The Willow Creek Renaissance Faire and its lively cast of characters are back in Well Played. I adored the Ren Faire world author Jen DeLuca brought to life in Well Met and there is no sophomore slump in this series. Stacey’s story is bright and fun, but also grabbed my heart at unexpected moments.

Stacey loves her family, her friends, and the faire, but lately that’s not enough to satisfy her. Her friends getting married, having children, and generally moving forward in their lives makes her realize how stagnant her own life has become. She feels stuck and a bit down, which is something I think many readers, myself included, can sympathize with. But she also doesn’t know how to take that leap into something that will create change. I adored Stacey for her kind nature and generous smile, but also for her secret vulnerabilities.

One night – when alcohol and melancholy don’t mix – she takes a chance and messages Dex MacLean, her faire fling of the past few years. She opens up to Dex and his reply is nothing like she would expect from the sexy but shallow musician. And the more she and Dex text and email over the months, the closer they come. Only when faire time rolls around, Stacey learns that the man she’s falling for isn’t Dex at all. I think her hero is obvious from the start, but since the blurb leaves it a surprise I won’t be the one to spoil it. I will say that I loved not-Dex. The hero of Well Played is unquestionably wrong by not telling Stacey from the start who he is. However, like Stacey I found it fairly easy to forgive him. He’s a sweet hero who is quietly sexy…basically the opposite of Dex. I adored watching he and Stacey fall in love through letters and texts. The spark and the romance is there, quiet, steady, and true in a way that made me smile over and over. And I really enjoyed their relationship becoming real once the truth came out and all masks were dropped.

Well Played can easily be read as a standalone (if you don’t mind some spoilers from Well Met). However, part of the joy of this book is seeing Emily and Simon’s happily ever through Stacey’s eyes as her friends plan their Ren Faire wedding. And don’t think there aren’t teasing glimpses at a future Well Met couple that made me curse the wait for their story. All in all, I adored Well Played. The ups and downs in Stacey’s life and her burgeoning romance with her marshmallow heart hero had me hooked, life at the faire made me smile, and I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. DeLuca’s writing.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC of Well Played by Jen Deluca in exchange for an honest review.

This was a second chance romance with a little mix up in the beginning after the two main characters struggled with long-distance communication for almost a whole year. Jen Deluca took a great twist on the classic meet-cute in this small-town romance.

I really loved Well Met the first book of this series, but this one was slightly disappointing for me. I thought the Faire aspect and the main characters from the first book took over most of the plot that there was not enough romance between the two main characters in this book. When I am reading a romance this is one of the main things that I enjoy so when the characters are mostly only communicating over text for so long it is hard to stay invested. The ending was also very quick for me, but It did tie up all the loose ends for me.

I do love how Jen Deluca created these books uniquely based off on the Faire and how different they are from most small-town plot lines. There is another book in this series and I am excited to see how she creates the next book and what the plot consists of.

ARC provided by Berkley Romance.

Help! I’m a sucker for Renaissance faire romances set in small towns with soft characters and cute friendships :’)

We get to follow Stacey in this sequel/companion novel to Well Met. Well Met was one of my favorite reads of 2019, so I was extra excited for the opportunity to read this one early. I was already in love with the small town setting, and was so pleased to see we get to go back to the Ren faire.

This book had everything I wanted: cozy book shops with a cafe, book clubs, the Ren faire, a cute romance, and themes of friendships and found families. Oh, and if you were a fan of Emily and Simon from the first book, you'll be happy to know they play major roles in this one, too! But, this story is about Stacey and her accidental friends-to-lovers journey with Daniel. It's quite the ride, but I should warn you that there is a lot of catfishing going on. So I understand if that may make you feel uncomfortable! (Think: Cyrano de Bergerac...'ish.)

I truly loved this sequel a lot, though! And I cannot wait for Well Matched, where we'll get to follow Mitch and April! (April quickly became one of my favorite characters since the first book!)

