There was a lot to like about this book, but surprisingly for me it was none of the love interests. Penny gets her romantic HEA, but for me that wasn’t the point of the book.

I was excited for this after Our Stop, but I was also nervous because I’m personally not a huge fan of non-monogamy. It ended up being more of a serial dating situation, which turned more complicated when they all reappear at the same time. I thought there was a clear choice (even if not my choice) and not a lot of competition from the others, but I also loved that Penny wasn’t putting a lot of pressure on these relationships, enjoying them for what they were. Not every relationship has to be going somewhere if it’s making you both happy right now and you’re clear on expectations. Maybe I got something out of that too. Unlike someone else in the book, I didn’t think she was hurting anyone — there was one instance where she might have communicated expectations a little bit better, but otherwise she’s her own person and can make her own decisions.

There were so many great things in this book:
- Bad sex (not great, but how often do you see that addressed in a romance novel?)
- Good sex (you can’t give us bad without the good)
- Penny becoming more self-confident and addressing what she wants in life and not being afraid to ask for it
- The relationship between Penny and her sister
- When people put expectations on you and you’re angry at them for asking because you know you couldn’t say no (…what if you did? What if you could at least address your own needs too?)

And then what I didn’t like, which has to do with her final choice: <spoiler>Francesco started out great, and then it seemed like he turned into a different person. He took his hurt and turned it into anger towards Penny. He slut shamed her, grew possessive over her even though they weren’t even in a relationship, told her she needed help, called her selfish and cruel, said he couldn’t love her because of it and that she was <i>broken</i>. No, no no. I couldn’t go back from that. There was only a quick mention of his apology long after the fact, saying he was embarrassed he’d said that. It wasn’t enough for me, because those were some really hurtful things to say.</spoiler>

So in the end, this book surprised me. I went into it worried that she was going to be dating three guys at the same time, breaking hearts and playing with emotions. But really this wasn’t about the guys at all — it was about Penny learning to trust in herself, in knowing what is best for her. I wasn’t Team Francesco, Thomas, or Priyesh. I was Team Penny.

This was the perfect lighthearted summer read. I fell in love with the lead character, Penny, and was rooting for her (and sometimes mad at her!) throughout the book. A great, light summer pick!

This was the absolutely perfect, lighthearted, and fun book to launch into my summer reading with. When Penny Bridges who has always been unlucky in love suddenly finds three remarkable men in a short amount of time, who is a girl to choose? Follow Penny on her hysterical journey to love.

Thoroughly enjoyed this rom-com. I found it honest and emotional with great characters and a neatly tied up conclusion. Quick read that I will definitely recommend for purchase

Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for letting me read this lovely book in exchange for an honest review.
This is just the book you need if you are looking for a romance that is well written, funny, sad and poignant.
The characters are well rounded and likeable and there is a good balance of wit, humour and heartbreak.
Penny is unlucky in love and being a young cancer survivor makes her question her ability to find the one.
The book sees her meet and lose the gorgeous chef Francesco, music tour manager Thomas and older wine merchant Priyesh.
Moving from London to her childhood home to run her uncles pub/restaurant tests her and gives her the answers that she needs.
Great read especially during these uncertain times that I would highly recommend.

I enjoyed this book so much it was really good I am used to a love triangle but this book was actually like the title says it was a actual love square. This book will make you laugh and cry and swoon and all of the above, the authors writing is great and the characters are all good and they have a lot of build up and they are well rounded.

I read this book while on vacation, and it was the perfect addition for that adventure. It was fun and engrossing and great to read in the car in between stops on a road trip.

I loved Williams’ debut novel, Our Stop, so I could not wait to grab this one when I saw it on NetGalley. I had high hopes going into it, I was hoping the sophomore book was at the same standards as her debut and for the most part it was! I think I liked Our Stop a little better, but The Love Square was also a solid contemporary romance. And I’m saying this as a reader who normally does not like the love triangle trope. However, Williams does it in a really nice way. Each of the love interests were very well defined, had clear backstories and characteristics that made them very 3D characters and distinct from each other.

Like her debut, Williams is very inclusive with her characters. She has all different types of races, sexualities and genders. She includes some nodes to current pop culture which helps set the time and setting. Williams is a solid author who is probably now on my list of auto buys. I can’t wait to see what she does next!

I think that I just wasn’t the target audience for this, but I still really wanted to like this. I think that the story was all over the place and I was super confused at one point and considering DNFing the book but for the sake of the author I kept reading. I think honestly there was too much going on with the book and the plot. The characters were forgettable, I honestly didn’t care for them nor what happened to them.

I just finished this and oh my god I absolutely loved it. I will admit I struggled a tiny little bit to get in to it at first but once I got into it, wow. The characters weren't perfect people with perfect lives, and I think that made the story even better. Kudos for the LGBTQ+ aspect of the book also - fantastic representation, brilliant. It dealt with some really great things - infertility, non-monogamy, grief, and motherhood.

Brilliant, would recommend! 4 stars from me

I liked this book a lot and found the characters easy to udnerstand and relate to. The writing was great and I enjoyed the storyline and plot points. I would recommend this book for sure.

This writing style was just not for me. I couldn't get past the first few chapters. The main character was annoying me and I couldn't see why wanted to be with her boyfriend from the beginning of the book. I think this book has an audience, but I'm not it.

