The Love Square is a romance but not as you know it....

I have a weird relationship with romance books. It is a fabulous genre for a bit of escapism, but, often, I find the characters two dimensional or the story falling flat.

The Love Square, however, is a book which has a lot of heart and is anything but flat. One of the standout aspects for me was that I found myself really captivated by the cast of characters. They are fully formed and messy and, above all else, human. Our main character Penny is interesting and engaging, and I found her extremely likeable even when I wanted to give her a strong talking to! 😂 The cast has fabulous diversity in every way: race, gender, sexuality, age. I am finding myself increasingly drawn to stories which normalise diversity and just let characters be themselves and I certainly found that here.

Fundamentally, this is a book about love. Yes romantic love forms a big part of that, and Laura sure does know how to write a steamy encounter, but it also deals with much weightier topics as well. It explores themes such as familial love and bonds, loss and grief, and hopes and dreams. This richness means it packs a powerful emotional punch, and it really resonated with me as a reader.

I adored reading The Love Square and heartily recommend it to top your summer reading list when it comes out in July 💕

First of all I would like to say that this isn't my usual type of book.
I did enjoy it but I found some of the storyline dragged out quite a bit.
Penny is the main character and this is a story of a part of her life.
She has her own cafe in London which she adores and although she has no family close by she is very close with them. She meets a man, starts a relationship with him then as a family member becomes poorly she has to change her plans. Some of the book I did really enjoy but I found the author felt she had to get every type of person in her book from lesbians to gays to gender none binary and although I have absolutely no problem with this I found reading about none binary to be very confusing. It could have been worded a lot better as the character was called Charlie. So where this could have read Charlie said or Charlie did, it got confusing when it says they said or did because of the previous sentence I wasn't sure if it was Charlie or Charlie and someone else together etc.
Over all I did enjoy the book.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this for my honest review

Penny Bridge hasn't been lucky in love. After a cancer diagnosis in her early 20's her long term boyfriend split, ever since then she's been focusing on her career and running her very popular cafe. When there's a fill-in for her usual bread delivery, she feels her luck changing, but maybe it's a bit too much.

The Love Square had so much more depth than I was expecting, while it does have funny moments, I wouldn't call it a rom-com. The way the tough issues were handled was well done, from the lingering side effects of cancer and treatment to infertility, it made my heart ache a little. I loved Penny's strength and courage, and her relationship with her family. Her love interests are very different from each other and I really liked what they each brought to the story. I really really enjoyed this book, while it's not as light as the synopsis suggests, it's not super heavy and dark either. It's sweet, with good characters, and at its core is really about not letting your life circumstances control the outcome, it's about taking charge and making your own happiness.

The Love Square is the perfect fictional escape! The characters were so loveable (Penny especially), the backstories were rich, and the plot was well paced enough to keep me hooked throughout. Reading it felt like being enveloped in a warm bubble, complete with crackling fires, delicious food, and the unconditional love of family members. Would thoroughly recommend for a bit of optimistic escapism!

Story 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Running a little, but popular cafe and being an amazing cook should make Penny an adult who has her life together.
But whereas she loves what she does job-like, she has really bad luck in her dating life.
Until she meets Francesco.
He’s perfect for her in every way. Until she needs to leave London and help her uncle with his restaurant.
There she realizes that even though she had the worst luck with men before Francesco, now she has several options on hand:
three, to be honest.
Three perfect, handsome man, who couldn’t be any more different.
And so chaos begins and Penny learns what it is that she <i>really wants</i> in life.

That was really, really cute and kind of a funny book.
I enjoyed it a lot and read it in just 24 hours.
It had a good pacing with some bits of drama, friendship, love, sex etc etc and all in all was really entertaining to read.

Character 🌟🌟🌟
First of all: no one in this book is perfect.
That would be weird.
But they’re perfect in their own kind of way.
Penny was strong, independent and loved her family really much. And she stayed realistic even though she could’ve dreamed a bit.
When she needed to move away, she broke things apart with Francesco, because she didn’t think a relationship with so many kilometers between them couldn’t last long. In the end they would hurt each other even more.
She paused her life plans for the sake of her family, her uncle. And even though she could’ve been sad, depressed and moody about the forced change, she learned to love it.
She grew as a person, as a cook, as a friend.
And even though she didn’t always act in the right way, she said sorry when it needed to be said.

There were many side characters that appeared in this novel and even though I’m not so sure if he’s a main or a side character, I Iiked Francesco the most.
I liked him because he treated Penny in a respectful way and told her that before he wanted to fall in love with her he wanted to fall in <i>friendship</i> with her.
And that was the cutest thing to say.
Also pretty wise.
He explained it in such a wonderful way that I couldn’t help but fall in love.
And ship them so hard.
I know he didn’t always acted gentleman-like, but like Penny he said sorry if it needed to be said.
All in all I liked the characters a lot and I think they pushed the story forward in their own kind of way.

