4.5 stars

This was a very fun and cute romance and I liked that the main characters were both genuine and kind and just trying to figure things out. I enjoyed the backdrop of Hollywood and how film was incorporated into the story without it overwhelming the whole plot.

Cute heartfelt story between a celebrity and a normal person! I love this trope, and this story did not disappoint. It took this trope without putting it to the extreme. I would recommend reading this book without reading the synopsis!

I am obsessed with these short but powerful romance novels from 831Stories. Give me a fully fleshed out and sell written love story in under 200 pages. This is a famous person and staff person (set designer) story and I ate it up.

3.5 stars --

• after meeting in a bar leads to a one-night-stand, cj & jack haven’t been able to stop thinking about each other in the five years that have passed. it’s definitely a shock to them both to find out that cj is the production designer of jack’s new movie. but as the two get to know each other (& learn a lot has happened in five years), they realize the spark from the bar is still there. maybe they each have room in their lives for something beyond the one night.

• cj & jack were very cute, and i was able to put aside the fact that this did veer a bit into insta-love. this was a fun story, but the film production talk got a bit too granular for how short this novella is.

• compared to other 831 stories, i liked this more than ‘comedic timing’ but not as much as ‘big fan’!

Thank you to NetGalley and 831 Stories for this ARC, love reading these quick novellas and look forward to more!
3.75 stars. The story centers around Jack, a famous British actor, and CJ, a set designer from LA, who have a one night stand and then connect again five years later when they end up working on the same film. Very cute novella, and the plot was good, but it was lacking in emotion. Yes, Jack & CJ had great chemistry, and I found them both to be extremely likeable. But I didn't really get attached to their characters. There was more back story about Jack, but I found CJ's very lacking. Would have like to see their characters developed more, and maybe less talk about the workings of film industry. There were some humorous moments sprinkled in there that made me laugh, and I like the supporting characters in the book. I would love to see Jack & CJ's journey continue if the book were longer.

I really enjoyed this story. The characters were mature and had interesting careers. We actually got to see the characters date and see how they behave when they are in a relationship, leading me to root for the couple. I believe this book is slightly longer than the other novellas from the publisher, and this was necessary as the characters had enough time to develop.

Set Piece is a fun little romance story involving famous Hollywood actor Jack and production designer CJ and a one night stand. And honestly I think that’s all the synopsis you need. Set Piece is a quick and fast paced novella.

There are a lot of famous x normal people romance stories but what I liked about this one in particular and what made it standout was the fact that CJ is involved in Hollywood as a production designer. So this was how I learned what production design is! I also fell in love with CJ’s family and in my opinion that was one of the best parts of the book and I almost wish we got to see more. I know this is a novella but it could have definitely benefited from another 100 pages to fully flush out the characters and the plot including the steamy scenes which I felt were a bit rushed. Wasn’t a fan of the writing style but really solid for a debut!

Thank you to 831 stories and Netgalley for this e-arc!

Set Piece was a fun read. This novella follows a relationship between production designer and an up-and-coming British actor. Tropes: normal person/celeb & second-chance romance.

The dual POV was well-done, CJ and Jack each had distinct voices and inner lives that made them feel like real people, not just vessels for romantic tension. I also appreciated all the little cinematic references sprinkled throughout, though I imagine a true cinephile would have caught more of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and 831 Stories for the ARC!

Loved this book! Quick and fun read. Love a celeb romance!

Thank you NetGalley and Lana Schwartz!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. This was my first read from 831 Stories, and I’ve heard so many great things about them, so I was thrilled to have the chance to read this before its official release. Second-chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, and I really enjoyed the storyline. I especially appreciated how mature the characters were as they navigated their reconnection.

However, the one aspect I didn’t quite enjoy was the frequent pop culture references. While I understand it’s a Hollywood romance, it did feel a bit overdone at times. That said, this is still a charming, quick read that any romance lover will likely enjoy.

Another great novella from 831! I’ve immensely enjoyed the first three books from 831 and was not disappointed by this very satisfying, heartfelt story. Cara/CJ and Jake have a one night stand 5 years ago. Then, their lives converge once more. They’re still attracted to each other but they're in very different places in life: he’s a famous actor, she’s an accomplished set designer with a five-year-old daughter. Can it work beyond a one-night stand?? I loved the honestly of balancing responsibility with romance. The writing is smart, concise (in the best way!) and light when it needs to be. I also appreciated that both main characters were older and in a different stage of life—they have baggage and responsibilities beyond themselves. I read it all in one day and find myself anxiously awaiting its pub date so others can enjoy “Set Piece” as much as I did!!

Thank you to 831 Stories and Lana Schwartz for the early release copy of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It changed my mind on novellas, which before I had thought would be too quick for me to get invested (spoiler alert: I could not have been more wrong). The story contains a celebrity/non-celebrity romance but twists it so that the fmc also works in show biz (which I thought was a nice change from others I have read). Jack falls hard and fast, but I liked that CJ didn’t give in automatically. I liked CJ’s determination to do things the right way and related to her stubbornness and trying to protect herself. Their banter was cute, with lots of cinematic references (many of which I did not know but look forwarding to investigating). Overall, this was 3.75 🌟 book. I’d definitely recommend it for a quick, engaging romance read!

