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_basicbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Mara is on a solo vacation visiting a fortune teller who tells her she is about to meet a man when the fortune teller goes into labor and has to leave suddenly. Mara is locking up the shop when in walks Josef. He seems to be the man the fortune teller described to Mara takes fate into her own hands, pretending to be the fortune teller and telling him he will meet the love of his life in a pub in an English town the last Friday in August. That gives her just 3 months to get her life together and be ready to meet him and she is determined to make it happen, but her handsome new roommate keeps expressing his doubts.
At first, Mara’s character was not for me. She felt like she was stalking Joe and her obsession with astrology was just not something I could connect with. I also didn’t really feel her connection with her love interest and really didn’t find myself rooting for them for the majority of the story. While the chemistry was never quite there for me the characters ultimately grew on me. I love a cinnamon role of a love interest so I was happy he ended up being such a softie in the end, and I truly loved him. And Mara, thankfully she ended up showing huge growth by the end and really got it together, becoming far more likable by the end of the story.
Thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
At first, Mara’s character was not for me. She felt like she was stalking Joe and her obsession with astrology was just not something I could connect with. I also didn’t really feel her connection with her love interest and really didn’t find myself rooting for them for the majority of the story. While the chemistry was never quite there for me the characters ultimately grew on me. I love a cinnamon role of a love interest so I was happy he ended up being such a softie in the end, and I truly loved him. And Mara, thankfully she ended up showing huge growth by the end and really got it together, becoming far more likable by the end of the story.
Thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
kirstyreviewsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
The Setup by Lizzy Dent
I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily
She has a plan. Fate has other ideas.
The last place very average thirty-one-year-old Mara Williams thought she'd be is on a solo vacation impersonating her fortune teller when she finally meets the one. Josef, a gorgeous Austrian cellist, sits down for a reading and before she knows it, she's telling him his destiny will be sitting in a pub in the English seaside town of Broadgate on the last Friday of August. And her name is Mara.
Enter Project Mara: three months to turn herself into the stylish, confident woman she's always hoped to be. Meanwhile, the crumbling, formerly glamorous beachside pool club where she works is under threat and her eccentric colleagues enlist her help to save it, just as a handsome new housemate casts doubts on her ideas about "the one." Can Mara pull off the transformation of a lifetime? And by summer's end, will she know who is her destiny?
This is a cute and easy read full of great characters. If you enjoyed The Summer Job then you should also enjoy this one. For me, this made for an enjoyable summer read. Very quickly you will find yourself invested in Mara's reinvention of herself.
Rating 4/5
I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily
She has a plan. Fate has other ideas.
The last place very average thirty-one-year-old Mara Williams thought she'd be is on a solo vacation impersonating her fortune teller when she finally meets the one. Josef, a gorgeous Austrian cellist, sits down for a reading and before she knows it, she's telling him his destiny will be sitting in a pub in the English seaside town of Broadgate on the last Friday of August. And her name is Mara.
Enter Project Mara: three months to turn herself into the stylish, confident woman she's always hoped to be. Meanwhile, the crumbling, formerly glamorous beachside pool club where she works is under threat and her eccentric colleagues enlist her help to save it, just as a handsome new housemate casts doubts on her ideas about "the one." Can Mara pull off the transformation of a lifetime? And by summer's end, will she know who is her destiny?
This is a cute and easy read full of great characters. If you enjoyed The Summer Job then you should also enjoy this one. For me, this made for an enjoyable summer read. Very quickly you will find yourself invested in Mara's reinvention of herself.
Rating 4/5
bookswithemily's review against another edition
3.0
This was such a sweet book, I liked the plot and the characters were funny. The astrology plot line was interesting, I am someone who it intrigued by it but I don’t tend to read my horoscope often. I enjoyed Reading about Mara’s love for her star sign, also her comment at the end was so funny.
I thought Mara was a good main character, I did find her to be naïve in some situations. I think this was due to her strong believe in reading her daily horoscope and expecting it to happen exactly as it was written. I did however see good character development happen with her as we got towards the end. I could tell she became more confident and seemed to be a lot more social towards the end. I loved Ash, he was such a good character and I felt he has such a good connection with Mara as a flatmate. He understood her and was always there to help her.
The plot was going at a slow pace at the beginning, I was excited to see how this book was going to end. I didn’t end how I expected it to end and I did like how the ending of a certain situation was left up to the reader to think about. I found the ending was rushed and the events that happened towards the end all happened at the same time. I would had preferred things to be more spread out throughout the book.
I did like reading this book, I was eager to find out more about the plot and the characters. It was a sweet, fluffy romance with a flatmate/friends to lovers plot line.
