Really cute romance! Stacey was almost TOO relatable of a narrator as a 27-year-old who feels stuck and directionless--living adjacent to her parents, not passionate about work, seeking validation on social media, drinking pumpkin spice lattes, and wanting more from life.

The build was a little slow and I had some issues with the pacing of the relationship development. While I enjoyed reading the email and text exchanges throughout the year and they laid an important foundation for the relationship, the next Renaissance Faire and the core conflict didn't happen until about halfway through the story, so the actual in-person relationship felt rushed. Additionally, Daniel's deceit was not incredibly impactful since it's mentioned in the synopsis, so it should've been revealed earlier in the book.

I preferred the enemies to lover vibe in Well Met, and I'm so glad Well Played featured Emily and Simon's happy ending. That being said, I really enjoyed the romance in Well Played, but I especially enjoyed Stacey's journey of self-discovery as she finally found the motivation she needed to take the reins in her life and go after what she wanted.

I absolutely loved this next Ren Faire love story from Jen DeLuca! Stacey's story was sweet and sexy, and revisiting the Faire and all its characters was so much fun. Highly recommend this!

Stacey is ready for a change in her life, but isn’t sure how change will come around. But when she starts emailing with a former fling from the Ren Faire, she feels like this could be the start of something big.

This book fell short for me. I found myself pretty bored from the halfway point of the book. I was not into the “catfishing” plot and honestly found the conflicts to be superficial. I wasn’t invested in the romance at all.

I liked Stacey at the beginning of the book. I found her to be really relatable, but I found her far too
willing to forgive some pretty big “mistakes” and by the end I was just annoyed.

3.5 stars

Well Met was a fun romance with characters I fell in love with instantly, so I couldn't wait to return to the world of Faire in Stacey's story.

Stacey was the girl who never left home to go to the big city and embark on her on. As she watched her friends get older, get engaged, have babies, accept job offers, she began to resent her little life. It wasn't until she started texting year-round with a supposed old fling that she started to imagine a different life for herself.

While I wasn't as dazzled by Stacey's love story as I was with Emily and Simon, I loved Stacey's growth. The Faire magic was alive in Well Played; however, Stacey's story involved more of Willow Creek since the novel took place from the end of Faire to the start of Faire. Like in Well Met, I was charmed by the secondary characters and I became more invested in April and Mitch's chemistry than Stacey and her anonymous beau's. Despite not falling head-over-heels in love with the romance, Well Played was a worthy follow up to Well Met.

I would skip this one. I found the main character unlikeable and the whole catfishing scheme wasn't my thing. I loved book 1 but would not recommend this.

A delightful follow up to WELL MET. I appreciated how the initial big reveal turned out and the realistic responses by both the hero and the heroine. I can't wait for Mitch and April (please let the next book be about these two)!

However, DeLuca introduces the idea that Daniel is ready for a change in his lifestyle, and this is never addressed at the end of the book.

Stacey’s small-town life has one big fun thing which she looks forward to each year especially since she gave up her dreams after college returning to Willow Creek to care for a sick mother. Since she was in high school, Stacey has been part of the local Renaissance Faire every summer. Her group of life long friends and a new one, Emily, spend four weeks each summer in costume role playing. Stacey portrays a saucy wench who supervises the tavern and strolls the Faire interacting with the other cast members. During previous summers, she had a fling with Dex Maclean, a member of the Celtic band Dueling Kilts. Described as a Chris Hemsworth brawny type, Dex is definitely a player of more than an instrument on the Ren Faire circuit. Stacey always thought of him as a man of few words, more action than talk which she had not been bothered by until recently.

After the end of the Faire, Stacey is feeling a bit sorry for herself and so inspired by a tequila muscles, she sends Dex a message that is basically asking for more than just hookups. Thus, they begin a nine month relationship of emails, then texting; she receives some surprisingly deep and heart felt messages. Stacey notices more of her friends getting married and starting families as she is helping to plan Emily and Simon’s wedding to be held at the Faire. Everyone seems to be moving on with their lives except her, so this long-distance romance becomes even more important.

Since the synopsis already gives the big twist away, it is not a spoiler to say that the man Stacey has been writing to and falling virtually in love with is not Dex, but his cousin, Daniel, who manages the band. Stacey only realizes this right before they are to meet in person so that sets up a relationship with some rocky times ahead. Being a victim of catfishing is difficult to overcome; however, Stacey seems very forgiving though Daniel has a lot to answer for with his subterfuge.

