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brookesydaisy's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. I LOVED this book, with the tiny exception of a conflict in the last part, but wow. Overall, this was such a pleasure to read.
ginghamrose's review against another edition
4.0
Cute lighthearted romance, I loved the setting of a Ren Faire in a small town
alc321's review against another edition
3.0
This was okay. Fine, light read. But I had no emotional connection to anything (and rolled my eyes through the entire ending), and I have no idea why they liked each other. But, it was a nice simple vacation read when I wasn’t particularly in the mood to get too deep, so the timing was good.
Oh, also the wooing part? Idk if it’s just me, but I wouldn’t feel wooed by that, I’d feel annoyed.
Oh, also the wooing part? Idk if it’s just me, but I wouldn’t feel wooed by that, I’d feel annoyed.
elleyotter's review against another edition
5.0
I am trying to gather my thoughts to write a real review, but I basically just want to bang out a billion heart emojis and grin in the afterglow of reading this book. YOU GUYS.
A while back, Jen posted a reply to a Twitter meme to post the plot of your book written like a Reddit /r/relationships post, and she posted "I’m (25F) working the local Ren Faire, but the guy (27M) in charge is an uptight dick who wears a lot of vests. It’s the first day of Faire, & said dick is now a pirate in disturbingly hot leather pants. He’s flirting with me! Should I go for it, or is he probably still a dick?" I, in a total reading slump, went YES PLEASE and then realized I had a copy of this book already on my Kindle, waiting for me! Less than 24 hours later I'm reeling from a book hangover and seriously thinking just flipping back to page 1 and starting the book again.
Well Met is written in the first person past tense from Emily's POV. I marked this as both fake relationship and forced proximity, because it's a bit of those tropes but not in the way you typically see either trope. I love the twist Jen DeLuca takes on these two tropes. Emily is volunteering for the summer with her niece at the Renaissance Faire that Simon helps organize, and it's pretty much enemies at first sight for them when he reminds her of her jerky ex-boyfriend. But it's a small town and they're all working on the upcoming Ren Faire together, so they're forced into proximity every weekend. And then the Faire actually starts and HOLY HANNAH, Simon in his persona as Captain Ian Blackthorne is basically sex in leather pants. Emily, in her Faire persona as Emma, is tossed into a "showmance" with him and as her character falls for his, Emily wonders how much is real and what's for show. I AM SO HERE FOR IT. It's also definitely full on hate-to-love, so if that's your jam then READ THIS BOOK.
If you've read other reviews by me, you know that romances with strong growth storylines are a big must for me. Simon and Emily both have major baggage from their pasts, the fallout of which causes a lot of their bumps and misunderstandings from both sides. And Lord help me, but I love an insecure hero/heroine. (Possibly because I am a messy ball of insecurities myself? Who knows!) While I love the romantic storyline between Emily and Simon, Emily also goes through some amazing personal growth, in her relationship with her sister, the friends she makes in Willow Creek, and really learning to believe that she is enough and deserves all the good things. There's one part in the book where she asks her big sis, "Am I worth it?" and it damn near broke my heart right in two. I want to hug Emily, and Simon, and also Stacey and Mitch and April and just be bestest buddies with the whole gang.
Well Met is a stand alone contemporary romance, though I really hope we'll get books for Stacey and for Mitch from Jen DeLuca in the future!
An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
A while back, Jen posted a reply to a Twitter meme to post the plot of your book written like a Reddit /r/relationships post, and she posted "I’m (25F) working the local Ren Faire, but the guy (27M) in charge is an uptight dick who wears a lot of vests. It’s the first day of Faire, & said dick is now a pirate in disturbingly hot leather pants. He’s flirting with me! Should I go for it, or is he probably still a dick?" I, in a total reading slump, went YES PLEASE and then realized I had a copy of this book already on my Kindle, waiting for me! Less than 24 hours later I'm reeling from a book hangover and seriously thinking just flipping back to page 1 and starting the book again.
Well Met is written in the first person past tense from Emily's POV. I marked this as both fake relationship and forced proximity, because it's a bit of those tropes but not in the way you typically see either trope. I love the twist Jen DeLuca takes on these two tropes. Emily is volunteering for the summer with her niece at the Renaissance Faire that Simon helps organize, and it's pretty much enemies at first sight for them when he reminds her of her jerky ex-boyfriend. But it's a small town and they're all working on the upcoming Ren Faire together, so they're forced into proximity every weekend. And then the Faire actually starts and HOLY HANNAH, Simon in his persona as Captain Ian Blackthorne is basically sex in leather pants. Emily, in her Faire persona as Emma, is tossed into a "showmance" with him and as her character falls for his, Emily wonders how much is real and what's for show. I AM SO HERE FOR IT. It's also definitely full on hate-to-love, so if that's your jam then READ THIS BOOK.
