Review: ‘Well Met’ by Jen DeLuca
Well Met
by Jen DeLucaSeries: Well Met #1
Published by Berkley on September 3, 2019
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Format: AudioBook
Pages: 335
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Length: 9 Hours And 45 Minutes
Source: Library - Libby
Audience: 18+/Adult
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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 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.
I recently finished reading Well Met, the first book in Jen DeLuca’s Well Met series, and it’s been on my TBR list for a while. It features one of my favorite tropes, Enemies to Lovers, and is set in a fictional small town in Maryland, where the characters are working together to volunteer at the Renaissance Faire annually. I was glad to find the audiobook version at my local library via Libby, which allowed me to listen to the book while running errands and taking care of things around the house.
Brief Storyline: The FMC, Emily, recently dumped by her boyfriend, decides to relocate to Willow Creek, Maryland, where she assists her sister and her niece until she finds her own place. Before she knows it, she’s not only helping her sister, who is recovering from a car accident, but she’s also volunteering at a Renaissance Faire for her niece. She’s dressed as a wench, trying to fit in with everyone at the Renaissance Faire, but one person in particular is making it difficult for her. In comes the hero, Simon, who hasn’t been that friendly to Emily, and she has no idea why.
The book was an enjoyable start to the series, filled with new beginnings for Emily, humorous moments, and an emotional and romantic journey for both Emily and Simon. It’s told solely from Emily’s POV, and I believe it would have benefited from including Simon’s POV, too. I wanted to understand his feelings and motivations better, primarily when he acted differently in his pirate costume and seemed to claim Emily when another guy was around.
I liked the storyline behind this book and the characters, especially Emily, on finding herself after a break-up with a guy who didn’t deserve her in the first place. I also enjoyed the setting, where the characters are at a Renaissance Faire. The issue I had while reading (or, in my case, listening) was I wasn’t entirely convinced about the relationship between Simon and Emily. It’s mainly due to the poor confusion Emily was dealing with when it came to Simon always flirting with her in costume and how he was with her from the beginning. This is where I would have loved to have Simon’s POV. Then, maybe I would have believed their romantic storyline more.
I was more invested in reading Emily’s story and how she was making friends, finding herself after her break-up, and reconnecting with her sister after so long while also forming a relationship with her niece. I loved that journey for her, even though she was dealing with Simon, giving her a hard time at the Faire most of the time. Overall, it was an enjoyable book, and I give it three stars. I do plan on reading the next book, especially when Jen DeLuca introduced so many secondary characters that I feel deserve to have their own HEA. If you enjoy romantic comedies with moments of laughter and emotion set in a Renaissance Faire, this book is worth checking out.
What to Expect:
✔Small Town Romance
✔Enemies to Lovers
✔Forced Proximity
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About Jen DeLuca
Jen DeLuca is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Well Met series (Ren Faire Romance!) with Berkley Romance.
A native Virginian, Jen lives in the Arizona desert with her husband and almost too many cats.
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