I am a big fan of 831 Stories (no pun intended) and Set Piece did not disappoint. Novellas usually leave me wanting more but this was the perfect amount of sexy and FUN. I love a Hollywood story and learning more about what goes on "behind the scenes" was a fun bonus.

Thank you to NetGalley and 831 Stories for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute and easy to read. The characters felt very real and I liked the pacing. Novellas never fully satisfy me, though - I always want to read more about the in between rather than just having a time jump and a tidy ending.

A perfectly charming little romance, the characters felt real, their motivations understandable, loved the slight slow burn, I found this novella to be perfectly paced! A lovely novella that would do great to break up a reading slump or for when someone needs a lil pick me up.

I can clock a Harry Styles-inspired character in record time, and this was just the right amount of insider details that didn’t make it cringey but gave just a little nod towards the inspo.
Now for the story, like most of the 831 novellas, it’s a great joy of watching a celebrity and a “normie” navigate the trials and tribulations of falling in love with the added factor of gossip and news outlets. Production designer CJ (which by the way, I would’ve gladly spent an extra 50 pages reading about the details of that job) and actor Jack reunite five years after a very (!) memorable night tonight and realise the spark is still there, in fact, it has only grown since. Polar opposites in the way they approach life and future plans, they can teach each other a lot about how to find balance in that.
The story gave enough insights and depth for the characters to feel multi-dimensional while leaving out side-plots and unnecessary drama to keep it at a nice palatable novella length.

[special thanks to Netgalley and 831 Stories for providing me with an arc]

This book was a gem!! I loved the characters and the plot. I'm a huge fan of celebrity romances, and this one checked my boxes. I read this book in one sitting, and I was really sad when it eventually ended.

Jack Felgate was such a precious and warm character. I really loved CJ and how badass she was. She cared immensely about her family and her job as well. I loved seeing such a strong female lead. I am definitely going to be recommending this book to all my friends! It was so much fun!

Another banger from 831. Liked this one a lot but I’m of course partial to Hollywood stories! Similar to Big Fan, I liked the pacing and the way a longer stretch of time passing was condensed efficiently.

This was a great quick easy romance that you can read in an afternoon. Jack, the next “big” Brit actor, is out on a stag night in LA, when Cara, the bartender, saves him from some overeager fans. They have a one night stand. Cut to five years later, they are working on a Gatsby remake together. If you liked Funny you Should Ask, I bet you’ll like this.

Their first hookup felt a little forced to me and once they finally got together, the book suddenly skipped to months later when I wanted to see more…But it was a novella so….

Thanks to NetGalley and 831 Stories for the eARC.

3.5 stars. I adored this! I’ve read 831 stories other two novellas, and loved one and hated one. This one I loved. It was so cute. I thought Jack was so cute and CJ was flawed but lovable. The side characters (Jack’s friends, Stuart, Agnes) were interesting and enjoyable for the few pages they showed up on. For a novella, the character relations and interactions felt natural and connected. The only reason this isn’t a full four stars is because I wished it was longer! I felt this could’ve been better a bit more fleshed out with more details, but it was still very very very good.

If 831 Stories publishes it, I'm gonna read it AND love it.

Set Piece is a novella that follows a single mom production designer and the hot actor she had a one-night stand with half a decade ago. I really enjoyed the different relationships between the characters and how they all worked together. The romance is super cute, and it's so obvious how much our main couple cares for each other. I couldn't put this book down!

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was so quick and SO good!!! I saw a review that suggested not reading the synopsis so I decided to go in blind and I was very happily greeted with a love story that brought me so much joy! I really love 831 stories books because they are perfect in between reads for me, a great way to get out of a slump too! I so appreciate the opportunity to read this story and I can’t wait to read everything else that you publish!

