Firstly can I say how I adored the narrator's voice. I could have listened to her speak for hours, unfortunately the book wasn't for me. The storyline was ok but some sadness was a tad too near home so I had to stop listening ( )

Penny has been unlucky in love, until she meets Francesco, but a family emergency tears them apart and now Penny suddenly has three men on her plate.

I loved the idea of a woman unlucky in love suddenly having too many interested men in her life. I was hoping for something fun and maybe humorous alongside a down to Earth female lead. Williams is also the author of Our Stop, so, since I read so many good reviews about it, I thought I couldn't pass this one up. The Love Square has an interesting premise, but I'm not sure the story and the book description are completely in sync.

Penny is a breast cancer survivor, but it's left her without the ability to bear her children herself. After her most recent relationship failed, she decides it's time to get a start on having her own family, with or without a man, and her sister is more than willing to help as her surrogate. But then Penny meets the oh so handsome Francesco.

Just about everything about their relationship is perfect, and what isn't becomes a work in progress they attack together with gusto. Everything is turning up roses for them, even though it means Penny shelves her desire to have a child. But then the unthinkable happens and Penny must leave London for at least a year to help out at her uncle's restaurant, tearing apart the new couple.

Months later, Penny has successfully revived her uncle's faltering restaurant, but is lonely. Until an old (male) classmate pops in. It's just fun, but she enjoys spending time with him. And then is surprised by her attraction to the wine vendor. And then, to complicate her life further, Francesco comes to visit, only to stay and become the new pastry chef at her uncle's restaurant. Penny thinks she has time to sort things out, to keep having fun, to live her own life the way she wants. But does she really?

The Love Square was really not what I was expecting. I wanted a book where a woman unlucky in love does something magical that suddenly has three men ready to swoon over her and then details some humorous situations she finds herself in as she juggles them. The Love Square is not that story. Actually, I was quite bothered by most of it and then kind of angry at one of the men at the end of it. The way the book ended, though, was it's saving grace.

I found the beginning to be quite boring. I had no idea where any of it was going. It was sweet, but not much seemed to be happening, and I could not for the life of me figure out where the three men interested in Penny were going to be coming from and how she was going to reach that point. The middle was a muddled mess of a sexually explorative woman who became wrapped up in men and sex. It was little more than romps between the sheets mixed with a light dose of drama. The end felt a little disjointed, as though it had to happen that way in order to get to the ending the author envisioned. But it made me angry and I hated how Penny responded to it as I felt it was almost completely unfounded. On a positive note, the book does end very sweetly and nicely.

The Love Square felt more like a circular kind of story than anything else. I loved Penny at the beginning. As unlucky in love as she seemed to be, she was really succeeding as chef and owner of a cute little cafe in London and was starting her journey into becoming a mother. I loved that she was so willing to take on responsibility and make her life into what she wanted without having to wait for a guy. As a breast cancer survivor, who was still dealing with the effects of it even though they seemingly vanished halfway through the book, she's strong and determined, but still has a softer, somewhat unsure of herself side. But I was irritated by her in the middle when she just kept falling into bed with all these men and the exhaustion she suffered from as a cancer survivor was pushed way out of the book. I suppose she seemed a little lost and upset about having to rearrange her life due to family responsibilities and duties, but it was a little annoying and made the whole middle seem really slow and sex-filled.

Overall: A Bit Lackluster

I'm just disappointed this was not what I expected based on the book description. Overall, I found it was a bit lackluster and I couldn't wait for it to hurry up and wrap up. It went from boring to a muddled mess to an end that barely made me feel better about reading it. Not that it was all bad. Penny did have a couple of wonderful friends who made reading it feel worthwhile, and I did like that she was challenged at the end to figure out what she wanted. Overall, though, it felt less like a love square and more about a woman who didn't want to face, and have to deal with, reality. It was nice, though, that all the missteps she took throughout the story forced her to figure out what to do with her life and what her truth was.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own. ( )

