I very much enjoyed this debut romance! I enjoy enemies to lovers, when it is written well, and this romance is written well. Both Emily and Simon had well constructed arcs in the story. Emily's journey from listlessness and feeling adrift to finding a purpose in the small town was beautiful. Many people can relate to that, where something stops the trajectory of your path, like Emily's boyfriend breaking up with her after she devoted many years to helping him achieve his goals. Emily has her own grief to tend to, as Simon does as well. I also appreciated that Emily's arc included the strengthening of her relationship with her sister. I have never been to a Renaissance Faire, but now I want to find one to go to! Great debut!

I really enjoyed the premise of the story, and it was what initially drew me in. I have never been to a Faire (or participated in one) so I enjoyed seeing and hearing the characters talk about the preparation and what goes on throughout the entire experience.

However, I did feel that at times the story dragged on a bit too long or was constantly going in the same circles. There were a few moments I felt that parts could have been cut, so that we could have reached the climax sooner. Certain parts were a bit too predictable for me and I would have liked more subtleties in the writing, but overall I did enjoy the story and the main characters. Some of the background characters began to annoy me (they were all a bit TOO chipper), but with the romance being the central focal point of the story, that is what kept me going and made this hard to put down!

Emily has come to help her sister who was badly injured in an automobile accident and plans to leave when her sister is better. Little did she know that she would become involved in a renaissance faire as a result of taking her teenage niece to the sign up for a part in the fair. Emily finds herself volunteering to help and is given the part of a wench. Personalities clash when she meets Simon, the fair's leader. Simon is a true introvert and Emily is an outgoing person with a well-tuned sense of humor. When the fair starts and Simon takes on the role of knight to Emily's wench, Simon becomes outgoing and chivalrous. He becomes Emily's suitor and Emily can't stop thinking about him. Which is the real Simon? Can he and Emily get along when he is not in costume?

This was a very enjoyable book. The characters are likable the author has a great sense of humor. Some of the asides made by the main character had be laughing out loud. There was a little too much drama the last quarter of the book, which made the pace slow down and wasn't quite as much fun. Overall, though, it was a very fun read.

While I personally am not a frequent attender of Renaissance Fairs myself, this book made me want to rethink that. I really enjoyed the concept of this book. Two people who let their past affect their present. One who can't get out of his dead brother's shadow, and another who thinks everyone sees her the same way her ex did.

Emily is a strong woman, who just got out of a bad relationship. She's exceptionally sweet and giving, but her a**hole of an ex is always in the back of her mind telling her she isn't good enough. I loved seeing her character grow and begin to believe in herself.

I also don't blame Emily for falling for the usually uptight Simon's, swoony pirate Renaissance Fair character. I really enjoyed Emily and Simons interactions, it certainly gives the book and enemies to lovers vibe, which Is one of my favorite tropes. My only complaint is that I would have liked to spend a little more time watching Simon and Emily's relationship grow.

This book was a very cute romantic comedy with absolutely delightful characters!

This book was not my favorite but it's not like there is anything super wrong with it or anything. It just didn't really do anything special for me. The pacing was a bit off, I think, or just not how I would have preferred it. Usually with a hate-to-love there is some chemistry pretty early on but it took a long time for the spark to appear.

All that being said, I would still say give it a try if you like Ren Faires and romance. Maybe if Ren Faires are your passion, you’ll like the extra time spent on the day-to-day operations of preparing for the season to start.

I went to ALA annual this year, and I made sure to stop by the Penguin Random House adult booth, so I could tell them how thrilled I am with what Berkley has been doing lately. I know it’s not just Berkley that’s bringing contemporary romance, particularly romantic comedies, back to popularity, but I do feel like they’re leading the charge, with the adorable covers and the widest range of titles. What’s been great so far is how good they’ve been too, though I do think Well Met just might be my favorite one so far.

Well Met takes place primarily at a Renaissance Fair in a small town. The setting was part of the book’s appeal for sure, and I think DeLuca used it very effectively. Renaissance Fairs are a very specific setting, and, if you’ve been to one, you can picture everything perfectly in your mind without needing too much description. DeLuca does enough building to make it feel real but doesn’t get too caught up in the detail, allowing the focus to remain on the emotional arcs in the book.

Well Met is one of those books that snuck up on me a little bit. I liked it from the beginning, but I didn’t love it until I got further into it. Emily’s voice starts out a wee bit distant, precisely because that’s how she’s feeling. She’s in the town of Willow Creek for the summer to help her sister recover from a car accident; Emily’s boyfriend had dumped her anyway, and she didn’t care about her jobs, so she had the ability to do it. This summer’s meant to be her time to figure out what to do next, but mostly it’s an escape from worrying about real life.

