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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
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
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
readwithregina's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really have to admit that I do not enjoy books where misunderstanding and miscommunication play such a large part in the book. with all of the ways people can communicate and clarify, it seems wasteful to have to read as someone goes through so much of the angst when they could be humble and brave and just call.
it must be said that I struggled with the pronoun them/they being used to describe a character in the book; it was a tertiary character but it was a mental gymnastics I hadn't been through before. I hated it at first and almost quit reading and then about 2/3 of the way through, I figured that was the point of the author; to stretch her (I looked it up) readers. it wasn't as funny as suggested, one time was plenty. as an almost 50yo, I found myself to be distant from some of the hip 30 something references that were made.
I will say that grief does complicate things and pleasing people because you think you owe them something is definitely some things I could relate to. this became a "read" book because I won it in a giveaway and knew that i'd be passing it along to someone else.
it must be said that I struggled with the pronoun them/they being used to describe a character in the book; it was a tertiary character but it was a mental gymnastics I hadn't been through before. I hated it at first and almost quit reading and then about 2/3 of the way through, I figured that was the point of the author; to stretch her (I looked it up) readers. it wasn't as funny as suggested, one time was plenty. as an almost 50yo, I found myself to be distant from some of the hip 30 something references that were made.
I will say that grief does complicate things and pleasing people because you think you owe them something is definitely some things I could relate to. this became a "read" book because I won it in a giveaway and knew that i'd be passing it along to someone else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
fayereadsbooks's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I rather enjoyed this book.
The cast of characters was much more diverse than any other chick-lit book I have read before. Penny's sister has a wife, her uncle has a husband, their is side characters called Charlie who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns (which are used correctly throughout). Francesco is Italian and Priyesh is half-Indian. The kitchen staff were all from different countries: one is Filipino, one is Dutch and one is Polish. Most contemporary books tend to only feature white, straight characters so it was great to see quite a diverse cast of characters. I don't want to applaud the author for doing the bare minimum (diverse characters should be in all books) but this is pretty uncommon in popular contemporary so it was good to see.
To be honest, considering the key aspect of this book was the 'love square', I was much more interested in the life side of the story than the romance. I liked reading about the running of a café and a restaurant.
One thing that annoyed me was the cover of the book. You would expect the cover to show the four characters involved in the love square and most of them are. Francesco has a bike and Thomas has a dog, which both relate to how they met Penny. But Priyesh doesn't look as he is described. He is described in these quotes- "His shoulder-length hair was thick and silky" "My mother is from India and my father is from Coventry. Hence Jones but with brown skin". But the final character on the cover has black skin, short hair and is holding a drink that looks like a slush puppy, which doesn't appear in the book at all. Its a little thing but I just don't understand why Priyesh isn't drawn correctly.
Lizzo is mentioned frequently throughout the book: Thomas is her tour manager, Penny loves her music, they go to her concert. I see how this could be seen as unnecessary but it was okay. In the epilogue, Thomas and Lizzo video call Penny and I just found this so hilarious for some reason. It just kind of happened out of nowhere like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I liked this quote:
"Everyone wanted something from her, and Penny realised she didn't know what she wanted for herself. She'd been so caught up in everyone else's needs and wants and agendas, escaping from herself and making a mess of her life, when what she actually needed was to look inward and figure out what was important to her"
It seems like i enjoyed this book much more than other reviews did. I enjoyed it at time of reading but wouldn't say i'll remember much about it. I would recommend it :)
The cast of characters was much more diverse than any other chick-lit book I have read before. Penny's sister has a wife, her uncle has a husband, their is side characters called Charlie who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns (which are used correctly throughout). Francesco is Italian and Priyesh is half-Indian. The kitchen staff were all from different countries: one is Filipino, one is Dutch and one is Polish. Most contemporary books tend to only feature white, straight characters so it was great to see quite a diverse cast of characters. I don't want to applaud the author for doing the bare minimum (diverse characters should be in all books) but this is pretty uncommon in popular contemporary so it was good to see.
To be honest, considering the key aspect of this book was the 'love square', I was much more interested in the life side of the story than the romance. I liked reading about the running of a café and a restaurant.
One thing that annoyed me was the cover of the book. You would expect the cover to show the four characters involved in the love square and most of them are. Francesco has a bike and Thomas has a dog, which both relate to how they met Penny. But Priyesh doesn't look as he is described. He is described in these quotes- "His shoulder-length hair was thick and silky" "My mother is from India and my father is from Coventry. Hence Jones but with brown skin". But the final character on the cover has black skin, short hair and is holding a drink that looks like a slush puppy, which doesn't appear in the book at all. Its a little thing but I just don't understand why Priyesh isn't drawn correctly.
Lizzo is mentioned frequently throughout the book: Thomas is her tour manager, Penny loves her music, they go to her concert. I see how this could be seen as unnecessary but it was okay. In the epilogue, Thomas and Lizzo video call Penny and I just found this so hilarious for some reason. It just kind of happened out of nowhere like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I liked this quote:
"Everyone wanted something from her, and Penny realised she didn't know what she wanted for herself. She'd been so caught up in everyone else's needs and wants and agendas, escaping from herself and making a mess of her life, when what she actually needed was to look inward and figure out what was important to her"
It seems like i enjoyed this book much more than other reviews did. I enjoyed it at time of reading but wouldn't say i'll remember much about it. I would recommend it :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, and Sexual content
heart attack, IVF
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