Set on You was such a feel-good read! I loved the messages about body positivity and how it showed both the positives and negatives of social media. Showing the reality of how it can affect your mental and emotional state was well done! ⁣
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These characters! 😍 Crystal and Scott were great together…and the whole picturing Chris Evans thing, while I was reading, didn’t hurt either. ;-) Their families were adorable, and I especially loved Crystal’s grandmother and Scott’s grandfather…too cute! ⁣
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This book also includes one of the best enemies-to-lovers hate kisses that I’ve read so far! Perfection!!

"Remember: The worst part about working out is putting on your sports bra."

Set On You follows fitness influencer Crystal, as she sets out to shatter harmful stereotypes in the fitness industry. The gym is her safe place, but when her favorite squat rack is stolen by a grumpy alpha-male, the two square off every chance they get. Sparks begin to fly and the pair are surprised when they find themselves in the same wedding party.

This enemies to lovers, open door steamy romance has such a compelling and powerful message of self-love. I loved how Crystal's purpose for exercise was the act of pushing herself out of her comfort zone, not focusing on weight loss or being a certain size. This theme of body positivity was so well done. Crystal's character was extremely down to earth and relatable. I loved her snark, her love of the Real Housewives and the way she stuck to her guns when pushed.

I adored watching Scott and Crystal's relationship develop. It was paced perfectly and their banter was spot on. Scott was kind and honest and I loved how he was dead set on being with Crystal (and proving to her how much he wanted her), even when she resisted her feelings. Their chemistry was on point!

I loved this debut from Amy Lea. Crystal and Scott had immediate chemistry from their first interaction at the gym when Scott stole Crystal's favorite squat rack. This enemies-to-lovers rom-com had heat and spice as well as some heartwarming and heartwrenching moments. Lea did a great job interweaving social media expectations, body image issues, and self acceptance and love without it feeling too heavy. I loved every minute of reading Set on You and I can't wait to read more from this author!

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I started this one, as I was worried about the associations of body shaming and fitness and where it would fall in this book, but Amy Lea handles this with care from her opening letter to readers, her dedication, and on every page of the entire book.

From body empowerment, positivity, and acceptance, this book is heartwarming. But I think I truly appreciated it for it’s ability to grasp the reality of what people go through with self-doubt – no matter how confident they might be. This book cracks open societal pressures and expectations and it boldly tells haters to hold its beer.

While there are a few chapters with brutally honest self-doubt, shame, and self-loathing, it’s worth reading every single page. From the fun banter, enemies-to-lovers, meet cute, and proximity romance – and honestly a workplace romance too in a way – I just couldn’t get enough of it. And even the harder parts to read were worth it for the lessons learned by the end.

This was a sweet, body-positive romance that was set in the fitness / social media influencer world. What I liked most was the Asian / biracial rep. I'm half-Chinese (Chinese father and white mother) like Crystal Chen and I appreciate books that focus on biracial protagonists and cultural identity issues. We need more of them! I enjoyed the banter between Scott and Crystal and some of their steamy sex scenes were off the charts! It took me a while to warm up to Scott. I kept seeing him as the cocky Squat Rack Thief. By the story's end, I actually liked Scott much more and felt less sympathetic toward Crystal due to some of her actions that I don't want to spoil. However, I was satisfied with the ending and overall, I enjoyed this debut and am looking forward to what Lea comes out with next.

I absolutely ADORED this book. Full five stars!! Not only is this such a swoony and funny romcom, but it raises so many important points about body image, self acceptance, and the power of social media. Amy is an incredible storyteller - her voice is so unique but so familiar at the same time. I absolutely adore how she wrote out both Crystal and Scott's characters. It really felt like I got to know them.

This is one of my favourite books of the year. Being a curvier gal myself, I found the messaging in this book to super super relatable and gentle, and make me really want to take a look at myself in the mirror and be kinder to the girl staring back at me :)

i understand the hype now! i’ve heard so much about this book and was so happy that i was able to receive and earc of it! i loved the plot and characters and can’t wait to read more from this author :~)

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.

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!

If you don't love yourself, can you ever fully love someone else?
This is the question that I was left with when I finished Set on You. Crystal is a fitstagrammer and has shared her journey with her 250,000 followers on Instagram. She promotes body positivity and self love. She is also a personal trainer and spends a lot of time in the gym, so when a new guy shows up, stealing her squat bench, she is less than happy about it. She likes her routine and it seems like he is determined to throw her of of hers. Each day he comes in and tries to get under her skin, until one day it culminates in a hot little tryst in the men's locker room, and she doesn't even know his name.
That is, until her grandma announces she is getting married again and her fiance's grandson Scott shows up, and it is one and the same as her gym nemesis. He's determined to get close to Crystal, but she is determined that he needs time. She has been burned before and isn't interested in that again, thanks. But the more time they spend together, the more they realize they just might be the perfect fit.
It's hard for Crystal because she is in the spotlight and putting herself out there in a relationship leads to even more scrutiny than she already gets. She doesn't need or want anyone's help and knows she can handle all the online bullying on her own, she always has. She doesn't need anyone to fight her battles, so when he tries, and things blow up, she realizes she has to change the way she's been living her life.
It's great to promote body positivity and self love, but its another thing to actually believe it and believe in yourself. I loved the message here because so many of us promote body positivity (even I do it) but I still look at myself and want to change things. Being truly happy with yourself is something that doesn't come easy. I absolutely loved the growth of Crystal in this book and that Scott was there along the way.
Thank you to Amy Lea, Berkley and Netgalley for an early copy.