Having loved ‘Our Stop’, I was so looking forward to reading this book, and to begin with it was ok. However, after reading just 30%, I have slowed down to a halt, as has the storyline. I am so disappointed with this title. I did not warm to the character of Penny, she comes across as immature and self centred, and spends much of her time moaning about her life. Though she has admittedly been dealt a tough hand, the various aspects of her misfortunes and illness are referred to rather too frequently for comfort.
I found the storyline to be quite superficial, not at all the humorous narrative of the strong and feisty woman that I was expecting Penny to be from the pre-publishing blurb.
Penny comes across rather as a selfish user of people for her own purposes, and poor Francesco, whilst seeming almost too good to be true, did not deserve Penny’s cavalier treatment of him.
Sadly, I am unable to finish reading this title. There are too many good books out there to persevere with one which I cannot get immersed in.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book. I wish I could have liked it more.

Really enjoyed this book. Steady paced, great characters, I was absorbed throughout. Will be reading more books by the author in the future!

I enjoyed Our Stop although I did feel slightly older than the target audience so I was intrigued as to what Laura Jane Williams next book would be like. I’m glad I gave it a go as I felt this had broader age appeal and an interesting main character in Penny who I mostly liked but sometimes wanted to slap! Penny hasn’t had the easiest of pasts which have affected who she is and how she feels about relationships and that is well reflected in the way she views the three different relationships she has. The author does reflect well on the emotional side of relationships however she doesn’t shy from the intimate details either. Overall this a really easy to read and warm hearted story with a real mix of engaging characters.

I liked this book overall. One thing I struggled with was not how Penny treated Francesco, but how she didn't even seem to think twice about sleeping with Thomas when she was also sleeping with Priyesh (not that he was a favourite of mine but still). Yes, I know no-one's perfect, but she didn't appear to have any angst over this. Also, she should have tackled Francesco a lot sooner about what she saw him doing just before she left London. I liked all the characters. I loved the cooking element. I appreciated the honesty surrounding how Penny could get tired post-cancer. Learning about her early menopause and the fact she'd had her eggs frozen was compelling reading. The diversity of the characters in this book was great. I particularly liked Clemmie and her offer to be a surrogate. The ending was satisfying. There's just that one issue I had with Penny. It didn't ring true. A good read nonetheless. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an Advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this book. I was excited to receive the ARC & couldn't wait to get started. But I just didn't like this book. To be fair, I'm sure I'm not the target audience for this at all, and the formatting of the ebook ARC was a bit of a problem, but overall I just couldn't get into the story. The POV seemed to change without notice or warning and the story location seemed to be changing and moving as well, which led to confusion.

This book has a LOT going on. This isn't some quick silly book - the characters are involved and dealing with a lot. I give the author lots of credit for dealing with a LOT of issues and topics all in one book. But maybe that was part of the problem? Too much going on?

But really for me, the biggest problem was the main character, Penny. I didn't like her. Not at all, at any point in the book. And with the story revolving so much around her, it was hard to get past my dislike of her. And her constant complaints. I mean, WOW the complaints! I've read a few other books of this style and genre this summer and just feel that they handled the situations much better than this one did.

I read Laura Jane Williams previous novel, Our Stop, and enjoyed it, however I found The Love Square disappointing. I could not warm to the main character, Penny, and all the situations seemed awkward and contrived. Penny is a young single cafe owner who has had her fair share of hardships. She has a wonderful relationship with members of her family, but has not had much luck in love. The story tells of events that find her with more men than she knows what to do with. I found myself skimming through the book, but I still wanted to know what happened at the end. A bit disappointing but still readable. Thanks to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for an advance arc of this novel.

After having devoured Our Stop and falling in love with Laura Jane Williams’ characters, humour, and writing style, I had high hopes for this novel. But this one is nothing like Our Stop, and I think that’s what made me have a hard time with it. It’s much more heartfelt and serious, with very little humour. 

Penny is an old soul, and I say that because while reading the first few chapters, I was sure she was an older woman. When it was revealed that she’s only thirty, I was shocked.  I think it’s a combination of her irritability, her having given up on finding love, the success she’s already found in her career, and her general outlook on life.  I have to say that I wasn’t a fan of Penny’s. She’s indecisive, which I can accept, since that’s honestly a critical aspect of the plot of the book. (If she wasn’t indecisive, she would be able to pick her man right away!)  But one part that really got to me was her jealousy. Can she honestly be upset that the men she’s with aren’t monogamous when she herself isn’t? That said, there was a little bit of slut shaming in this book that really upset me, and honestly made me dissatisfied with the man that she ends up choosing in the end.  

The blurb for the novel is a little misleading, and she isn’t truly dating three guys at the same time.  While the book has feminist themes, I wanted her to genuinely date these three men for the majority of the book, but she only starts to date the third man around the 60% mark. Based on my experience reading Our Stop, I had assumed that there would be humorous scenes where she bumps into one man while on a date with another, and other romantic comedy situations, but this book only has one or two of these, and the tone was all off. I felt more of a sense of dread than being overwhelmed with the giggles like I was during awkward scenes in her previous book.  

I know I shouldn’t be so critical, but when the blurb tells you that you will be laughing and crying while reading a “feel good book” I expect to laugh and “feel good” while reading it. Oh well. I’ll still check out the author’s next book, and I hope that she’ll return to the romantic comedy genre.  

I recommend this book to those looking for a heartfelt novel about a woman trying to figure out her identity.

*This review will be posted to https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/ on June 17, 2020*

A heartwarming, fun, perfect beach read. Great escapism with interesting, well-written characters.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was cute. It was boring in parts. I put it down for 2 weeks. Then picked it up and finished over half of it in a day. Nothing really memorable.