Hello, Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I enjoyed it as a romance with an FMC that has many layers. The insta-attraction made sense since it is a novella and the film sets were cool. There were certain small aspects I felt were unrealistic. For instance the first hookup scene happened at a bar and I’ve worked at quite a few bars and they all have cameras for security reasons. But overall I enjoyed it and thought it made sense since sometimes you meet someone, know they meant something that could have been more, and hope to see them again. I’ve reviewed it on goodreads and my TikTok, linked below.

I have been really enjoying all these shorter love stories from 831 Stories! They’re fun and easy to read and get through in one sitting, and “Set Piece” did not disappoint. This is a second chance celebrity romance between the lead actor, Jack, and a set designer, CJ when they meet again on a movie set. Despite it being a shorter novel, I found the characters well-developed and likeable, and their chemistry was incredibly sexy and believable. I was giddy the entire time reading about their romance, and I highly recommend. I cannot wait to read more from 831 Stories!

Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so thoughtful and fun to read! I always enjoy the titles put out by 831 because they're not too long, not too short but just right! Set Piece makes a wonderful addition to their line up and if you've enjoyed other stories from this publisher I feel strongly that you'll enjoy this one too.

The concept of for this book had me hooked right from the get go!

I absolutely loved both Jack and CJ characters I thought they were both well thought out and that they had good chemistry. I love Jack's willingness to fit himself into CJ's life and him encouraging her to follow her dreams. I thought CJ's character did such a good job at advocating for herself! She put her daughter first but also acknowledged that she has wants and desires and she makes it work!

I thought it was big of CJ (even though she was mad) to tell Jack to do the movie, even though he wanted to give it up after their misunderstanding.

Thank you so much to 831 Stories and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Received as an ARC through NetGalley. I liked the premise of the story but felt a bit rushed and one of the main characters was a bit annoying. However, there was character growth in the end. Overall decent read and would recommend.

This is movie nerd romance, and that’s okay but there were too many references to cinema things in a 130-ish pages of story which can be alienating if you don’t get them. There were parts of this which were really warm and lovely and parts of this book where I couldn’t really get myself to care about the characters. The writing was decent. I wouldn’t say this was for me, but I can see people enjoying this for what it is!

Thanks to 831 Stories and NetGalley for this gifted arc in exchange for my honest opinion! #team831

What a delightful novella! I sometimes struggle with novellas, because every scene, interaction, and word is intentional to the story and jumps happen without always having context. But this time, Lana was masterful in building a story where every thing makes sense. The story flows through every jump in location and time, and we are able to see how the connection between CJ and Jack flows throughout each and every interaction.

CJ is quite possibly a delight on page. She is tenacious, bold, and she knows exactly what she wants to do with her life as a production designer. However, as she is starting work on her big break on the set of The Great Gatsby, the role of Nick has been now offered to a man she met 5 years ago in a bar, Jack Felgate. And their chemistry from that night hasn't gone away. You can feel it in every interaction and every moment that they are willing to see what can happen.

Jack so wonderfully written and such a delight to see on page. Their issues as they arise make sense, and they always work through them either within themselves and with each other.

Overall, this was such a delightful novella from Lana Schwartz and I can't wait to read more of her work!

Did not finish this book. I didn’t love the characters and couldn’t get into the plot.

Thank you for the advanced copy.

3.5 stars. I liked this a lot more than the last new release from 831 (Comedic Timing) but something in it still didn't quite approach the highs of Hardly Strangers or Big Fan for me. It felt more like a romcom than a Romance, and some of the actual set pieces didn't quite work for me (no spoilers but the ending scene... lmao). I will go to bat for 831 any day of the week though - I love a design-forward imprint, it gets the people going.

Thank you to NetGalley and 831 Stories for the ARC.

I devour these 831 romances like gummy clusters. They’re bite-sized, impeccably plotted, well-written, and often set in LA—all things I can’t resist. SET PIECE follows a set designer and an up-and-coming movie star who, after a brief fling five years before, are now working on the same project. Complications abound (not all of the Hollywood variety) as they attempt to see if their relationship can work in the real world.

This book is short but saturated. The images are bright and evocative. The side characters are well-drawn. The relationship deals with real obstacles and situations that take some finagling to work out—but it isn’t tortured (and that is why it’s romance instead of lit-fic). Like I said, the nerds gummy clusters of books. Once I start, I can’t stop taking handfuls until the whole bag is gone. Case in point? I started this at 1 a.m. and finished it the next morning after a scant six hours of sleep.

