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The Set Up
A perfect disaster - or a perfect match? Find out in this heartfelt rom-com novella....
"Just three dates. That's all I'm asking. One boy shares your sense of humor. Another has similar interests and ideals. The third boy has a helpful heart like yours."
When Aditi Gupta comes home late from work as a pediatric resident one night and her grandfather offers this pitch, she reluctantly agrees. She's far too busy with med school to be dating, and besides, she dreams of a love for the ages, like her parents, not an arranged marriage. And yet she finds herself agreeing to three dates because she loves her grandfather. All she has to do is make herself utterly ineligible and problem solved!
And sure enough her first date with the disgustingly handsome and intriguing Krishna Lal goes exactly as planned: not well! But then the second date comes around and Aditi finds that there is more at stake than just three bad dates. Suddenly, her heart is on the line, and maybe her grandfather's, too.
"Just three dates. That's all I'm asking. One boy shares your sense of humor. Another has similar interests and ideals. The third boy has a helpful heart like yours."
When Aditi Gupta comes home late from work as a pediatric resident one night and her grandfather offers this pitch, she reluctantly agrees. She's far too busy with med school to be dating, and besides, she dreams of a love for the ages, like her parents, not an arranged marriage. And yet she finds herself agreeing to three dates because she loves her grandfather. All she has to do is make herself utterly ineligible and problem solved!
And sure enough her first date with the disgustingly handsome and intriguing Krishna Lal goes exactly as planned: not well! But then the second date comes around and Aditi finds that there is more at stake than just three bad dates. Suddenly, her heart is on the line, and maybe her grandfather's, too.
120 pages, Audible Audio
First published February 11, 2021
27 people are currently reading
959 people want to read
About the author
Falguni Kothari
12 books412 followersFalguni Kothari is a USA Today bestselling author of “messy love stories” and kick-ass fantasy tales that are a “good choice for women’s fiction book groups.” Her novels are all flavored by her South Asian heritage and expat experiences, and delve into common, yet unconventional, themes of marriage, romance, friendship, family and parenthood. Her books have been reviewed and praised in a number of podcasts and publications, including the New York Times Book Review, starred reviews in Booklist and Shelf Awareness, Popsugar, Woman’s World magazine and The Times of India. Her essays and short stories have been published in Femina (India), Better Homes and Gardens, Book Riot and Writer’s Digest.
She is also an award-winning Indian Classical, Latin and Ballroom dancer, practices Karaoke in her downtime, is an empty-nester, and loathes flying and deadlines.
Find her online at www.falgunikothari.com and sign up for her newsletter for the latest updates and free stories!
She is also an award-winning Indian Classical, Latin and Ballroom dancer, practices Karaoke in her downtime, is an empty-nester, and loathes flying and deadlines.
Find her online at www.falgunikothari.com and sign up for her newsletter for the latest updates and free stories!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 497 reviews
July 1, 2021
super cute & successful romcom novella, would recommend
April 14, 2021
Meh. This was okay, but I felt like the guy's internal comments about women were kind of misogynistic sometimes, so that rubbed me the wrong way.
March 7, 2021
3 1/2 to 4 stars
This was a quick, sometimes cute, sometimes funny, tale about arranged dates and a burgeoning romance... or two.
I would like to try a longer read from this author in future.
This was a quick, sometimes cute, sometimes funny, tale about arranged dates and a burgeoning romance... or two.
I would like to try a longer read from this author in future.
October 19, 2024
Wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this one. The “first date” had me leaning towards two stars, but as the book continued, it did slightly improve. Nothing extraordinary but cute enough.
