A review by sharon_reads
Set on You by Amy Lea

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.
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