Member Reviews
A romance written by a fellow bookstagrammer?! Sign me up!
Set on You is the debut novel by Amy Lea, bookstagrammer turned author! You can find her over at @amyleabooks!
I absolutely loved Set on You! Amy’s wit shines through into Crystal’s sarcastic voice and the body positivity and empowerment hit me just right. A large part of the book is set in a gym which I was worried would turn me off, but it didn’t and I actually ended up loving the tension and banter between Crystal and Scott during their workouts. And a certain gym locker room scene gave a new meaning to all hot-and-bothered (IYKYK)! It is all together sweet, swoony and definitely one of the HOTTEST enemies-to-lovers I’ve read to date with its tension, chemistry, and steam! I need more romances from Amy Lea ASAP!
Read if you like:
-A curvy heroine
-Firefighters
-Working out/living a balanced, healthy lifestyle
-Meddling families
-Instagram influencers
Thank you so much Berkley Romance and Netgalley for my gifted copy!
An absolute delight! I loved every page of this fun, steamy romance. Such a great book, I would definitely buy it.
Set on You was a heartwarming debut! With a fun take on the enemies to lovers trope, I devoured this book in two sittings. And this slow burn romance had humor, romance and heart in the pages, making it a fabulous combination! If you love adult romance and enemies to lovers, you may want to have this one on your tbr!
“What’s your name?” The words tumble out of my mouth before I even register what I’m saying. Why do I care to know his legal name? Squat Rack Thief suits him just fine.
I hold my breath, awaiting his answer.
Amused, he opens his mouth, but no words come out. Instead, he just strides away.
Crystal Chen was a curvy fitness influencer whose content was uplifting while also trying to smash gym stereotypes, which I loved. After dealing with a bad breakup, Crystal kept running into a man at the gym who not only ruined the videos she was recording, but seemed to antagonize her at the same time. It was hate and lust at first sight. But after multiple run-ins at the gym, Crystal and Scott ended up meeting at their grandparents engagement party. Saying they were both shocked was an understatement! And that moment led their relationship down a different path, where I couldn't wait to see what happened next!
The universe is officially conspiring against me. I must have done some seriously messed-up shit in a past life.
My first impression of Scott Ritchie was that he was a a complete and total douchebag, ha! But when Scott got Crystal back in that first chapter, I was laughing so hard I couldn't help but be intrigued by him! Especially when we saw that he could be nice......just not to her lol. I should have hated Scott, for Crystal's sake, but that wasn't happening. He made me crack up way too much. And the more we got to see who firefighter Scott was, it was impossible not to fall head over heels in love with him!
It might be evil, but I want to break him. I want to watch him lose all restraint.
Crystal was strong willed and tried her hardest! I absolutely loved how she was so positive about her body and health, but it shocked me that she could be so negative about males and love. So because of that, her little faith or trust in men definitely made me nervous if she would let Scott in all the way. And while she did stumble at times, it was heartwarming to watch her grow by the end of this novel.
I walk ahead a few paces, forcing my mouth into a neutral state. I’m smiling like a child at Disneyland and I refuse to let him see it. I’m enjoying non-hate-filled banter with him far more than he needs to know.
Crystal and Scott together were addictive. I loved the games they played with each other, they were laugh out loud worthy and it made their enemies to lovers romance so much fun! And when they did get physical, oh wow, it was smoking hot. But as the story progressed, mistakes were made. So I was happy to see that apologies happened and allowed me to forgive and move on. I also loved how we got to read Crystal's Instagram posts and see a few of the comments on each of her posts. And I absolutely loved both of their grandparents with my whole heart. They were so adorable!
There’s a fragility in the way he’s looking at me, truly at me. As if he’s inviting me in, allowing me to see into the depths of his soul. Every guy I’ve ever been with would already have my pants off right now, but he’s treating me like I’m something to be cherished, savored.
Set on You was a wonderful debut! With enemies to lovers, steamy scenes, fun banter and wonderful side characters, this story was fabulous! While I did have some hiccups with Crystal, I was so happy that by the end of the book we got to see how far she had come and grew! Plus we were given an epilogue that gave us a happily ever after! I closed this book excited to read whatever Amy Lea releases next!
