Set Piece really took me by surprise in the best way possible. This book is a mesmerizing mix of sharp prose, intricate storytelling, and a deep dive into the world of art, fame, and obsession. Lana Schwartz pulls you in with a story that feels both intimate and explosive, unraveling at just the right pace to keep you hooked from start to finish.

The plot centers around [insert main character’s name if you want—feel free to give me a hint, and I’ll fill it in!], whose life becomes tangled with the high-stakes world of art exhibitions and the people behind them. But what really caught me off guard was the undercurrent of dark, simmering tension throughout. There’s this constant push-pull between public persona and private reality, and Schwartz nails the uncomfortable feeling of being trapped in both.

What I loved most, though, is how Set Piece makes you question what you think you know about creativity and success. The characters are so well-developed—flawed, complicated, and real. There's something magnetic about the way they navigate ambition, jealousy, and the cost of pursuing your dreams at all costs.

If you’re a fan of literary fiction with a sharp edge, a bit of a psychological twist, and a deep dive into the complexities of modern life, this book is a must-read. It’s smart, intense, and packs a punch.

Thank you NetGalley, 831 Stories and Lana Schwartz for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 3rd of the 831 Stories I’ve read and my favorite so far (although I heard great things about the first one and still need to read that one).

I don’t want to give away too much but the story is about two people who connect only briefly but it is something they both think about often. Years later they run into each other again. They are very much in the same world but in different places so there are some stumbles as they try to figure it out.

I liked that while the MMC is the “star” the FMC is a badass in her own field and doesn’t need or want saving. That being said, CJs biggest obstacle is learning to accept help in order to maintain personal relationships.

This was so not for me unfortunately. I really don’t like second chance romance but I am always willing to give it a shot. I really liked Jack and CJ initially but it fell off for me and I found myself getting bored. Unfortunately I DNF’d at about 80%

I really enjoyed this novella. CJ and Jack have great chemistry. I’m a fan of celebrity/regular person romance plots, and this one was especially fun with the five-year time jump. Would heartily recommend!

This was fun! A movie star and bar tender/budding production designer meet and a steamy night ensues. They then don’t see each other for five years until they meet again on the set of a new movie - plot twist, he’s the leading support actor and she’s the production designer.

This second chance romance has all the lust and yearning you can expect for a novella as Jack and CJ make their way back to each other. Throw in some family drama, illness, typical third act break up and you have yourself a pretty cozy little novella.

For 160 odd pages I was impressed with how invested I became in the characters and their stories both together and individually. A very easy read and would recommend to anyone looking for a quick and easy palette cleanser.

Thank you to 831 stories and NetGalley for a copy of the eARC for review.

I really enjoyed this second-chance romance mixed with a nice little bit of celebrity/normie love. I believed all of the reasons they would work as much as I believed all of the reasons why they might not work, which is kind of perfect in a romance that is all about giving their connection another shot. Romantic and sweet and smart! Thanks to NetGalley and 831 stories for the ARC!

This was fun! I always love a celeb romance and the spicy scenes were GOOOOOD. Just wanted a bit more on the romance aspect of things but overall was a super fun easy read.

Thanks for allowing me to be an early reader! All thoughts are my own.

Steamy. Quick. Easy read if you're looking for something fun and exciting. The writing here was good. I'd love to see a full novel by Lana! I loved where she took the characters here in such a short amount of time.

Set Piece by Lana Schwartz had the odds stacked against it for me—I don’t usually go for the celebrity-meets-“normal person” trope. But wow, this one completely won me over. The chemistry between CJ and Jack felt incredibly real, and I actually laughed out loud more than once. One line that really made me giggle:

“According to WhosDatedWho.com, Jack’s had more flings than a rubber band. He’s rumored to have dated every single March sister in 2019’s Little Women and possibly one from the 1994 production, too.”

I’m a big fan (no pun intended) of 831 Stories’ other shorts like Big Fan and Hardly Strangers, so I was thrilled to get early access to this ARC. Huge thanks to @831storieshq and @characteractresslanaschwartz! Set Piece is out May 6th!

5/5 🌟

I love these 831 Stories and this was no exception! Cara and Jack have a one-night stand and lose touch, but five years later reunite when Cara is the set designer on Jack's newest movie he's starring in. I loved the inside baseball type descriptions of the movie industry and was rooting these two on so hard throughout. I found their banter fun and loved how the author explored the idea of dynamic families. Would def read more from Lana in the future!

What a well written romcom!!!! This is what I have been needing in my life to get me back into my regular reading schedule. It has pulled me out of the deep depths of my reading slump, which is truly a feat in itself.

This second chance romance follows Jack, an up and coming actor, and CJ, an aspiring production designer. After a hot and heavy one night stand and a five year time jump, Jack and CJ are brought together for a movie adaption of The Great Gatsby. Tension (sexual) is high as the pair are forced to spend day after day together on set.

I truly enjoyed this novella so so much! It had the perfect amount of spice and plot. I honestly cannot get over how well rounded the story feels at only 160 pages. It has the same impact as a full length novel, which is beyond impressive. I am so interested in other 831 stories!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and 831 for this ARC.

