SET PIECE

Set Piece by Lana Schwartz is another gem from 831 Stories, a “romantic fiction” imprint that I am — appropriately — in love with.

I’ve been a fan of both Lana and her writing for years, feeling a kinship of sorts as we are both pop culture encyclopedias and rom com fans. So it’s no surprise that I found this love story — set inside the film industry — to be as charming as I’d expected.

Set Piece follows CJ, an up-and-coming production designer and Jack, an actor on the rise. They first collide with a steamy chance encounter, then five years later when they discover they’re working on the same movie. Their attraction is clear, as are the obstacles — and their relationship is put to the test.

Lana’s writing is charming and engaging. It’s also a hell of a lot of fun. Hollywood “behind-the-scenes” is hard to pull off, but she nails it with accurate details and clever industry references. As a rom com aficionado I can confirm — Set Piece is an absolute joy! You’ll be rooting for CJ and Jack from the jump.

Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for the ARC!

Set Piece comes out on 5/6.

3.5 stars

This was cute!! Short and snappy, and for the most part I found it didn't fall into any of the usual issues I tend to see with novellas. And I love that this was able to tackle a second chance romance trope, as well as topics like women not being taken as seriously as men in the industry. Obviously a little insta-lovey, but there's only so much you can do with such a small page count. This is perfect if you just need a short little romance fix! I do feel like the synopsis gives away a bit too much, so I would recommend going in blind and skipping the synopsis if possible.

Thank you to NetGalley, 831 Stories, and Lana Schwartz for this ARC!!

Thanks to NetGalley and 831 Stories for this advance readers copy, in exchange for an honest review. Set Piece is another winner from this small press! It’s a romance story, set in Hollywood on the film set for The Great Gatsby.

This book is an excellent quick read, with likable characters and a romance that you want to root for. It was easy to get sucked into this story and if you vibe with the Hollywood film scene, you’ll find plenty to love here with pop culture references and a swoony setting. I appreciate that all of the 831 Story books I’ve read, with this one being no exception, showcase the romance at hand, while also highlighting a real issue or challenge faced by the main characters— in this case, CJ’s family and her experience as a single mom.

I think if you love contemporary romance and are looking for something with substance, comfort, and feel good emotions, this one is for you! I will continue to look forward to new stories by this author and 831 Stories and will continue to recommend this to as many people as I can!

831 Stories just keeps doing for me! I think I've read pretty every book they have published, and it keeps getting better and better each time. Whew I can't get enough of these books.

One of the things I love about 831 Stories is that they are quick, fun reads. And this one was no exception. I got through it in about 2 hours. Both of our main characters are likable, with Jack exhibiting peak Gold Retriever energy with CJ. He is the book boyfriend most women want. And although I understood her motivations behind why she acted the way she did, CJ did get on my nerves a little bit. That is my main criticism on this one, and what kept me from giving it a full 5-stars.

I absolutely loved this book!! The romance felt real and believable and the characters felt like people you’d meet anywhere. Jack didn’t let fame consume him or let him think he was more than who he was, and I loved that CJ grounded him. I couldn’t put this one down and I felt all the feels!

Big thanks to 831 Stories and NetGalley for the ARC of this book! Another amazing execution from 831 Stories—Lana Schwartz does a fantastic job of making both the characters and storyline feel well-rounded, all within a novella format. The conflict felt relatable, the pacing was spot-on, and I absolutely loved the dynamic between Jack and CJ. Second chance romance is my favorite trope, and this one hit all the right notes. I often find novellas don’t give me enough to fully invest in the characters, but that wasn’t the case here—I was rooting for them the whole time.

If you've been loving the other 831 Stories publications, this one is definitely to be added to your TBR, this one is near the top of my list!

4.5 stars!

This is my favorite 831 stories book so far! As a big movie and TV girl this was right up my alley. There were a few inside baseball details that were missed that I think would enhance the story. Such as explaining that they had to pretend to not be daring for three months at minimum while filming Gatsby. But overall this was very sweet and sexy and I loved reading it!

first of all, 501s don't have zippers! as a vintage levi's collector i just didn't wanted to make that known in case it can be corrected for the final print.

second, set piece was shaping up to be my favorite 831 novella so far because the emotions felt bigger than any of their previous offerings. however, once cj and jack crossed paths for the second time, it went downhill from there as they didn't grow together. the main 3rd act conflict could've been avoided if they stopped to listen to one another more. the addition of cj's daughter with her ex also felt like an inclusion for the sake of being an inclusion, but overall, i had a good time.

Thank you @netgalley and @831storieshq - Set Piece was short and sweet but still somehow got me emotionally invested in its two perfectly imperfect main characters. Highly recommend! 🎬🍿 Out May 6 🗓️

3.5 stars

I’m such a sucker for a second-chance romance. I also love pop culture references, and this story delivered both.