Bear in mind this romance is certainly open-door.

This was sooooo good! I loved how quick of a read it was and how the story progresses quickly without feeling rushed or forced. The chemistry between the characters was so good and fun!

Set Piece is sweet and snappy romance following Jack, a British actor, and CJ, a set designer/bartender. The pace is quick and the timeline jumps ahead multiple times. For such a short book, it’s built up a lot through details that didn’t quite feel relevant. I appreciated Jack’s passion for acting, CJ’s passion for set design, and both of their passion for movies, but found the constant referencing to real life actors/celebrities/movies to be pointless. The chemistry between Jack and CJ was good, and their interest in each other was believable, but the conflict at the end felt forced and obvious. It’s a very simple book that is easy to read and mostly enjoyable.

Fantastic novella between a celebrity and a production manager. Loved the characters and the tension. If you need a quick read, pick this one up.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My favorite of the 831 Stories imprint novellas so far! The chemistry between the protagonists was electric and I loved this take on famous person/normal person romance set in Hollywood. Inject this straight into my veins!

SET PIECE is a fun and smart second chance romance novella taking place in Hollywood world that will have you hooked from the beginning and end up reading it in one sitting! I liked how grounded and real the characters felt and how mature they were! The pacing felt believable and wasn’t rushed.

Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really loved the premise of this book -- a set designer and an actor navigate the intersection of their careers and love lives. The creative setting added a lot of charm, and I found myself rooting for them from the start. That said, I did wish their love story had a bit more room to breathe. While I was invested in the idea of them together, the emotional arc felt a little rushed, and I wasn’t sure there was quite enough development to fully buy into the depth of their connection. On the flip side, the side characters were a real highlight for me. They added richness to the world and made each scene more engaging. Overall, this was an enjoyable read with a lot of heart—I just would’ve loved to spend a little more time seeing the main relationship unfold.

me just picturing harry styles as the MMC the entire time...SUE ME SORRY!!!!!

special thanks to 831 Stories and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

This was a well written rom-com. I love all of the 831 Stories for short, snappy novels that pack a punch. Set Piece is a spicy and more mature romance with great dialogue.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Very cute novella. The dual POVs were fun and the pacing was just right.

Good storytelling but the dialogue didn’t feel as strong in the beginning.

Would recommend.

Thank you Lana Schwartz, NetGalley and 831 Stories for the advanced copy of this book.

Such a fun Hollywood rom-com! I absolutely zoomed through this book and it was such a fun joyride to follow Cara (CJ) and Jack.

These two characters had insatiable chemistry and their flirty banter was so addictive (I just wish we saw more of it, to be honest!) I also was such a big fan of some of the character descriptions they felt really specific but also in line with the lightness and fun tone of the overall book ('Jack's had more flings than a rubber band' was one of my faves!) I was also really pleasantly surprised by some of the wording and enjoyed the phrasing a lot ('I grab a stack of files off the floor and shove them in my desk drawer, the Sisyphean equivalent of using a paper towel to absorb the ocean' - was excellent).

Funnily enough, we don't see a huge deal of interaction between Cara and Jack since this is essentially a workplace romance but when we do it was sizzling and exciting beyond belief! One of my favourite scenes is when Cara is interviewing Jack using a fork as a mic and jokingly interrogating him about his raunchy scene in a BBC show and Jack taps 'the forks' prongs with concern 'is this thing on?''. It was small moments like that, that really cemented the friendship aspect of their relationship and made it just so much fun to read.

There are a couple reasons that this isn't a 4 or even 5 star read for me. Firstly, Jack's character descriptions really grated on me. Yes, some of them were funny and tongue-in-cheek but it felt like 80% of his personality consisted of a British stereotypical caricature. In fact, all the British representation culturally felt pretty inauthentic and kind of annoying to read. The comment about the British stereotype of bad teeth, grating. There's also a fixation on Jack's accent and how he pronounces Cara's name in a British accent. Obviously, there's nothing wrong with that but it just felt like a weird character representation because he's portrayed as being super British in every sense whereas Cara isn't really put in a similar light of being super American and doesn't have any jarring stereotypes associated with her. This may be a sweeping assumption, but it read as an American author who was trying to write about a British character without really knowing British culture beyond the buzzwords of 'Brighton', 'British accents' and 'poor dental'.

