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.
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I’ve been reading lots of heavy stuff lately (virus spillovers, racial inequity, McCarthyism) so I really needed something light and fun. And this totally met that need.
I loved this book! It was so cute and having most of it set at the Renaissance Faire brought back so many memories. We’ve had a good sized Renaissance Festival where I live for forty years, at least until this year anyway. and I loved it so much when I was younger, but still go every couple of years. Now, I’m telling you that because that is part of why I loved this book, it made it feel like my favorite cozy blanket. It was comforting and like old home week or something. Inside all of that was a great romance that was slow to build and a hero (Simon) you wanted to throw things at, a lot, especially at first, but he grows on you and Emily too.
This was a cute story. I lived in a small town that did a Shakespeare festival in the summer, similar to a Renaissance fair but more play performances – it was the best!
So I loved being transported to the fair days. I never worked it but my brother-in-law did so I glimpsed some of the things the backstage stuff. This is an enemies too lovers with witty narration. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job!
Emily moves to a small town to help her sister and niece after her sister’s unfortunate car accident. Emily recently was dumped (that whole backstory I didn’t like and made her seem pretty pathetic but I guess characters have to start somewhere). She drives her niece to sign for to work the fair and is told guardians volunteer. So she ends up playing a travel wench. And a handsome pirate has it out for her thinking she’ll ruin fair.
I think the author did a great job depicting close-knit small towns and characters growth. I’m excited for a sequel!
This is one of my favorite books! I recommend this book for anyone who likes fun, easy reads with feel good endings.
Honestly, I’m not sure I have words to describe how much I adored Well Met. Emily is one of the most relatable heroines I’ve read this year. Her life plan crashed and burned and she ends up in Willow Creek taking care of her sister and niece after a car crash. Which turned out to be the best thing for her. When her niece needs a chaperone for the local Renaissance Faire, Emily gets pulled into the world of historical costumes and ends up a tavern wench. She initially butts heads with Simon, the organizer of the event but gets swept off her feet when he transforms into a rakish pirate. Emily is looking for direction in her life and she begins to find it in Willow Creek. But I especially enjoyed that her direction wasn’t just a guy. She begins to make a life for herself in the town and figures out a new path while falling for Simon, not because of Simon. Even though the book is from Emily’s point of view, Simon is equally crafted and fleshed out. The Faire was created by his decreased brother and he’s struggling to hold on to his brother’s memory while needing a push to find his own way. The chemistry between him and Emily is scorching but once they give into it, it isn’t just a moment of passion but a relationship.
I personally love Renaissance Faires and the setting of Well Met was so vivid and perfect. The supporting characters were all interesting and well-developed. I adored the history of the faire intersecting with modern life. This was a sweet, funny, and at times, poignant book.
So much fun!!!
Emily is at a crossroads in her life and helping out her sister and niece. Roped into a Renassaince Faire wasn’t in her summer plans.
Simon is dealing with a lot of pressure from himself and others. Emily threatens to disturb the careful balance he has created to make his life manageable.
Watching these two circle each other and deal with so many emotions is a whole lot of fun!
Looking forward to more!
Ok, I am totally smitten with this debut novel! Emily Parker finds herself in the small town of Willow Creek to help her older sister and niece after a devastating car accident. While niece Caitlin was relatively unharmed, sister April had a serious leg injury with a long healing process. Emily happens to be at a crossroads in her life (no spoilers – read and you will find out) that enables her to move in with April and Caitlin for the spring and summer. Finding herself “volunteering” to work the town Renaissance Faire, Emily manages to find purpose, family, and love!
For a debut, the writing, plotting, and pacing was excellent. The book is told in the first person, only from Emily’s point of view. This is far from my fav POV, but for a “new” writer Ms. DeLuca really makes it work – the other characters’ thoughts and emotions come across very well. The backdrop of the Faire was different and fun – for a non- “Ren Faire” person, I liked the glimpse of that popular cultural event. And as an unabashed fan of Shakespeare and English literature, I really loved that Simon was an English teacher and the Bard got some page time! All in all, a fun read with just the right amount of drama, steam, and humor. I cannot wait for the next book!
Delightfully different! I took a chance on this book after hearing so much about it in the romance writing community. So glad I did!
This book was absolutely lovely. Who wouldn’t want to read a romance set at a renaissance faire? And with an opening line like “I didn’t choose the wench life, the wench life chose me,” I was hooked right away. I loved Simon and Emily, and the enemies-to-lovers trope played out so well here. Loved every minute of it!
Emily has recently relocated to Willow Creek, Maryland to help out her sister and niece. Her sister, April was recently in a car accident and needs some help around the house. When Emily’s niece decides to volunteer at the local Renaissance Faire, Emily gets roped into participating too.
This is where Emily meets high school teacher Simon. Simon is a bit rough around the edges and very strict with his faire rules. Emily and Simon quickly develop a tumultuous bond. But when the two of them are in character – sparks fly!
The description around the faire, truly had me imagining I was there. I felt that Jen DeLuca did a wonderful job setting up the scene of the faire and I felt just like Emily – left in awe when the woods transformed into the faire.
I loved the push and pull of Simon and Emily’s relationship. I do wish that Simon had his own POV chapters, because his character came across as very brash/rude on occasion. I also wish that he would have done a bit more groveling in the end. Overall I did really enjoy Well Met and am looking forward to April and Stacey’s stories!
Audiobook:
Story: 4
Narration: 5
Overall: 4
I really enjoyed the audiobook of Well Met! Usually when I listen to an audiobook for the first time I like to read along as well, but I found myself wanting to listen to this audiobook because Brittany Pressley does such an excellent job! I loved it when Emily would switch to Emma the tavern wench! The various accents absolutely make the book even that much more enjoyable.