April 24, 2021
The Set Up is the story of Aditi and Krishna who are set up on a blind date by their respective grandparents. Neither is overly excited about this date and they are ready to sabotage themselves so they never have to meet again. Things start off rockily but somehow these two end up liking each other much more than they anticipated. When they discover that their grandparents had a bit of a "the-one-who-got-away" type of relationship back in the day, they decide to set up their grandparents instead. Insert turns of flirty texts and encounters with Aditi and Krishna bonding. I thought this novella was super cute and I had a stupid grin throughout most of it. While both Aditi and Krishna are likable and fun, it's their meddling grandparents who are scene stealers. They are so freaking adorable and made me feel all warm and cozy. Even though I knew this was just a novella, I was a little sad at how short this listen was because the characters had such good chemistry and I think there was room to make this a promising full-length novel. Obviously, that is me being selfish because I enjoyed learning about the characters so much and would have loved to spend more time with them. As for the narration, I enjoyed it for the most part. I thought Soneela, in particular, was brilliant and really brought Aditi's character to life. Vikas Adam, I struggled a little bit with. I especially did not like his voice or accent when he was quoting the desi aunties in this book. I'm sorry I know this is a little rude but he sometimes made Krishna come across as an a-hole. His sometimes cringe-worthy performance wasn't enough to completely take away from my enjoyment of the overall story though. All in all, this was wonderful and I look forward to reading more from Falguni Kothari!
August 22, 2022
2020 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Brown Eyes
I agree with reviews saying that the male narrator’s voice for female characters is... not great. Disappointing because I grimaced for the majority of his performance (audiobook narration is SO essential for enjoying a story).
This is more a HFN, not a HEA (audiobook is only two hours long and they’ve barely started dating at the end). The grandparents’ subplot is cute. Read via Audible Plus (narrated by Soneela Nankani and Vikas Adam).
I agree with reviews saying that the male narrator’s voice for female characters is... not great. Disappointing because I grimaced for the majority of his performance (audiobook narration is SO essential for enjoying a story).
This is more a HFN, not a HEA (audiobook is only two hours long and they’ve barely started dating at the end). The grandparents’ subplot is cute. Read via Audible Plus (narrated by Soneela Nankani and Vikas Adam).
March 25, 2021
TEHEHE! I love a pair of sassy grandparents meddling in their grandchildren’s love lives 😂😂
Also, come prepared with snacks. This short will make you SOOO HUNGRY!
Also, come prepared with snacks. This short will make you SOOO HUNGRY!
March 3, 2024
Cute little novella about two unlucky in love singles who are set up by their grandparents, who also share a rather romantic past. Nice enough, but as with most novellas there wasn't much substance and the romance aspects happen incredibly quickly. I loved the familial relationships and diversity though.
November 26, 2021
adorable!!
April 24, 2021
Aditi has a crazy busy life, currently going through med school working as resident at a pediatric ward. She has no time for dating so her grandfather decides it's time to do something about that and wants to set her up with someone.
Aditi agrees for 3 dates only and hopes that it will show her grandfather that arranged match ups in this day and age don't work. Then she can get back to living her life her way. However, it turns out that Krishna isn't as bad as she thought he might be, apart from the first date anyway.
There is another love story playing out the background though and the set up takes on a whole new meaning :)
Aditi agrees for 3 dates only and hopes that it will show her grandfather that arranged match ups in this day and age don't work. Then she can get back to living her life her way. However, it turns out that Krishna isn't as bad as she thought he might be, apart from the first date anyway.
There is another love story playing out the background though and the set up takes on a whole new meaning :)
August 20, 2021
I enjoyed it despite thinking the characters were super childish in the beginning and the instalove because he literally hates her and then they like each other asap after something traumatic.
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April 26, 2025This was an okay romance novella. Being set up by your grandparents is a cute idea, but I can't say I liked the hero all that much or felt the chemistry between them. But fine for a short romance.
August 5, 2021
I think this story suffered because of the length.
Aditi and Krishna simply do not have enough time together for me to believe in their romance. In theory, everything should have been super cute, but in execution there was a lot to be desired.
Krishna's pov is just horrid. He's a misogynist. He thinks he's better than everyone else because he works in advertising, and he only started respecting Aditi as a person once he found out she was a doctor. He literally thought himself intellectually superior to her and was pretty patronizing on their first date. Phew.
This is a 2-hour audiobook so I understand that not many things can happen, but at the very least I thought I would be rooting for the main couple. I did not. The grandparents were super cute though.
By the end of the book I'm not sure if we were supposed to expect a Happily Ever After or a Happy For Now sort of situation, but realistically I don't see them lasting as a couple. They have opposing views on a lot of things, but the one that stood out the most to me is Aditi believing in marriage, while Krishna thinking it was unnecessary and meaningless. They both love Game of Thrones so I guess yay for that?
