The Set up by Lizzy Dent was an enjoyable read that had us mortified with ‘cringe’ at times as well as laughing out loud. The scenery in itself was like a whole character in its own right. Whilst we enjoyed this story, we had a bit of a love hate relationship with Mara. We both liked and disliked her. Mara really was very restricted in living her life freely due to an absolute obsession with astrology and horoscopes. She lives her life fully within that framework. Whilst Mara is a wonderful selfless girl at times who looks after others in a steadfast caring manner, when it comes to herself, uncertainty, and caution rules. All she wants is to be loved for who she truly is, and as she loves others. But in the same breath she’s petrified of love itself. The Setup has some wonderful moments of friendships in unlikely places, some important moments of human conditions and acceptance, as well as some swoon worthy moments of romance. Whilst we weren’t completely bowled over, we absolutely enjoyed The Setup by Lizzy Dent.

I couldn't read this as an ebook for some reason so will get it when it comes out! Sorry! (Leaving a 4 star review to be fair.)

A great read, full of enjoyable characters (aside from Mara who I found to be unlikeable) & a cute story too.

A quirky and light-hearted read. The perfect rom com to snuggle up with and get lost amongst the pages.

A great romance book, I really enjoyed the tropes and found myself rooting for the couple! Thank you net galley for the review copy!

I really enjoyed The Set Up by Lizzy Dent, I loved the characters and the story itself was great. I can't wait to read more from the author in the future

Mara's past makes her so distrustful of her own instincts that she relies on astrology, movies, and other people's opinions to shape her life. While on an unexpectedly solo trip to Budapest, a visit to a fortune teller takes a surprising turn and leads to her meeting the man of her dreams. Maybe. If she can just set everything up perfectly..

Mara literally lives her life according to her daily horoscope so she believes fate has stepped in when she ends up on holiday on her own. After seeing a palm reader and then the tall dark stranger shortly after, she gives fate a helping hand to make sure that she meets "the one" properly.
Returning home, she makes changes to her life and image to be perfect for the first meeting but could she be losing out on her true soulmate who is much closer to home.

The character is quite flaky which is irritating and the story line is the typical journey to finding true love but an okay read

I enjoyed this book but I just found it to be a bit slow at points. I didn’t mind the author’s writing style but I just didn’t really connect with the main character and wasn’t really sure how I felt about the love interest, as sweet as he seemed.

Unfortunately I will be unable to give feedback on this book. I requested this book and had intentions of reading it. However my taste in books has changed and I do not feel that a review from me would do the book justice

Mara has always followed her horoscope carefully, and when she meets a tall, dark, handsome stranger in Budapest, it seems fate is helping her at last. Through a misunderstanding, she reads his palm and contrives to get him to visit her home town, when she is sure romance will happen. But life doesn’t always follow a pattern, and a new flat mate may change Mara’s mind.

I think The Setup shows the highlights and pitfalls of believing in your horoscope. Mara is obsessed with them and so misses the general clues that life throws at her. I’m not sure how many grown women would really be that involved, but it certainly made for an entertaining story.

Aw, what an easy to follow romance. I feel really inspired to trust my horoscopes more. Mara reads them every day and then one day she finds herself meeting a stranger who happens to be a flat mate. With fortune tellers, adventures, mishaps and other fun things, this is the perfect light hearted escape.

I absolutely adore Lizzy Dent as a person and as a writer. She is so brilliantly funny and that really comes through in her writing. The plot and characters are always so easy to sink into.

Sweet but a bit wishy washy for me. Romantic but I'm not into the stars so not my cup of tea. Sweet and non taking if you like a romance novel

My review:⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Setup is a romance comedy, set in a seaside town, with a protagonist who adores astrology.

It's a fun story, with a fun set of colleagues at the Lido, a room mate who turns out to be male, and lots of character development!

I really enjoyed the book, even if I did cringe at the start of it!

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin.

I was such a fan of The Summer Job, so I couldn’t wait to read this one.

Sadly it just missed the mark totally and wasn’t for me. I’m not a big horoscope or Astrology fan anyway, so this was probably why I didn’t enjoy it! 🤷🏼‍♀️

Will still happily try more of Lizzy’s work in future though.

Unfortunately I didn’t love this book. It seemed a bit far fetched, slow and the main character Mara just made me cross. The most selfish character in a book in a long time. I rooted for Ash massively in this book despite not knowing what he saw in her. My second book by this author and not my favourite sadly.

Absolutely loved this book!

Lizzy Dent you are amazing!

I was hooked throughout and couldn't put this book down.

Thank you for accepting my ARC request.

I absolutely loved this book! The premise immediately hooked my interest and it was filled with twisty characters and such intense plot!

I enjoyed this book greatly. It was all about love and finding who you are. This is a definite beach read for sure.