TW: catfishing, talk of a past heart attack, talk of loss of a family member, talks of body image.

I read Well Met by Jen Deluca last year, and absolutely loved it. It was one of my favorite romances from 2020! I was really looking forward to reading the second book in the series - Well Played, which features the story of Stacey, one of my favorite secondary characters from Well Met. Penguin Random House International & Berkley Romance were kind enough to send me a free review copy of Well Played in exchange of an honest review. <3

My thoughts on the book :
Sequels turn out to be disappointing most of the time (when rom-coms are part of the show) but thankfully this wasn't the case for Well Played. I already loved Stacey after reading about her from different scenes in Well Met, so I really enjoyed knowing her better. I literally flew threw the book because of how perfectly paced it was! The conversations between Stacey and her love interest (it's better to not reveal the name, it becomes a spoiler) were really enjoyable to read about. I loved seeing their relationship develop with witty dialogues and their chemistry was the highlight of Well Played for me. :’) I also loved seeing my favorite people from Well Met (especially Emily) come alive through the pages of Well Played again. Simon and Emily are my babies plus one of my favorite fictional couples ever, so getting to experience their wedding made me feel so happy.

The book comes out tomorrow, on the 22nd of September. Even though all the books in the Well Met series can be read as standalones, I highly recommend reading Well Met before picking Well Played up.

I NEED MITCH AND APRIL’S BOOK ASAP. CAN’T WAIT.

AS a big fan of Well Met, I was so excited to be approved for this book! This was another great book in this series and I loved getting to know Stacey more and seeing her story unfold. I loved being back in the small town of Willow Creek and the renaissance fair. I really liked getting to know a bigger part of Stacey's story. I loved her in Well Met and I was excited to be able to dig a little deeper into her story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Last year the first book in this series, Well Met was one of my favorite reads of the year, so to say that I was anxious to get my hands on this book is a huge understatement. I had very high hopes for this one and maybe that’s why I’m sitting here disappointed, but this one wasn’t nearly as good as the first and I’m super bummed about it.

I want to be clear that this wasn’t bad by any means, it just wasn’t as magical and charming as the first book and I can’t help but compare the two. The author is a great writer and I loved being back at the Faire with the characters from the first book but it was missing that something special from the first book for me. I think a big part of my problem was that I feel like the blurb and cover are a spoiler. It seems like the author wanted this air of mystery about who Stacey was chatting with online but the cover/blurb makes it painfully obvious so I spent the first half of the book already knowing what would happen which made me annoyed and impatient to get it over with. The romance was cute, the plot was fine but I just wanted so much more after loving WM so very much. I’ll be reading the next book in the series in the hopes that it’ll be more like book one, but if you’re like me and have been waiting for this one maybe just lower your expectations a bit and maybe you’ll like it more than I did?

I've read several second-in-a-series contemp romances this year and I don't think I've liked any of them as much as the first books. This is really weird! Well Played continues the pattern though. I was completely charmed by Well Met, but this one -- not so much. Part of my issue is with the last paragraph of the blurb. I really wish I hadn't known that going in! But I understand why it's there as a low-key content warning.

Another thing that bothered me is how little page time is actually spent at the Ren Faire. The whole time Stacey is emailing and texting is in between Faires. Then when she returns to the Faire again, she's not enjoying it so it doesn't have that warm fuzzy feeling we got from being there in the first book. At the end of the book, Stacey does get back to the state where Faire is her happy place but I wasn't feeling it throughout.

Much like Emily in the first book, I found Stacey's situation incredibly relatable. She moved back to her hometown when her mother got sick and now she feels stuck. But the fact she felt like college was such a long time ago when she turned 27 in the book bothered me. Talk to me when you're 40 and still stuck there Stacey!