This book is fine, I'm sure a lot of people will love it, I did not. Sorry! For a short book this unfortunately did not captivate me. As someone who works in the film industry I thought this book would be right up my alley but I found it really difficult to suspend my disbelief when Cara turns down her dream job for... reasons? At her big age? I couldn't really root for her after that. I found the main characters very one note and reductive, while I think it's probably difficult to write well-rounded characters when you are constrained by 831's conceit of short books you also can't ask the audience to do all the work in shading your characters in themselves.

I think there's a bigger problem in romance publishing of providing readers with a sort of paint-by-numbers product where the reader gets to insert their favorite celebrity (is Jack supposed to be Paul Mescal/Andrew Garfield/Hugh Grant? He is so bland he must be a stand-in for someone who is hopefully more interesting IRL) and it makes for a pretty boring book to read. I'm not trying to sh*t on this author but this book felt like an example of a larger problem with sort of fast-fashion fiction in today's publishing landscape. I think if maybe this book had been longer, and we'd gotten to know the characters beyond their assigned tropes/personality types maybe their conflicts would have made more sense.

This was pretty much a middle of the road book for me. I really thought I was going to hate it after reading the first 15%, but I pushed through because it’s not a long book. Fortunately the second part of the book, after a considerable time jump, was much more enjoyable than the first part which was way too insta-love for me. The third act conflict was also way too predictable and the miscommunication trope was too on the nose for my personal preference. But my main problem with this book is that, as someone who’s always had quite a lot of qualms concerning real people fan fiction, the thin veneer of fake names doesn’t really help if you are someone who has a vague knowledge about the concept of “white boy of the month”. You’ll figure out who could have inspired the main male character by in 5 seconds flat, and this type of thing has always left a bad taste in my mouth. People are people, even if they are very famous actors, and inventing stories about their life feels weird. But, to be completely fair, this is probably only “inspired” by someone real, so this is only a problem if you are particularly bothered by it, like I am.

But thinking about this a couple of weeks after finishing the book I can also say that the writing was good enough not to be annoying, which is more than I can say about a lot of romance that I read, and the length was also a big plus. The novella length of the book really helps with not making any of its faults too noticeable or too annoying, event the third act conflict which is, as I’ve written before, just plain stupid.

The other great quality of the book was the cast of secondary characters which were all very fun, well-written and well-characterised, even the ones that appeared for just a single scene. Overall, a decent way to spend a couple of hours if you don’t have anything else to do.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars

Set Piece was a fun short story romance. I never felt super connected to the characters but it was fun while it lasted. Don’t read the synopsis as it gives way too much of the story away!

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

- CJ, set designer and single mom & Jack, rising Hollywood star
- CJ and Jack met at a bar and had a one night stand, and haven't seen each other in 5 years, when the reunite on the set of a Great Gatsby remake
- Second chance romance, celeb-normie romance
🌶️: yes
Under 300 pages - this is a fun read if you love celeb-normie romances as much as I do!

“after all of these years of imagining what it would be like to be with him again, kissing him feels like finding something that I was sure I'd lost forever.”

3.5⭐️ i feel like this is one that you should go into blind. it’s a relatively short book and most of the plot is revealed in the synopsis. all you need to know going into it is that it is a second-chance romance and it’s actor x film production designer. i love stories that feature the bts of hollywood (it reminded me of the kdrama melo movie in that aspect! + the way talked to each other on set or about the film was very similar to mubi and gyeom!!) their relationship felt very mundane so it was easy to root for them and hope that it lasts because they were simple people with each other, despite who/how they are publicly.

the conflict that occurs during the third act was infuriating!! i wanted to punch a wall because of the issue that was created + it could have been prevented with something that they were doing so well: communication. i hate miscommunication, but what i could appreciate from this one is that the person who was at fault quickly understood their mistake! they actually used their brain instead of staying there, wondering what they did wrong.

i’m not typically a standalone novella kind of reader but 831 stories has slowly changed that for me with every release of theirs that i read! (bonus points for the friends + kiki’s delivery service mention)

thank you netgalley and 831 stories for the arc! :)

Thank you to Netgalley and 831 Stories for the E-ARC!!

Wow, I didn't think I would enjoy this one as much as I did. I really loved seeing how CJ progressed to allowing someone into her life and letting them help her. I loved how this story was a bit longer than the usual length of an 831 story!

I really suggest going into this kinda blind, I think not reading the blurb makes the story a bit more intriging.

Cute romance
Could have had more character development
I didn't love the insta-love trope.
synopsis gives away WAY too many details about this short and snappy storyline.

Not my favorite! I loved how the romance started but ultimately the characters got together too fast for my liking. That’s just a personal trope preference though so I think it might still be enjoyable for others.

This book hooked me from the first chapter. I absolutely loved starting with Jack’s perspective and the time jump really took me by surprise, but worked really well within the story. The whole book was very beautifully written and I thoroughly enjoyed it.