Jack and CJ (Cara) have a one-night stand and then reconnect years later when they work together.

This novella was cute, but I feel like it lacked in terms of connection between the characters and the reader. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed reading this and read it in two sittings.

My only complaint is that I wish this book were longer so we could spend more time with the characters and their love story!

You will like this book if you like: fast burn romances, famous x normal, single moms with a strong support system, movie set forbidden romance 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎥

BOOK: Set Piece, by Lana Schwartz

Jack is a British actor with a breakout (steamy!) role on a hit TV show. When he walks into a bar in LA with a group of friends, CJ, the bartender, has no idea who he is until her friend schools her but they hit it off immediately and have a one night stand. Five years later, she’s a busy single mom and ends up the production designer on a new movie he’s doing. Jack has never forgotten about CJ and wants another chance but CJ is very conscious of how women in Hollywood are portrayed and knows it won’t do her reputation any good to be seen in a relationship with a movie star. Once filming is over though is a different story. There’s obstacles though — he’s willing to do just about anything to be together while her priority is creating a stable life for her daughter which means taking jobs that might be different from his until some important people in her life remind her that she’s really bad at accepting help and not pushing people away.

After Big Fan, I thought this was the best book I’ve seen come out of the 831 universe of shorter romantic novels and I really enjoyed it! Would love to see more like this!

I had so much fun reading this book! It was such a fun snappy quick romance that was so enjoyable. It’d make the perfect beach read. There are some open door spicy scenes, but overall I thought the book was so well done. I especially loved the Easter egg to Charlie in ‘Big Fan’ (another 831 stories book). I liked that it was smaller, the story flowed well without being drawn out and still had great character development.

HUGE thank you to 831 stories, NetGalley, and Lana for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Love every one of 831’s stories

Mention in Kveller newsletter quick links: After reading (and LOVING) this cute romance, I realized that the author is a contributor to our sister site, Hey Alma!

Review on personal substack: I think “Set Piece” — another 831 Stories hit— might be added to my list of all-time favorite romances (also on the list: Every Summer After, Love and Other Words, Red White and Royal Blue, Seven Days in June).Every word of dialogue in this famous/normal person novella was perfect, the conflict felt realistic, and I may have squealed out loud at one point. The only problem is that it doesn’t come out until May. In the meantime, I also really liked the 831 book that came out last week, Comedic Timing (I read it last year.) (Thank you to 831 Stories and Netgalley for this advanced copy!)

I ADORED THIS! 831 Stories has quickly cemented themselves as the best publishers of romance on the market: novellas that manage to be sharp yet sweetly romantic; such joyous fun but capable of serious reflection too. The situations are sized up, (going 3 for 4 with the normal person/celebrity trope, my all-time fave!) yet filled with real, flawed, deeply relatable people. Every single one of their novellas perfectly depicts what I love about romance (romance as a concept; romance as a genre of fiction): that it is both dizzily illuminating and deeply ordinary. The most magical thing that can happen to you, yet something that happens to everybody. Ugh. I LOVE 831 STORIES!

And Set Piece miiiiight be my favourite one yet!

Second chance romance is a hard trope to execute. When Jack and CJ met initially, I had really high hopes. They seemed to have chemistry and the banter was sweet. 
 
After the two parted ways, it felt almost unbelievable that they would still have such deep feelings when they reconnected. I can empathize with thinking about how people from your past are doing , but the level depicted seemed excessive. We are not shown much of them falling in love (more them immediately being infatuated) and their eventual superficial connection. It began to read more like two film bros having a conversation than a romance novel. 
 
Of course a novella physically contain the same amount of character development, but, it just seemed everything keeping them apart (if they even really wanted to be together) could have been avoided by CJ actually communicating the fears that were holding her back from their relationship or Jack telling her the depth of his feelings. 
 
Both main characters did not really seem to grow, together or separately.  Additionally, CJ being a mom did not really seem to factor into anything more than her having a more rigid set of expectations for herself. More conversations about the "family" dynamic rather than classic movies definitely could have helped the pace of the story.
 
Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This was one of my favorite 831 Stories! The author managed to make some memorable characters with very few pages. Jack was so sweet and definitely my favorite leading man thus far. Stuart was also such a fun addition to the plot. I usually don’t like when kids are involved in romance stories but I loved this love story so much that I could get past it.

4.5 stars

This was a very fun and cute romance and I liked that the main characters were both genuine and kind and just trying to figure things out. I enjoyed the backdrop of Hollywood and how film was incorporated into the story without it overwhelming the whole plot.