After selling her successful bakery back in New York, Parker Powell decides to visit her best friend Charlotte in Hope Lake, Pennsylvania, to figure out her next steps. As she acquaints herself with the people in town, she begins to wonder why she ever loved city life in the first place. Between the Golden Girls (a.k.a. the senior citizen women who hold court), the response from the town to her sweet treats, and Nick Arthur, the ever-charming local owner of a landscaping business she spent time with during her last visit, Parker finds a community of cheerleaders who encourage her to get her baking mojo back.
At first, everything is great—she collaborates with the Golden Girls to put new twists on traditional confections, and thanks to Nick’s advice, she quickly learns the stark differences between big city and small-town business practices. Although Nick has become her friend and confidant, Parker’s determined to keep things platonic—especially since his girlfriend isn’t a fan of their friendship. But just when things fall into place so they can finally be together, Parker’s dream bakery is threatened by a major corporation who wants to take her down using the very bit of advice that Nick gave her.
With a recipe for disaster looming, Parker must cook up a new scheme, figuring out how to keep the business—and man—she’s come to love before she loses it all.
Perfect for fans of Amy E. Reichert and Jenny Colgan, The Ingredients of You and Me is a scrumptious romantic comedy that lets you have your cake and eat it too.
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What I thought about
The Ingredients of You and Me
In this third installment of the Hopeless Romantics series, Nina Bocci returns to the fictional town of Hope Lake for more small town shenanigans, love and a bit of heartache.
Parker Powell has sold her NYC Delicious and Vicious bakery to a major player in anticipation of a less stressful lifestyle and more time for her new relationship with Nick from Hope Lake who she's been seeing on the sly.
When Nick breaks it off by ghosting her before she even has a chance to tell him her good news, Parker is hesitant to return to Hope Lake and run the risk of running into Nick there. But she needs the quiet of the small town and with the thought that no one knows about her and Nick, she returns to Hope Lake, hoping to find her next big venture.
Of course she runs into Nick with some help from the Golden Girls, the town busybodies. They are headed up by the in-your-business Mancini, who happens to know all about Parker's history with Nick. All the Golden Girls love Nick -- he's their go-to guy and just all around nice guy.
But along with seeing Nick again, Parker also gets to hear about his new girlfriend who no one seems to be crazy about.
With help from the Golden Girls, Parker comes up with ideas for a new business that has everyone excited. And she even gets help from her ex and now friend, Nick, who's a small business owner himself. If only that pesky girlfriend no one likes could go away...
I really liked this story. It's not your typical romance since Nick is with someone else for a good part of the story and I found that to be a fresh approach to this romance. It's clear to everyone but Nick that his current girlfriend is too controlling and the sparks with Parker are more likely to turn into fireworks if they would only give them a chance.
I absolutely adored the storyline with the Golden Girls, their recipes and how they really take Parker into their group. Without meddling too much, they see that Parker and Nick are made for each other, and they are going to do whatever they can to make it happen.
Even though Nick's communication skills (or lack of them) bugged the heck out of me, I loved him and Parker together. Parker's love for the Golden Girls warmed my heart and reminded me why I love small town romance -- it's not just about the hero and heroine, it's about the whole town coming together to celebrate the relationships that grow in their town, and there's nothing better than that.
I gobbled this book down in a few days and absolutely loved it. If you like small town romance, this series is a must.
An ARC was provided by the publisher. This is my honest review.
Parker Powell has sold her NYC Delicious and Vicious bakery to a major player in anticipation of a less stressful lifestyle and more time for her new relationship with Nick from Hope Lake who she's been seeing on the sly.
When Nick breaks it off by ghosting her before she even has a chance to tell him her good news, Parker is hesitant to return to Hope Lake and run the risk of running into Nick there. But she needs the quiet of the small town and with the thought that no one knows about her and Nick, she returns to Hope Lake, hoping to find her next big venture.
Of course she runs into Nick with some help from the Golden Girls, the town busybodies. They are headed up by the in-your-business Mancini, who happens to know all about Parker's history with Nick. All the Golden Girls love Nick -- he's their go-to guy and just all around nice guy.
But along with seeing Nick again, Parker also gets to hear about his new girlfriend who no one seems to be crazy about.
With help from the Golden Girls, Parker comes up with ideas for a new business that has everyone excited. And she even gets help from her ex and now friend, Nick, who's a small business owner himself. If only that pesky girlfriend no one likes could go away...
I really liked this story. It's not your typical romance since Nick is with someone else for a good part of the story and I found that to be a fresh approach to this romance. It's clear to everyone but Nick that his current girlfriend is too controlling and the sparks with Parker are more likely to turn into fireworks if they would only give them a chance.
I absolutely adored the storyline with the Golden Girls, their recipes and how they really take Parker into their group. Without meddling too much, they see that Parker and Nick are made for each other, and they are going to do whatever they can to make it happen.
Even though Nick's communication skills (or lack of them) bugged the heck out of me, I loved him and Parker together. Parker's love for the Golden Girls warmed my heart and reminded me why I love small town romance -- it's not just about the hero and heroine, it's about the whole town coming together to celebrate the relationships that grow in their town, and there's nothing better than that.
I gobbled this book down in a few days and absolutely loved it. If you like small town romance, this series is a must.
An ARC was provided by the publisher. This is my honest review.
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