What I really enjoyed about Well Played were the supporting characters. In that time between Faires, Stacey is helping Simon and Emily plan their wedding so we get to see lots of them. Dex and his band The Dueling Kilts don't get a lot of page time, but I really enjoyed them. I even woke up the next morning with "What do you do with a drunken sailor" still playing in my head. There's also lots of Mitch, the kilt-wearing, sword-wielding coach who I'm pretty sure will be the hero of book three. I am so here for that!

I think readers who enjoyed Well Met will also enjoy the sequel because it's fun to be back in this world. I just don't think Well Played stands alone as well as it should.

Jen DeLuca’s Renaissance Faire-themed romance Well Met was one of my favorite reads from last year, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series, Well Played. I was so excited to revisit the world of the Willow Creek Ren Faire and to see Simon and Emily, who are now engaged, and the rest of the Ren Faire gang again.  Well Played follows Emily’s best friend, Stacey, and since I adored Stacey in the first book, it was fun to get to know her better this time around.

Stacey is a character that I think many will find very relatable.  Stacey’s dreams of a fashion career in New York are put on hold indefinitely when her mother suffers a heart attack.  Instead of leaving Willow Creek as planned, Stacey moves into her parent’s garage apartment to help care for her mom and, years later, is still hesitant to leave her parents on their own.  At first Stacey was content with the arrangement, but now, especially in light of Emily and Simon’s engagement, she finds herself in a rut.  Stacey’s not sure what kind of change she’s looking for but vows that her life will be different by the time Ren Faire season rolls around next year.

To put her plan into motion, Stacey decides a good first step would be to reach out to her sexy summertime hookup, Dex MacLean, a Ren Faire musician.  The two of them begin exchanging increasingly intimate emails and texts over the next few months, and by the time Ren Faire season starts up again, Stacey is convinced she’s in love with Dex.  There’s just one catch -- Dex hasn’t actually been the one writing to her…

Well Played is such an entertaining read.  I sat down with it this morning and devoured the entire novel in a couple of sittings.  The story is filled with plenty of emotional, dramatic, and yes, even romantic moments as Stacey navigates her way through this unexpected plot twist.  It’s not all drama though, as of course, the story is also filled with plenty of light-hearted, laugh out loud moments courtesy of the Ren Faire castmates.  I loved the mix of the dramatic and light-hearted moments, and I especially loved the mother-daughter relationship between Stacey and her mom.  There were some lovely heartfelt moments between those two.

If Ren Faires, romance, and a loveable cast of characters are your thing, you should definitely check out both Well Met and Well Played.

Disclaimer: I received an advance e-reader’s copy of this book from PRH International and Berkley Pub via NetGalley. This did not affect my overall opinion of the book.

Dressing up as Beatrice the tavern wench at the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire is one of the very few things that Stacey looks forward to every year. Not to mention her hookup with Dex, the lead vocalist of the band Dueling Kits. But with the faire coming to an end, she has no choice but to get back to her normal boring life. She has dreams of leaving the town and moving to New York to pursue her passion for fashion but after what happened to her mother, she chooses to stay.

It was fun and interesting to learn more about Stacey's character. We were introduce to her as Emily's bestfriend in Well Met. She's a loyal friend and loving daughter. She's plus-size and I like that she embraces and talks about her body image. She's happy for Emily and Simon but she can't help not to feel lonely and insecure. She wants to start a new life, have a serious relationship, and settle down.

It was pretty obvious that Dex isn't the one she's corresponding with but she's a little oblivious about it which was kind of annoying but still tolerable. She forgave him quite easily which, in my opinion, was understandable given her situation. She wants to take the risk and doesn't want to let her chance of a romantic relationship slip through her fingers again. I felt the chemistry between Stacey and Daniel during their email/message exchanging but it faded when they start going out together in person. Daniel's reaction to Stacey's decision was quite frustrating too. As much as I loved Emily and Simon, I didn't like that they have so many scenes in this book especially during the first half.

Overeall, I had fun reading this book but I didn't love it as much as the first one. I'm still looking forward on reading Well Matched because I love April and Mitch!