One year ago, Jack Felgate could’ve walked into any bar unnoticed. Now, thanks to his breakout TV role, he’s a full-blown heartthrob mobbed by fans during a night out. Enter CJ, a no-nonsense bartender who steps in to diffuse the chaos, leading to an unforgettable after-hours encounter. Fast-forward five years, and Jack walks onto the set of yet another Great Gatsby adaptation to discover CJ is the production designer. But neither of them is who they used to be—CJ is a single mom raising a four-year-old, and Jack is a bona fide star drowning in the demands of fame.
This novella packs in an emotional reunion, sizzling chemistry, and two people trying to figure out if the lives they’ve built can make room for each other. Jack may be the celebrity, but CJ more than holds her own, which I loved. She’s sharp, confident, and completely in control of her world. Their connection never skips a beat, and their banter is spot-on. Overall, this is a steamy, character-driven novella that balances fame, family, and second chances. If you love quick reads with compelling leads, this one’s worth checking out. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Second chance romance is one of my favorite tropes and this book was such a good take on it. I was a big fan of Cara and Jack. Their story was heartwarming, funny, and sweet.

The ‘celebrities falling for normal people’ trope has been popping up quite a bit in romance lately, from the big screen to the page, and Lana Schwartz’s Set Piece is . . . well, it's mostly pretty cute.

In this new bite-sized romance from 831 Stories (a publisher that practically specializes in the celeb/normie trope at this point), up-and-coming British movie star Jack arrives on set for the first day of the new Great Gatsby adaptation (yes, another one) that he’s starring in, hoping the role will reinvigorate his love of acting. Unfortunately a run-in with the set designer, CJ, throws him off his game, and not because of how obviously talented she is. (Or at least not just because of how talented she is.) No, it’s mainly due to the not-so-insignificant fact that CJ also happens to be Cara, the enigmatic bartender and single mom with whom he shared a life-altering one night stand with five years earlier.

As the pair navigate the trials and tribulations of their obvious attraction to each other throughout filming, and then the inevitable tightrope walk of trying to make things work in the spotlight after production is over, Jack and CJ discover that being vulnerable enough to fall in love might not be easy, but it usually is worth the risk.

This is a fun, fast, and glitzy little read, with two lovely main characters. It’s hard not to start rooting for their romance immediately, helped along by the fact that Jack is so obviously smitten with CJ from the first moment he lays eyes on her (er, both the first and second time). They’ve got a nice ‘opposites attract’ situation going on, too — Jack (who’s very Andrew Garfield/Nicholas Hoult-coded to me) is essentially a walking open book, wearing his emotions on his sleeve (makes sense for an actor); meanwhile CJ, despite her creativity, is more no-nonsense, Type A, and reserved, making people work to get close enough to see the real her.

I have to give bonus points for the excellent cast of supporting characters, too, especially in a genre where side personalities tend to skew towards stereotypical or over-the-top. (If I had a dollar for every romance novel I’ve read with a best friend character whose entire personality is just ‘loud cartoon’ I would have at least, like, $17.) For such a short novel (160 pages, to be exact), I can only imagine it must be tough to pick and choose which details to include and which to cut when it comes to making your characters — side characters, in particular — feel fully-fleshed out and well-rounded. Schwartz clearly has a great handle on how to balance that element of the story, because CJ’s unconventional relationship with her dad, Stuart, is a highlight. (He’s a goddamn delight, and if this book is ever adapted into a film, he needs to be played by Richard E. Grant, OK?)

Now for some tough love: the banter between CJ and Jack is . . . well, it’s not giving what it needs to give! It falls really flat. The chemistry is there, and the author has a knack for writing “theatrically hot sex” scenes, but . . . something is missing. Their conversations need more oomph. More zest. More, more.

Not to be even nit-pickier about the dialogue than I already am, but I also can’t get past the English slang/colloquialisms infused in the way Jack speaks. Right off the bat he comes across as painfully, inauthentically British. ( I immediately looked up if the author is from England to see what was up. She’s not.) I fear Jack, though an undeniably sweet character, is an American’s clunky idea of a British person (i.e. speaking exactly as an American would, but peppering in words like ‘mates’ and ‘daft’ for some Union Jack flair). At one point he says ‘knickers’ (lol) and it jarred me right out of the scene (Jack even acknowledges the absurdity of using the word in the moment, chalking it up to heightened British role play, but . . . yeah.)

