Review: Well Met

Well Met by Jen DeLuca
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Well Met" by Jen DeLuca was a cute, sweet story with a unique setting behind the scenes of a Renaissance Faire in small-town Maryland. I really enjoyed learning more about the inner workings of such events and the people who participate in them. (Spoiler alert: they're not all quite as nerdy as you'd think they are!) The characters were all quite endearing, and I appreciated the book's focus on the importance of family and how our relatives can have such a profound influence on the paths we take in life.

The one thing that might have improved this book for me is getting Simon's perspective on events, which wasn't really possible given the first-person narration by Emily. At times, I found myself to be frustrated by Simon because he seemed to have such a hot-and-cold attitude towards Emily, and I didn't understand why. It would have been nice to know more of what was going on inside his head because it would have helped me warm up to him as Emily's potential love interest earlier in the book. That said, Emily and Simon's mutual enmity did give the book something of an "enemies-to-lovers" vibe, which I always enjoy, and also led to some fun banter between them as they got to know each other.

At any rate, I really liked this book and hope that Ms. DeLuca plans to write more stories set in the town of Willow Creek. I would especially love to see Emily's sister, April, get her own HEA. It seems like she's been through a lot over the years, and while I'm sure that her daughter Caitlin brings her much joy, April deserves to have something more than just work and her daughter in her life.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

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