3.5 stars
Mara Williams visits a very pregnant clairvoyant in Buda who tells her she needs a change, there are some home truths and a man on the horizon but unfortunately she can't finish the prediction because nature strikes! Before Mara knows what's happening in walks an Alexander Skarsgard look alike aka Josef/Joe. Mara does a palm reading as you do and manipulates it beautifully. Very nicely setup Mara! In the meantime back home in Broadgate, Kent, Project New Mara is underway for self improvement. Will this include new flatmate Ash who she expects to be female but turns out to be very male?!

First of all, Lizzy Dent has selected some fantastic locations. Broadgate (Broadstairs I assume?), the sea and the Lido where Mara works lends itself to some really good scenes. Add in delightful Corbridge in Northumberland, Hadrian's Wall and star gazing and you have some magic. There are some really good images that delight such as one at Chatsworth and the sea at Broadgate which makes me smile! The many film references are a very good element too, providing ample opportunity for fun banter.

Let's discuss the characterisation .... a more tricky issue. Ash is lovely although he could have been further developed for added interest. I love the team at the Lido where important friendships emerge along with lively chat. I particularly like Samira, less so boss Gerry but there is one very funny scene with him which makes me laugh! It's when we get to Mara it becomes a bit more thorny. She's a dreamer, nervous, anxious, indecisive and you can totally see what the author is trying to do with her character. However, I'm sorry to say that she just gets on my nerves with her constant negativity and self pity and I feel sorry for her mum with the constant egg shell treading. You do see how she changes thanks to Broadgate but she doesn't always treat people well along the way. Mara is also obsessed with horoscopes which is just not my thing but if it is for you then I'm sure you would like it's (many) inclusions.

Overall, there is no question that Lizzy Dent is a good writer and her novels are not just fluff as she tries to include issues, in this case with anxiety. I just wish I could relate more to Mara and I'm sure the fault lies with myself. I like the ending although it's maybe a tad abrupt.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General, Viking for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

It took me a long time to get into this story and it was over halfway through that it began to really grab my attention. The synopsis sounded great, I loved the idea of destiny taking the lead in a person's destiny. However, the outcome was pretty obvious and I really struggled to like the main character.

The main character, Mara, is a bit of a recluse and finds it hard to make friends. She believes her future is written in the stars, or rather her horoscope. When a fortune teller tells her she is about to meet the love of her life she totally believes her and puns her future on the man who then walls into the room. Honestly, Mara annoyed me quite a lot and I found her really hard to like and at times I wanted to give her a kick.

The people in the book who I really liked were her flatmate Ash, who was so sweet, understanding and tolerant. I loved her co-workers at the Lido, especially Lynne and Samira. These two make the story with their great ideas and determination.

I really loved the storyline of the Lido and how they banded together. This part was funny, witty and really sweet. This part I thoroughly enjoyed and if only Mara hadn't been so annoying I would have loved this story. However, although it wasn't for me, I am sure many people will enjoy it and overall it's probably worth a read.

This book was CHARMING. After reading an ARC of "The Summer Job" I had to grab this one and it did not disappoint! Fun, character-driven, and decently-paced, it's the PERFECT summer read. Thanks for the ARC!

I was hooked into this romance from the get go! It’s cute & funny and perfect for a rainy day to get your mind somewhere else! Thank you to the author, the publisher and to netgalley For early access to this book!

I loved this book. Laugh out loud, and relatable. The book follows the life of Mara, who doesn't do anything without consulting her horoscopes. She goes on a journey of self discovery and finally finds love. Is it fate?

The whole story was relatable and you just find yourself really wanting a good outcome for Mara.

Will definitely be reading more Lizzy Dent books in the future.

Thank you NetGallery for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

When Mara goes to Budapest on a solo holiday she ends up impersonating a fortune teller and meets a handsome Austrian cellist whom she tells that he will meet his destiny on the last Friday of August in the Mara's local pub. But then Ash moves in as her housemate and circumstances change.
A very enjoyable romcom.

This book is so easy to get into, I loved Mara and got immersed in her story with speed and ease. The beginning is excellent, I adored the fortune teller and the exotic location.
Ash is also an amazing character, I was crushing on him from his first scene and I love a book with will they / won’t they.
I did struggle a little in the middle, I felt there were phases that could have done with livening up but by the end I couldn’t stop reading! The ending of this book is perfect, I adored it.

