All’s faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author Jen DeLuca.Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire … Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?
The faire is Simon’s family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn’t have time for Emily’s lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she’s in her revealing wench’s costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they’re portraying?
This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can’t seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.
more
Wenches and pirates and a little but of spice and everything nice.
I really enjoyed this book. I love an enemies to lovers trope. Emily has moved in with her sister after her sister’s accident and her boyfriend dumping her. She volunteers at a Ren Faire where she meets grouchy Simon. Simon has his own painful past that is preventing him from moving forward and he doesn’t like it when anything about the Ren Faire is changed. There is miscommunication, grief, humor, friendship, family, sweetness and the most adorable ending. I’m definitely looking forward to book 2
This was a fun book to read. It is an enemy to lovers story. Both MC’s have painful pasts they have to overcome before they can really be in a successful relationship. Emily and Simon have great chemistry and I enjoyed their verbal sparring. As a plus for me – the setting is a Ren Faire in Maryland. I live very close to the big Maryland Ren Faire mentioned in the book. I’ve always been amazed at how the participants remain in character so it was fun to see the backstage preparations. I look forward to reading Stacey’s story in book 2.
What a fun book! I don’t know why it took me so long to read it. It was the perfect light-hearted enemies to lovers romance that I didn’t know I needed. I loved Emily and Simon! They were perfect! They made me laugh and I even teared up a few times as I cheered for them both. I can’t wait to read the other books in the series.
WELL MET is whimsical, hilarious and brilliantly written!
I absolutely LOVED it! Ms. DeLuca cracks me up with her witty dialogue and endears us with an imperfect hero and heroine. Feeling unworthy of favor and happiness yet deserving of both!
I love everything about this story! I love Emily’s character! She’s been hurt and heartbroken, but she has a wicked sense of humor that tickled me every single time she opened her mouth! Her character is vulnerable and easy to relate to. I want to be her!
Now Simon… poor, poor Simon. This guy… I love him so much!!! He puts on a brave face but deep down he was suffering, but only Emily was able to see his true pain and she wanted so badly to heal and love him. Even though he was a total jerk the moment they first met! You gotta love a good enemies-to-lovers trope.
The secondary characters are just as brilliant! Emily’s sister and niece are sweet and so funny! And one of the most memorable characters in the story is a tall, blonde and handsome kilt-wearing gym teacher with a mighty big…. sword
I.Love.This.Book. There is so much heart and loss, and hope and heartache, and promise. And love. SO much love! If you love witty dialogue, snarky heroines, wounded heroes, kilted men (and sexy pirates) all centered around an Elizabethan Renaissance Faire, then you definitely need to beg, borrow and buy WELL MET!
**Net Galley generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest, unbiased review**
Absolutely loved this book. I am a fan of Faire’s so this was a fun read.
This book was such a sweet, enjoyable romp. The idea of a renaissance fair being the setting, and the nerdy little Shakespearean elements, made it extra adorable. I highly recommend this book for a quick read on a rainy day.
I fell in love with this book as well as with the characters. It was deep and beautiful and it made me feel so giddy at times! I would totally recommend reading it!
This book hit all my buttons. It gave me the same feelings as The Hating Game. But this one also gave me that extra little bit to make it a five stars. What was that extra? I don’t know!
This was in first person which isn’t my favorite POV-especially for romance. But Emily was a great narrator. She felt so real-the right about of flaws and likability. She also was pretty funny.
The romance progressed at a great pace. It’s enemies-to-lovers, but not too dramatic. They have bickering/bantering with underlying sexual tension. Those are just some of my favorite interactions to read in a romance. And I liked that Ms. DeLuca showed them being a couple and dealing with their hang ups. It felt realistic and gave me the emotions I wanted.
I also loved Emily’s growing relationship with her sister and niece. She and her sister were never close because of a pretty big age difference, but they come together. They all had great interactions and I would love for April to get her own story. she really deserves some love.
The whole Renaissance Faire and town were great. I am such a sucker for a small town romance. the Faire added an extra layer. I would love to see t his as a movie. It has such 1990s/early 2000s romantic comedy feels. This is one of my favorite books of the year and I’m so happy there will be another book-I believe it will be about Stacey.
Cute story. Good feels type of read. Some descriptive steaminess, but minimal. I really liked Simon but of course the biggest issue in the relationship comes down to poor COMMUNICATION! Always.
I’m not a huge “enemies to lovers” trope fan. But this book seemed like it would be cute. And I understood the overall theme of the two characters each being stuck in a respective rut. These two LATE TWENTY SOMETHINGs were so so insecure it was tiresome to read. Simon only had personality when he was in character. Emily spent the entire book in wondering if anyone liked her. I expected her to break out in full on Sally Field mode at the end “he likes me, he really likes me”. I would have enjoyed this more if Simon realized halfway thru that he was living in his dead brother’s shadow and the book documented the arc of his and emily’s romance AND how he became his own person. It was not and for that reason it fell flat for me.
What a super cute rom-com! The Renn Faire idea caught my attention from the start and it ended up being such a fun, cute setting for the book. The “small town” vibes were great, I loved the Shakespeare references & the secondary characters as funny and loveable as the hero & heroine. If you’re looking for a fun, steamy, romantic read, this is a book to check out!
such a cute book! As soon as I finished it I placed a hold at the library for Well Played
Fun, fun, fun! Enjoyed Emily and Simon’s love story against the Renaissance Faire background. And the supporting characters were terrific. New author for me!