Also, did I somehow miss a chapter or a paragraph or even a sentence where CJ and Jack discuss why they never reconnected after the one night stand? That was a little confusing, since they both admit they thought about each other all the time in the years that followed. Obviously not a deal breaker by any means, but something that caught my attention.

Anyway, aside from my dialogue hang-ups, I really did like Set Piece. It’s easy. It’s breezy. It’s a book perfect for anyone who inhaled recent rom-coms like Funny You Should Ask, The Bodyguard, and How to Fake It In Hollywood. Oh, and it comes out in May, so you won’t want to go on vacation this summer without it.

Set Piece by Lana Schwartz hits shelves on May 6, 2025. Thank you to Netgalley and 831 Stories for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

831 stories does it again! every novella i've read through them has been such a hit. this was fun and just the right length to get everything i need from a romance but still have me wondering what happens next.

I enjoyed the story line and plot of this story. The initial meeting between the two main characters seemed a bit far fetched to me but the rest of the book seemed more realistic. I wasn't a huge fan of the spicy scenes but they weren't too frequent so it wasn't a big deal.

Thank you to NetGalley & 831 Stories for the ARC! 🤍✨

This novella was the perfect quick, romantic read. CJ and Jack’s chemistry was electric, and the dual POV gave both characters depth and authenticity. Their personal growth and the slow evolution of their relationship felt so genuine.

I’ll admit the heavy movie references weren’t my favourite, but film enthusiasts will love them. That said, the mid-30s protagonists and their mature, heartfelt love story more than made up for it.

A fun, emotional read with a swoon-worthy MMC and a strong FMC. Can’t wait to read more from 831 Stories!

Another 831 Stories home run! Exactly what I was looking for and tbh it was even more than that. Set Piece is a delicious little treat at 160 pages. We follow a famous person / regular person romance - I think going in relatively blind to the plot makes it a lot more fun so I’m not going to delve into the details more than that. I’ll just say it hit every note that I think a romance should hit and had me grinning ear to ear. Keep your eyes peeled for this little morsel out on May 6, 2025.

Overall a great story. I felt for CJ going through so much and really liked watching the relationship between CJ and Jack develop and how they navigated being together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this romance novella set against the backdrop of the film industry. Having lived in Los Angeles and worked in film for many years, I found the industry references engaging. The pacing was spot-on, and the character development was impressively well-executed, especially given the concise 160-page length. It's a compelling read that makes the most of its setting and characters! I'm excited to read more of the novellas published by 831 stories!

For those who aren’t familiar, 831 Stories is a modern romantic fiction company that prioritizes pleasure reading and celebrates the genre’s joyful, enthusiastic fans. Their books (novellas?) are short, sweet, spicy, and occasionally pack an emotional punch.

Now,
about Set Piece

Jack Felgate, an up-and-coming celebrity, skyrockets to fame after a breakout TV role. CJ (Cara), a no-nonsense bartender turned talented set designer, crosses paths with him twice: once during a fateful night at her bar, and again five years later on a Hollywood set. Jack’s charm and CJ’s practicality should make for a dynamic pairing, but life, responsibilities (like CJ’s single-mom status), and the pressures of stardom complicate their second chance at romance.

What I loved:
- Jack: He gave me serious Paul Mescal/Jeremy Allen White vibes—charismatic yet grounded, with a touch of endearing awkwardness that made him feel authentic.
- Short length: At 160 pages, this novella is the perfect bite-sized read. Sometimes, less really is more when it comes to connecting with characters and getting swept up in the story.
- CJ’s career: A strong female lead thriving in a traditionally male-dominated field (production design, especially in Hollywood) is such a refreshing and empowering choice.


What didn’t work for me:
-CJ’s personality: At times, her practicality felt more like rigidity, which made it hard to connect with her emotionally.
- Name-dropping: The story leaned heavily into references, and while they set the scene, it sometimes felt like too much.


Set Piece is a breezy, engaging read with a compelling premise and a healthy dose of Hollywood glamor. While CJ didn’t completely win me over, Jack’s charm and the undeniable chemistry between the leads kept me hooked. 831 stories proves you don’t need 300+ pages to tell an effective story, but a little more nuance in the supporting characters would’ve taken it to the next level.