I was delighted to be given the opportunity to review The Setup after falling in love with Lizzy Dent's debut novel - The Summer Job. Lizzy Dent absolutely has the knack of writing rom-coms that are properly funny and captures your heart. The Setup is another absorbing summer read where time just flies by when reading in the sun.

The book is character driven by characters that you want to keep reading about until the very end and Mara, the main protagonist is one very interesting character to get to know.
Mara is going through some life changes and is into astrology. She studies and truly believes in horoscopes in such a big way that she totally follows their every word and absolutely believes in fate. It becomes apparent that horoscopes, clarevoyance, fate are a bit like a comfort blanket for her, concealing her insecurities and anxieties that do then begin to emerge to the surface. There are quiet introspective moments, giving readers an opportunity to see what's going on in her head as the character development builds up. There's a bit of repetition here and there, but that felt right as it felt like it was just part of Mara's personality.

There ends up being 2 men in her life. This is far from being a conventional love-triangle.
There is the  wonderful and sexy dream of a guy who becomes her flatmate - Ash and talented cello player - Josef. There's a choice to make - to follow what she thought was steadfast and true - the fate in the stars or be brave and step a bit into the unknown, where the rules and conclusion isn't so clear-cut and follow her heart.

Mara is also a film buff and there are wonderful references to many films, which really adds to the fun. They're intelligently woven through the story for a purpose - to send messages, but the question is, whether Mara actually sees what they are or not?

This is a rom-com perfect for a summer read, with complexities and humour.
Lizzy Dent absolutely nails it!

A feel good story about Maya, a young woman who believes in fate and thinks that the love of her life is just around the corner. She has become estranged from her family, her best friend and is unhappy with her job. This book is a heart warming story of how Maya sets of on a journey of self discovery, making new friends and creating a new life for herself. A great summer holiday read.

Mara reads her horoscope every day and plans her day around it. When a fortune teller predicts she will meet the love of her life very soon, is it the handsome cellist she meets? Or could it be her flatmate, Ash? How will she choose between them - and choose the right one? i really enjoyed watching Mara sort her life out and could not wait to see which one was her soulmate.

I read The Summer Job by this author last year and absolutely loved it, so as soon as I saw this book releasing I knew I needed to read it. It was a very different book to her other one but if you read the authors notes and Q&A section at the back of the book you will see why. I should add that I really loved that section and wish more authors did this.

For me I enjoyed this book but I didn’t love it, that’s ok though as we can’t love every single book in the world. I just found it a little slow to get through is all, but it did keep me reading it to see what played out.

I did enjoy the storyline, and loved the idea behind saving the Lido and supporting her new town. I moved across the world 14 years ago so I understand what Mara is going through and when she finally feels she is part of something I get that too, when you don’t come from a place and you are accepted as one of them, it’s a pretty sweet feeling.

Mara was definitely a relatable character, she feels the way a lot of woman feel, and there is nothing worse than self doubt and everything that goes hand in hand with that.

I really liked Ash, I thought he was an absolute gem of a guy, he is definitely very patient.

I really felt for her poor parents, again though this is all to do with Maras own feelings of self worth that is projected on to her parents and those around her.

Looking forward to this authors next book being released

Wow, what a fantastic read, this kept me gripped until the very end.

I would recommend this book to all of my friends

5 stars!

The Set-Up by Lizzy Dent

Lizzy’s last novel was a great modern day romantic comedy that, thanks to its main character, managed to avoid being too schmaltzy and sentimental. It also contained a healthy dose of self-discovery for a young woman low in confidence and used to drifting in life. In The Set-Up she did it again. Mara is just the sort of quirky, kooky and unsure girl that readers fall in love with. A lot of the time I just wanted to give her a big motherly hug. We meet her as she’s leaving for a weekend in Prague with her best friend Charlie. This is going to be real quality time for them, something that’s been difficult to get organise since her friend became a Mum. Everything in her friend’s life has changed and while Mara is pleased for her, she can’t help but feel pushed out. She’s going through a whole raft of life experiences that Mara simply can’t identify with or share. This holiday is an attempt to get things back on track so she’s terribly disappointed when her friend cancels at the last minute. So Mara is in Prague alone and while wandering one day she sees a sign for palmistry and fortune telling. Mara is astrology mad, often reading her daily horoscope first thing in the morning. So on a while she decides to have her fortune told. There is a change on the horizon, a tall and dark man will literally walk into her life imminently. This is everything Mara has wanted to hear and she’s still digesting the news as the fortune teller explains she has to run, leaving the keys for Mara to lock up. Within seconds the door opens and in walks a tall, dark and handsome musician called Joseft, set to play cello in the concert hall. He asks for his fortune and who is Mara to object? She wants to get to know him better, because this might be her ‘one’. So she gives him a very specific fortune - when he comes to play in England later that year he will meet a woman called Mara in the pub on the seafront at Broadgate and she is his destiny.


