Title: The Setup

Author: Lizzy Dent

Genre: Romance/Humour

Publisher: Viking

Publication Date: 9th June 2022

Rating: 5/5

Cover:

Summary:

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.

So will Mara put her destiny in fate’s hands – or finally trust herself to reach for the stars?

Review:

I really enjoyed The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent so I was highly anticipating her new release, The Setup. Happily I can confirm that it is every bit as fabulous as I’d hoped! The story follows Mara, a young woman who believes in astrology and fate. Whilst on a trip to Budapest, Mars visits a fortune teller who informs her that she is about to find her true love. A handsome stranger immediately walks into her life and Mara decides to implement a plan to make sure they meet again. However, once Mara is home in Broadgate she begins to have feelings for her new Flatmate, Ash, and Mara’s destiny is suddenly not so clear!

I loved this book! It is a complete joy to read from start to finish. Mara could easily have grated on me with her blind trust in astrology and her refusal to trust herself, and yet I found her movingly relatable and I was rooting for her to accept the happiness in front of her. Dent writes with humour and a warmth that makes The Setup a total triumph. I’m very close in age to Mara and I completely understood her feelings of uncertainty and lack of confidence. I found it quite an emotional read at times – although there is plenty of humour too! The cast of characters is delightfully quirky and the pacing is just perfect. I couldn’t recommend The Setup more highly – it is like a warm hug in book form!

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Huge thanks to Ellie Hudson and Viking for having me on the tour and sending me the gorgeous hardback copy of the book. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

Buy the book:

Waterstones | Blackwell’s | Amazon