I like reading romance, but reading Amy Lea’s Set on You has reinvigorated my love for the genre and what it can bring. I absolutely loved this book and much in part because of how relatable it is. Along with the main character, Crystal Chen, being Asian which I identified with, her journey to self-acceptance hit something personal for me and I think will for many people as well. It also didn’t hurt that the best book boyfriend to date is Captain America - er, I mean Scott Ritchie 😏 (iykyk)
Crystal Chen is a curvy fitness influencer. She has built a large following and aspires to help others find body-positivity and self-love while also providing gym and health advice. After a recent break up, she is no need of starting a new relationship - until she meets firefighter, Scott Ritchie. Scott is a new gym patron at Excalibur Fitness and has become the bane of her existence from the moment he stole her coveted squat rack. It doesn’t help either that he is as handsome as Captain America, because how can someone that attractive be so infuriating. Things take a surprise turn however, when Crystal and Scott learn that their grandparents are getting married.
Through their time together, Crystal begins to see a kind and more sensitive side to Scott than she initially thought him out to be. Their new friendship and even her own body-positivity campaign causes her to rethink everything she thought she knew about him, self-love, and herself.
I thought everything was balanced so well between the romance aspect and Crystal’s story. I loved all the funny, swoon-worthy, and deeply heartfelt moments between her and Scott as they went from gym enemies to friends to lovers (two tropes in one!). I like a good bad pick up line, and Scott had plenty! He was considerate and attentive to Crystal’s feelings and boundaries and loved her just as she is. I thought it was also interesting how just because he’s physically handsome, he’s actually sensitive and not at all the stereotypical alpha male Crystal initially perceived him to be. Their relationship and what they learn about each other coincided perfectly with Crystal’s own personal journey.
As someone who has their own personal insecurities from time to time, I understood how Crystal felt. There are times when we love ourselves and moments when we self-doubt. Throughout the book you can see that with every positive there is always something negative lingering, whether it is the comments on Crystal’s posts as a fitness influencer or her worries about her new relationship after how her previous one ended. It doesn’t help either when cyberbullying comes into play. This was a part of the book that frustrated me but because of how much empathy I had for her and what she was dealing with. We all know that feeling even if it’s not exactly the same. I thought how it was handled and how she came out of it was honest and left a hopeful impression about self-acceptance that I was able to connect with.
“Confidence and love for yourself are ever-changing. I’m allowed to feel good sometimes, and not so good at other times… Of course, there are setbacks with every step forward. But as long as I’m honest with myself in my dark moments, as long as I’m moving forward, finding little ways to counter the negative with the positive, that’s all I can really ask for.”
This was such a good book. I loved it from beginning to end and will read anything Amy Lea writes next.
⚠️ Content Warning: cyberbullying, body shaming
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