, she had also sold her recipes and needed to develop new recipes but all of a sudden, so can no longer bake and none of her new recipes end up being eatable.  She decides to temporarily move to Hope Lake where her best friend Charlotte (from book 2) and her new friend Emma (from book 1) have very successful jobs and very serious boyfriends.

Parker hopes that getting away from NYC will help her regain her baking expertise.  The other person she knows in Hope Lake is Nick.  They had a romance that they kept hidden from their friends until he just dropped her with no explanation.  So while she is excited to see her girlfriends and their men, she is unsure of how she'll feel to see Nick again and their subsequent social interactions are just as confusing to her as the end of their relationship.

For me, some of the best characters in the book is a group of elderly women that Parker refers to as the Golden Girls.  They take Parker under their wing and try to give her the confidence that she needs to be successful with the recipes she's baking.  They are a feisty group of women who know everything that's going in the town.  They ask Parker for help in making some of their family recipes - many of which don't have amounts - just ingredients.  This project gives Parker her needed boost and is the beginning of several new projects for her and for the Golden Girls.

I enjoyed most of the characters in this novel - along with the other books in the series. I also enjoy reading a romance novel that has strong female characters with careers.  Hope Lake sounds like any small town where everybody knows everyone else's business and likes to talk about it.  This a light fun series and perfect to read while you are quarantined in the house.

Buy The Ingredients of You and Me at Amazon


NOTE: This is the third and last book in the Hopeless Romantics series.  Each book can be read as a stand-alone with minimal confusion.  On the Corner of Love and Hate is book 1 and Meet Me on Love Lane is book 2.  See the reviews for both books.


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Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter. 

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