I thought Mara was a good main character, I did find her to be naïve in some situations. I think this was due to her strong believe in reading her daily horoscope and expecting it to happen exactly as it was written. I did however see good character development happen with her as we got towards the end. I could tell she became more confident and seemed to be a lot more social towards the end. I loved Ash, he was such a good character and I felt he has such a good connection with Mara as a flatmate. He understood her and was always there to help her.
The plot was going at a slow pace at the beginning, I was excited to see how this book was going to end. I didn’t end how I expected it to end and I did like how the ending of a certain situation was left up to the reader to think about. I found the ending was rushed and the events that happened towards the end all happened at the same time. I would had preferred things to be more spread out throughout the book.
I did like reading this book, I was eager to find out more about the plot and the characters. It was a sweet, fluffy romance with a flatmate/friends to lovers plot line.
emily_ellen70's review against another edition
1.0
*didnt/couldnt finish* wanted to love this book and gave it 100 pages but could not get into it
portybelle's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed following Mara’s story and was amused by her unshakeable belief in her horoscope. I used to read mine too (I’m a Pisces) but considered it more a bit of fun, happy to believe it if it was something I liked. Despite her belief in fate, she wasn’t averse to giving fate a bit of a helping hand – more like a shove in what she thought was the right direction!
Convinced she has met the man of her dreams, she contrives a way for ‘fate; to bring them together again and begins Operation Mara, to fix the many things she feel are wrong with her life. In the process, she really improves things not just for herself but for others around her.
I liked the focus on community in the book with many people coming together to try to save the town’s lido. The shift in friendship between Mara and Charlie, as Charlie began a family was interesting to read about and something I think many people will identify with.
The Setup is an enjoyable rom-com which will certainly have you wondering which path Mara will follow and just whether she will – or should – open that door!
Convinced she has met the man of her dreams, she contrives a way for ‘fate; to bring them together again and begins Operation Mara, to fix the many things she feel are wrong with her life. In the process, she really improves things not just for herself but for others around her.
I liked the focus on community in the book with many people coming together to try to save the town’s lido. The shift in friendship between Mara and Charlie, as Charlie began a family was interesting to read about and something I think many people will identify with.
The Setup is an enjoyable rom-com which will certainly have you wondering which path Mara will follow and just whether she will – or should – open that door!
cotes's review against another edition
4.0
The Setup opens in Budapest. Mara is traveling alone, overwhelmed and lonely. She goes to see a palm reader. The palm reader tells her that love is coming with a tall man but that she must fix things in her life first. Then the palm reader’s water breaks and she rushes to the hospital. Left in the palm reader’s shop, Mara tries on her garb, only to be mistaken by a customer. A tall, handsome male customer, who’s a cellist. Mara decides to give him a reading and tells him that he can meet his soul mate, Mara, at a certain bar on the last Friday in August back in England. She’s engineered her destiny. Now all she needs to do is revamp her life.
This is the fanciful setup for the rest of The Setup. But where the first part in Budapest doesn’t seem realistic, the rest of the book is grounded in the day-to-day monotony of trying to change her life for the best. She’s been hiding out, working a job she doesn’t care about, wearing all black, and drifting away from her one friend. Mara just doesn’t seem invested in her life.
I’ve written two paragraphs and haven’t even mentioned the other love interest option. And that reflects the book’s focus. Yes, Mara ends up paired off with a talk, handsome man, but the book isn’t about that so much as her waking up and engaging with the world. The most interesting parts by far were watching Mara grapple with her feelings of shame and inadequacy to make changes. Seeing Mara’s personality emerge from the gooey cocoon is what had me tearing up. Her life isn’t perfect at the end, but she’s created something real that she fully participates in.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the fanciful setup for the rest of The Setup. But where the first part in Budapest doesn’t seem realistic, the rest of the book is grounded in the day-to-day monotony of trying to change her life for the best. She’s been hiding out, working a job she doesn’t care about, wearing all black, and drifting away from her one friend. Mara just doesn’t seem invested in her life.
I’ve written two paragraphs and haven’t even mentioned the other love interest option. And that reflects the book’s focus. Yes, Mara ends up paired off with a talk, handsome man, but the book isn’t about that so much as her waking up and engaging with the world. The most interesting parts by far were watching Mara grapple with her feelings of shame and inadequacy to make changes. Seeing Mara’s personality emerge from the gooey cocoon is what had me tearing up. Her life isn’t perfect at the end, but she’s created something real that she fully participates in.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
bookwormbai's review against another edition
5.0
Such a sweet, deeply relatable novel about finding yourself and grasping at straws. Everything I wished for happened in the end and isn’t that just the best feeling!
yelaninihara's review against another edition
1.0
Such nice side characters and such a bad protagonist.
So crappy
So crappy
alieshahd's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
noemie19's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25