Well Met by Jen DeLuca

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Title: Well Met
Author: Jen DeLuca
Series: Well Met #1
Published by: Penguin Audio
Release Date: September 3, 2019
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Length: 9 hours and 45 minutes
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Source: Libby
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2023 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2023 Backlist Reader Challenge, Lenoreo's 2023 COYER Chapter 1
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ IndieBound ✩ iTunes ✩ Libro.FM
My rating:

Blurb:

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.

My Review:

4 stars — I absolutely loved the setting for this book, and now kind of want to check out a renaissance faire.  And while I enjoyed Simon and Emily’s story, I have a feeling it was never going to be my favourite in a series I’m looking forward to continuing.

I listened to this one, and the narrator was solid!  It was only my second listen to Brittany Pressley, and she had great consistent voices, pacing, and emotion.

I loved the set up for why Emily was in Willow Creek.  It was great to see her helping her sister, and trying to develop a bond with her niece…though I will admit I wouldn’t have minded seeing a bit more interaction with Kaitlyn during faire, given that start.  You could tell right away that Emily was a “helper”.  There were parts of her I absolutely adored, from her bits of sass, to her love of organization.  But her overwhelming insecurity got to be a bit too much for me.  Which is not to say I didn’t understand where it stemmed from…she got a raw deal with Jake.  But I needed to see her grow, and I’m just not sure I ever really did.  Bummer.

Simon was an intriguing character, but this is definitely a case of where I would have LOVED dual POV.  I just didn’t quite get enough of him and what he was going through, and Emily always resorted to seeing him as a dickhead even as she saw more.  It was hard.

It’s not a secret I’m not much of an enemies to lovers fan, and I think that played a part in my reluctance with this couple.  I actually got excited when they started flirting at Faire, and I thought perhaps it wouldn’t be too enemies to lovers-y.  I LOVED those flirty parts, both when in character and when not.  I wish they, as a couple, had had a bit more time together though…their feelings at the end felt fast for some reason to me.  *shrugs*

As I said, the secondary cast was great, and I can’t wait for more books in this universe…especially Stacey’s!

COYER Community: I buddy read this book with Lillian and Brandee!  We all got totally sucked in, and loved the Ren Faire setting, but also wanted a bit more from the romance.  We all gave it 4 stars, read Lillian’s review here, and Brandee’s review here.