Set on You by Amy Lea is one of my most anticipated books for this year. I came across the book as the love interest was marketed as inspired by Chris Evans. Yes, I have the biggest crush on him.
Aside from that, the overall hate-to-love concept also drew me in. I really had a good time reading this book, but there were also some things I didn’t like.
From the very start, the main characters had a really interesting rivalry. The slow-burn chemistry between them was filled with tension and I like how it was executed. Scott’s antics were quite charming and I love how he keeps Crystal on her toes.
I also liked the family connection between Crystal and Scott, and how it helped their relationship. Speaking of family, I always love reading about big families and their healthy dynamics. Coming from both an Asian household and a big family, I could easily relate with Crystal’s and Scott’s relationships with their respective families.
Since we’re in the digital age, where people can’t seem to live without social media nowadays, I feel like we need more stories that tackles the dark side of social media. As a plus-sized influencer, Crystal wasn’t immune to the fatphobic and offensive comments left in her page, but she knew not to deal with it.
I like how Crystal developed her approach, from ignoring them to dealing with them altogether. In reality, it’s not so easy dealing with negative comments that can affect our self-image and confidence. I totally applaud Amy Lea for highlighting such an important topic in the book.
The pacing was a bit inconsistent, there were definitely slow chapters.
I couldn’t fully connect with Crystal, I guess that was just because we have so many differences, but I get where she’s coming from. It’s just that she rubs me as someone who’s too judgmental, but I totally understand why she’s having trust issues.
Although, I like how the whole trust issue thing between them played out and how Crystal realized she needed to work on herself before truly letting Scott in her life. However, it felt crammed towards the end, since the “break-up arc” was around 88% of the book.
Still, the payoff was good despite having slow and filler chapters.
Overall, this book made me feel a mix of emotions: cringing at Scott’s cheesy pick-up lines, feverish with the steamy scenes, and giddy with their chemistry. I recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick, light hearted read that also highlights relevant issues.
This was a really cute rom-com! I loved the aspect of Grandma Flo and Martin’s wedding as it was super cute and made me really happy to see them happy, and the way that Crystal and Scott became such good friends was amazing; I don’t think we see friendships between the leads depicted enough and I am here for it! I do think that there was a bit too much conflict between them throughout the book, because at times it felt that they were constantly in a cycle of being mad at each other and then grovelling to get them back, but overall I enjoyed the setting and characters. The issues discussed in her book were dealt with really well, and I am excited to see what Amy Lea writes next (cough cough Trevor and Tara cough).
Are you looking for a cute, fun, sexy, and wholly heartwarming romantic comedy to kick start your summer reading? Do you need a light read as you hit the treadmill or rowing machine at your neighbourhood gym? Then Amy Lea has written the book you need to add to your to-be-read lists, and it is called, Set On You.
Set On You follows a curvy fitness coach and influencer, Crystal Chen. Crystal has built herself a successful business as a body-positive influencer and fitness guru for curvy women. She is proud of who she is and her journey to love her curves and hopes to spread that positive energy to her followers. However, Crystal is not entirely without her flaws. For example, her romantic life has hit a wall. She is coming off of a brutal breakup with someone who treated her horribly and is getting tired of the string of Tinder dates she has endured. Just as she is about to put the breaks on men, she encounters THE guy.
Sparks fly with a hottie who rudely interrupts her at her self-proclaimed sanctuary, the gym. What will start out as a fierce battle for dominance at the gym will morph into something a bit more steamy, involving a different kind of workout with gym hottie (Scott), who Amy Lea describes as a Chris Evans lookalike. How will Crystal handle this challenge?
Crystal Chen is a protagonist many will enjoy reading. She has an inner voice that is very relatable and an aspirational outlook on life, and she does indeed shatter stereotypes. I know that I felt very encouraged by her even though she is a fictional creation. Lea does a great job balancing the aspirational aspects of her protagonist and grounding her in reality. As an influencer, Crystal is intimately aware of the hostility toward the plus-sized community. How Lea explores this type of humiliation with her character’s growth without ever having Crystal regress in her acceptance of her body is refreshing. Crystal is not a stone wall that slings and arrows bounce off of; she is a person. She is a fully realized person with thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, and desires.