I really enjoyed this book and read it in one day. Emily has moved to her sister’s small town to help her sister and niece after an accident and finds herself being volunteered for the local Renaissance Fair. In doing so, she meets a full cast of characters including Simon…the starched up ring-leader of the fair. I loved the small town feel to this book and how there was a theme of wanting to belong that I could really relate to. As someone who moves every two years or so thanks to the military I found myself completely understanding that feeling of being the outsider and trying to find your place in a new area that Emily was going through. I felt so much for Simon and regarding his past and really came to like him. And the additional characters throughout the book were just fun and likeable. Well Met was my first book I have read by Jen DeLuca and will be on my list to read for the future.
I enjoyed this story so much because I live in PA and have been to the PA Renaissance Faire many times. I liked the behind the scenes look at being an actor in the Faire, and I could picture the grounds perfectly. The enemies to lovers romance was sweet and the chemistry was just right. I’m looking forward to the next book that’s coming soon…
I absolutely loved the Ren Faire setting. This is another ememies-to-lovers story, which I’m finding is one of my favorite tropes to read. There is a lot to love in Well Met. Emily has just recently moved to a new town, to help out her sister and niece. Thanks to the Ren Faire, Emily meets new people and I enjoyed seeing those friendships develop as the story moves along. Another relationship that grows is the one with her older sister, April. My sister and I have a pretty big age gap, so I totally understand what it’s like to be much younger and in a completely different life stage than your sister. It was nice to see them slowly open up to each other. One thing that kind of annoyed me is how much Emily doubts herself, although that is supposedly a result of her past relationship. It’s just not something I enjoy in a heroine and unfortunately seems to be a common theme in romance novels I’ve read lately. What made this book fun was the cast of Ren Faire characters! Emily is a tavern wench, which is probably what I’d want to do if I were in a Ren Faire! Simon, the organizer and leader of the Ren Faire, plays a pirate with some swoon-worthy swagger. If you’ve seen Hook, from Once Upon a Time, that’s who you’ll picture. And then there’s Mitch, an obvious ladies man who wears a kilt. Add in the Queen, ladies in waiting, performers…you’ve got yourself a pretty fun summer. If you’re not a fan of steam, there is a whole chapter of Well Met that you’ll want to skip. Otherwise, Well Met is a story full of laughs, romantic sighs and fun wench & pirate flirting.
When Emily moves to Willow Creek to help her sister recover from a car accident and take care of her niece, she never expects to become embroiled in the local renaissance faire festival! Forced to volunteer to ensure her niece can participate, Emily reluctant takes on the persona of Emma, tavern wench. Emma, tavern wench, seems to catch the eye of dashing pirate, Captain Blackthorne. Unfortunately, Captain Blackthorne’s regular persona, Simon, doesn’t seem so hot on Emily… or does he?
I’m not really into ren faires. They’re just not my thing. So when I first heard about this book, I was really hesitant to pick it up. But I kept hearing rave reviews from friends of mine, and one of my book clubs was planning to read it, so I thought, “Why not?” And I’m so glad I did! While the ren faire is a huge part of this book, you don’t have to be a “ren faire person” to enjoy it. Maybe a slight fetish for dashing pirates in leather pants would help, but not necessary 😉 I thought this book was wonderfully well done with unique, original elements that kept the story fresh. I think Emily could be a little whiny and insecure at times, and the main characters lacked some serious communication skills, but that’s pretty common to see. And while I would have appreciated a more confident version of Emily, I enjoyed the story immensely overall.
The ending also made me extremely excited for the third book in the series (Well Matched–April’s story) and almost made me sad I have to read book two first.
6 Stars
“Emma the tavern wrench was turned on by Captain Blackthorne, Pirate.”
This is one of my FAVORITE reads of 2020! I read “Well Met” in one sitting. All 316 pages. This book was astounding. I loved it. It has been a while since a book has made me feel this way. This book has been on my TBR for so long and I was so happy I finally bought it. I decided to read on a whim and let me tell you it was the best decision ever. I was so freaking happy I decided to read it from the moment I picked it up. This book is so different and unique. The emotions were so real and upfront. You feel what these characters feel and trust me it is a lot. Simon and Emily were incredible. Their sexual tension was next level I swear. Just a kiss on the hand had me gasping for air. Don’t even get me stated on everything else they did. These two character are so much more than their sexual tension and angst. They are two characters who have insecurities that they both have to overcome. Their relationship is not easy and it is the best kind of slow burn. I am so in love with Simon and Emily. This is a story for the ages. It was beautiful, and sexy, angsty while also being so freaking cute. It made me so happy and so in love. This is a masterpiece. My best bookish purchase of 2020. I can not wait to read more from this author and more of these characters.
“Holy shit, Simon Graham was kissing me.”
I enjoyed reading WELL MET by Jen DeLuca. I suspect anyone who’s spent much time at Renaissance Faires or Scottish Games would enjoy it, too. And people who’ve been uprooted by the end of a relationship, had their self-worth shot full of holes, or felt as if they didn’t really belong anywhere will likely relate to the protagonist. (Even if you’re old enough to be her grandmother.)
Don’t expect the kind of heavy literary story that will someday be required reading in high school. WELL MET is a book to read for pleasure, entertainment.
The only negative I’ll mention is that some characters’ constant punctuation of sentences with “…,right?” was annoying. Verbal crutches bug me, and having several characters use it got repetitious.
Other than that, WELL MET was quite enjoyable!