Review // Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Publisher: Berkley

Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

Source: Purchase

Format: Paperback

Pages: 336

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Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

That's it, that's the review.

But if you wanted a little bit more than that, I loved this book. I loved the Ren Faire setting. I loved the characters. I loved the enemies-to-lovers romance. I loved that I actually read a book where I can swoon over Simon Graham aka Captain Ian Blackthorne and I'm not cradle robber. I want to read this book for the first time all over again.

This book follows Emily, who I thoroughly enjoyed as a main character. Her life is pretty much in complete upheaval after her breakup with her long time, rising attorney boyfriend and losing her apartment. So the timing is perfect, however unfortunate it might be, when she has to move in to her sister's guest room and take care of things for her while she heals from her nasty car accident. Running errands and carting her niece around gives her a purpose while she figures out what she wants to do with her life now.

On top of that, she has to volunteer for the school's Renaissance Faire as her niece's chaperone so that she can participate. And that's how she meets Simon, who she gets off on the wrong foot with almost immediately. The Ren Faire is his life and he doesn't care for Emily's lighthearted and less serious approach to it.

Simon, as a love interest, I adored. He took over the organization of the Ren Faire after the death of his brother, who started it. He is a stickler for the rules and making sure everything is perfectly the way his brother had it. But when the actual Ren Faire rolls around, in character, he is a lot more fun, flirty, care-free, etc. And then you get to see another side of him when him and Emily finally get to know and LIKE each other. I don't know what to say, Simon was just...

I liked the enemies-to-lovers romance. Real life Simon is not Emily's favorite person, but when she meets Captain Ian Blackthorne, she can't believe they're the same person and it makes her start to get more curious about the man behind the persona. And I loved it.

Besides the romance, Emily is also forming lots of other relationships in this new, small town. Her sister is 12 years older than her so they've never really been close. As Emily puts it, by the time she was starting to get 'interesting', her sister was off to college. So in this arrangement they have going on, she's finally getting to have a relationship with her sister. And by being her chauffeur, she is able to get closer to her niece who is only around ten years younger than she is.

Besides familial relationships, she is also forming friendships with the rest of the Ren Faire volunteers, particularly her fellow tavern wench, Stacey, and the attractive coach-in-a-kilt, Mitch.

Before long, she starts to consider that after she's done helping her sister, maybe she could stay and make a life in Willow Creek.

If I was going to complain about anything, it would be how quickly Emily just jumps to the worst possible conclusions about things without talking to people first. There is one big thing in particular that I'm thinking of where she jumps to the worst conclusion about something that is going on when she has literally not a single, solitary shred of evidence or real reason to believe that worst thing. It was a little bit annoying. But that just can't damper my enchantment with this novel.

Overall, this book was so so so good. Everything about it was just *chef's kiss*. I would highly recommend this book if anything I've said sounds like it could remotely be up your alley. I'm not entirely sure what exactly stood out to me so much to make me feel so strongly about it, but I am here for this book.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?