Speaking of desires, the romance is charming, well done and oh, so sexy. My one slight complaint is that this book could have given readers a bit more if Scott had a few chapters from his perspective. There are small moments where Crystal does acknowledge that she and Scott are not physically compatible according to ridiculous societal standards; however, she pushes against that once things start heating up. However, it would have been nice to gain Scott’s point of view and allow him to express his attraction to Crystal. There is also a great deal of depth to the character, granted he belongs in the “You look photoshopped” category of men (see Crazy, Stupid ,Love to get the reference). Lea, through her protagonist, spares no details when describing Scott’s impressive physique. It would have played nicely into the narrative that curves are sexy if the reverse was offered for Crystal, who is also very attractive. Despite the lack of Scott’s point of view, what we do get is plenty to get you giddy and excited for Crystal.
Set On You is a quick read. There is plenty to enjoy and plenty to contemplate. I appreciate Lea not allowing the moment to discuss authentic and serious topics like social media and body image bullying to slip away. I am even more appreciative of the fact that Crystal never feels the need to change her body because of it. The book takes on mental health and the struggle of being a “strong woman.” Strength is not determined by how much burden rests on your shoulders, and asking for help and leaning on others is not a sign of weakness. These are not only essential lessons that Crystal must learn but Lea’s readers too. These lessons go beyond body-positive influencers because these are lessons for all. Set On You is so fun to read and revisit because Crystal has a complete arc that will leave you satisfied with the conclusion.
Reading Set On You was indeed a wonderful time! It is a perfectly balanced book that gives you everything: a cute enemies-to-lovers romance, family dramedy, a deep character study, and a steamy love scene or two. It is the type of book that I hope the producers of The Hating Game or 50 Shades of Grey consider adapting because it is truly a dire world if we have to contend with more 365 Days in this world. We need a Set On You adaptation ASAP because that locker room scene cannot only exist on the page (I am just saying!).
"𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘰'𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘴..."
Lines like that made me laugh out loud multiple times while reading Amy Lea's wonderful debut 𝗦𝗘𝗧 𝗢𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨.
For curvy fit-stagrammer Crystal Chen, the gym is her happy place. That is until hot, new gym guy Scott Ritchie steals her favorite squat rack and the two begin a war while working out. But Crystal soon finds out there more to Scott than just rippled abs... could he be her swolemate?
"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, 𝘵𝘰𝘰."
I love an enemies-to-lovers romcom and this one had some great banter and steam, as well as big helpings of pop culture references and body positivity. Plus, Crystal's sister is a bookstagrammer! Gotta love that.
Thanks to Berkley Publishing for a copy to review.
Set On You was one of my most anticipated books of the year and Amy Lea didn’t disappoint!
I was somehow lucky enough to get an arc! Thank you @berkleyromance for my #gifted copy!
Crystal is a curvy fitsagrammer hosting a body positive campaign. She runs into Scott, the “squat rack thief,” at the gym when he steals her equipment. It’s obvious that they’re attracted to each other from the start. Then they’re thrown together again again outside of the gym. Crystal learns there’s a lot more to Scott than just being a hot gym thief. I loved their chemistry and banter! Scott seemed like a jerk at the beginning, but I ended up adoring him. I would’ve really loved his perspective too.
I loved the workout/gym storyline because in addition to reading, workouts are one of my favorite hobbies. I also loved the body positivity and that working out doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a size 2. I flew through it because I loved it that much!
I can’t wait to see what Amy Lea writes next! I’m so glad I preordered a copy for my shelf!
Set on You by Amy Lea was a fun rom-com between a fitness influencer and her gym nemesis.
Crystal Chen is a curvy biracial fitness influencer who promotes body positivity and when the guy she's dubbed Squat Rack Thief turns out to be the grandson of her grandma's new fiancee she's surprised! This is an enemies to lovers with some fun banter and wonderful family members!
It was interesting to read a book about an influencer and I loved that the sister was a bookstagrammer! While this was a fun book and I enjoyed reading it, there we a few things that were a little flat for me in their romance but I think some of Crystal's feelings on self-worth and how social media can impact you were done really well.
