This was a good story and a good read but I just couldn’t totally enjoy it. I did like that Penny was making her own life without the need for a man, but the feeling around her having multiple relationships felt a bit behind the times. I wasn’t a huge fan of Penny or the men in the book so it was a difficult read for me.

I really enjoyed this feel good, light read about Penny and her three different men she is juggling in her life. The beginning of the story stated off strong for me as I really enjoyed her relationship with Francesco as the story progressed I found myself having a bit of a harder time connecting with Penny but I enjoyed how the author ended the story. It was the perfect light fun feel good family read that I needed at this time. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend it to friends. Thank you Net galley and publisher for the advanced read.

Charming, sweet, and fun. A great addition to collections where light women's fiction and romance are popular.

The Love Square, as you may expect from the title goes one step beyond the standard Love Triangle. One girl, 3 guys and a whole host of decisions to be made.

Penny Bridges is a cancer survivor, who used her life insurance to purchase her own cafe and over the past 5 years has made it a roaring success. There’s just a couple of things missing; that special someone and a family of her own. Just as she’s about to resort to single motherhood, just her and her frozen embryos, Francesco enters the scene - an Italian hunk who is delivering bread to the cafe as a favour and who sparks something inside Penny that has been non existent since her ex ditched her upon her cancer diagnosis. She has his number, but before she convinces herself to use it, fate intervenes.

As with any decent romance novel, a series of unfortunate events then occurs and we find Penny heading off to the Derbyshire countryside where Thomas and Priyesh enter the Love Square. Each of the men in Penny’s life provides her with something different yet fulfilling, Francesco with his humour and culinary skills, Thomas with his adventurous spirit and Priyesh with his sexual prowess. When a storm and some loose roof tiles brings the “square” to a dramatic, drenched ultimatum, Penny must decide what she wants and hope it’s not too late to get it.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this story, with its unusual take on the typical life triangle albeit a little reminiscent of the classic J-Lo movie, The Backup Plan. There are lots of twist and turns to keep you hooked right through to the finale and I couldn’t wait to see how things turned out for Penny.

If you’re looking for an LGBTQ+ friendly book, then this one could possibly be considered overly friendly. Whilst our leading lady is straight (as is made clear at least three times over), she is surrounded by lesbians, gays, gender non specific (which proved rather confusing when “they” would say something and I found it strange that two people would say the exact same sentence in unison on such a regular basis). Along with mixed race relationships, cancer, infertility, IVF and surrogacy, I can’t help but feel the book was trying a little too hard to tick all the inclusion and diversity boxes. Whilst most of this didn’t take away from the story, I didn’t feel like it all necessarily added to it either.

Definitely worth a read if you love romance novels but fancy something a little different to the norm.

I just absolutely loved this book - it was quite predictable where it was going but great nonetheless! A real feel good book with likeable characters

This was a weird book, there were parts i really enjoyed and parts i couldn't stand. Unfortunately I think there was more i didnt like.

This book follows a year or so in the life of Penny. A cancer survivor, cafe owner that's unlucky in love but desperately wants to be a mother.

As you can tell from the title her luck changes but I was not a fan of any of the men in this love square. The first relationship seemed good but then went awkward and weird so quick and I even found it so uncomfortable to read about.

The second one was ok, a bit cringey on the cliches and constant lizzo mentions. The 3rd one made no sense to me at all. I am all for woman doing what they want 100% but the way it was written was just icky to me.

There was one scene I particularly hated which took part in the red panda. Where i felt it all to be a bit hypocritical and a bit of slut shaming.

Also the end was bad... like it was a nice end but why did she keep in contact with all these guys and why were they present at that particular moment... weird!

I loved The Love Square, but then again, I’ve loved Laura Jane Williams’ writing since she self-published The Book of Brave years ago.

This story focuses on Penny Bridge, a chef who finds herself not in a love triangle with two men, but a love “square” with three of them (!), as she leaves the comforts of her London life to run her uncle’s restaurant in northern England. Penny and the rest of the cast of characters felt believable; I loved her family and friends, and even her potential love interests felt three-dimensional, not just “good” or “bad” guys.