Relationships 🌟🌟🌟
Penny is a grown independent woman who does not need a man.
Or three.
Or maybe she wants a man? But which one?
They’re all so perfect in their own kind of way...
Whereas everything is relaxed and funny with Thomas, Penny has the best sex of her life with Priyesh, but then there is also Francesco.
He respects her, is loyal and supportive and probably her best friend. Even though they needed to break things up, because Penny moved away, he still wanted to stay in contact with her. He talked to her on the phone, cooked for her, talked to her about their problems...(Can you see which one was my favorite? Haha)
All in all I really felt a connection between Penny and Francesco and I shipped them so hard. They didn’t have this easypeasy relationship, it was the exact opposite in some way. The relationship felt real filled with real life problems and emotions, anger, confusion, embarrassment.

Writing style 🌟🌟🌟🌟
The writing was definitely catching, flowing and made the book easy and fun to read.
It was written in Penny’s POV even though sometimes it changed to Francesco.
But without a note or something. It just changed in the middle and then switched back to Penny. It could’ve been confusing, but I didn’t have any problems changing my focus and the POV in my head.

All in all definitely a good book.

Penny Bridge has been single for 5 years. She has given up on love and thrown herself into running her little cafe in London. Enter Francesco. And Thomas. And Priyesh! All of them are very different, but it's an embarrassment of riches for Penny. Who will she choose? Is she ready to choose just one?

Although the outcome is rather predictable, each of her suitors was vey different and that was interesting. I also liked how current this book was. I mean, there's mentions of Brexit and Lizzo! You can't get more current than that! But that also will date this quite quickly. I also liked how the suitors were not all white. That was nice to see. Overall, not a bad way to spend a weekend when you're stuck in isolation.

At the core, this book was entertaining. It made me laugh. The author did a tremendous job of developing her characters, especially the main character. They are so real and raw and lifelike. It made the book so much easier to read. The beginning 40% or so was a bit slow for me, but it picked up a lot after that. My only other critique would be that I thought some of the British language in the beginning was a bit forced, like they needed to use British lingo in every sentence. Other than that, quick cute read. Ending was 10/10!!

Love Square focuses on the story of Penny, a chef and breast cancer survivor, and the men in her life. Penny is well drawn out and relatable, and I liked that the plot explored how her trauma affected her approach to relationships. I was originally drawn to the book because of the three love interests, but felt that apart from Francesco, none of the others had that much depth. This was disappointing as the story would have been much more intriguing if it wasn't obvious who Penny would choose. A good read overall though.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

3.9🌟 actually! A really fun, easy breezy read. Deeply rooted in reality with characters we all know in real life, this book is the perfect bit of escapism to take us *back* to reality and out of self-isolation.

Penny Bridge gets herself into a love square, completely unintentionally. She has a love interest that has to end as her life is abruptly uprooted away from London. So she’s free to move on, and meets two other men... ⁣
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In my opinion, this book was so much better than Our Stop. It wasn’t as frustrating (if she wanted to meet him so badly, she easily could have), and it wasn’t a conventional romance either. I loved that there wasn’t just one, predictable love interest. I appreciated how it highlights how women can enjoy no-strings attached relationships, just as much as men - I’m all for female empowerment!
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Penny was a complex character, and so was her life. Everything that happened was believable, and not predictable like most romance books. It was very refreshing to read!

Another entertaining, fast pacing, feel-good, swoony, cute reading makes you smile, gives you positive energy.
Even though I decided to give three stars, (mostly I gave those stars to Switzerland-let’s meet in the middle books) I have to admit, it was fun and it relaxed my mood, cleared my mind. These days we need softer, lighter, comfort zone reads for brightening our darker moods!

Let’s move to the plot to get a closer look to the story: We’re introduced to Penny, unlucky in love, suffering from numerous disastrous dates. And till one day, she meets with an amazing man, next day she meets with another amazing man and then she meets with one more amazing man. See! Third time is the charm. Nope, I’m correcting, she already found three charming men and she needs to choose wisely. ( don’t say that she has to keep all of them and enjoy foursome polygamous lifestyle. We are reading a decent, cute, entertaining romcom, not a mischievous erotic romance!)

The heartbreaking and emotional parts about Penny, losing her parents and surviving against the big battle with cancer are the most realistic and well-written parts help me to connect with heroine. But maybe I’m old school when it comes to love because Penny’s indecisiveness till the end about her choice and flirting with three men at the same time just a little irritated me and damaged my ideal romcom idea. At least two of them would be assholes or if she could find out with whom she wanted to be a little bit earlier which worked better for me. Her confusing mood made me lose my connection with her. (Come on! When your heart knows something it always whispers to your brain. What are you still thinking?)