Emily ends up signing up to volunteer for the Faire because her niece really wants to take part, and an adult volunteer is required to join up with a teen. Initially, Emily’s not super into it, but she wants to make her niece happy. Over time, Emily gets sucked in, and she wants to help improve the Faire, which leads to her butting heads with Simon, the crotchety, rule-following head of Faire. If you smell a ship in the air, you have apt senses.

Emily and Simon have such a great connection. If you’re here for hate to love, be warned that it’s definitely on the lighter side of hate to love. The description definitely oversells it with “two sworn enemies,” because wow they’re super not. They’re two people going through some things who come into a bit of conflict. There’s a very Pride & Prejudice feeling to the romance, because it’s very much that they each make a set of assumptions based on an inaccurate interpretation.

Even though Emily takes an immediate dislike to Simon for how seriously he takes everything and his attitude towards her, I thought it was adorable how hard it was for her to maintain that loathing. It’s so clear that Emily’s naturally a trusting, loving person who thinks the best of others, because the moment Simon did anything remotely nice, she would think better of him. Their dynamic is a bit all over the place actually, with the way she feels about him shifting constantly, but in this book that actually works, because it’s a conflict between her natural personality and her insecurities as a result of the way her toxic ex treated her.

Well Met runs pretty low drama, which obviously is great for me. All the drama of the book feels very true to life, even if people are in costume for most of it. This is a book that’s all about character arcs, especially Emily and Simon’s (you know I love a romance where the hero also has an emotional arc that actually gets handled).

On top of that, I really loved the way that Emily fell in love with the town and its inhabitants. It truly felt like she wanted to stay not because of Simon but because she felt at home here. I love found family vibes, and there’s a bit of that happening here, like with Chris at the bookstore. Also, the whole town ships it, and it’s fucking cute.

The other aspect of Well Met that really worked for me was that it shows an alternative life path. Emily didn’t finish her English degree because she agreed to wait until her boyfriend got his law degree, and now that he’s dumped her she’s not sure whether to go back and finish. She feels less than because she didn’t graduate from college, but she’s also not sure if that’s the right choice at this point in her life. One of the emotional arcs in the book is Emily overcoming that feeling of being less because she didn’t finish out her education, and I thought that was great in a time where college is absurdly expensive but sort of assumed the default path.

You and Well Met will definitely be well met. Make sure you pick up a copy of this one. It’s just as adorable as its cover.

My heart is so full of joy right now.

This very quickly became a new favourite romcom. It was so funny, really sweet, full of heart, and a complete delight.

I never would have thought the world needed a romcom set at a ren faire, but it turns out the world did need it, and Well Met delivered and then some.

Emily was a fantastic narrator. Considering how badly she’s been burned in the past, all of her self-doubt and hesitations felt so realistic and my heart broke for her. Watching her grow over those couple months and figuring out how to set down roots for herself was a beautiful experience. I loved the relationship between her and Simon. I really enjoyed that how they grew together.

A stunning debut. I will be recommending this to my contemporary loving friends, and likely reread it myself every summer.

This book was so fun! The setting was great, and all of the characters had interesting back stories and histories that wove into the story line. I would have liked to see Emily make a few more choices rather than having things handed to her, but overall, I loved the story!

OhMyGosh. This book was so cute.
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I’m a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope and this one did not disappoint. I adored the renaissance fair backdrop. It was absolutely fun and romantic.
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I loved the chemistry between the characters and the steam level was perfect. I would highly recommend this quick, fun read!!

Overall, this was a cute, fun summer romance read with a bit of sexy thrown in. Romance books aren't my usual foray, so I still am not quite sure why I decided to request this book, but I'm glad I did. It was sweet and I loved the Renaissance Faire aspects in the story! My biggest issue was actually with the main character, Emily. I felt like she caused a lot of misunderstandings and struggles because of her inability to think clearly. One thing that stuck out to me (and this isn't any of the relationship issues that happen) is that she thought the town's little Renaissance Faire was the only one in Maryland. What? She was an English major and knew so much about the time period and some things about Ren Faires in general that that just doesn't jive with me.

I'm not meaning to harp - if you're looking for a light, cute summer romance with a fun Ren Faire twist, this is for you.

Thanks Netgalley for the read!

"I didn't choose the wench life, the wench life chose me"-Emily Parker

I so LOVED this book! I now want to attend a renaissance faire and find my very own pirate hottie! This book also had a hottie highlander and I will take either one to be quite honest.