Even the Brighton reference ('not unlike the kind of place we'd buy fresh fish during summer holidays in Brighton') felt so detached from British culture. Nobody buys fresh fish from a shack in Brighton, that's just not a thing. And even if they did, the fish isn't fresh because Brighton is not a fish farming town it's not like a port with a reputation for fresh fish just touristy fish and chips. At one point, Cara wears Jack's 'uni shirt' which is also not a thing? The term shirt makes it sound like she's wearing a suit shirt because we'd refer to it as a t-shirt and even so I don't know anyone who wears their alumni t-shirt unless they're part of a sporting team or maybe high school graduates? An extension of this is that at times it felt like Jack's one personality trait was being British and a relatively decent guy. We saw him being funny around Cara but I could not tell you anything else about him or his insecurities, dreams, quirks or traits.

I also had a huge issue with the spice scenes and intimacy. When reading the spice scenes, firstly they always appeared out of nowhere. Jack and Cara would be talking and then BOOM they're having sex. With no build up, no sexual tension, nothing just all of a sudden they're at it. This wasn't fun to read and made all the intimacy felt really sudden and not earned. It also felt like Schwartz wanted the spice to be over as soon as possible because they'd get really intimate very fast and it would all end very quickly. So there was no build up but equally no climax and no aftermath either just graphic sexual detail and then the next scene. This gave the overall feeling that the intimacy is forced in the plot and kind of just planted in certain parts to tick a box.

The level of intimacy and some of the details described did at times feel a little out of place given that Cara and Jake don't really know each other. They're being all touchy feely when they have had a one night stand and a couple kisses in the last five years but some of the touching and intimacy described felt like it would be warranted with a significant history of being intimate with each other and being in a relationship. I'd not be running up, wrapping my hands around his neck and kissing a dude I had a one night stand with five years ago within the space of weeks of seeing him a handful of times.

There were also a couple plot points that I wasn't super keen on. Firstly, it felt unrealistic that Jack would abandon a pub-crawl stag do to have a one night stand with the bartender. It obviously can happen, but once again just felt a bit random for him to literally leave the stag do just to hook up with a stranger. Secondly, a more minor point, there is a huge time jump between when Jack first meets Agnes and the seventh time he meets her. We witness the first time he's introduced to her and then all of a sudden weeks have gone by and I felt like we missed out on a huge chunk of time without being told that time moved forward. The final plot point that really bugged me was the trouble that occurs towards the end of the book when Jack helps Cara get a job and she essentially dumps him for it. I completely understood the angle of women in film and how important it can feel to not be getting handouts and earning your jobs. But this just felt a bit silly. He literally recommended her for a job off the basis that he's seen how great she is and she not only gets mad but refuses the job?! I feel like you can remove the gender element and just say this is dumb for anyone to not take an opportunity and that recommendations can come from anyone...if it helps secure a job surely a recommendation is a good thing? He didn't only recommend her because she's a woman and he wasn't trying to control her career he was just trying to help so it felt silly that Cara jumped to this defensive place of refusing help.

Despite this, there wasn't even an official break up scene and the ending felt corny and rushed as if pieces were slotting together to form a happy ending just for the sake of the plot. Overall, it was a fun and easy read. In parts, potentially problematic and the spice scenes were abrasive but it's still a light hearted rom com that at times feels like a love letter to Hollywood.

Set Piece by Lana Schwartz captivated me from the very beginning. Jack and CJ were fascinating characters—Jack, an up and coming British actor, CJ a bartender and production designer. Their initial meeting at the bar—and their intense connection—was hot. But then their reunion five years later was somehow even better. The time jump was so perfectly executed, and it added so much depth to what could have been an “insta lovey” story. CJ is now a single mom, and she’s processed her mother’s death, which came not long after her initial hookup with Jack. Jack has only grown in popularity, and he’s just landed a major role in the newest version of The Great Gatsby. It’s on set that they reconnect because CJ is the production designer. Their connection is still palpable and real, but they have to navigate the realities of working together alongside their attraction.

This book wasn’t very long, but every scene, every interaction was carefully crafted to move the story along. The main characters’ chemistry was sizzling, and it brought back all the Notting Hill nostalgic feels. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes out for more from Lana Schwartz and 831 Stories. Absolutely fantastic. No notes. I need more.