Laura Jane Williams describes her stories as “modern romance,” and this one truly is a modern love story, one that will keep you on your toes (unusual for a genre where you can typically guess the outcome from the first chapter) and may even convert any rom-com sceptics out there!

Penny Bridges life never feels enough for her, she feels like somethings missing. Due to being ill her priorities have changed. She finds relationships difficult She doesn’t do trust, commitment or even love as she has the outlook that she does not deserve happiness. When an unexpected family emergency occurs, Penny finds that she is being asked to keep her family’s business running even though it’s in a place, where she spent her childhood years, but away from her own life. Even though she feels unhappy, family loyalty wins. Whilst she is there she experiences every emotion imaginable and finds that there are things about herself that she doesn’t like and need addressing. After a lot of soul searching she finds what she wants and goes for it.
I loved how Penny’s character was easy to relate to and love wins out in the end. Definitely worth reading and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Will definitely reading the other book by this author

Penny Bridge hasn't had much luck when it comes to love. Then she meets Francesco, and they have an instant connection. For the next 3 weeks, things seem to be going perfectly. Until an unfortunate twist of fate means she has to leave her life in London to look after her Uncle's restaurant in Derbyshire.
Over the next 12 months, she meets not one, but TWO men who also want to date her. Thomas has a busy and exciting life working in the music industry, while Priyesh is a wine merchant who's much older than her.
Penny never expected to find herself in the middle of a 'Love Square,' but the situation forces her to confront what she really wants in life.

I really enjoyed Laura Jane William's previous book ”Our Stop” so as soon as I saw The Love Square was available on Netgalley I had to request it!

This book is very different to Our Stop. I personally thought it was better! There's less comedy, but more emotion.

I could relate a lot to the main character Penny. I was also diagnosed with cancer in my 20s, and I felt that her thoughts, feelings, and long-term side-effects were portrayed accurately.

The secondary characters were also very likable. Not all relationships are traditional or conventional, and this was represented well. One of Penny’s friends is non-binary, and they were introduced in a very natural way. I loved the diversity, and how it never felt forced.

When it came to the three romances, I didn’t have a preference as to who I wanted Penny to end up with. I wouldn't say that I disliked any of them, I just felt more interested in Penny's relationship with herself.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a funny and enjoyable contemporary romcom with a difference. I like Laura’s writing and I like that she writes about diverse characters and is inclusive, and respectful to tough subjects. I liked most of the characters in this one and thought that the scene setting was great and I appreciated it as a northerner! I am all for strong female friendships too and love that although this was a book about love stories (yes plural), it was also about Penny’s personal and character development.

3.5 stars

Penny Bridge has pretty much sworn off relationships. She wants to focus on herself and her cafe in London instead. Then Francesco walks into her life...

He feels so right for her, but before their budding romance can get anywhere, Penny has to break things off. Her beloved uncle is ill and needs her to run his pub up north - she can't move hundreds of miles away and expect Francesco to come wth her. It's too soon.

As she's leaving, she spots Francesco with another woman and that makes up her mind. He wasn't perfect after all. Once working at the pub, she meets Thomas - laddy on the surface, but much deeper underneath. Then Priyesh, an older man she's drawn to.

Soon enough she's in a love square - even Francesco is back in her life to make up the final spot! But as a 'friend'. Who does Penny really want? More importantly, what does she really want from her life?

This is an emotional read that's as much about Penny's internal journey than the romance. She's battled cancer and now wants to have a baby via a surrogate - but when is the right time? The book's not quite as funny and light as you might expect - not that that's a bad thing.

I wasn't super keen on the misunderstanding sub-plot that crops up. They're my personal bugbear (even though, if I was to write, I'm sure I'd probably use one myself!). I wish there was another way to create tension. Also, by the end, you somewhat go off all the romantic leads!

Still the writing was enjoyable and I had fun on the journey.