Jack and CJ meet on a movie set five years after their first encounter, and they have the space and time to explore their attraction. A fun novella that I devoured in one sitting, and really enjoyed all the details about the movie-making industry and the LA-ness of it all.

CJ is so confident in her professional life but kinda prickly when it comes to her personal life and with Jack, but I think for completely understandable reasons, she has to worry about how she’s viewed in her career and she’s already seen first hand how much of a celebrity Jack is. As the book hurtled toward the third-act breakup I was cringing at exactly how high-handed Jack was acting, but I think the book smartly gives enough space for both CJ and Jack to realize what their part in the breakup was.

The book also felt very classic rom-com movie to me, and maybe that came to mind because of where it’s set, but would be amazing to watch a screen adaption of this because it really came to life in my head!

This is a close second favorite 831 story behind Big Fan. It has the celebrity/normal-ish person trope. They have a one night stand then by chance meet five years later, but a lot has changed for both of them. The pacing was excellent, and for a novella— I still had the time to care deeply for these characters and the excellent side characters. The pacing was excellent, the ending was satisfying, the spice was great, and the character development was there! Highly recommend.

4.5⭐
R🌶️

I will eat up any famous person not-fampus person romance and second chance meet cute and this book has both of those tropes?! The perfect slice of happiness I need among the chaos right now.

This short book packs a punch. Great character development. Like all books from this imprint, it's great to pick up for a flight or an evening of reading.

Man, I loved this. It gave me all of the feelings of a Sally Rooney-esque character-driven story that I crave. CJ and Jack were deeply likable and relatable characters - both in their motivations and responses to the story around them. Jack is used to going with the motions, regardless of his feelings, and CJ is used to depending on herself for everything, so they match each others flaws beautifully. Their meeting and ultimate reunion is electric and energized; and the problems they face are inherently human and easily translatable to everyday life. I loved the Hollywood setting, especially in their mutual love of Old Hollywood, and found the behind-the-scenes look at the industry really interesting. .

I’m typically critical of novellas because I often feel they have pacing issues, but I didn’t sense that at all in Set Piece. The story flows naturally and it feels like a complete story without anything missing. Would I have liked more time with these characters? Absolutely, but am I upset with what we got? Not at all. This story is a delight and I’m excited to read what else Schwartz comes out with!

This is the first thing I’ve read from 831 Stories, but if this is the quality of story that we can expect, I’m a fan! Thank you SO much for the advanced copy!

I loved it!!! My favorite 831 stories release so far. Fans of How to Fake it in Hollywood and The Idea of You will LOVE this. It's everything you want from a romance without the cheese. I'd read anything Lana Schwartz writes.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of Set Piece. I have enjoyed 831's novellas in the past so was excited to see this one being offered.

This novella follows Jack and CJ and is the "no idea you were famous when we first met" MMC and non famous FMC. This followed the general formula of a short romance novella. We started out with a fun quirky meeting, we evolve to a secret relationship, then we have banter and spicy scenes, a big dramatic fight, then a make up and happy ending. Check, check, check, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. However, this all felt a bit like a maladaptive daydream to me.

Here are some of my gripes with this. I am not a big fan of the dual POV in this one. The characters felt a bit too flat and we didn't get enough time inside both of their heads to form a connection in my opinion. I believe this would've been better served as a single POV from CJ's perspective. Jack's POV felt a bit pointless. He really didn't have any character flaws or struggles that added to the plot to move the story forward. Sometimes not having a dual POV is better because there adds a little bit of a mystery element because we don't know exactly what he is thinking. I wish we could've spent ore time going into CJ's inner monologue and delving into her struggles, thoughts and feelings. I think this would've added so much more depth to the story and would've helped me feel more connected to the characters.

The plot of this felt a bit stale to me. There was really no twist or driving force to keep me interested and from 40-80% of the book I was uninterested. Unpopular opinion, but I actually do not mind a miscommunication trope in a book but I just didn't love how this was executed in this book. The "Misunderstanding" felt so lack luster I didn't even care about the resolution.

Also, it felt like there were way too many pop culture references. In my opinion, this takes me completely out of the story. I want to feel like I am completely immersed in a world where I do not exist and if all of these pop culture references are popping up it feels like it's just too close to reality. I also do not think they age well when placed in a novel. In a few years those things will all be irrelevant and then that could hurt the readability of the book.

What I did love about this book was the hollywood setting. It felt unique and fresh. I also really liked how we got information about the behind the scenes of the film industry. I think if we had more of that this would've been more enjoyable.

Overall, a decent read, and good for when you want something short and to the point. However, this is nothing ground breaking and didn't really envoke an emotional response from me as a reader.

The reference to real-life actors kept taking me out of the moment. I enjoyed the plot and the general storyline though. I think using Gatsby for the film they're working on together lacks the depth of creating a wholly unique situation. I liked the "drinking the fat" reference from Friends that was perfectly executed. The first encounter of the 2 characters was so promising but left the rest of the book feeling underdeveloped. I would read more by Lana Schwartz because she has potential this just wasn't perfect for me.

As always 831 Stories chooses amazing covers and the merch to go along with their publishing is simply iconic.