On a solitary trip to Budapest, astrology and horoscope reading addict Mara decides to have her fortune read. When the teller declares the man of her dreams will arrive imminently just minutes before a gorgeous man walks through the door, Mara feels she must seize fate with her own two hands.

Back home she begins “Project Mara”, a mission to get herself ready for ‘the one’. But the universe has other ideas in the form of her new flatmate Ash. Gorgeous, funny and kind…perhaps destiny has arrived on her doorstep at last.

Will Mara entrust her future to fate or finally trust her gut?


On the whole I really enjoyed this story, even though ‘friends to lovers’ and ‘girl can’t see what’s in front of her face’ are my two least favourite tropes, but Mara Williams got right on my wick!! She was the most self-absorbed protagonist I think I’ve ever come across in this genre.

I loved the story of nurturing the dilapidated lido and rebuilding the community spirit, but I found it really hard to empathise with anything Mara was going through. It seemed she was in her predicament due to her own immaturity and inability to deal with life. I thought the way she treated Ash and her family completely deplorable and found it hard to overlook this.

As for the rest of the cast, I thought they were great. I loved Lynn, Samira and Ryan especially, and think I would have preferred the whole book to be about the election process rather than the main characters love life.

This won’t put me off reading further works by Dent though as I thoroughly enjoyed her debut novel ‘The Summer Job’.

A lovely light easy read, very funny. Definitely lived up to my expectations from Lizzy's previous book

The Setup first Lizzy Dent book I've read, and I am sure it won't be the last!
Mara is a hopeless romantic who is absolutely obsessed with star signs and signs from the universe. She reads her horoscope religiously which she finds helps her to navigate through her daily life.
The story starts with Mara on holiday flying solo, she was meant to be with her best friend but she had to bail last minute.
Mara throws caution to the wind and goes away anyway, and sees a fortune teller who tells her that she will meet The One, but a number of things need to be “fixed” first.
And thus, The Mara Project is born.
She’s a woman on a mission to fix things (namely herself) so that she can follow her destiny and meet The One (who she believes is Joe).

The central plot revolves around Mara “getting ready and fixing things” it also explores relationships between established friends, making new friends, and repairing families that have drifted apart and does so in a way that allows you to see it from different people’s perspectives.
Some things on the fix it list are seemingly simple, like having her hair and nails done, whilst others, like actually making new friends and trying to save the lido are so much harder to try to pull off.
I found the change in her friendship with Charlie once she had a baby so relatable, I was fortunate not to lose friendships after becoming a mammy but I have seen it happen with others.
I liked Mara, she’s flawed, she makes some questionable choices based on what the signs are telling her but she really goes on a journey of self-discovery and it’s a joy to tag along with her.
When she opens up herself to new opportunities, new experiences and new friends she realises that there’s actually a wonderful community where she lives and she starts to join in and actually enjoys herself.
Will Joe be The One or is he closer to home than she realises?
Sophie Kinsella fans will enjoy The Setup – a great rom com for the summer.

A brilliant follow-up to The Summer Job. The Setup is funny, endearing and had a perfect romance. Will make a great summer read!

I loved the summer job and I couldn’t be happier that I chose to pick up this book when I did.

I really really enjoyed it. I loved the characters, the turmoil, the love, the friendships, the side stories. It was all wonderful.

So easy to read, so full of character, so believable and I was oh so invested.

5 huge stars from me!

Mara Williams has totally lost her confidence after a disastrous end to her film studies and now finds herself the bookkeeper for a seaside pool on the Kent coast. She moved there as her best friend, Charli, relocated when she married. Mara feels lonely and isolated as Charli is busy with her young daughter and Mari can't connect with her work colleagues. She knows her fate is ruled by the stars and regularly checks her horoscope to see that see is on track. Mara is thrilled to come across a palmreader whilst walking the backstreets of Budapest, she has always wanted her fortune told. The events of that night go on to make a drastic difference to her life in every way. Entertaining and amusing despite wanting to shake Mara every now and then.

I went into this book expecting it to be a fun light read. There were definitely parts that fit that but I found that I was rather stressed throughout the book.