Anyway, it was just okay for me. Maybe a longer version of this would have been much better.
Aditi and Krishna simply do not have enough time together for me to believe in their romance. In theory, everything should have been super cute, but in execution there was a lot to be desired.
Krishna's pov is just horrid. He's a misogynist. He thinks he's better than everyone else because he works in advertising, and he only started respecting Aditi as a person once he found out she was a doctor. He literally thought himself intellectually superior to her and was pretty patronizing on their first date. Phew.
This is a 2-hour audiobook so I understand that not many things can happen, but at the very least I thought I would be rooting for the main couple. I did not. The grandparents were super cute though.
By the end of the book I'm not sure if we were supposed to expect a Happily Ever After or a Happy For Now sort of situation, but realistically I don't see them lasting as a couple. They have opposing views on a lot of things, but the one that stood out the most to me is Aditi believing in marriage, while Krishna thinking it was unnecessary and meaningless. They both love Game of Thrones so I guess yay for that?
Anyway, it was just okay for me. Maybe a longer version of this would have been much better.
November 26, 2021
Super cute short Novella. I'd love another little follow up to this story. Happy listening!
September 28, 2021
What happens when your beloved grandparent asks you to go on a blind date? You agree out of love and respect. That's how Aditi and Krishna find themselves on a blind date.
This was a fun and sweet novella. It took me a while to warm up to the hero because he came across as a total misogynistic ass in the beginning. The subplot about Aditi's grandpa and Krishna's grandma was cute, but some of the sexual comments made me uncomfortable LOL.
The Set Up ends with a HFN as Aditi and Krishna decide to date for real at the end of the story. The narration was okay...the male narrator's female voices were funny and a bit cringey LOL. But there were some funny moments and dialogues in there that actually made me chuckle. So, overall, I had fun listening to the audiobook narration.
This was a fun and sweet novella. It took me a while to warm up to the hero because he came across as a total misogynistic ass in the beginning. The subplot about Aditi's grandpa and Krishna's grandma was cute, but some of the sexual comments made me uncomfortable LOL.
The Set Up ends with a HFN as Aditi and Krishna decide to date for real at the end of the story. The narration was okay...the male narrator's female voices were funny and a bit cringey LOL. But there were some funny moments and dialogues in there that actually made me chuckle. So, overall, I had fun listening to the audiobook narration.
May 8, 2023
The Set Up by Falguni Kothari
1h 55m narrated by Soneela Nankani and Vikas Adam
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Romance, Novella, Chick Lit, Short Stories, Adult Fiction
Featuring: Doctors, New York, South Asian Characters, Grandfather, Blind Date Trope, Arranged Marriages, Bollywood
Rating as a movie: R for strong language
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My thoughts: This was pretty hilarious although I wasn't crazy about Aditi, she was a bit annoying but Krishna and the grandparents were great. I've put off this story for a while, it was much better than I expected. The narrators were fantastic. The f-bombs were out of place.
Recommend to others: Yes! This is a short fun read.
1h 55m narrated by Soneela Nankani and Vikas Adam
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Romance, Novella, Chick Lit, Short Stories, Adult Fiction
Featuring: Doctors, New York, South Asian Characters, Grandfather, Blind Date Trope, Arranged Marriages, Bollywood
Rating as a movie: R for strong language
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My thoughts: This was pretty hilarious although I wasn't crazy about Aditi, she was a bit annoying but Krishna and the grandparents were great. I've put off this story for a while, it was much better than I expected. The narrators were fantastic. The f-bombs were out of place.
Recommend to others: Yes! This is a short fun read.
May 5, 2021
Naughty and adorable grandparents who mess up the lives of their grandchildren with the best of intentions.
He was sweet and entertaining.
I wish it had been longer.
He was sweet and entertaining.
I wish it had been longer.
February 14, 2021
This was a really fun short story, but I really wish it was either a novella or full story. There’s so much potential here with these characters.
