Mara is a dissatisfied 30 something, who has an unhealthy obsession with horoscopes etc. this is based on a basic distrust of her own decisions and general unhappiness in her life. A chance meeting with a clairvoyant and mistaken identity sets up the book for Mara to make changes in her life as she strives for her happy ever after.

I had a mixed relationship with this book, at first I found the central character very frustrating and couldn’t get on with her at all, and while she grew on me as the book progressed there were times when I wanted to shake her!

All in all, a fun summer read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I adored Lizzy Dent’s The Summer Job, which I laughed my way through last summer and I was very excited to dive into her latest release. I didn’t need to read a synopsis before picking it up. I just knew I’d be in for a good time!

When an eventful encounter with a fortune-teller brings Mara a handsome Austrian cellist, she becomes convinced that this man is her destiny. So she tells him that his destiny awaits in a pub in a small English seaside town on the last weekend of August. Thus a three month project is launched to turn Mara into the woman she has always wanted to be in preparation for the cellist’s arrival. Meanwhile, her workplace, a delapidated lido, is crying out to be rescued. Can Mara and her colleagues save it?

Mara’s workplace is a place that has had the soul sucked out of it but her colleagues are great fun to be around. A lot of readers will be able to relate to Mara’s despair at not being listened to while having plenty of ideas on how to improve things. She has been beaten down by capitalism and disappointment, which, let’s face it, who hasn’t?

Mara has a rather lovely flatmate called Ash, who I fell in love with at first sight. He is the epitome of cinnamon roll and it was clear that he would become a love interest. Mara is her true self around him and only him, so the romance element of the book was very predictable as soon as Ash turned up. However, I still loved watching their will-they-won’t-they play out, which continued until the very last page.

My main gripe with the book was Mara’s unwavering trust in astrology and fate. While it was quite a comic aspect of her character, I did wonder whether it was believable of a woman in her early thirties. It made her read quite a bit younger than she was and gave her a lot of naivety. She does learn from it by the end of the novel but I wasn’t sure it was particularly authentic for a adult woman to have so much confidence in the validity of what her horoscope said.

The Setup is a fun, light-hearted novel, featuring a heroine that has so much to learn and a very loveable cast of characters. I really wanted Mara to find happiness and I also wanted the lido to succeed, so these two things kept me reading. I don’t think it was as funny as The Summer Job but it certainly was an enjoyable, easy beach read about community and acceptance.

I enjoyed this book. I loved the fact that Mara made some great friendships and got so involved in the community. I myself would not be interested in reading the stars but you can see how Mara is drawn to this because she cannot trust her own decisions. It was great to see she was able to at the end.

A wonderfully poignant portrait of love, friendship and a loving, close-knit community. The chemistry between Mara and Ash is off the charts and it was fun watching them try to deny it to each other. This was a delightful read where the secondary characters made the story.

I had such high hopes for this one but unfortunately it fell so flat for me. I didn’t like the main character which ultimately made it difficult to enjoy reading this at all. Sometimes I don’t mind a far fetched plot line but this just didn’t work in my opinion sadly.

Mara does not trust her own instincts. Lets be honest, we don't all trust our own instincts all of the time. So Mara seeks the guidance from her horoscopes and if she finds that the prediction doesn't quite fit, she'll keep looking for a horoscope that does fit. That's as frustrating as it gets. She's a nervous, anxious indecisive character working at a dilapidated lido on the coast of fictional town Broadgate. She can see the potential in this place but does she have the confidence to turn things around?
Meanwhile, she finds herself a ;lodger Ash. A perfect female lodger to share the bills except that Ash is a perfect male lodger instead!
What follows is a easy read escapist rom com in true Lizzy Dent (The Summer Job) style. It is safe to say that Mara does find love in the stars, maybe not her horoscope but actually star gazing in the dark skies above Hadrian's Wall.
#TheSetup is perfect for readers of romance and women's fiction.
Many thanks to #NetGalley, Penguin General UK-Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business, Viking for the preview read in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I enjoy romcoms and thought this book had an unusual theme being based around astrology. Mara is 31 but the more I read of the book the more juvenile her behaviour became; I do not intend to deliver any spoilers here but her relationships with her parents, best friend and work colleagues did not seem credible for her age. I disliked her suspicion that the builders had been in her room after she had happily entered Ash's room earlier in the story and her behaviour towards Samira at times made me wonder why Samira bothered to try to help her. The language used by the characters was not to my taste and it increased in frequency as the book progressed. I persevered through the book and reached 71% but was not enjoying it all so I finally gave up without finishing the story.
I know many readers enjoy light, beach-read stories with little requirement for realism so I think this book is likely to be enjoyed by young adult readers so I have given it 3 stars but it wasn't for me.

It was okay. I wasn't floored by it, but it wasn't terrible. It felt a bit like fanfiction in places, and I wish it flowed a bit better. Overall it was just okay and I can't see myself reaching for it again any time soon

A perfect summer holiday read. The opening was a bit slow. Loved the star signs and focus on fate. Also we all love a flawed character right?

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mara reads her horoscope daily like the back of her hand, and when opportunity arises she gets her fortune told. She follows through with the advice, can she get herself together and get the man of her dreams? 🔮

I thought this was a well written book. I loved seeing the growth of Mara, not only trying to change her appearance but also her perspective on life. At times I did find her unbearable with her self pity and her constant horoscope checking.

I love that Dent included a lot of what ifs cliffhanger scenarios in this book, which did annoy me slightly because I really wanted to know the answer to it.

The only thing I had to say negatively about the book was the side story, I wasn’t very invested in it and I felt it took away from the main story. But other than that I enjoy the story.

But within saying that I think I will go back and read The Summer Job which is Lizzy’s Debut Novel.

