Well Met by Jen DeLuca

 

Star rating: 4.5/5

"I didn't choose the wench life. The wench life chose me." This novel brings all of the fun, flirtation, and fantasy that is beloved about Renaissance Faires into book form. 

Summary:

Emily's life has changed drastically in the last few months - her boyfriend of five years dumped her suddenly, her sister was in a horrific car accident, and Emily has moved in with her to take care of her and her niece Caitlin. It changes even more when she is roped into volunteering with Caitlin at the Renaissance Faire that the small town of Willow Creek throws every year. She finds herself enjoying many aspects of it, but she does not enjoy Simon, the grumpy albeit attractive young man who is in charge of running the Faire and seems to always be criticizing her. When the Faire starts, she begins to see a different side of him - grumpy Simon transforms into fun and flirty Captain Blackthorne the pirate, and she finds herself liking that person very much. Much to her surprise, he likes her too, and the two begin a steamy romance that leaves her wanting to plant permanent roots in this small town. 

Review:

I was totally impressed by this book. I didn't go into it with super high expectations, but I love Ren Faires and miss them terribly (screw you, COVID!) so I figured, why not read a book about one? I am SO glad that I did. This book was well-written, witty, steamy, and swoon-worthy. As soon as Simon was described in his pirate costume, I was crushing hard. I would absolutely love to see a movie made of this story. 

Taking off half a star for total lack of diverse representation. I hope the next book does better in that regard, and I will definitely be reading it! I recommend this book for fans of Emily Henry, Talia Hibbert, and Alexis Daria.