Second in the Well Met series, this book, though well written, seemed to be much more of a self-exploring Women’s Fiction than the Rom-Com it is purported to be. Romance may be on her mind, but the actual time Stacey and Daniel spend together in person is brief and late in the story. The main focus centers quite a bit on the quotidian life and Stacey’s growing dissatisfaction with her lackluster job and meager love prospects. Fans of the first story, WELL MET will enjoy seeing Emily and Simon prepare for their nuptials as well as catch up with other characters who are part of their cadre.

This was such a great follow up to Well Met! I loved how it felt like a continuation and brand new story all in one! It was so great to see familiar faces and met some new characters. Well Played was the perfect balance of romance, Faire life, and friendship! I really enjoyed Stacey’s romance and the modern twist on things!Well Played is a fun and fresh story; reading it felt like coming home! I really hope there is another book on the horizon!

An enormous thank you to Berkley, NetGalley, and Jen DeLuca for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book was everything that I’d possibly hoped it would be. I love that this was about Stacey because she was one of my absolute favorite characters in Well Met and I couldn’t wait to see how her story played out. This book didn’t disappoint.

Well Played had me gripped from the very beginning. Getting to still see Emily and Simon’s story unfold beyond the events of the first book made it that much better. Now I’m even more excited for the third book and will absolutely be doing a reread of these books before Well Matched comes out!

Stacey’s story and the way the relationship plays out is something I can see playing out in my head so easily for someone, but I won’t spoil the details. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book.

For those of us who have been impatiently waiting since we read the fantastic Well Met last year, the wait is over. In Well Played we get to know Stacey, Emily's friend/wench mentor from Well Met. When her friends Simon and Emily get engaged, Stacey's jolted to the realization that she wants a change in her life. She's lonely, hoping for a new connection, and in a drunken moment, messages Dex MacLean, a Faire hookup who performs in the Dueling Kilts. The two start emailing, then texting, and becoming closer as time passes. But when Faire season comes again Stacey learns 'Dex' isn't who she's been falling in love with. It's his cousin, band manager Daniel MacLean. How many lies are between them and are they willing to fight for a chance at love and happiness?

Stacey was a great person to get to know, and a perfect example of the masks that people wear in their everyday lives. She loves Faire and those few weeks of summer when she gets to put on a corset and become Beatrice. But outside of that, her life is in a rut and she feels hemmed in by both insecurities and what she thinks other people expect from her. She feels like all her friends on social media are moving on and having great, grown-up lives, and she's not only not doing that, she's not sure what she wants anymore out of life. It's the insecurities that most of us face at least a few times in life and was well done. Stacey's also a kind and caring person, maybe a little too forgiving. When she figures out that 'Dex' is really Daniel, she's willing to forgive him pretty quickly because of how close they've become through their emails. He knows her better than anyone and she's more than half in love with him already. Jen DeLuca does a great job showing how close two people can become through only the written word. Sometimes you find yourself telling the other person things that might take years to say face to face (and as might happen face to face, the communication doesn't go as well as through the written word here)- so Stacey forgiving Daniel is no surprise, and worked for me. Daniel himself is a little tougher to get, and he never quite does it for me. He has romantic moments, and we get hints of his insecurities and always feeling second best to Dex. But he doesn't jump off the page on his own. He messes up and is willing to walk away instead of trying to fight for his relationship with Stacey. Stacey finds herself ready to apologize for things that really, Daniel should be apologizing for. That disappointed me. I wanted Daniel to fight to fix what he needed to fix, instead of assuming one problem means the end of everything and giving up easily.

Once again, Jen DeLuca's writing is full of sparkling humor, emotional tugs of the heartstrings, and this time we get a pretty cute cat too. The Faire moments are some of the best, DeLuca's love of all things Renaissance Faire come through perfectly and you wish you could step through the pages and walk down the lanes with the characters. Her descriptions make you feel the heat, taste the dust, and hear the fiddles. Some people might not like how much Emily and Simon show up in this book, but personally, I loved it. I liked Well Met better than Well Played, so having Emily and Simon and the subplot of their wedding throughout this book really helped me.

While Well Played could be read on its own, it will definitely be better if you read Well Met first- here we get Emily and Simon's wedding, see more of April and Mitch, and overall get to revisit old friends as well as make new ones this Faire season.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I really needed this book when I read it. I wanted more Ren Faire and more depth - maybe because the enemies to lovers tension in Well Met was so so good, but Well Played was just right for me right when I read it. I enjoyed watching the hero and heroine fall in love almost in secret. Their relationship was just light enough but with enough emotion that I just kept reading. I love the setting of these books and hope to get more of them soon!