The Set up is out now.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin General Uk for the eARC for reviewing purposes.

I feel like I’m super late to the Lizzie dent party. I discovered her last month after reading ‘the summer job’ and was lucky enough to be able to follow such a great book with yet again another gem ! She is fast becoming one of my favourite authors !!

This is the perfect summer read. I felt as if it was made just for me.

Mara, Mara, Mara . Oh you frustrate me , and why do you frustrate me, well chiefly because I see too much of myself in you 😂

Her inability to make a decision for fear of getting it wrong I completely get and drives my partner absolutely crazy! Although I hope I am getting a little better. And like Mara I miss blockbusters and the joy of an actual dvd rather than the streaming whirl I find myself in now.
The writing is easy to read and as with all lizzy dent books her descriptions are so vivid that the characters and scenes come completely to life !

With lizzy dent books her co-characters are so perfectly constructed that they add a whole fantastic new dimension to the story. The dynamic between Mara and Charlie is so beautifully written and I think most people in their 30s will have friendships that have grown apart organically as people change. I certainly have and it can be a really hard thing to come to terms with.

I have lived right on the south east close and could picture broadgate perfectly, made even more real as my parents now live near whitstable and Margate and I could see Mara cycling there and looking over the sea searching for answers.

I would have liked a bit more engagement between Mara and her brother and family but hopefully there will be a sequel !

First of thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am sorry to say that this one wasn't really for me at this moment since I had a hard time getting in to it and for some reason felt like I was under pressure while reading the first half of it.

I would like to think that I would give it another chance at another day since the writing was good and I wasn't really was in the right mood at the moment when I read it.

So for now this is a 2 star book for me but I hope to change that later on.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lizzy Dent and Penguin for the ARC of The Set Up.

Ah this was a lovely, A cosy rom-com read that made me smile and laugh throughout.

Mara is travelling and sees a fortune teller that tells her true love is due to arrive in her life very soon. When the fortune teller suddenly goes into labour and is taken to hospital, Mara finds herself alone trying on her outfit. In walks Josef, tall dark and handsome - could he be the man she was talking about? Giving fate a helping hand. She ‘reads his horoscope’ and tells him a woman called Mara is the love of his life, arranging a time and place to meet.

Sometimes however fate has other plans - when Mara starts to get closer to her new flatmate Ash, it begs the question, who really is her soulmate?

Is it predictable - of course, does it matter? Absolutely not!

Loved it.

This book is about Mara who is (slightly…) obsessed with reading her horoscope every day. She goes to see a fortune teller who predicts a man on the horizon is the near future for her. Then her fortune teller needs to go to the hospital and then a man walks through the door, Josef. Mara sees this as fate and she believes this man is now her fate intended soulmate.
However, the universe had other plans. Her new roommate Ashley is definitely not what Mara expected and she starts to realise some feelings are starting to surface towards Ashley that might affect the way she sees her supposed soulmate.

I think this book has an amazing concept and I personally love information surrounding horoscopes and fortune tellers so I was extremely excited to get this arc off net galley. I loved the writing style of this book and I will definitely be buying Lizzy Dents books in the future!

I am a big Lizzy Dent fan however i unfortunately struggled to relate to the main character Mara. That being said, the other characters were brilliant and i really enjoyed the storyline in this book. Dent did an amazing job at describing locations, the Lido, Hadrians Wall, Broadgate etc and this made the book soo much fun to read.

Overall, this isnt my favourite Dent book however i would recommend this to others.

Mara Williams consults her horoscopes constantly looking for answers to her future. In her 30s, she is fed up being single whilst her friends marry off and have children. Her beach club job is on the brink and her flat share Ashley is not what she expected. On a solo trip to Budapest, Mara sees a fortune teller , who tells her she will meet her love match soon. In a twist of events she is mistaken for the fortune teller by handsome cellist, who she tricks into believing that his love match is someone called Mara that he will meet on his travels in a bar. When she returns home, Mara launches into project self improvement to ready herself for the Meet - slightly far fetched and manipulative planning for a 30 something! In her desperation to meet the one, Mara is oblivious to the one in front of her. She is definitely a force of nature. A quick summer read. #thesetup #lizzydent #romcom #summerreads #netgalley

I love Lizzy Dent’s writing and after reading the Summer Job last year I knew I had to read her latest offering.

The Set Up is fun, silly and hopeful and shows that love can be found in the most unexpected places even while you’re not looking for it. It teaches you to look after yourself and make positive changes for YOURSELF rather than other people, and while there is a romantic love element to this I really adored the overarching theme of self development and self love.

Mara lives her life through her horoscope. She meets a tarot reader who tells her the love of her life is imminent. She then tried to look for the one. Life keeps getting in the way and she can't see what's right in front of her

The Setup by Lizzy Dent

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily

She has a plan. Fate has other ideas.

The last place very average thirty-one-year-old Mara Williams thought she'd be is on a solo vacation impersonating her fortune teller when she finally meets the one. Josef, a gorgeous Austrian cellist, sits down for a reading and before she knows it, she's telling him his destiny will be sitting in a pub in the English seaside town of Broadgate on the last Friday of August. And her name is Mara.

Enter Project Mara: three months to turn herself into the stylish, confident woman she's always hoped to be. Meanwhile, the crumbling, formerly glamorous beachside pool club where she works is under threat and her eccentric colleagues enlist her help to save it, just as a handsome new housemate casts doubts on her ideas about "the one." Can Mara pull off the transformation of a lifetime? And by summer's end, will she know who is her destiny?

This is a cute and easy read full of great characters. If you enjoyed The Summer Job then you should also enjoy this one. For me, this made for an enjoyable summer read. Very quickly you will find yourself invested in Mara's reinvention of herself.

Rating 4/5