I very much enjoyed this book. I went into it expecting it to be different than the first one of the series (mis-remembered on my part). So I was pleasantly surprised when we were still in the same town, at the same charming faire (what can I say? I like series). Stacy is a great character -- I loved that her inner voice is so different from the way that she was portrayed in the first book of the series. I love the small town aspect of these books, but also the way that the Faire is a town in a town. I think it’s charming.

Jen DeLuca returns to the renaissance fair with another heartwarming love story, this time featuring one of my favorite tropes - a romance that develops over text messages. While I thoroughly enjoyed her debut novel, Well Met, Well Played was an even lovelier story, in my opinion.

Typically, I am not one for romances where there's a deception involved. In Well Played, Stacey, the protagonist, develops a texting relationship with a man who she thinks is her crush, Dex. It's clear to the reader who the actual texter is, but I was a little nervous about how long this storyline would be dragged because I knew I wouldn't enjoy Stacey being in the dark for too long. Kudos to Jen DeLuca for revealing the truth to Stacey fairly early on in the story, allowing her relationship with guy actually messaging her to blossom without that added complication.

Stacey is a character that I think many readers will relate to. Growing up, she had big passionate dreams that had her leaving her small town for NYC. Unfortunately, her mother's sudden illness brick-walled all her plans, forcing her to remain in town to look after her parents. In Well Played, she is a feeling a little lost, unclear where she wanted her life to move towards. She is also craving a more genuine romantic relationship, similar to what her friends Simon and Emily have. It's easy to sympathize with Stacey as her situation is true for many of us in our 20s, trying to figure our futures out. For me, what made Stacey a lovable character was how much she put others' first, sometimes at the cost of her own happiness. She has a very nurturing and giving personality, and in this book, we finally do see her take the steps to prioritize herself for once. It was easy for me to root for her growth, happiness, and happily ever after. I was thrilled for her to find that HEA with an equally sweet guy. I don't want to spoil who the real "Dex" is so I won't be revealing his name in this review, but he was a sweetheart. He was at times misguided, but it was obvious that his heart was in the right place. He made mistakes, but it was always clear to me that he made those mistakes because loved Stacey so much and didn't want to hurt her.

As the book summary suggests, there's a bit of a catfishing situation in Well Played, but as I said, it wasn't dragged, which I appreciated. I love a good romance that takes place over text and emails, which is why I found this book to be so charming. I truly felt the obvious connection that the two shared with each other and the banter between them made reading this book very enjoyable. Overall, Jen DeLuca delivers with a super sweet romance with a lot of heart. I even admit to shedding a single tear (because my heart is frozen for more tears) at "Dex's" last letter to Stacey. This series is also special because of the Ren Faire setting. The setting is a vibrant and vital part of these books. You can tell that that the Ren Faire holds a special place in the author's life and this book is just teeming with her love for it. I've personally never attended a renaissance fair in my life, but these books have confirmed that it's a bucket-list experience for me.

I buddy-read Well Played with Andi at Andi's ABCs, and we both had a fun time reading this book. If you like your contemporary romances full of swoons and banter, and with a more unique setting, I highly recommend trying these books. Meanwhile, I'll impatiently be waiting for April and Mitch's book!

*** Thank you to Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! ***

When I got this arc I was absolutely ecstatic! Well Met is one of my all time favorite romances. Partly because of the romance and partly because I’m a huge lover of Ren Faires! So when I realized Well Played was coming out and I was receiving an e-arc for it, saying I was excited is most definitely an underestimate.

Well Played follows our main character, Stacey, and her journey of falling in love through text messages and emails to an old summer fling - or so she thinks? Well Played is a fast paced romance novel that takes an interesting twist on friends to lovers with plenty of secrets and drama throughout.

