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esme_t's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, and Infertility
Moderate: Grief
jemzijem's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility and Cancer
dlrosebyh's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Love Square centers on cancer survivor Penny. She said that because of her ex-boyfriend, she wanted to put all of her attention on herself and avoid letting any men into her life. She started hanging out with another chef named Fransesco after meeting him one day. Little did she know, she started falling for him.
Penny has always believed that she is unfortunate in either love or in life in general. After taking "a break" with Franseso, she bumped into Priyesh, the wine salesman for her Uncle David, and Thomas, a player who had a soft place for her. We watch as Penny regains her composure and allows herself to make errors, experience pain, and cope with the three guys who are in love with her.
I'm not sure what it was about this book that I didn't like, but I didn't particularly like it. It contains strong prose, complex characters, and an engaging storyline. The numerous love interests trope, in my opinion, is just not for me. No matter how much I attempt to appreciate that trope, I always end up abhorring it intensely. I also abhorred her eventual partner, which is another thing. I wished she would simply concentrate more on herself and stop basing her decisions on men she had just met.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, and Cancer
Moderate: Grief and Medical content
megek9's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warning: slut shaming, cancer, infertility, parental abandonment, death of a parent (*Details below review)
Good for fans of Bridget Jones' Diary!
The Love Square follows Chef Penny Bridges, who must leave London and manage the kitchen in her uncle's restaurant when he falls ill. Over the course of her year living in the countryside, she dates a variety of men and grows to appreciate her family in terms of the people who love her, not just her romantic prospects. I read somewhere that love triangles are rarely truly love triangles, they're more like two men cornering a woman and demanding that she choose, and a love square is no different.
The book starts out with the breakup of Penny and Francesco, one of the men in the love square, before going back to the day the pair met. The pacing was way different than any romance novel I've read recently, so that was really refreshing. The "third quarter break up" happened much earlier in the novel so it didn't feel as predictable, however, I feel like this book would have gone over better if it were marketed differently. Despite being called a love square, Francesco was obviously the end game choice, to the point where the other two men, Thomas and Priyesh, were not very well fleshed out as characters. To be honest, I feel like this book was mismarketed as a romance and would have had more success as a story about a woman's search for herself.
Throughout Penny's interactions with these men, and with everyone in general, her actions do not match up with the things she says she wants. In the beginning of the novel, she's considering using the embryos she had frozen during cancer treatment to have a baby as a single mother using a surrogate. When she meets Francesco, she puts that on hold, and then when her uncle falls ill, she puts both the desire for a baby and her relationship with Francesco on hold to go run his restaurant against her own wishes. One thing I really appreciated was that Penny actually went to therapy to deal with these conflicting desires and her people-pleaser tendencies rather than just having some wishy washy epiphany and magically everything is better.
I also really enjoyed the side characters. Most of the characters outside of the square are LGBT+, and casually LGBT+ at that. Their queer identity wasn't a thing for them to come to, or something for the main character to react to. The characters just were LGBT+, and everyone accepted that. Her uncle's long time husband is dropped into conversation the same way a heteronormative aunt would be, and, aside from a brief explanation of pronounes, a non-binary character is just refered to with they/them throughout.
Overall, the non-romantic aspects were what I enjoyed most about the novel. Penny's desire for motherhood gets wrapped up in her feelings about losing her own mother to cancer at a young age. Seeing her come to terms with that was more enjoyable to me than any of the three men. I also had a lot of trouble with the restaurant scene as a backdrop to this story, but I know that's on me. When I worked in a kitchen, I was so desperate to leave that I forget that it is a dream job for some. If you read The Love Square, not as a romance, but as literary fiction, it can be very enjoyable.
*Content warning details: the main character recovered from cancer prior to the events of the book, but still suffers some physical and mental side effects, including infertility. The main character's mother passed away of cancer when she was young, and her father abandoned her. The main character is slut shamed during the course of the novel.
Good for fans of Bridget Jones' Diary!
The Love Square follows Chef Penny Bridges, who must leave London and manage the kitchen in her uncle's restaurant when he falls ill. Over the course of her year living in the countryside, she dates a variety of men and grows to appreciate her family in terms of the people who love her, not just her romantic prospects. I read somewhere that love triangles are rarely truly love triangles, they're more like two men cornering a woman and demanding that she choose, and a love square is no different.