Mara has been drifting through life. After knowing what she wanted to do from an early age and doggedly followed her dream of going to film school. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge of classic cinema and rom-coms too of course. She even has a little card index of all the films she’s seen, because she loves nothing better than showing one of them to someone who’s never seen it before. She completed almost three years of her degree course, when a lack of confidence and blind love and trust for someone proved to be a toxic combination. She thought that he was the one. He thought he knew more about film than Mara, because he had serious taste for art house cinema. As they worked on their final project together, Mara was envisioning them being a great team and she was proud of her script about a taxi driver falling in love with a passenger. All was well until Mara heard what he really thought, both of her and her work and to add to her broken heart, he stole her film. Unable to stick up for herself and claim the work as her own, instead she packed her bags and left university for good. Now living in sunny Broadgate, on the south coast, Mara is trying to make friends with her work colleagues at the town’s 1930’s lido. Directly on the sea front, the lido is a great example of Art Deco architecture but isn’t used nearly enough by the people of the town. Mara is full of ideas, but it’s whether her boss will agree to them. Every idea she puts forward seems to be blocked or put on the back burner to think about at a later date. Mara senses there is more to thus than mere apathy and starts investigating. To improve her finances she advertised for a new roommate and is gratified to find Ash, a local handyman/ builder who is keen to make friends but also help her revamp the flat. Finally and to To add to her new found enthusiasm for her work, she decides on a bold new look too. When Josef arrives in the autumn every aspect of her life is going to be perfect.

I’m guessing that Lizzy Dent is placed within ‘women’s fiction’ where her books are categorised or even modern romance, but this book is the very best of it’s genre. This isn’t simply a romance, at least not the conventional sort. What I enjoyed most about this book was the transformation of Mara, from her new look and the confidence it brings, to the inner growth that really transforms her outlook on life. As Mara works on the big anniversary project for the lido she starts to appreciate her new home and the history of this incredible building. The work brings her closer to her colleagues and they start to really bond as friends, in fact it is Samira from work who recommends a hairdresser to give Mara’s look an overhaul. She starts to appreciate their quirks and their skills, in turn they are impressed by Mara’s ideas and enthusiasm and their appreciation gives her confidence professionally. The negative voice in her head becomes quieter and a stronger, more nurturing voice begins to develop. I was desperate for this little team to triumph and save such a unique landmark for their community. Romantically, Mara isn’t remotely self-aware. She believes in fate, destiny and ‘the one’ - a viewpoint that her new roommate Ash finds hilarious. He doesn’t believe there’s a ‘one’ or a specific destiny awaiting him. I loved his common sense approach to life and love. He tries to get Mara to see that Josef is merely a fantasy and the likelihood of him turning up is very slim. He wants Mara to grab hold of life and to make choices for herself, pursue things that make her happy, wear things that make her confident and comfortable and improve her relationship with the family she seems to have cut out of her life. The author keeps us guessing over what will come next for Mara and I wanted to carry on reading straight through in one sitting, I became so invested in her as a character and Ash is so loveable too, the sort of man I just know gives the best hugs. The depiction of female friendships is so positive and true to life. I haven’t had children and only became a stepmum at the age of 46,so I felt that distance when my friends became mums like Charlie. I had to learn how much they needed new friends who were going through the same thing, as much as they needed their old friends to hang in there. I loved the last minute twist to the tale that forces Mara to make a choice, between the destiny and romantic fantasy of the old Mara and the more confident and certain Mara, able to make her own choices with conviction rather than leaving the universe to decide on her behalf.

This will feature on my blog The Lotus Readers for the blog tour and as part of the Squad Pod Collective’s work on the novel.

Great story with well developed characters.

There are funny parts and the way the main character relates to other parts of her life and interests is enjoyable.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I thought this book was good but sadly not great, in my opinion there was something missing.
The main character’s story of pretending to be somebody else didn’t really sit well with me & the development of other characters could be deepened to really draw the reader in.
I would recommend it to readers who enjoy womens fiction or romance but not as a 5 Star read unfortunately.
I’m excited to give something else by Lizzie Dent a go and see how it compares.

Loved Lizzys previous book and this one was just as much a treat

There are two men in my life. But this is not a love triangle.