I went into this expecting a quick, rom com and found that instead, it was sweet and emotional. There were some aspects of this book that I really connected with, but sometimes it reminded me of the deep stuff I went to books to escape! All-in-all, I enjoyed it. The characters are well written and I found myself rooting for Penny. ( )

The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams
Source: NetGalley and Avon
Rating: 4/5 stars

If there were ever going to be a poster child for unlucky in love, Penny Bridge would be the girl chosen! Relationship after relationship has fallen apart, often disastrously for Penny and she is just about ready to give up on love altogether. Just as Penny has determined to call it quits, the perfect man walks into her small café and everything changes.

For three glorious weeks, Penny indulges in a love affair she has come to believe can go the distance. Just as she is settling into her new romance, Penny is called away to her family restaurant that only she can run in her beloved uncle’s absence. To be leaving behind her own little café and her newfound romance is devastating; to see her lover kissing another woman thirty seconds after she leaves, even more devastating. This time, Penny is done and there will nothing but work for her in the future.

And then the universe started laughing . . . .

As Penny begins to settle into her uncle’s place in the restaurant’s kitchen, she discovers she can get through anything, even heartbreak. With her head down and her priorities straight, Penny begins to overhaul the restaurant and its menu and the locals love what she’s doing. Business is booming and Penny passionately believes she has no room for anything else in her life. She will get through her designated time away from her true home and then swiftly return to her little café, stronger and wiser.

First in through the door is the younger local who travels often for work and brings a no strings attached sense of freedom to Penny. Next up is the older, more mature wine seller who intrigues Penny in a way no other man ever has. Last but not least to the party is Penny’s ex, who can’t understand why Penny ghosted him. In all her ridiculous naivete, Penny believes she can date the two newcomers and she and her ex can just go back to being friends. Needless to say, the situation becomes incredibly complicated and though Penny enjoys the company of all three men, it simply isn’t reasonable or sane to try and maintain three relationships simultaneously. Choosing isn’t going to be easy and before Penny can make her final decision, it all blows up in her face.

The Bottom Line: I found The Love Square to be an easy breazy sort of read that is quite perfect for a rainy weekend. There’s no mystery here, no great, just a woman trying to work through her life, her limits, and her grasp on love. Truth be told, I found the men in Penny’s life to be more compelling than she, but I didn’t dislike Penny. All the types of moments – sad, happy, laugh out loud, frustrating, and maddening – can all be found between the covers. At its heart, this is as much about love as it is a book about self-discovery, facing some ugly truths, and owning what it is one wants and needs out of life. While that all sounds like heavy reading, it really isn’t. ( )

*Thank you to NetGalley for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.*

There was a lot of potential in this, but at the end of the day it turned out to be little more than a chick lit.

This story follows Penny Bridge, cancer survivor who desperately wants to have kids but can’t. To add insult to injury, she’s never been lucky in love anyways — until she runs into Francesco, a chef. But everything falls apart, and before she knows it, Penny is living a new life and meeting two new men…

That’s essentially the blurb of the story. It’s marketed as a “love square,” with Penny dealing with 3 other guys who all like her. Now, what are the good markings of a love square/triangle?It’s one where you feel like multiple love interests actually have a shot; they need to all be interesting, unique characters, who have different but still intriguing interactions with the main character.

I didn’t see those elements in this story at all; the entire time, there was pretty much only one love interest that had a shot, and I didn’t care for that character. And so, I feel like love square really shouldn’t have been the main selling point of this story, because there were other themes that could’ve been explored more.

Instead of having other love interests that were only there just to be annoying, I would’ve liked it more if the story focused on Penny’s infertility, and on her personal growth — without tying it to her need to be in a relationship. There was so much focus on who she was sleeping with there was honestly very little room for us to see who she was on her own.

The writing style was okay — nothing makes it stand out from other contemporary romance novels, but if you want something that that’s a light, no-thoughts read, this would be good. ( )