While I enjoyed the fast-paced aspect of the novel, I have to say there were a few things that hindered my enjoyment of this book. The plot device of cat fishing used made me a bit uncomfortable, especially as our main character easily forgave him. For me, the betrayal of trust was unrealistically forgiven and it took me longer to forgive our love interest than it did our main character. However, once I forgave alongside Stacey I did enjoy the novel much more. Perhaps there could have been more internal dialogue and processing that the audience could have worked through alongside our protagonist.

While having plus size representation is wonderful (if that is what the main character is categorized? She mentions have a “soft” stomach and not being as skinny as other characters, however I do not believe plus sized is a term used), I have to say I was disappointed in how it was represented. Majority of its mentions were in a self deprecating way that was never addressed. She never learned to love and accept her body, instead she critiqued it continuously and calling the way she appeared in certain angles as “unflattering.” This negative self talk was off putting when there was no character development following it. It just felt like I was being told belly rolls were unflattering, which was unfortunate.

While these were my biggest issues, I still did enjoy how drama filled and fast paced this read was. I just wish there was a bit more build up and time spent at the Ren Faire like we had seen in Well Met! However, if you prefer more friends to lovers than enemies, online romances, and betrayals then this one is for you!

I was really looking forward to reading Stacey's story and so wanted her to find her HEA.

Stacey was such a fun character to read about and I could really relate to her on so many of her struggles, especially figuring out what she wanted to do with her life and feeling a little lost. That feeling of watching friends' lives move on and feeling stuck in yours is something I think. a lot of us have felt at some point or another.

I don't want to say too much about who her love interest is in this book because I really liked how this was played out in the book and you go on this ride along with stacey. I will say I really loved him and how thoughtful and kind he was towards Stacey. He clearly thinks she is the most wonderful woman in the world and that shows. However, I do wish after the initial omission of the truth from him that. there hadn't been a second one. It just seemed a little redundant and I think the relationship would have still worked without the added drama and betrayal.

I also really liked how we got to see Faire but in what felt like a really fresh way to what we saw in the first book!

I loved the ending and how different it was to a 'typical' romance ending, but at the same time seemed absolutely perfect for these characters.

I really enjoyed Well Met, and Well Played was no different. This was a cute rom-com set against the backdrop of a renaissance fair.
Instead of enemies to lovers like Well Met, this is a mistaken identity trope. I have to admit I did discover something about myself while reading this book, I like conversations between characters. Well Played mostly had the two main characters exchanging emails and texts and well it was not my favorite. This is one hundred percent on me and did not affect my rating of the book, but just a personal preference.

Well Played is told from Stracey’s point of view. I liked Stacey, but because of how the book was told I didn’t feel like I knew Daniel very well. Because of this, I wasn’t as invested in their romance as I could have been. I did enjoy seeing all of my favorite characters from Well Met. It was fun revisiting them and seeing how they were doing.

I was so happy to get this E-Arc from NetGalley because I absolutely devoured the first one, Well Met, and this one was just as cute and compulsively readable.

There was less tension so I was able to take my time with it, which was just fine because I loved this story. It was full of tropey miscommunication but I live for the drama. I honestly can’t wait until the next installment because I’m ready to go back to the fair and all the romantic drama that goes with it.

I enjoyed this book because I enjoy DeLuca’s writing style. She includes just enough steam but doesn’t go overboard where it ends up being the focus of the story. It was nice to see things from Stacey’s perspective and know the depth of her even though that wasn’t portrayed in the first book. Stacey also brings to life the negative side to social media that should be addressed a lot more than it does. People predominantly post about the positive things, things to brag about, the filtered and polished photo, but she realized that she didn’t have much to contribute to social media outside of photos of her cat and that made her pause. Also, she sacrificed her dream career for her family that further demonstrates her character.

Now regarding the story’s love interest (LI), Daniel. This is where it got a bit disappointing for me. There were two incidences where Daniel was given a chance to fight for Stacey in the story, but instead, he bailed or quickly gave up. I didn’t like that. I’m not expecting the LI to be perfect at all, in fact, I love it when they are flawed but persevere through their faults to fight for the one they love. Also, maybe it was also because I didn’t really connect with Daniel since I didn’t get to know him enough before Stacey and he connected in person. He just didn’t seem a strong enough character to wow me. With that being said, Daniel wasn’t bad enough for me not to like the story in general.