Mara is a very frustrating main character. I completely understand someone not trusting themselves and relying on fate but at times it was quite difficult to read. It was due to this that I couldn't quite fully enjoy the story.

While I enjoyed parts of her romance with Ash, I actually felt like she didn't deserve him. She treats him awfully and hardly ever seems to appreciate all the things that he does for her. While I don't mind reading about flawed characters, Mara just felt too rude and mean. I was left feeling sorry for Ash when they actually end up together.

That being said, I did love the small town aspects of the book and the connections between the townsfolk and Mara's workmates were lovely.

Overall it was a fun read, a little stressful at times but I did still enjoy the book.

A nice love story about Mara who seems to live her whole life according to her astrological stars. She moves to be closer to her friend who then had a baby and can’t be relied on so much. Mara had to go on holiday on her own and while having her fortune told the fortune teller goes into labour. A man walks in and Mara pretends to be the fortune teller. I won’t give away what happens as that is mainly what the story is about. Mara really seems to ‘grow up’ after giving up on reading her stars.

"The Setup" is the second of Lizzy Dent's novel which I have read. It is the story of Mara, a thirty-one year old woman with a firm belief in astrology and especially horoscopes. In fact she relies on horoscopes to get her through every day, and has trouble making decisions any other way. Luckily these beliefs are challenged so that we (eventually) see a new Mara emerging. As she slowly makes new friends and finds a purpose in life, we start to see a new Mara. Warm-hearted and amusing.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc copy of this book.

This was a fun read. If you are looking for something light and easy then this would be a good pick. I read the description. and thought it sounded like something I would love, however, it didn't quite live up to the expectation. .It was a good book with a standard plot but I felt it was lacking a bit of excitement. I felt that some parts of the book where unnecessary and didn't quite add to the story. In saying this I enjoyed the characters of Mara and Ash. It was exciting to read their interactions and see how their situation of room mates develops. Overall, this was a nice light read. For those who enjoy romance books then this is one I would recommend.

I voluntarily read an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I loved Lizzy Dent's previous book, and while I enjoyed this one, I found it very hard to love Mara.
The book itself was fun, had a great supporting cast, was easy to read, and had some snort-laughing moments. (E.g. porno carrot, big turd).
The reality of Mara and Charlie was very well written and sadly happens with many female relationships after motherhood. Not all males ones change as much.
I just felt that Mara wasn't treating anyone in her life with the real respect they deserved. Mara and her Mum didn't really resolve all the issues and poor Ash was second best all the way through until he wasn't. Maybe if we'd seen more of Mara after she'd sorted herself out, she wouldn't have come off as self-serving as she did.
Not liking Mara doesn't take away from the skill of the author though, maybe that was her intent :)

The Setup follows 31-year-old Mara, who zealously believes in letting her astrological star sign and her daily horoscope be the driving force behind her decisions, and letting fate work it's magic. So, when Mara visits a fortune teller whilst on holiday in Budapest she is told she will meet '𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦' imminently, but that she will first have to make some changes in her life. After a chance meeting with an attractive Austrian cellist, Mara believes he is 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 and embarks on 'Project Mara' in which she has 3 months to transform herself into the person she needs to be to sweep him off his feet when he visits London in the summer. *Cue hot new roommate Ash that 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 moved in whilst she was away*

I enjoyed this one! I didn't particularly relate to Mara but her quirks and flaws made her a rather interesting character to follow. She's in a bit of a slump when it comes to her work and personal life, and finds it not only hard to trust others, but to trust her own instincts, preferring to let the stars decide her fate for her. I really liked Ash, he was cute, thoughtful, and so accepting of Mara's decisions, all of which were to impress a man she had barely met.

The side characters were all authentic and played various different roles in Mara's growth throughout the book. In particular, I liked the storyline between Mara and Charlie, and the representation of friendships drifting apart due to being in very different phases of life (i.e. having a child).

I found it rather heartwarming towards the end. You can see just how much growth Mara goes through; she begins making her own decisions without fear of failure, she accepts her flaws, and lets go of her notion of destiny.

This was so much fun. As someone who loves horoscopes, I really enjoyed this aspect of the novel. Now, I don't live my life based on my horoscope, and I think my only criticism would be that Mara didn't feel thirty-one, and some things may have made more sense if she was younger. It was an original premise with the 'love triangle', and overall I really liked this book.