Amy Lea’s debut novel, Set on You, follows curvy fitness influencer Crystal Chen and firefighter Scot Ritchie. When they first meet at the gym, well…let’s just say, things do not go well. Scott takes Crystal’s squat rack and will not give it up which makes him her new sworn enemy.
But sometimes you make out with your sworn enemy in the gym locker room and then quickly run away. You know how it goes, right? Little does Crystal know that she’s about to see Scott at her grandmother’s engagement party. Yikes!
Things are awkward, to say the least, but as they spend more time together (both impromptu and thanks to Crystal’s grandmother’s devious ways), they get to know one another better and it becomes clear that they have a connection. And their banter is off the charts. Top tier!
But Crystal’s job as an Instagram fitness influencer that’s not a size 2 starts to get in the way of their relationship. While Crystal is confident about her body, how the trolls respond to her and her relationship with Scott once she posts a picture of them is not as stable. She has doubts and those doubts make her question whether being with Scott is a good idea.
More at Culturess: https://culturess.com/2022/05/10/set-on-you-gym-romance-review/
Rating 5/5
Plot 5/5
Spice 3.5/5
Character Development 5/5
[I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book]
Set On You by Amy Lea tells the story of Crystal Chen and Scott Ritchie. Crystal is a biracial curvy fitness influencer who after facing a recent breakup, decides to focus her time and energy on herself. Scott is a new member at the gym who continuously steals Crystal’s favourite squat rack. Crystal and Scott compete for superiority in the gym and sparks fly as these two infuriate one another. Although Crystal and Scott constantly see each other inside the gym, the last place they’d expect to run into each other is at their grandparents' engagement party. Crystal discovers that there’s more to Scott than his tough and muscular exterior. The two bond over commonalities including family and fitness. Crystal believes that she has found her soulmate, however, their relationship is tested when a photo of them goes viral and internet trolls create an obstacle within their relationship.
This was my first time reading a gym contemporary romance and I LOVED this storyline! The plot was unique and the characters were funny, cute, and so relatable! I love how strong and confident Crystal was and the chemistry between her and Scott was off the charts! If you enjoy light and fluffy romcoms that are quick and to easy read, check out this book!
I really enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers romcom debut by Amy Lea. The emotional journey that we go on with Crystal was very real and well portrayed. And I loved the chemistry between Crystal and Scott, right from the start, but even more once they talk about it and we see Scott's perspective come out a bit.
It was very refreshing to see a curvy girl who is into fitness, not with the end goal of losing weight, but just because she enjoys it and wants to be healthy. Not everyone can realistically be a size zero. it was nice to have the reminder that it's ok to love ourselves for who we are, to want to change ourselves for our own reasons, and to struggle to maintain our mental health no matter how positively we portray our outward appearances.
I also really enjoyed the side characters and can't wait to read more about them!
This book made me want to sign up for a gym membership and find my own Scott Ritchie 🥰🔥
I grew up playing soccer my entire life and that’s always been my exercise method. I’ve been on and off working out since graduating college. Last week marked 4 months of consistent workouts. It feels sooo good to see yourself get stronger 💪🏼
This book touched on a lot of the aspects of exercise and self acceptance! I felt like I went on my own journey with Crystal! It was so refreshing to see growth in a character outside of their romance (tbh it goes hand in hand).
I knew I’d love this because of the curvy representation and a sweet firefighter hero!
I finished this book earlier today. Omg I just loved everything about this! I want to read it again!
It's hard being successful on ig and especially on fitness/health side. I totally watch tons of videos on there. But our culture expects a certain body type as an ideal. I've never gotten there healthily or stayed but I do love working out and I need to add it back into my daily routine. And don't get me started on BMI🙄
Crystal Chen is a biracial curvy fitness influencer and personal trainer. Her platform is for women who want to feel better about themselves and gain confidence and strength.
As she's working out at her gym one day a new Adonis type steals her machine and doesn't give it back. It is on from there! You don't do that, lol.