Mara Williams reads her horoscope every day - but she wasn't expecting to be in a whole other country when destiny finally found her. Just as a fortune teller reveals that her true love is about to arrive, a gorgeous stranger literally walks into her life. And now Mara is determined to bring them together again . . . Surely even fate needs a nudge in the right direction sometimes?

But while Mara is getting ready for 'the one', the universe intervenes. Her new flatmate Ash is funny, and kind, and sexy as hell . . . There was no predicting this: it's as if her destiny just arrived on her doorstep.

A great easy summer beach read.

a funny rom com with Mara the main character who is obsessed with reading her horoscopes.
A fun read

Mara is obsessed with her daily horoscope and takes each prediction literally! She won't rely on her own thoughts and instincts but must have everything little decision endorsed by what her horoscope is telling her.

She is on a weekend holiday to Budapest; her best friend Charlie, can't make it, so she decides to go alone. Her horoscope tells her it's her destiny after all! When she is there, she gets her fortune told by a heavily pregnant clairvoyant who tells her to seize the moment as she will meet her true love very soon. She quickly finishes her reading as she goes into labour. She is about to give birth, so she asks Mara to close up, lock the door and all will be well.
Mara sets about taking stock and making sure that fate will come true. At the same time, she is finding her voice and sets about trying to save the Lido where she works with some great colleagues.

How will it all turn out and is her fate already set in the stars? Will she make sure what has been predicted come true?

A lovely feel good, humorous book.

Funny, romantic and escapist fun.

Mara is a great character, and it was lovely to see how she developed through the story, from someone who was a little unsure and rigidly following a fortune tellers predictions and horoscopes to run her life, to someone who finds she can dictate her own fate.

If you enjoyed The Summer Job, you will love this.

A copy of this story was kindly provided to me by the publisher and Netgalley.

I related to Mara more than I expected to and was incredibly comforted to be told in no uncertain terms, that nobody has it all together and that's perfectly okay.

I loved seeing Mara's personal journey, i loved the developing friendships/ relationships and the reconnection of past ones, and I also loved that it was reiterated that these relationships can change and that that's totally okay too.

I would have loved an epilogue to find out more about whether all of the plans for the lido were a success, and also to explore Mara's relationship with her parents further. I would definitely recommend this book!

When Mara unexpectedly has to visit Budapest alone- as her bestie lets her down- a clairvoyant predicts her future. When she returns home she focuses too heavily on this when happiness is right under her nose. She gives herself a makeover and gives her all to saving the lido, where she works. Whilst frustrating at times, Mara gets under your skin and into your heart. I loved her involvement in the community and her passion to see things through. A bit predictable but so enjoyable.

Mara has been unlucky with life and has decided that hiding away is the safest option.. She is even losing her best friend to babyland and is working at a rundown lido in a small coastal town.
This is a classic duckling to swan story as Mara gets the confidence to see that she can influence fate to make her own destiny.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this arc

I tried so hard to love this book but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. The writing was decent but the narrative just didn’t do it for me

Lovely summer read, laze at home or on the beach with this book, you will find that it will be well worth it. 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

A really lovely rom-com.

Excellent from start to finish, I loved the main character Mara and following her on her quest for love and self-improvement!

A wonderful summer read, I definitely recommend it.

Mara Williams isn’t all that happy with her life; she doesn't feel in tune with her best pal anymore; her job as a bookkeeper at a Lido near the beach bores her and she’s still waiting to meet her soulmate. She takes an unexpected solo trip (her pal, Charlie cancelled at the eleventh hour) to Terézváros, Budapest and visits a pregnant clairvoyant who tells her she needs a change, but she doesn't complete Mara's prediction as she's whisked off to the hospital. Enter Josef, a cellist. Mara takes fate into her hands and tells Josef that he will find his soulmate back in her hometown and he should visit when he’s in the UK in three months' time. For Mara, back in England, some self-improvement is required for Josef's arrival.

Lizzy Dent has chosen some fantastic locations for this novel. Broadgate, the coast and the Lido where Mara works lend themselves to some really well-described scenes. The inclusion of Corbridge in Northumberland and Hadrian's Wall makes these even better as they are familiar to me. Character-wise, I loved Ash, Mara's flatmate and the team at the Lido, thoroughly appreciating the emerging friendships and the vivacious humour and chat. Mara's a dreamer, though indecisive, but great for the story. Well worth a read, I will be looking out for the next novel by Lizzy Dent.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Penguin General, Viking via NetGalley at my request and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

A perfect summer holiday read, especially as it’s set at a Lido and seaside town. Great characters and fun premise.