Fun reading in a nice snarky first-person narrative likely to delight English majors and romance lovers. Even more so if you’re into Renaissance fairs (I’m not) and hot sex scenes (hell, yeah). There were a few occasions when I wanted to slap the heroine upside the head and say, “Quit it with the needless angst, honey!” but then again a little angst can be fun if you know a happy ending is coming. Also, the last little bit of it was actually used to make a good feminist point, so bully for that. Good fun pandemic reading.
Light, surface-level romance book. Interesting plot and had a lot of potential but the author didn’t seem interested in digging deeper. The romance seemed forced, the author doesn’t really explain the initial antagonism between the two lead characters. The romance between these same characters seems forced and comes out of nowhere. I didn’t hate the book but I wasn’t blown away either. It was just okay.
A fun Ren Faire setting and a couple with oodles of chemistry — and an unusually well-drawn supporting cast with their own lives, thoughts and needs — makes this romance a home run. It’s not quite as light a caper as the illustrated cover suggests, as there are some serious issues addressed, but it’s a satisfying, smart romance I’m happy to recommend to genre newbies and die-hard fans alike.
Okay, so I picked this book up because I kept seeing it recommended by everyone I know. They kept saying, “Oh, you’ll love this. It’s so funny, it’s so cute, etc, etc.” And, “C’mon, Lish, we know you love Ren Faires.”
They were right–I DO love Ren Faires.
I also really enjoyed this book. It is very funny and cute and I loved how it was also about the main character finding friends and getting to know her family. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes-look at the Ren Faire life. I also thought DeLuca did a good job catching the reality of being in your early twenties when you don’t really know what you’re doing, what you want, or how to ask for it.
I’ve already preordered the next one. HUZZAH!
I am a little late getting to this one. I’ve wanted to read it since I first saw it, but just never had the time to pick it up. Then one day before all this crazy quarantine stuff started, I found a copy of it for cheap at one of those surplus stores, and so I couldn’t pass it up. I decided with all the extra time I have now to go ahead and pick it up, and boy am I glad I finally did! It was so good! It took me less than two days to read it.
We have a pretty nice Renaissance Festival as we call it, here where I live in Kansas City. So I do enjoy going to that, and of course I tended to picture a lot of this story in that setting that I am familiar with. Although I have often thought it would be fun to work there, and there are even some teachers and other librarians in my current school district who do work there, I can’t imagine wearing the elaborate costumes in the heat of the time of the year it takes place.
This was a really good enemies to lovers story. There were parts that almost had cliche romance story essence, but were able to be changed enough to make them what seems more realistic to me, as well as made for a much better story in my opinion. Of course we had a wonderful HEA, and I’ve now seen there is going to be a sequel, and I’m excited to read that as well!
I’m even recommending this one to my friends that work at the RenFest even if I don’t think they normally read this kind of book, just because I think they’ll enjoy all the aspects related to the Renaissance Faire in the story. My only sadness after reading this is wondering if we will get to enjoy the event this fall, or if it will be put off due to all the craziness in the world these days.
This was so cute and I can’t wait to go hang out at a ren faire!
I mean, sure, Emily jumped to some quick conclusions while ignoring some obvious clues at times, and a lot of the resolutions were very convenient. But like, I’m living in the middle of a pandemic and I’m gonna take what I can get! Gimme more pirates and tavern wenches!
The world is a mess right now, so consider checking out this slow-burn romance set in a Renaissance faire. There’s a sweetness to Emily and Simon’s relationship that I found to be a welcome balm.
A fun new setting!
I love the idea of a romance set during a Renaissance Faire! Emily/Emma is just trying to help out her sister and niece. Simon/the Captain is just trying to keep things the same. When the two meet it’s instant something: Emily and Simon rub each other the wrong way while Emma and the Captain can’t keep their eyes or their hands to themselves!
I liked the play with two personalities for each character and really enjoyed the whole world and cast of the Faire. I liked that though Emily got caught up in her head and feelings she also was brave enough to stop and ask questions. And Simon, my man with the big gestures!
Can’t wait for Stacey’s story!
The unique and interesting setting of a Renaissance Faire provides plenty of opportunities for old-world wooing and romantic gestures in this fun debut novel.
So I stood in line at RWA in New York to try and get a print copy of Well Met and they ran out right before I got to the table. I knew then I needed to read this book, as many of the people in front of me were romance authors.
I really enjoyed Well Met. I am not a big Renaissance Faire person, so I loved how much of it was explained along the way. I loved Emily from the moment she appeared on the page and have to say her inner dialogue had me laughing out loud on more than once occasion. I loved her relationship with her niece, and seeing Emily and her sister become real friends along the way. Emily is such a strong and fun character, I just loved her from the very beginning. She seemed to make friends very easily and really fit into her new adopted hometown quickly.
Emily and Simon didn’t have a great beginning when they first met. I have to be honest; I initially thought Simon was a bit of an ass. Again I learned about Renaissance Faire as I read this book, but I still felt like Simon was a little over the top about everything when the book started. However, I did start to see not only how important the Faire was to Simon but why it was so important, and then I just wanted to hug him. It took a bit for me to understand Simon, as he wasn’t as open about thoughts and feelings as other characters in this book. Once I started to see what I’d describe as the real Simon, I fell for him just as much as Emily did.
Well Met was such a fun book to read. I loved how much both Emily and Simon grew and changed over the course of this story. It was like they each needed the other to start to figure out what path they really needed to follow. Their chemistry was evident from the beginning, yet they had a slow build to a relationship, and it worked for me. Honestly their banter and conversations pulled me in every bit as much as their chemistry. I honestly can’t wait to revisit with these characters in future books in the series.
Rating: 4 Stars (B+)
Review copy provided by publisher