Love at First Set by Jennifer Dugan - Book Review

3/5 Stars

For fans of Sorry, Bro and I Kissed a Girl comes a relatable and quirky sapphic romance. Lizzie lives, breathes, and sleeps the gym. Not only has she worked her way up from towel girl to front desk manager, but she spends every free moment trying to beat her latest PR. She dreams of a day in which she can open her own gym. Sketching out plans on stray napkins and sheets of paper. So when her best friend and gym owner’s son James ropes her into being his plus one to his elusive sister’s wedding she spots her chance to get closer to her dream.

However, once arriving to the wedding she drunkenly corners her bosses, ruining her one chance at a promotion she desperately needs. And once she accidentally talks the bride Cara out of the wedding, she knows she is in too deep. The problem is now Cara, who also happens to be the hottest person Lizzie has ever seen in her life is living with James and is hellbent on fixing everyone else’s love lives. So when James asks Lizzie to romantically babysit Cara just until she’s off his back she agrees. I mean what are best friends for and it’s not like Cara would ever actually fall for her. But as the feelings become stronger and the secrets grow deeper Lizzie finds herself stuck in a heavy lift without a spotter.

This book was…not what I was expecting. With comps like Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Written in the Stars I was anticipating my newest favorite sapphic romance. And although this book was just fine on its own I found myself let down just based on my expectations. I found myself wanting more mainly in the area of characters. The story was just plot heavy over character-building. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, some of my favorite books are. I just didn’t connect to the characters as much as I normally do in romances.

Not to say the characters weren’t relatable. Lizzie’s mommy issues were deeply saddening and hit home in a number of ways. But she was an asshole, to put it lightly. Her standoffish demeanor worked in the beginning but carried on way too far into the story for me. It just felt like her character’s growth was a bit rushed. Yeah, she changed externally by the end but it didn’t feel like there had been enough time for her to actually make the internal changes necessary to be in her relationship.

Speaking of her relationship I did not see the chemistry between Cara and Lizzie beyond the physical attraction. I really wish we had a dual POV like the two books comped so that we could have a deeper understanding of their connection. Because Lizzie was spending all her time drooling over how hot she was and not enough time on the fact that they didn’t get along. Like at all. All of their interactions were hostile until they started hooking up. I just felt like the intense emotional connection that is so often seen in sapphic romances specifically, was lacking. This is just my opinion though. I’m sure if you’re more of a fan of this particular trope you will be ecstatic.

Now that I’ve got my gripes with the characters out of the way, let’s get into what I really enjoyed about the book, the plot. Initially, this is what caught my eye, as talking someone out of their wedding accidentally sounds like such a fun time. And it totally delivered. This book is not short on drama and high stakes. Every chapter contained some new obstacle that Lizzie had to overcome. Whether it be juggling her secrets between James and Cara. Or navigating her less-than-stellar relationship with her boss who definitely has it out for her. The twists and turns had my stomach in knots just hoping that it would all work out in the end.

And without putting any spoilers, the climax of the book had me so uncomfortable but in a good way. The scene ties everything together in a way I didn’t expect. So let’s just say this book isn’t predictable in the ways at least I thought it would be.

All in all, this was a good book. It wasn’t amazing and barrier-breaking but wasn’t bad by any means. But I think the books that were comped were far too different and set up a completely irrelevant set of expectations. Plus the plot did thrive on miscommunication which is my least favorite trope. But the plot had me in shambles by the end and kept me interested. So there is a lot of good throughout. I do recommend this book, if only for being able to un-ironically read the phrase “emotional support himbo” multiple times. Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sending this eARC for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This post contains affiliate links. Please know I would never recommend a book or product I do not support myself. A percentage of every purchase goes towards supporting local bookstores, and I earn a small commission as well. Support small queer creators!!