Thank you for an arc in exchange for an honest review
You may know that I LOVED Well Met. If you didn't know that, go find that review... . I'm sad to say I just didn't feel the magic with this one. We're back for the Willow Creek Ren Faire. This time our leading lady is Stacey. She's excited for another year at the faire but she's also feeling stuck in Willow Creek. She's living above her parents' garage, working a job she doesn't care about it, and single as can be. Can one drunken, heartfelt email change all of that?

Basically, I didn't feel the sparks flying with our new couple. I missed the banter and the tension of the first book and had trouble finding the chemistry this time. I was hoping to find a new book boyfriend and I can't say I did.

Coming back to Willow Creek is like coming back home. I loved Well Met when I read it last year and was so excited about getting Stacey’s story in this book. It didn’t let me down and it was so easy to get drawn into the world of Faire and seeing these characters again.

There were quite a few times that Stacey felt real to me. So many questions she had about life made me feel seen. I’m in my late twenties, almost thirties, and have had so many questions about what I should be doing in my life. To be honest, I still do. She has flaws but came off really genuine. There’s something about the way DeLuca can craft such relatable characters that I really enjoy.

I really wish I could go into detail about our love interest, but I don’t want to spoil anything. He was such a cinnamon roll! He was perfect for Stacey and I loved how much he was enamored with her. He went about some things the wrong way, a real wrong way. However, I feel like we got to know him and see why he did it. I have a thing for men who have a way with words.

Some of my favorite books are ones that have written correspondence in them. So I was living for the emails and texts that were between these two.

This was a great sequel to Well Met and I can’t wait to read Mitch and April's book next year!

A complex and lovely escapist book, WELL PLAYED is a fantastic follow-up to WELL MET. I was especially impressed with how expectations were subverted and loved Stacey as a main character.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC.

It was great to go back to the Ren Faire. It was fun to get back to the Faire setting and the others characters we loved from Well Met.

I liked getting more backstory about Stacey and then see her progression over the course of the book. I felt a bit frustrated with Stacey sometimes because she didn’t ever go to her friends to talk through what she was going through. She didn’t feel like she had the right to go there and I wanted to yell at her.

I enjoyed Stacey’s relationship with Daniel, though more once they met in person. Though I don’t love when women figure out what they want in their life because of a man, I think Stacey needed someone to nudge her forward.

If you liked Well Met, I think you’ll enjoy this second installment. I am very excited to read the third one

I hate to say this because I really enjoyed Well Met, but I've just DNF'ed this one 46% though. Quite honestly, not much has happened. No romance to speak of, and the plot twist was already revealed in the blurb... sorry to be negative but this one didn't resonate with me.

Well Played by Jen DeLuca is the delightful second story in her Well Met series. The first in the series, also called Well Met, has a well deserved place on my best of 2019 list, so I have been eagerly awaiting this sequel. It's another enjoyable romantic comedy that cements this author's place on my auto-buy list.

Stacey has been involved with the local Renaissance Faire since she was a teenager and it's an important part of her life. But she's fully aware that other life milestones seem to be passing her by. With the engagement of her friends Emily and Simon (who got together in Well Met), she finds herself a little bit lonely (phone calls from her mom who lives literally next door since she rents an apartment above her parent's garage) don't count. Her day job as a dental office receptionist pays the bills but isn't exciting, and her nights out involve her local core group of friends with whom she has no budding romantic attractions.

During the previous two summers of Faire she had a non-committal hookup with singing kilted heart-throb Dex Maclean. Though they don't engage in any shenanigans this summer, she finds herself messaging him on social media while slightly drunk over the winter holidays, and to her surprise Dex writes back. One message turns to another and soon they are sharing some deep and personal thoughts. Stacey is excitedly looking forward to meeting this man of more emotional depth than she'd expected when Faire returns. But when it does, she quickly discovers that in fact, it's been Dex's cousin Daniel, the band's manager and a man who has always sort of caught her eye with his quiet demeanor and friendly smile, who has been messaging her, not Dex at all. Being catfished definitely puts a damper on the start of Faire – and yet, Daniel's apology rings true and she can't forget the things they talked about. Could it be that her life is ready to take on a new direction, with a brand new man?

