Review: Well Met by Jen DeLuca

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.

WELL MET by JEN DELUCA

Publisher: Berkley

Publication date: September 3, 2019

Genre: romance, rom-com

 

SYNOPSIS

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.

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Praise for Well Met:

“What a delight! This is enemies to lovers at its absolute finest, folks. DeLuca proves to be a master of creating characters you believe in and a storyline to keep you totally engrossed. Well Met is a hilarious, swoony, and captivating romance—hands down our new favorite feel-good novel of the year.”—New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren  

“Jen DeLuca had me laughing out loud from the opening line. Well Met is fresh, fun, and the story I never knew I needed. I so wish I could grab a corset and live the wench life with Emily!”—Alexa Martin, author of Fumbled  

“I dare you not to want to travel to your nearest Renaissance Faire after reading the sweet, sexy, and smart Well Met…the kind of book that you want to live inside. Jen DeLuca is poised to become one of the freshest voices writing contemporary romance today.”–Kate Clayborn, author of Best of Luck

“Well Met will transport you with its perfect pacing, wit, charm, love, deep relationships, and fully developed characters that will remain your friends long after the last page. “
–Goodreads Reviewer  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jen DeLuca was born and raised near Richmond, Virginia, but now lives in Central Florida with her husband and a houseful of rescue pets. She loves latte-flavored lattes, Hokies football, and the Oxford comma. Well Met is her first novel, inspired by her time volunteering as a pub wench with her local Renaissance Faire.

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REVIEW

Well Met by Jen DeLuca
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I've never been to a Renaissance Faire, but after reading Well Met I feel like I have. I think it was the cutest setting for a rom-com and I very much enjoyed the detail that was put into bringing the reader inside of one. Volunteers at the Faire learned period appropriate culture, language, wore costumes and put on shows for entertainment. And of course, we can't forget the food. What's a Faire without turkey legs and funnel cakes? A very sad a-faire indeed.

Emily Parker wasn't planning on volunteering for the summer, but reluctantly agrees in order for her teenage niece to be able to take part. After her fiancée selfishly used her and then dumped her like the heartless jerk he is, her life was in shambles. Running to Willow Creek with her tail between her legs, she had two primary goals. Figuring out what in the world she was going to do next, and helping her sister out while she's recovering from a serious accident.

    Willow Creek, Maryland, was as good a place as any to lick my wounds while I took care of April and hers.

My first impression of Emily was pretty good. I liked her sense of humor and her voice was an entertaining narrative. She's a nurturer, organizer, and fixer which all lead her to be a take charge kind of woman by nature. She can pretty well step into a leadership role without even thinking about it and find ways to make improvements. It's only in her personal life that she feels lost. And though she loves her sister April very much, their relationship is somewhat distant because of their age gap. They'd never been what you'd call close friends and confidants, but perhaps this summer would help bridge the gap while she's living with her.

Simon...well let's just say that he's an acquired taste. From their very first conversation he seems to size her up and immediately find her wanting. And he certainly isn't afraid to show it. His scowls and disapproving looks were plentiful, not to mention his cutting comments when her attitude seemed too lackadaisical to him. As the organizer of the faire, he doesn't take much pride or joy in putting it together. In fact, it seems to be the last place he would like to be during the organization stages. He acted pretty stuck up, but at the same time, there were hints that he was going through some personal emotional turmoil that could be contributing to his actions. So I withheld judgement in the beginning stages.

    I knew which of these two guys I was looking forward to getting to know better this summer, and it wasn’t the Ren Faire Killjoy.

Simon doesn't have a lot of conversation with Emily in the first half of the book and that became somewhat of a problem for me. The thing is, when they did talk to each other it was to bicker most of the time. Then came the hot and cold attitude. Emily wasn't sure from one minute to the next if she would be getting vulnerable Simon or aloof Simon. The lack of communication between the two of them led to some hurt feelings and misunderstandings. They both played a part while they were there: she was a tavern wench and he was a roguish pirate. Her role wasn't that much of a stretch from real life, but in his case he was able to let go of his worries and sense of responsibility and have fun with it. Something that he sorely needed in my opinion.

    How could he turn on a dime like that? Be fun and flirty with me all weekend, and then, as soon as the day is over—bam—back to his old critical self? I was getting emotional whiplash from dealing with him.

As the summer wore on, Emily was starting to feel more at home in this small town. And I think that's what she was looking for just as much as finding a new direction in life. She wanted to plant roots and belong somewhere. To find someone whom she could share it with who would love and accept her just as she was. Mistakes and all.

The plot really took off in the last 30% of the book when they shed the "enemies" part of the enemies-to-lovers trope. They were really sweet together and he grew on me quite a bit. Surprisingly so, once they really started opening up to each other. He had to work through some lingering grief and unresolved issues with his self-image but when he does, he goes out of his way to make her feel special. In summary, This wasn't a bad book by any means. I connected to the author's style very easily, and think many others will as well. This could very well be the light and entertaining read you've been looking for.

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