I really love a good book that focuses on influencers or social media. I especially love it when the book is a romance or a chick-lit. Social media is such a big part of our lives now, and as a bookish content creator, I have at least some understanding of all the work that goes into these accounts. Set on You was no different. I was very kindly contacted by the team at Spark Point Studio at the end of last year asking if I’d like to review this book, and I’ve finally gotten around to it. I’m also participating in the UK book tour for this, so you can tell I’m very excited.
Crystal Chen is a fitness influencer who promotes body positivity and the fact you can love fitness without wanting to become skinny. During one of her regular sessions, she meets Scott, the annoyingly attractive firefighter who likes to steal her favourite squat rack. When it turns out that their grandparents are engaged, however, Crystal realises that she’s going to be spending a lot more time with Scott, and soon they wind up falling into friendship followed by something more. But just as things seem perfect, the reactions of many to a photo posted of them together on Instagram could tear everything apart.
Like Crystal, I’m not exactly skinny, and most of the time, I don’t care. I’ve never been one to diet, though I have tried and failed to get into exercise. Though I’ll be honest, this book has made me decide that maybe I’ll give that another go. But what I’m saying is, I get Crystal. Most of the time, she loves how she looks in her clothes, and she’s confident. She knows she’s kicking ass at the gym and helping her clients feel good about themselves. Yet there are still times when that’s difficult. When you get people laughing at you or insulting your looks, it’s hard not to let that get to you sometimes. Crystal’s struggle really resonated with me, and that made this a book that I’m glad I’ve read.
The romance in this book was pretty fun. There were times when I wasn’t the biggest fan of Scott. He seemed a little rude and a little too crude. But then you find out he’s actually pretty awkward, and suddenly that all makes sense, and you forgive him. It probably doesn’t hurt that he’s supposed to look like Chris Evans. Like, hello sir, I’d like one of you too. I liked that they at least tried to be friends at first. This book is kind of being sold as ‘rivals to lovers’, and it isn’t really that. They aren’t rivals for very long, but their friendship does have some great banter, so I didn’t mind. It still had a lot of the same vibes, and it was a lot of fun. There were plenty of cute scenes with them watching movies and things like that. If you’re a fan of steamy scenes, there are definitely a few of them in here. Not so many that I was rolling my eyes, but definitely enough to add to the heat factor.
I will say that there is a Harry Potter reference in this with the very adorable dog being called Albus Doodledore. I was a little disappointed, considering the author is on bookstagram and this is being published in 2022. We should know to avoid those by now. But at least Scott didn’t name him that himself and responded “god no,” when being asked if he liked Harry Potter. Admittedly, I’m reading the e-arc, so for all, I know this could have been changed in the final book. But yeah, at least the dog was completely adorable.
I just want to end this review by going back to Crystal quickly. I talked about her social media presence and how people’s comments affected her, but that wasn’t the only thing that caused problems in the relationship. Crystal’s last relationship was with a guy who got with her on the rebound, then after a longish relationship, went running back to his ex. Since Scott has recently broken up with his last girlfriend, Crystal definitely has trust issues. She even wonders if her Grandma had ever cheated on her Grandfather with her new husband. Which was a pretty rude assumption to make. I do understand why, and you witness her realise that this way of thinking isn’t great. Crystal was an interesting main character, and I liked her.
I’d kind of like to see a few spin-off books to this one. We have all these different types of influencers- can we maybe see them get some social media adjacent romance? That would be so much fun!
I really enjoyed this book though, and I definitely recommend it to chick-lit and rom-com fans!
4/5 Stars
Title: Set on You
Author: Amy Lea
Genre: Romance/Chick-Lit
Age Range: Adult
Publisher: Penguin (UK) | Berkley (US)
Release Date: 12/05/22
BUY LINKS
Lace and Dagger Books 