The book starts out with the breakup of Penny and Francesco, one of the men in the love square, before going back to the day the pair met. The pacing was way different than any romance novel I've read recently, so that was really refreshing. The "third quarter break up" happened much earlier in the novel so it didn't feel as predictable, however, I feel like this book would have gone over better if it were marketed differently. Despite being called a love square, Francesco was obviously the end game choice, to the point where the other two men, Thomas and Priyesh, were not very well fleshed out as characters. To be honest, I feel like this book was mismarketed as a romance and would have had more success as a story about a woman's search for herself.
Throughout Penny's interactions with these men, and with everyone in general, her actions do not match up with the things she says she wants. In the beginning of the novel, she's considering using the embryos she had frozen during cancer treatment to have a baby as a single mother using a surrogate. When she meets Francesco, she puts that on hold, and then when her uncle falls ill, she puts both the desire for a baby and her relationship with Francesco on hold to go run his restaurant against her own wishes. One thing I really appreciated was that Penny actually went to therapy to deal with these conflicting desires and her people-pleaser tendencies rather than just having some wishy washy epiphany and magically everything is better.
I also really enjoyed the side characters. Most of the characters outside of the square are LGBT+, and casually LGBT+ at that. Their queer identity wasn't a thing for them to come to, or something for the main character to react to. The characters just were LGBT+, and everyone accepted that. Her uncle's long time husband is dropped into conversation the same way a heteronormative aunt would be, and, aside from a brief explanation of pronounes, a non-binary character is just refered to with they/them throughout.
Overall, the non-romantic aspects were what I enjoyed most about the novel. Penny's desire for motherhood gets wrapped up in her feelings about losing her own mother to cancer at a young age. Seeing her come to terms with that was more enjoyable to me than any of the three men. I also had a lot of trouble with the restaurant scene as a backdrop to this story, but I know that's on me. When I worked in a kitchen, I was so desperate to leave that I forget that it is a dream job for some. If you read The Love Square, not as a romance, but as literary fiction, it can be very enjoyable.
*Content warning details: the main character recovered from cancer prior to the events of the book, but still suffers some physical and mental side effects, including infertility. The main character's mother passed away of cancer when she was young, and her father abandoned her. The main character is slut shamed during the course of the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Sexism, and Infertility
megh4's review
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
tamjane_'s review
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Infertility, and Cancer
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content
kbairbooks's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This story was wild. I described this more in my reading journal but don’t feel like typing it out right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
therobinjoyce's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The synopsis for this novel sounded really wonderfully and exciting, a middle aged female MC with not one, not two, but three suitors after her. Charming and refreshing...or so I thought.
The recommendation form Beth O'Leary on the cover should have been my first hint that this book wouldn't fulfil my expectations. Next was the fact that we had a lovely relationship for a whole third of the book that just ended because of miscommunication.
I'm sorry but if I saw my bf in the arms of another woman, I wouldn't be walking away, I'd be slapping them both silly till I get some answers. Would have saved a whole lot of time and grief and been a far better story than it was.
Thomas' character was just a grade A ass and I hated him from the moment he was introduced. I couldn't see what the MC saw in him.
Francesco too, whole sweet and lovely, was right to walk away from her after what she did and it upset me that he got back with here I know I wouldn't have if I'd been him.
Priyesh was the only one of them that I really liked and I was more upset that he didn't stay with her. I felt better knowing he's set up for a HEA with someone else but still.
The storyline dragged a lot and while some may think it is cute and light-hearted, comical even, I cannot agree with them. The writing wasn't bad and premise was well done but the whole plot and characters really fell short for me.
The recommendation form Beth O'Leary on the cover should have been my first hint that this book wouldn't fulfil my expectations. Next was the fact that we had a lovely relationship for a whole third of the book that just ended because of miscommunication.
I'm sorry but if I saw my bf in the arms of another woman, I wouldn't be walking away, I'd be slapping them both silly till I get some answers. Would have saved a whole lot of time and grief and been a far better story than it was.
Thomas' character was just a grade A ass and I hated him from the moment he was introduced. I couldn't see what the MC saw in him.
Francesco too, whole sweet and lovely, was right to walk away from her after what she did and it upset me that he got back with here I know I wouldn't have if I'd been him.
Priyesh was the only one of them that I really liked and I was more upset that he didn't stay with her. I felt better knowing he's set up for a HEA with someone else but still.
The storyline dragged a lot and while some may think it is cute and light-hearted, comical even, I cannot agree with them. The writing wasn't bad and premise was well done but the whole plot and characters really fell short for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Infertility, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy, Medical content, Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Grief
billi's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer and Infertility
jojo_2000's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Cancer, and Chronic illness