Well Met by Jen DeLuca was super cute and funny. It had ENEMIES TO LOVERS, wench and pirate make out sessions, MEN IN KILTS, witty banter, Shakespeare jokes ( I do love me some Shakespeare jokes), and of course the *most* important, ROMANCE!

If you are looking for a fun summer romance to read then I highly recommend this book to you!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC!

I absolutely adore this book and cannot wait to give it out to everyone I know when it comes out. I read it and then re-read it twice and now just keep re-reading my favorite snippets! Simon and Emily's story is lovely and swoony and the Ren Faire setting is so much fun! I can't wait to read more from Jen DeLuca!

DeLuca has crafted a completely charming, romantic story that will make anyone want to run away to the Renaissance Faire. Simon and Emily are perfectly matched - in an out of costume. WELL MET has the feel of a small town romance, in a way that is fresh and different and will leave readers ready for more.

If you are looking for a light, predictable, feel good story- this is the one to grab. After her sister is injured in a car accident, Emily moves in to help care for her high school aged niece. She volunteers to participate in Faire, the Renaissance festival the town holds every year, and ends up having a hate/love relationship with him. I found the story to be very predictable, the dialogue to be juvenile, and the characters to lack in development. I found myself skimming a large portion of the book, and when I got to the end, I already knew what was going to happen.

I am sure this book will appeal to a large audience, mainly those that love a lightweight beach read or a way to escape the heavy of life.

This was such an adorable and heart-warming romance book. The setting around a renaissance fair brings a fun element to the book and I really fell in love with both Emily and Simon. From the moment their bickering started I was rooting for them and I loved seeing how their relationship progressed (and the steamy scenes were very nice as well).

This book managed to capture my heart and it is a great debut from this author, who I will be sure to be looking out for in the future.

I know this book is a romance, of which it is super cute and swoon-worthy. But I am a sucker for seeing books set in Maryland and the setting is very important to this novel. The author truly captures what it is like to live in an area that loves the Renaissance Faire as well as aspects of the faire itself.

This was SO DAMN CHARMING. Pretty sure I was grinning like a fool the entire time because I just loved it so much. MY HEART!

Review-
“I didn’t choose the wench life. The wench life chose me.”

There’s a reason I read and love romance. Because of books like Well Met that make me fall in love. Do you know the feeling you get when you go to a rom-com at the movies? The one that makes you feel like butterflies the size of dinosaurs live in your tummy? That is what I felt reading this highly entertaining and romantic read.

Emily goes to move in with her sister and niece after they’ve been in a car accident. Upon helping her sister out, Emily takes her niece, Caitlin, so she could go sign up for the local Renaissance Faire that happens every summer. What she didn’t realize was that she would also be roped into being part of the festivities. That’s where she meets a gaggle of interesting people—including the man who hates her for no reason at all, Simon.

“You’re so focused on the past it’s all you can see. How can we have a future if all you keep doing is looking back?”

The beginning started off slow for me—so much so that I put down the book a lot. Simon’s hot and cold nature really bugged me too. I didn’t understand why he was such a dickhead to Emily to begin with. She’s very down to earth and fun—how could you not like her. Then we get the reason of why he is the way he is. And even then, it still wasn’t a good enough reason for me.

The witty remarks and quick banter between the two when they were in character as a pirate and a tavern wench, respectively, was sexy. When it did happen, I couldn’t help but keep the grin off my face. Simon as a hot pirate? Yes, sign me up, please!

Want to be wooed? Look no further. This is so damn cute and you won’t regret it.

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for sending me this digital arc.

Solid 5 stars because THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. I devoured every bit of this. It was so cute, funny and heartwarming.

When Emily moved to the small town Willow Creek after being dumped by her long time boyfriend to help her sister, she did not expect to sign up for a local renaissance fair with her niece. And she definitely did not expect to fall in love with the annoying school teachers/organizer of the fair who seems to criticize everything about her. But little did she know fate had other plans. The uptight Simon becomes a whole new person when he assumes the character of the charming pirate in the fair and Emily can't help but feel extremely attracted to him. Soon they start flirting and making out. But Emily can't figure out if its real or all part of the act.

This book was so good from the beginning to end. It has two of my favorite tropes - enemies to lovers and fake dating (a little). I loved the characters. The writing was absolutely wonderful - kept me hooked from the beginning to end. I enjoyed the banter between the main characters - some of it made me laugh out loud. They had a beautiful and sizzling chemistry. The setting of this book was unique and fascinating. I have never read a book set in a Renaissance fair and it was so well done. This book also deals with grief, family relationships and friendships. I enjoyed every bit of it. Would 100% recommend it to every one.