I love their chemistry and the real life relationship feels as they navigate family matters and gym time and feelings. The confessions about what they thought when they first met, 😊😊 and that changing room scene🥵🥵
There is such a strong message about fat shaming and fat phobia in our culture in this book too. The "he's too good for her cause he has a six pack" is so NOT true and we need to stop judging couples based off body type and looks. Those things fade anyway and don't you want your forever person to want you for more than your looks but your mind and soul and personality, js.
⚠️ PSA: Dont read comments from trolls, they aren't worth the energy. Also, if you wouldn't say it to someone's face don't comment it.
Thank you berkleypub and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.
this was a cute rom-com that took me by surprise because i usually stay away from books that deal with social media and influencers but amy lea's take on it was fun.
Amy Lea’s Set on You starts a curvy biracial fitness influencer, Crystal Chen, and her falling in love with her Chris Evans-lookalike gym nemesis firefighter, Scott Ritchie. Scott consistently steals Crystal’s favorite squat rack and persists in getting in the way of her workouts. And then Crystal and Scott run into each other at their grandparents’ engagement party. They go from gym nemeses to swolemates in the days leading to their grandparents’ wedding. Then a photo of the couple goes viral, and the backlash from the internet challenges Crystal’s views on 100% self-love as toxic positivity within the body positivity movement, which demands folks be unerringly positive about their bodies without allowing space for less confident days. Dealing with internet trolls as well as dating someone who is seen as conventionally attractive, when she herself does not conform to societal beauty standards, leads Crystal on a journey from self-love all the time to self-acceptance and respecting both the good days of feeling happy and confident as well as the bad days of feeling sad and self-conscious, while understanding that one’s worth goes beyond one’s body.
As a fat Asian American woman who reads extensively, this is only the second fat Asian main-character-born-of-the-diaspora that I’ve ever read, and I’m already often apprehensive in reading about fat characters whose storylines revolve around fitness. Reading this curvy, Asian-Canadian woman is the representation I actively and constantly seek out. Reading this curvy, Asian-Canadian woman be the main character in a romance is not something I’ve ever really seen, but it’s the representation I hope to one day surround myself with. Crystal is already a confident woman who embraces and promotes health at every size, and reading her journey to self acceptance felt *right.* AND all while she’s the star of her own epic love story? Sign me up. Every time.
This was such a fun and sweet book. Crystal was such an inspiring character and I found that this book did "influencing" better than most that I have read. I found her gym romance with Scott very hot and loved to see how their relationship grew from rivals at the gym to so much more.
This book dealt really well with the concept of "body positivity", being healthy, and loving yourself (and you don't have to do it all the time). There were some great steamy scenes and I loved Crystal and Scott together.
This might be a super unpopular opinion because I saw people truly ranting and raving about this book all over bookstagram. I know Amy Lea is a debut author and she will do great things, there were just things in this book that bugged me and made me honestly not enjoy it. The first part of the book was great, I love an enemy to lover’s trope and things were going well.
BUT SPOILERS AHEAD –
I legit HATE the miscommunication trope – and when someone can’t communicate their problems in a book and that is why they break up I think its so annoying. In this book the miscommunication was because she was upset about some social media comments, which I understand can be super hurtful and I truly cannot relate – but I just don’t think that is a good plot for a breakup in an enemy to lover rom com.
SPOLIERS OVER
I know a ton of people will disagree with me, but it made the plot take a turn for the worst – however I still gave it 3 stars because I really did enjoy the first part of the book. I loved the characters how one was an influencer, and one was a firefighter – who met in a gym meet cute.
I am super excited to see where Amy Lea takes her writing career from here and I will for sure be picking up her books! The writing all around was great besides this one plot point that bothered me but that is just my opinion.
Amazing. I've been waiting for this one for so long and I can happily say it did not disappoint. I also would like to note that I now have an obsession with Firefighterrs.
I really, really enjoyed this book. I was unsure at first if I could even like Scott after how he first treated Crystal - he really comes off as a mega asshole. There were some pacing issues in the book - the wedding felt like it should have been the climax and things sort of dragged on after that before we got to the real peak.
However, despite Scott seeming like a twat and the pacing issues, I could not put this book down. Amy Lea handled fatphobia and writing a fat character extremely well. I've been very disappointed by books/authors in the past regarding these particular subjects, but I'm so pleased with the whole story.