If you've read other reviews by me, you know that romances with strong growth storylines are a big must for me. Simon and Emily both have major baggage from their pasts, the fallout of which causes a lot of their bumps and misunderstandings from both sides. And Lord help me, but I love an insecure hero/heroine. (Possibly because I am a messy ball of insecurities myself? Who knows!) While I love the romantic storyline between Emily and Simon, Emily also goes through some amazing personal growth, in her relationship with her sister, the friends she makes in Willow Creek, and really learning to believe that she is enough and deserves all the good things. There's one part in the book where she asks her big sis, "Am I worth it?" and it damn near broke my heart right in two. I want to hug Emily, and Simon, and also Stacey and Mitch and April and just be bestest buddies with the whole gang.
Well Met is a stand alone contemporary romance, though I really hope we'll get books for Stacey and for Mitch from Jen DeLuca in the future!
An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
alexisfay13's review against another edition
5.0
This was SO GOOD! I don't read a lot of romance, but this is exactly my type of romance. I could not put this down. I need more books like this. More nerd romance please. And now I can't wait to go to the Renaissance Faire!!
brokenrecord's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. This was cute! I didn't love it as much as a lot of people seem to, but I thought it was very sweet overall. I did want to shake Emily a bit for not realizing right off the bat because it was SO heavily telegraphed. I also got a little annoyed when she started making assumptions about things like the high school student being hired to replace her rather than just… using her words and asking what was going on. Like come on, you're 25, you can have a mature conversation about this. And she ultimately does (although she doesn't initiate it), but it took longer than I would've liked. I loved Simon, though. I liked seeing how he took to the pirate character because it allowed him to loosen up and have fun and not feel constrained to how everyone saw him. Their first kiss was super cute. I didn't love the The epilogue was also super cute. Basically I didn't have super strong feelings about this, but I enjoyed it, and I'll probably read the sequel, pending reviews.
Spoiler
Simon's brother was deadSpoiler
public grovel/apology in the end just because personally I would find a public declaration like that utterly mortifying, so it's hard for me to view it as romantic, but that's more of a personal issue.jennveedee520's review against another edition
4.0
Quick and easy! And adorable! This book made my heart flutter and made me want to go to a Ren Faire. Who will help me convince my husband? Can’t wait to read the next in the series!
inuyasha's review against another edition
1.0
dnf at 35%
idk maybe this is super unfair but I feel like if a books cover, title, marketing and synopsis is going to be around a ren faire maybe it shouldn't take a third of the book to actually get.... to the ren faire setting? there's even an on the nose dialogue between two characters about how they worry the "rehearsal period" (where the book takes mostly place in a small town high school) takes too long.
also I'm just weary of family trauma stories, especially in romance books after my last few reads. this just wasn't anything I expected and everything I didn't want, maybe I'll try again later.
idk maybe this is super unfair but I feel like if a books cover, title, marketing and synopsis is going to be around a ren faire maybe it shouldn't take a third of the book to actually get.... to the ren faire setting? there's even an on the nose dialogue between two characters about how they worry the "rehearsal period" (where the book takes mostly place in a small town high school) takes too long.
also I'm just weary of family trauma stories, especially in romance books after my last few reads. this just wasn't anything I expected and everything I didn't want, maybe I'll try again later.
heyitsbee's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A very charming read. May be a bit frustrating for folks who dislike miscommunication tropes or female main characters who can be naive or self conscious.
gabreadsbooks1's review against another edition
5.0
Sweet RomCom Perfection!
I loved everything about this! The characters, the setting and the writing.
I found this to be very witty and funny. The Renaissance Faire setting was so unique and entertaining.
It’s definitely an enemies to friends to lovers romance with some slow burn added in.
Pacing was great and the characters kept me wanting more. Can’t wait to dive into book two and three!
Would definitely recommend this if you liked Witch Please, Tools of Engagement or Battle Royal.
I loved everything about this! The characters, the setting and the writing.
I found this to be very witty and funny. The Renaissance Faire setting was so unique and entertaining.
It’s definitely an enemies to friends to lovers romance with some slow burn added in.
Pacing was great and the characters kept me wanting more. Can’t wait to dive into book two and three!
Would definitely recommend this if you liked Witch Please, Tools of Engagement or Battle Royal.