Well played indeed! It's understandable that Stacey feels like she's been played when she finds out that Daniel is really the one who has been messaging her. But to his credit, Daniel doesn't try to cover it up once the truth is out there, and they are able to work their way through it to a place where both of them are quite happy. There are some sweet and sexy love scenes and the connection they made while texting becomes a solid one in real life. But the truth of the matter is that Daniel travels for ten months of the year with the band and Stacey has a job and a life in Willow Creek (even if it's one she's not particularly satisfied with). Faire only lasts for 4 weeks, and then they'll have to decide whether their relationship is ready to move to another level. I enjoyed their romance and while I think Daniel sometimes was a bit too passive, their happy ending is very satisfying.

The other stars of the show are the setting of course and the secondary characters. The background of a Renaissance Faire is not one you see often and so it makes for a really fun read for those unfamiliar with the setting (and likely nostalgia for those who are, especially after this pandemic year). Emily and Simon celebrate their wedding as part of this year's Faire (very sweet) and we also get some interesting tidbits about Emily's sister April (very much NOT a Faire person) and everyone's friend Mitch who wears a kilt the right way and is the subject of many crushes.

The author writes for the reader of today, where social media is an ever present part of daily life and selfies with one's pet (cue Stacey's cat Benedick) are the norm. The epilogue does a great job of tying everything together, making Daniel and Stacey's relationship believable as it moves forward. I'm already excited for whatever comes next in the series, and hoping it's not too long a wait!

This review will be featured at Harlequin Junkie and the link updated when the blog post goes live.

This was fine. Everything just felt rushed. Going from fashion marketing dreams to just working a merch booth? Unsatisfying compromise. The only thing I will remember about this one in two months time is that it took place at a ren faire.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy

I have conflicted feeling about this book. I like that I got to see more behind the scene of the Faire and I didn’t realize that Faire acts go around the country and make a career out of it. That was neat to see. What I don’t like about the book is the cat fishing and that Daniel was never upfront with Stacy even after the truth was out. He should’ve told the whole truth when they got together. I also don’t like the fact that he never chase after her and she had to chase after him both times. Stacy didn’t deserve that. I understand that Daniel wanted to give her space the first time but I don’t understand why he chose to leave instead of facing her the second time around. I also didn’t really connect well with both characters as much as I did with Simon and Emily. I love seeing Simon and Emily in this book and see they get their happily ever after. As much as I didn’t like this book, I am looking forward to reading about Mitch and April in the next book. They seem like a odd couple but will fill with sparks.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

It's been five years since Stacey's mother got sick and she put her life on hold. Five years since she had any real direction. Working at a placeholder job, living in her parents' garage apartment, and having no real romantic prospects, she sends a "drunk text" to her Faire hook-up. To her surprise, he responds, and she finds herself falling in love via their months long exchange. Imagine her dismay when she eagerly awaits his return only to find her suitor is NOT who she thought he was.

It was so wonderful to return to the Faire! Being in this world is always a treat, and though there were a few changes, here and there, it still held the same magic as it did in the previous book, Well Met. Not only did we get to return to all the ladies and lords of Willow Creek, but we got to attend a wedding! I don't know about you, but I love when the author incorporates previous couples in a companion series, and it was fun to catch up with everyone again.

What's notable about both of DeLuca's books is that they are not just about the romance, but also about the heroine's personal journey. As I mentioned, Stacey felt stuck and left behind. Her friends were getting married and having babies, and well, she had a cat. I won't pretend I couldn't relate, because I could. I appreciated her struggle with making changes in her life, and also proving to herself that she wasn't who everyone thought she was. That there was a lot more to her, and she just had to believe that about herself. I found I was really proud of Stacey and how much she grew in this story, and it was really satisfying seeing her making so much personal progress.

Let's not forget the romance! I don't want to reveal too much here, though to be honest, I was able to guess the identity of the suitor. Still, I am staying mum on his name, but I will say that I adored him! At first, I wasn't sure about him for multiple reasons, but it was easy to see that he viewed Stacey with hearts in his eyes. He was so sweet, and he more or less owned me even before his identity was confirmed. I thought his written correspondence was fabulous, but he was also charming in person. I already mentioned Stacey's growth, but I thought these two grew a lot together as well.

This book also did a great job getting me excited about the next couple. It was easy to see what was happening between them, and when my suspicions were confirmed, I might have done a little happy dance. Is it wrong that I keep hoping DeLuca will expand the list of main players? I enjoy this world so much and cannot imagine it ending with the next book. (Are you listening, Jen DeLuca?)

Regardless, it was a treat getting to watch one of our favorite wenches fall in love and get her life on track. The trifecta of laugh, smile, and swoon was met, and I finished this book with a huge smile on my face.