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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I really liked the representation in this book, and the lesson/message at the end. But I had a tough time connecting with the characters. I'm the polar opposite of a gym bro, and a lot of it takes place in a gym, so maybe that's why?
IDK they both seemed to be pretty flat characters too, like they were interested in working out and doing their jobs and not much else. As an introvert (which, they are both supposed to be homebody types) I can say that we still have plenty of interests that we don't have to leave the house for!
IDK they both seemed to be pretty flat characters too, like they were interested in working out and doing their jobs and not much else. As an introvert (which, they are both supposed to be homebody types) I can say that we still have plenty of interests that we don't have to leave the house for!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Racism
maliabennie's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Death
Minor: Death of parent
champagnemami's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
great book!! i loved the chemistry between crys & scott, althought there are some things i personally would change: 1stly, the mention of a specific celebrity/singer, like don't get me wrong i get it but i feel like it can kinda of push people who don't listen to her (like me, in this case) and it's a bit dangerous (i.e. lizzo just got cancelled đź« ) and second, besides the beautiful message, which i LOVED, i understand why some people found it repetitive by the end of the book, bc i wish there were more intimate scenes, not like that yk but more about their journey and experiences together!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual content, Death, and Body shaming
lucyrudd's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, and Racism
behindherpages's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
crystal was insufferable. she constantly pushed her insecurities onto scott and a few seconds later realized she was wrong, apologized, then did the same thing in 50 more pages. how scott put up with her is insane. i can't believe he only got mad at her once. also adding that their grandparents are together is such a weird plot point like why?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Bullying
Moderate: Cancer, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, and Death
chasingpages1's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Bullying, and Body shaming
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Alcohol, Death, Grief, and Medical content
sharon_reads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Set On You is a romantic comedy that is engaging and brings you along for the ride with our main characters. We follow the main character, Chrystal Chen, a curvy biracial fitness influencer/personal trainer and her journey with the squat rack thief Scott Ritchie. Both characters are well-developed with lots of depth, that make them both seem realistic and people we can relate to. The secondary characters provide a decent amount of depth and likeness for their role in the story, without feeling flat.
Read this if you like:
- gym nemesis to lovers
- witty banter
- fitness influencer x firefighter
- self love & self acceptance
- biracial, mental/physical health representation
cw: fatphobia, body shaming, cyberbullying, fitness/diet culture, racism, cancer, death of loved ones, trust issues
When I originally rated this book, I gave it a 4.5 stars, but now, I’m leaning more towards a 3-3.5 stars the more I think about my experience while reading/listening to this book. I wasn’t in love with Chrystal. I felt like she was annoying and wasn’t the person she built her platform around. Judging the gym bro’s, and getting annoyed by a guy steeling the squat rack once, and making him your gym enemy isn’t what she is about. People are allowed to piss you off, but she was dead set against him the moment he took the squat rack. Then there is the whole first kiss. That was the most pure post gym hornyness if I’ve ever seen. They both wanted to let out the tension and I honestly think they should have done that before committing to a relationship. The pair didn’t fit together, and we didn’t get the chance to truly see them bonding. Also, the fact that it’s mentioned that Chrystal’s grandmother could have an emotional affair was always in the back of my mind. That was never cleared up, and the entire storyline frames the pair in a bad light.
The ending left me feeling like Chrystal realized she jumped on the wrong trend when she started her account, and was jumping on the next body positivity trend to clear her mistake. This is such a difficult topic, and having the main character be an influencer wasn’t it for me. The influencing world is full of fake body positive people, and as much as we are shown how positive Chrystal is, I felt like she was only doing it for her platform, rather than herself. Some of the comments she made about her body felt like she was reassuring us that she loved herself, rather than her believing it. I’m still not 100% on my thoughts around it, and I don’t think I will be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Bullying, Racism, Cancer, and Death
naturally's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
crystal and scott had me until the 3rd act - where i fully believe that crystal was in the wrong. she posts a pic of them online, without his consent, but somehow HE'S the bad guy for defending her in the comments of the post? his name, profession and place of work were also listed in an article bc the story made it to national-level news. like??? what made this worse, was the fact that scott didn't seem to have any flaws. he was the perfect guy, which makes him pretty (VERY) boring to read about. that aside, i love me an unlikeable heroine, which i what i would class crystal as.
(don't really think it was a smart idea for a non-black author to use words like 'rachet'. also, said use of 'rachet' didn't make any sense :/)
(don't really think it was a smart idea for a non-black author to use words like 'rachet'. also, said use of 'rachet' didn't make any sense :/)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Death
lauramparis's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Racism, Bullying, Cancer, and Death
decklededgess's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
trigger warnings: sexual content, alcohol, sexual harassment, racist microaggressions, fatphobia, depression and anxiety, bullying
I can’t get over the fact that they get together while her grandma and his grandpa also get married….it’s giving Life With Derek.
Anywho
I thought the romance was fun. The chemistry between Crystal and Scott felt a little flat. There was a lot of telling me she has the hots for him and it didn’t feel authentic. On the flip side the initial meet gate was great. The animosity was palpable and I sincerely hated Scott a lot as well. Would have been nice if that level of tangible emotional tension carried through the book.
Crystal’s body positivity turned body acceptance journey was interesting. I appreciated the open conversation about how fat and curvy people are looked down on by outsiders to their relationship, how they’re constantly dealing with roadblocks with the fashion industry, the constant micro aggressions people sling, and on and on. It felt raw and honest when Crystal broke down due to the pressure of social media and I liked her growth past that point.
I felt at times that the author was skirting around the use of the word fat but that could also be because the author wanted to ensure she wasn’t stepping on toes of fat representation when this character is described as chubby/curvy. I’m an outsider on both counts considering i’m not fat, curvy, or chubby so first hand reviews would give you better opinions on that.
I never liked books that harp on health and exercise and actually spend time on that aspect of the story. It bores me to tears and this did not change my mind on that. I skimmed so much. Thankfully other parts of the story carried enough that I enjoyed reading what I did spend time on.
Overall, very meh but a solid debut so I look forward to Amy Lea’s second book.
I can’t get over the fact that they get together while her grandma and his grandpa also get married….it’s giving Life With Derek.
Anywho
I thought the romance was fun. The chemistry between Crystal and Scott felt a little flat. There was a lot of telling me she has the hots for him and it didn’t feel authentic. On the flip side the initial meet gate was great. The animosity was palpable and I sincerely hated Scott a lot as well. Would have been nice if that level of tangible emotional tension carried through the book.
Crystal’s body positivity turned body acceptance journey was interesting. I appreciated the open conversation about how fat and curvy people are looked down on by outsiders to their relationship, how they’re constantly dealing with roadblocks with the fashion industry, the constant micro aggressions people sling, and on and on. It felt raw and honest when Crystal broke down due to the pressure of social media and I liked her growth past that point.
I felt at times that the author was skirting around the use of the word fat but that could also be because the author wanted to ensure she wasn’t stepping on toes of fat representation when this character is described as chubby/curvy. I’m an outsider on both counts considering i’m not fat, curvy, or chubby so first hand reviews would give you better opinions on that.
I never liked books that harp on health and exercise and actually spend time on that aspect of the story. It bores me to tears and this did not change my mind on that. I skimmed so much. Thankfully other parts of the story carried enough that I enjoyed reading what I did spend time on.
Overall, very meh but a solid debut so I look forward to Amy Lea’s second book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Alcohol, and Infidelity