+ If Set On You is your favourite book of all times, and/or you feel that a brutal review is a personal attack I suggest you skip the below. +

I think I have a beef with contemporary romance. I get it. Romance follows a predictable format, much like how you make a Powerpuff girl. Sugar, spice, and everything nice, but don’t forget the chemical X. The stuff readers come to know & love with the occasional chemical X thrown in to make it different. 

I always hope for the reads to be different and occasionally there are gems I enjoy but I have so many eye roll things and “great, this again” INSERT SEETHING SARCASM. 

Set On You fell into the eye rolling category. 

We’re going to start with Crystal, our FMC. She’s 27 years old but does lean into the annoying twit lane, like did you peak in high school? Maybe that’s just me being 30-something and I don’t care or have time for flip flop waffle sauce characters. Personally I prefer the FMC to be heavy in the BDE territory. So fine she’s not going to be my favourite. 

The big conflict point was an absolute bust for me, and believe me I understand there are families that are so close they know everyone’s bowel movements from Wednesday morning, but you don’t get to pull the “so they handled this so wrong” and insinuate they’re a liar for the way they opted to deal with a PERSONAL ISSUE when a few chapters later our FMC pulls the “I handle problems on my own and don’t involve people”. Miss. Ma’am. Did you not just have a hissy for over the EXACT SAME THING?! So the morality rules don’t apply to you? Got it. Moving on. 

The thing with Set On You is the writing pulled me, the storytelling ability is there. BUT it leaned heavy into aspects of romance that annoying me, but I feel like a lot of readers will love that predictability and some of y’all really let the miscommunication trope have a chokehold on your reading it seems. 

I will say I appreciate the growth our FMC had through this story and reevaluating how she sees the “I Love Myself” did start off a bit rocky and forced but ended in a more authentic space so that’s a win.