February 6, 2022
This was cute and very quick to get through. It had a very different feel than Falguni Kothari's previous books, or at least the ones I've read and adored, but that was fun. It's under 2 hours so there isn't a lot of room for development, but I had fun reading it and it sucked me in. No regrets or major issues in this short story. Though admittedly, the way the male narrator, Vikas Adam reads female characters is a little cringy, (even though I do love his narration when it's male characters) and Krishna Lal is kind of entitled and misogynistic in some of his internal dialogue. But considering the format and overall enjoyable quality of the short story, those things didn't bother me enough to down my enjoyment of a short, sweet and simple romantic short story/novella. If you have Audible, this short story is complimentary to all subscriptions. Also, Krishna's grandmother is an absolute icon, and we love her!
September 24, 2022
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I thought this was really cute considering it was a novella length. I thought the audiobook was good too, but the sound mixing probably could have been a little more polished. I also would have liked this to be about 20-30 pages more just to feel like it had a satisfying conclusion. A lot of characters were introduced that didn't really go anywhere.
But it was a cute story and only a couple hours (less on 2x!), so if you have an Audible account, pick this one up since it's free!
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I thought this was really cute considering it was a novella length. I thought the audiobook was good too, but the sound mixing probably could have been a little more polished. I also would have liked this to be about 20-30 pages more just to feel like it had a satisfying conclusion. A lot of characters were introduced that didn't really go anywhere.
But it was a cute story and only a couple hours (less on 2x!), so if you have an Audible account, pick this one up since it's free!
Like my reviews? Buy me a Ko-Fi!
July 1, 2022
2.5
It was a cute, short read. But I felt like Aditi and Krishna were living in different stories. Their narratives didn't line up with each other and I know "the set up" was flipped but it still has to make sense.
It was pretty clumsily written in other ways too with clunky dialogue and awkward exposition.
I have a very emotional attachment to Soneela Nankani from another book she narrated which I loved so that made things difficult for me.
A perfectly fine way to spend two hours but not worth re-visiting.
It was a cute, short read. But I felt like Aditi and Krishna were living in different stories. Their narratives didn't line up with each other and I know "the set up" was flipped but it still has to make sense.
It was pretty clumsily written in other ways too with clunky dialogue and awkward exposition.
I have a very emotional attachment to Soneela Nankani from another book she narrated which I loved so that made things difficult for me.
A perfectly fine way to spend two hours but not worth re-visiting.
March 2, 2021
I love arranged marriage set ups that actually turn out to be true love! It was soooo cute! I am loving these short, cute Audible Originals.
March 24, 2021
This was friggin adorable. Exactly what I wanted out of a novella rom com
March 26, 2021
Light, fluffy, and super sweet!
December 9, 2021
This was cute I laughed and smiled. The grandma needs her own story lol. The male character was a bit egh for me I hated the way he described her body but overall I enjoyed it.
May 8, 2021
I found this audio book while browsing for something short to listen to. This did not disappoint. Not only was the story cute, I enjoyed the descriptions of the food and culture. It was short, sweet and funny. I would love to know what happened with the grandparents
March 29, 2021
Audible Review
Overall 4 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 4 out of 5 stars
Short and sweet!
This was a really fun short story! Usually I don't like meddling grandparents, but both Aditi's grandfather and Krishna Lal's grandmother were so cute I give them a pass! I liked how this was as much their story as it was Aditi's and Krishna Lal's.
The narrators were so good. Vikas Adam is slowly becoming one of my favorites!
All around entertaining 2 hours!
Overall 4 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 4 out of 5 stars
Short and sweet!
This was a really fun short story! Usually I don't like meddling grandparents, but both Aditi's grandfather and Krishna Lal's grandmother were so cute I give them a pass! I liked how this was as much their story as it was Aditi's and Krishna Lal's.
The narrators were so good. Vikas Adam is slowly becoming one of my favorites!
All around entertaining 2 hours!
February 21, 2021
Such an adorably cute novella!
February 21, 2021
3.5 stars!
Short, cute and double romance.
Short, cute and double romance.
September 13, 2021
The characters were kind of annoying and the story not that interesting..
Displaying 1 - 30 of 497 reviews