Overall, Well Played was an entertaining read and further solidifies me as a Jen DeLuca fan. Although it didn’t make me swoon as Well Met, it was good to see things through Stacey’s eyes and heart.

I really loved the first 40% of this book! The hero and heroine are communicating through e-mail and text message. I love books like this where we get to see the couple learn more about each other and grow their relationship through letters (or in this case, e-mails). They always seem to be more upfront with their wants and their fears this way, and I love seeing how this helps them further develop their connection.

(Semi-spoilers ahead- a lot of it is in the synopsis)

However, I was not a fan of how the hero turned out to be cat-fishing her (FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR). I did predict this pretty early on in the book. So while it was frustrating, it didn’t completely ruin the book for me. What did upset me was how quickly she forgave him. It was almost instantly. There was not much groveling on his part because she was just okay with it all of a sudden. I understand that she realized she actually liked Daniel after getting to know him the last several months, and could build more of a relationship with him than Dex. Even knowing that though, what he did was still wrong. I definitely feel like she should have made him work for it a little bit more.

All in all, I enjoyed their romance. There was just a little too much miscommunication and not enough groveling if you ask me.

3.5 stars
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

I LOVED this follow up to Well Met. I really like series like this, which take a visible but secondary character from one book and make them the protagonist of their own. Stacey is stuck - living in an apartment attached to her parents’ house, working a job she doesn’t really care about in the town where she grew up. She left a dream job in the fashion industry when her mother got sick, and she hasn’t made any moves since her mother recovered. She spends all year looking forward to the summer Renaissance Faire, where she plays the role of a tavern wench and sometimes hooks up with a hot musician from one of the acts. Drunk and lonely one night, she reaches out to him via social media and they carry on a text-based relationship for months before she realizes she’s not falling for the person she thought she was. Some heartbreaking moments here, but great characters, and I can’t wait for the next installment!

If you enjoyed Well Met, you will love this one as well! We are back in the world of the Ren Faire, and the same characters plus a few more! This time, we are watching Stacey fall in love. ❤️

I figured out what the twist to this one was going to be probably around chapter three. It was pretty obvious, but I kind of liked it that way! Waiting for the moment Stacey figured it out and guessing how she would react was fun. Kind of like when I read Bachelor spoilers!

I felt like the only thing I was missing here was more witty banter between all of the characters. I love those laugh out loud moments, and I really didn’t get that much.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the setting again, and the lovable characters. It was a light read, which is what I’m enjoying right now before we head into October books! Looking forward to more adventures with this crew!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @berkleypub for the advanced copy!

With everything going on in 2020, I find myself picking up more and more romance books. I have always been a sucker for a good love story- I love love. These stories aren't all rainbows and unicorns, but they generally leave me with an overwhelming sense of hope, which I can definitely use this year. Ever since reading Well Met by @jendelucawrites, I have been anxiously awaiting the next book in this series. In Well Played, we follow Stacey- fellow Faire wench who has stayed in Willow Creek to take care of her sick mom. Although she enjoys spending her summers working at the Faire, she feels like her life is at a standstill. Enter the MacLean boys- Stacey has a major crush on one of them, and the other has a major crush on her. Ruh-roh. What could possibly go wrong?! I thought this was the perfect follow up to Well Met. We even get to see what Emily and Simon are up to these days. It was cute and entertaining and funny. I don't want to givd too much away, but I am already anxious for the next book. I appreciate when an author can make me go from liking a character to wishing he'd get lost, and I love when I find myself rooting for the main characters. I think these two books would be a really fun romantic comedy film. Well Played is out on Tuesday, September 22. Thank you @berkleyromance @berkleypub @jendelucawrites @netgalley for this digital ARC.