By the way Sharon is my favorite supporting character (At some parts, I loved her more than heroine and I root for her to have her own sequel.)

Overall: My only problem was idea not to choose between three men till the end of the book a little destroyed between Penny and my favorite candidate’s HEA (That’s my opinion. I’m keeping my favorite hero to myself not to ruin your reading!) and made me annoy the heroine, lowering my points. But the writing style and pacing is good and of course Penny made a great choice at the end. (At least I truly agree with the author.) If you want to read a feel-good, enjoyable and soft rom-com, this is a great fit for you to put your mind at ease and get rid of your stressful days.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for sharing this sweet ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

Really enjoyed this book. It was fun light hearted & really easy to relate to. The main character Penny was very likeable & the story was fun. Thank you to Netgalley for the preview of this book

a funny light-hearted rom-com with no depth. Still enjoyable. Liked the characters and the premise was good, but the plot was similar to many rom-coms. I would still recommend this because it did have some funny parts.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the character of Penny. I could empathise as she tried to date in the modern world. And what I really loved about the book was that I didn’t know how it was going to end. Therefore I raced through it just to find out. I think this is a good by the pool read during the summer, where you want something light but to be entertained.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read but not great! It definitely was funny and most of the characters are likeable and easy to relate to. Overall, I am glad I got the opportunity to read this book and would recommend it to readers.

This book was so good! The characters were so well rounded, you felt like you actually knew them! The plot was so good you didn't want the book to end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am having a hard time rating this book, purely because my emotions about it are all over the place. My real rating probably falls under 3.5/3.75.

The Love Square is an enthusiastic, fast paced read about a woman named Penny who has never had any luck in dating. This time though, Penny finds herself surrounded by 3 men she likes and who like her back even more. The book guides us through Penny meeting all of the men and how she interacts in each relationship, including of course Penny's life journey and the ups and downs that come with being a chef and having immense love for your family. Halfway through the book I was unapologetically and enthusiastically rooting for one of them - I won't name who just in case it is considered a spoiler - and that decision stuck with me until the very end.

I believe at its core, The Love Square is more of a book about finding yourself, standing up for yourself and finally allowing yourself to believe you deserve good things and that you can let good things happen to you. Just as in real life though, this realisation comes from the culmination of a set of love affairs, ups and downs, heartbreak and crying with a bootle of wine in hand.

Penny is a strong character. She has been through the loss of both her parents, her own battle against breast cancer and pretty much every issue that society issues on women in general. I was happy to read through Penny's journey and to see her own up to her mistakes, getting help for herself, and deciding that she can do something that she wants, for once.

I must highlight as well that the side characters is this book are absolutely phenomenal. I fell in love with Sharon, Charlie and Stuart right from the point of introduction and would even love if each of these got their own book with the story that goes alongside the events in The Love Square- a reader can dream, right?

All in all, The Love Square is an enjoyable, witty read about someone who is trying to find her place in this world and trying to figure out where her life is headed. Life will throw everything at you, but you're lucky if you manage to handle it like Penny Bridge.

Penny thinks she is unlovable and unlucky when it comes to love. She wants nothing more than to start a family but can’t seem to find the right guy. She has a great business, a great family, and great friends but feels like she is missing something.
While I finished this book in one day and genuinely enjoyed it, there were quite a few things that frustrated me that seemed to be thrown in all at the end.
Unlike other romance books, I truly didn’t know which way Penny was leaning and who she would choose. I felt 2 of the 3 love interests didn’t have much chemistry with Penny, and I was confused to why they were ever in the picture.
It was a quick, enjoyable read during my quarantine. Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC!

Unlike most romance novels, I truly did not know how this one was going to end! It had me flip-flopping and guessing all the way through.

Before even reading the synopsis, “A Love Square” indiscreetly reveals there is more than one man in the picture here. I instantly found the premise intriguing: Penny is single & hopelessly unlucky in love, until suddenly, she's finds herself with not one.... but 3 men vying for her love. It’s the perfect set up for a brilliant, cheesy, feel-good rom com. Instead, it was much more irritating to witness her date multiple men than I anticipated. Most of the book, I found myself frustrated with Penny’s indecision (but then again, that was partially what drove me to keep reading). While the story starts strong, midway through I found myself rushing, wanting it to be over.

With ALL of that said, did I read this in one sitting? I sure did. Could I put it down? Absolutely not.

The romance genre is quite a hit or miss situation for me and Williams' "The love square" definitely felt pretty underwhelming .