ho hum

I didn't finish listening because the story was rather dull. It's a contrived setup for a typical romcom. I prefer less internal monologue and more punchy dialogue. I like characters with realistic personality quirks and character growth. The main character was too nice, too self-deprecating. Blah.

10 people found this helpful

Rare reviewer

This book is ok. My issue is the girl's inner monolog. I get that she's insecure, but the world happening around her doesn't match her thoughts. The character comes off as unstable rather than insecure, but it's more than just that. It extends to the writers poor articulation. It can be distracting and frustrating. The story is cute though and had a lot of potential. I have a very similar problem to the authors'. My imagination is limited and my writing is stilted but I know what I want to say.

3 people found this helpful

Renaissance Festival Fun!

If you are looking for a light, unique, and fluffy romcom, Well Met by debut author Jen DeLuca may fit the bill. And if you’ve enjoyed your local Renaissance Faire, then Well Met might just be a must-read.

Emily moved to a small town to help her sister while she recovered from an accident. Her teenaged niece wanted to volunteer for the local Renaissance Faire, but had to do it with an adult, so Emily ended up having to volunteer as well. Only the first volunteer meeting didn’t go that well.

“Ugh.” I turned to Stacey. “Is he always that unpleasant?”
“No, you seem to bring it out in him. Good going.” She watched him walk away. “The thing about Simon is that Faire’s just … it’s his thing. He’s very protective of it. Everything has to go right.”

Simon is a stick-up-his-as$ English teacher who is in charge of the Faire. His life seems to revolve around making sure the festival is historically accurate and well, perfect. He is immediately on Emily’s case because she isn’t quite as serious about it. But when the Faire begins, Emily turns into Emma the Tavern Wench, and Simon turned into a sexy pirate.

It was a lot of fun reading all about the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into the Renaissance Faire, and I am so sad the last few weeks of ours was cancelled due to the virus. I also really liked how the characters' alternate personas started liking each other before they did.

"I’d known Simon for months now, and I’d seen different sides of him. Uptight rule-follower. Easygoing pirate. Both of those personas were stripped away now and I’d found a new Simon underneath. The real Simon. I liked him. A lot."

There was a lot of cute romance and most of it took place at the Faire. It was a fun and unique change of pace, there was a little romantic competition but no real angst, just light and fun fluff.

“I don’t think you’ve ever been wooed. Have you?” The words were a low whisper in my ear, and the shiver intensified….
“I . . . I can’t say that I have.” That was an understatement.
“Then brace yourself.” He straightened up and backed away from me a step or two. “I’m going to woo your as$ off.”

Likes:
•The unique and fun setting of the Renaissance Faire.
•It was quite obvious that the author has worked at a faire.
•It was very well written, I was surprised it was a new author.
•Great banter.
•Men in kilts!
•I really liked the supporting characters.
•Well written sex scene that fit the book.

Dislikes:
•I felt like we only just scratched the surface of getting to know the characters, and while they had great chemistry, I didn’t get to know them enough to feel the true love.

The Narration:
The narration was fantastic. I’ve not heard Brittany Pressley before and I loved her performance.

The Down & Dirty:
If you’re looking for a light, sweet, unique and cute summer romance Well Met by debut author Jen DeLuca may fit the bill perfectly. I loved the Renaissance Faire setting, and it was almost like a reality show set at the Faire with the behind-the-scenes going ons. I enjoyed all the characters, and I look forward to reading their books, especially Mitch’s.

Rating: 4 Stars, 4 Heat, 5 Narration

2 people found this helpful

4 perfectly sweet Well Met stars

Oh my gosh was this story so adorably sweet.

In my hometown we have a little renaissance faire called the Olde English Fair and I could just picture walking around the park with these characters playing their parts and being amongst them.

Enemies to lovers tropes is one of my favorites to add to the unlikelihood that they are meant to end up together you meet the hot sword fighting kilt wearing hunk first before you meet the nerdy Shakespeare loving English teacher and the reader is just positive the kilt hunk is where it’s at until one too many Shakespeare arguments happen and he just starts pulling at all the right heartstrings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ story
🔥🔥 Heat

2 people found this helpful

A Must For Your Summer Reading List

A quick, fun read with a great narration.

I related to the main character so much and couldn’t get the stupid grin off my face for the majority of the book!

1 person found this helpful

A contemporary romance with historical intrigue

A contemporary romance that has sword fighting, corsets, and an uptight hero named Simon who moonlights as a sexy pirate named Ian? This book was a great escape, and totally makes me want to visit a renaissance fair.

1 person found this helpful

Loved It, Jen DeLuca - keep writing!

Fresh storytelling, adults with real problems and you actually like them! Right amount of spice. Waiting for the next book!!

1 person found this helpful

Steer me to the closest Ren Faire!

I enjoyed this book far more than I expected to. Not usually a romance fan, I loved the Renaisance Faire details and the snarky dialogue. The characters were likable and intelligent. In all, a very entertaining book and surprisingly well written.

1 person found this helpful

What a rousing romp through the Faire!

I was delighted by Jen DeLuca's debut novel. I don't normally pick up romance novels, but I read about this one in my "Book Nerd" group and I couldn't wait to check it out. Now I know what I've been missing!

I thought Simon and Emily were very relatable. I've noticed some other reviews where the reviewer felt that Emily backslid from the strong, sassy character she was in the beginning. That tells me that those reviewers don't have a good handle on how anxiety and grief work -- how anxiety sneaks in and takes over just when you're starting to feel like you might finally have your poop in a group. Same goes for how Simon's grief dictated his behavior and emotions.

I alternated between the Kindle version and the Audible version, as I "read" this while traveling. Brittany Pressley knocked it out of the jousting arena with her audio production! I'll definitely look for her narration in future.

So, while I don't read rom-coms too often, I'm a fanatical consumer of Hallmark movies. I couldn't help myself, but as I read, I was writing a screenplay and casting the movie with all of my favorite Hallmark hunks and honeys. Then I got to the steamy parts. I decided to shelve my screenplay, because if the Hallmark execs ever checked out the source material, their chaste and proper eyes might pop out! Oh, well.

I'll definitely look for more from Jen DeLuca in future. I wish her great success. Thanks for a fabulous, fun read!

Well met, Jen. Well met.

1 person found this helpful

New beginnings, history lessons, and fun romance

I love this book and the performance is great. thanks to this, my new daydream is to start all over in a small town with a renaissance faire