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley, and Amy Lea for the ARC!

I have been following Amy for years and have been SO excited to read her debut novel!

This book is SO good. It’s steamy, it’s funny, it’s relatable, and it has some really important topics that it addresses. It examines the need to shift from “body positive” to “body respectful” and “body accepting”, as we aren’t always going to be positive about our bodies 100% of the time, but that doesn’t mean we can disrespect them or be unaccepting of their power.

I thought this was really well done and would never have known it was a debut if I didn’t follow the ray of absolute sunshine that is Amy Lea!

READ THIS BOOK. SUPPORT OUR GIRL!

This is my new favorite book of 2022. Body positivity? Yes. Hot fireman? Yesssss. I loved this book!

Watch my Amazon Live with Amy Lea: https://amazon.com/live/broadcast/0f5eceea-7e4f-4b3c-8c58-9ab3f3aac48f?tag=erinmbransco-20&linkCode=ilv&ref_=social

Set on You is such a wonderful book about self respect and accepting yourself for who you are. Just from the dedication, I knew that this book was going to be great! Crystal and Scott were so adorable! It was the perfect enemies to friends to lovers! This book was a super quick read with all the feels!

4.5 Stars!

This book was incredible - so close to a 5 star read for me. Crystal is a curvy fitstagrammer who is working out one day when her favorite squat rack is callously stolen by Chris Evans/Chris Hemsworth lookalike, Scott. The thievery prompts a back and forth prank/annoyance war between the two which culminates in a very $teamy make out session in the men's locker room. Crystal books it out of the gym, only to run into Scott the next day at her grandmother's engagement dinner... because she's marrying Scott's grandfather.

Scott is set on winning Crystal over but she has quite a few reasons why she's hesitant. She puts a three-month timer before a romantic relationship can happen between them but Scott and her can't stay away as friends. As their friendship grows, they can't keep their chemistry at bay.

I loved almost everything about their book. Their banter and relationship was just everything! Rom-coms are always a hit or miss because sometimes the humor just isn't my brand of humor but I was smiling the entire time from their antics. I loved the plus-size messaging of this book. I love a plus size romance any way I can get it but I loved that Crystal felt the highs and lows of body confidence. And then there's Scott. Scott is book boyfriend perfection, truly. He's sweet but sarcastic and sooo hot. He gave Crystal his all from day one. This book also had the perfect amount of $pic3 and tension.

The only reason this book didn't get 5 stars is because I found Crystal so frustrating towards the end. Scott and Crystal faced a couple of roadbumps throughout the book but nothing major. Crystal's actions during those were a little frustrating but could be explained away by her past. The major 'breakup' in the book for me was just unnecessary. Crystal's actions towards Scott were selfish and I don't think she needed to process it alone like it was written.

A must read though - especially for rom com or plus size romance lovers.

I liked this, but I didn’t love it. I thought the main characters were compelling and had good chemistry, I appreciated Crystal’s grappling with how the world sees her as both a fat and biracial person, I also appreciated how much Scott was into her and that doubt about his attraction wasn’t the center of the conflict, but some of their choices and motivations throughout didn’t make sense to me.

I will start by saying the beginning of this book moved a bit too quickly for me. The amount of hate and then sexual tension seemed to move really fast and I was a little worried. However, I really loved this book! I loved that Crystal was a badass personal trainer, but not the stick thin, jacked personal trainers you imagine. I also really enjoyed following along with what Crystal learned about herself and her business throughout the book. Plus the sexy Scott scenes certainly added to the story! This was definitely a feel good one for me, so needless to say I recommend it!

A darling frenemies to lovers story that starts in a gym but transcends into a beautiful friendship bursting with romance. This one was very fun because you have self-discovery of a plus-size fitness blogger and how her journey changes being in a relationship.

I loved this book so much!! Not only did the author bring in a refreshing story, she created likable, relatable characters.

When I heard about this book I was so eager to get my hands on it. I love the way the author represents the characters—something we don’t have enough of in the book community.

I loved the banter, the plot, the romance. All of it!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me at about 25%. The writing style and plot weren't engaging enough from the beginning to hook me and keep me reading. The chemistry between Crystal and Scott felt a little unnatural and uninteresting. This just wasn't the book for me, but I hope it finds its audience!

A thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

As far as gym romcoms go, this was very cute. I struggled at times finding the chemistry of our MCs and often felt that Scott could be needlessly irritating. Crystal, however, is a gem (ha) and deserves all the best.

4.5/5

It’s so refreshing to find an authentic feeling romance anymore and this one truly felt not only genuine, but fresh and fun too. While the romantic storyline was great and definitely the centerpiece of the story, there was so much more to it as well. The author did a great job of exploring how society’s standards of beauty and health are absurd through the lens of a kick ass heroine. Crystal was such a fun character, she’s funny and charming, she’s also a bad ass hard worker but she also has struggles that I thought the author handled in a meaningful way. I’m always a sucker for a character who is an influencer but I’ve yet to read about a fitness influencer so that was super interesting for me. She’s also not your typical size zero fitness advocate, she has curves and she’s not trying to lose weight she’s just trying to be healthy and strong all the while trying to be a source of motivation and support for other women. She was just so great, I could go on but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Scott because he was swoon worthy and sexy. The supporting cast of characters were a lot of fun as well and I’m really hoping this is a start of a series because I would love to get a book about Tara, Crystals sister! Overall an impressive debut that I truly enjoyed.