Love at First Set by Jennifer Dugan
CW: Heavy Drinking, Alcoholism, Addiction, Gaslighting and Gaslighting Attempts, Manipulative Parents, Child Abuse, Mentioned Physical Abuse, Mentioned Toxic Relationship and Love Bombing, Money Problems, Classism, Queerphobia, Cheating, Breach of Trust, Sexual Content, Swearing
4.5/5
I don't think I read the description for Jennifer Dugan's Love at First Set until it was my turn with it on Libby. I saw the author and the cover and decided to check it out. What was written for the blurb wasn't wrong, exactly, but the tone was misleading, making it seem toxic. I wouldn't describe the romance as toxic, even if the characters and scenes get messy. I'm glad I read the book in spite of my worries. It was entertaining, handled some heavy topics with grace, and made me care a lot for the three main characters.
Lizzie has been dreaming of running her own gym since she was a little girl. In the meantime, she's been working as a front desk manager at the gym her best friend's, James, parents own. When James' sister, Cara, is getting married, he convinces Lizzie to come along. He sees it as a chance for her to schmooze and get a promotion. Unfortunately, Lizzie ends up drunkenly pepping up a hot girl in the bathroom, telling her to leave her unhappy relationship. She didn't know this was Cara. Familial chaos ensues. Over the next few months, Lizzie and Cara get to know each other. They may even be catching feelings.
Love at First Set was a surprisingly easy book to get through. Both Cara and Lizzie have awful parents, which is an important part of the story. They also had a really hard time opening up to each other, not just assuming the worst about one another, but themselves too. There were also a number of described sex scenes, which are almost never my thing. However, I was captivated the whole way through. Lizzie is incredibly self-aware and has an active inner voice. Anything that could have been taken too far was balanced out by Lizzie's reactions. There were times I would get fed up with any of the main trio, but I could trust that they'd work it out in a healthy way.
As with any Dugan novel, Love at First Set has plenty of queer rep in it. James is gay and Lizzie and Cara are bi. There are a few queer supporting characters and even more background ones. I can tell the characters aren't genre-aware, or else the classic Sapphic movie, Imagine Me & You, would absolutely have been brought up. However, the characters, especially Cara, are cliche-aware. At one point she mentions Uhal Lesbians. The main trio is also aware that it's weird that their abusive parents aren't queerphobic. Overall, this book could easily be just another queer book, and it may not be a contender for my favorite book this year, but it found ways to stand out.
If you're into books about queer sports, I recommend broadening your horizons out of the competitive ones. A majority of this book takes place in a gym, something I've never seen in a queer sports story. If you're into the best-friend's-sibling trope, Love at First Set by Jennifer Dugan is absolutely for you. If you're done lifting weights, lift this book. Don't worry, Lizzie will spot you!
Comments