I liked Laura Jane Williams' first novel - Our Stop - as a fun, easy read that offered a sense of escapism. But I am finding this one a struggle in comparison. I don't have any great feelings about the heroine and, so far, I dislike both the male love interests that the book has introduced. I don't feel there is much depth to the characters, they seem to rely too much on their occupations in place of their personalities. I just cannot feel any enthusiasm about reading it, I'm afraid.

This book was an okay read, it has so much promise and started off really well.
I got lost in the middle and didn't have any care of who Penny ended up with.

This does not put me off though reading another of Laura's books unfortunately this one was not for me.

This book was a Did Not Finish for me. The beginning was very slow and to me, the characters were not like able.

Such a fun and refreshing romantic comedy novel!
Penny is a very likeable protagonist - she's overcome a lot of obstacles to become the successful cafe owner that she is. I was rooting for her the whole way, and appreciated that she is a woman putting her needs and feelings first. Her search for a partner is a lovely ride, and even though there is only one obvious choice, the author lets you sympathize with the other men and believe that there's a version of Penny that exists with all three of them.

The characters in this book are all well-developed, and avoid stereotypes. Overall a very lovely read!

Overall, this was more heartwarming than I thought it would be. Penny was a lovable character who succumbed to family pressure. She had some fun flings, but ultimately got a very happy ending.
I really loved the chef-aspect of this novel, I really enjoy cooking and secretly wish to be a chef so it was really nice to live vicariously through Penny's day-to-day!
Also, cannot wait to read Our Stop. I added it to my TBR list directly after finishing The Love Square. Well done, Laura Jane Williams!
*I received a copy of this ARC ebook from Netgalley for an honest review.

After reading and enjoying the author's debut novel, I just had to give this a go. I will admit that Penny Lane as a character didn't grab me as much as the female lead in the previous novel did but this was an enjoyable story nonetheless.

I really liked Francesco and believed the incident that happens about a third way through the book was all a misunderstanding from the moment it happened. I found James very up himself and it almost felt like he was pretending to care about Penny rather than actually caring - it all seemed about him. I liked the fact that Penny got Priyesh to loosen up a little but did feel she could have handled the whole situation with all three men a little better.

I loved the family dynamic - with a deceased mother and a deadbeat father, Penny's family was her, her sister, her sister-in-law, her uncle and her uncle's husband. You could tell how close they all are and how devoted they are to each other. It was heartbreaking to read Penny's realisation that Uncle David had pretty much saved her life on countless occasions and it was now her turn to save his, even if it meant turning her back on her own business, her friends, her life in London and budding love.

I loved the ending - Penny ended up with exactly who I felt she was meant to and it was so interesting to see the dynamic change between her and the two other men as they both made an appearance here too but as something different to Penny than what they were before.

The book was emotional in places, full of humour in places but mostly just reminds us that no matter what we go through, sometimes we need to take a step back and think how our fears and worries may be impacting other people.

I loved this book so much! It's a great book and the main Character Penny reminds each of us about ourselves. It's such a feel good mordern love story

The Love Square is about a girl named Penny who is a chef and gets caught up in a love square with three men who comes in her life. This was a fun read and a bit emotional. Lots of family relationships, friendships, and love that will make you smile.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars for this new novel by Laura Jane Williams!

It's about a chef, Penny Bridge who's had a bit of a tough life, but is still optimistic and trying to find love. Enter amazing guy. His name is Francesco Cipolla, and he's got it bad for Penny. What happens next in their budding relationship, and will they end up together in the face of all the difficulties they come up against? Find out for yourself, it will definitely be worth it!

I enjoyed this unique story a lot, and definitely recommend it for anyone who's feeling the need for a lovely, fun, and emotional read about love of all kinds, and the choices we make in life. Penny refocuses on the things she wants in life, and her journey to getting them are truly enjoyable, and made me feel a little more understood than I have in a while. Thank you Laura Jane Williams, this story is lovely as the note you sent out to readers at the end of the book.

'The Love Square' is the sweet read you need to fall asleep thinking of, and I hope it inspires people to examine what they want as well! Now is a time for thinking and trying out those things we've been putting off for ages!

I'm very thankful to Avon Books UK for sharing an advance reading copy with me, in exchange for an honest review.