Stacy is happy to see her Renaissance Faire friends Simon and Emily engaged, but she can’t help but feel a little stuck in life. One of her longtime goals was to get out of her small town life, but after college she came back to help her mom. Being in such as small town hasn’t done much for her love life, as she still hasn’t had much luck with men. There is a member of a traveling Ren Faire group, Dex MacLean, that she has been booty calling every summer when he’s in town for the faire. After her friends engagement, she sees life passing her by too quickly, so she drunkenly sends him a message after the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire is over to see if he’d be into something more. To her surprise, he texts back, and they spend the next 10 months emailing each other back and forth. It’s another year to the next Ren Faire, after all, and Dex’s job has him traveling from Faire to Faire around the country. What will come of their relationship when it’s time again for the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire again?

I enjoyed this one about as much as I enjoyed the first book of this series. Stacy was the other Tavern Maid that helped Emily out in the first book, so here we get to see her love story. One of the later reveals in the book is super predictable from the beginning. However, I don’t think Ms. DeLuca was trying to fool anyone with it, so the tension that keeps you reading is how a character will react when they find out.

Stacy’s romance story isn’t really a cute romance story. It’s one that has you hoping each character will understand each other on where they are coming from, and the importance of being able to forgive others. I do think Stacy’s story has more chemistry to her love interest than Emily did in the first book of this series, though. It had me rooting for the couple more. I mostly read these books because they are fun romance books set around a Renaissance Faire, and I am a big fan of Renissance Faires. I do miss them immensely in this dire year of 2020, so I am thankful I get a dose of them in books.

I will definitely continue on with the rest of the books in this series. I recommend this series if you enjoy contemporary romances and also if you enjoy Ren Faires.

I had high hopes for this one since I absolutely loved DeLuca’s first, Well Met . While WELL PLAYED was enjoyable, I didn’t love it quite as much. 

It was missing some oomph in both story and chemistry. The catfishing/Cyrano angle while interesting, was also what I found most problematic. I just never felt truly invested in the couple. The conflict felt too forced and resolved way too easily.

Don't get me wrong- it was a cute, quick romance read. And I loved seeing Emily and Simon from Well Met make a return. But ultimately it was just ok.

3.5 stars- While I was ultimately a little let down by this book, I want to say off the bat that the character work, setting, and overall writing is as strong as it was in the first book. In particular, I thought that Stacey's motivations of feeling "stuck" and not sure where she wants to take her life next rang very true to what most of go through at some point in our 20s, and I really liked the overall network of character dynamics that help her process through this phase of her life. I also found her charming, as well as the other lead, Daniel, and I liked the epistolary section of book & seeing them write to each other.
That said... I think on some foundational level, the romance itself did not work for me in this one. While Daniel & Stacey were two lovely people, I just found it really hard to believe their connection when the catfishing went on as long as it did, and that feeling was exacerbated since as the reader, you're aware what's going on but one of the leads was not. I couldn't get swept up in them building their relationship because I was so aware that it was all going to get knocked down once she found out-- and this goes til about the 55% point of the book. That's a long time! I think maybe if she had found out earlier and then they managed to keep writing each other until he came back to town, that may have worked better for me.
In any case, I did have a nice time back in this world & will continue to read in the series. Excited for a Mitch/April book 3... :)

I got an early copy of Well Played from @netgalley. Well Played is out September 22, 2020!

Well Played is Stacey’s story of finding love at the Renaissance Faire. Stacey has a Faire fling with Dex of the Dueling Kilts, and she drunk emails him (or does she?) during the fall. He emails back, and they start a pen pal relationship. It seems too good to be true, and it is. Her pen pal? It’s not who she thinks he is.

Faire warning - get it? - this is slow burn... the characters don’t actually even see each other until later in the story. I liked escaping back into the Renaissance Faire world and catching up with the characters of Well Met. Stacey’s story is just as good as Emily’s!

I LOVED Well Met and with Well Played Jen DeLuca just planted herself firmly on my "will read anything by this author" list. She writes relationships and characters so well. Plus the Ren Faire setting just makes it all a bit more fun.

Stacey feels stuck in her humdrum life. She can't leave town since her mother's health problems from ten years ago may start back up again, she has a boring job, and everyone around her seems to have gotten a life while she was standing around waiting for one. The only thing she has to look forward to is the Willow Springs Renaissance Fair, and that's only for a month every summer. One drunken evening she decides to message her sometimes hookup Dex MacLean of the Dueling Kilts who plays at the Faire every summer and try to turn him into something more than just a few night stand. When she wakes up the next morning and the embarrassment settles in, she assumes she'll never hear from him. So when he messages back and then they never STOP messaging, she's elated and feels like she finally has a little bit of a life.

The countdown until next year's Faire is on and the anticipation to see each other in person builds. Stacey is shocked that the man of very few words but many bedroom moves has turned out to be a verbose, sweet man who pours his feelings out in every message. It's hard but exciting to reconcile the two...which makes sense since it turns out they aren't the same person. Could she still be falling in love with the real author of these heartfelt notes?

This story isn't a new one - mistaken identity is a common romance trope, but it's very well done in Well Played. Even through the lies, it's easy enough to find Daniel - the real write - to be a sympathetic character. And it's rewarding to see Stacey break away from the excuses and open up to the life that's been waiting for her. I look forward to Jen DeLuca's next book and high-key hope it's Mitch and April's story...

I enjoyed Well Met and immediately added Well Played to my TBR. After a few months, the wait was over and I was able to snatch an early copy of it. (Thank you Forever!!!).

For those who read Well Read, our heroine became good friends with Emily, the heroine of book 1. I liked her in Well Met. I thought she was straight forward and good support for Emily.

What I learned in this story is that Stacey never wanted to stay in a small town. She had dreams of leaving it and doing something else with her life. She stayed because her mother was sick. She was scared her mother will get sick again so it felt safer not to dream big.

The one thing Stacey looks forward to every year is when the Renaissance Faire comes to Willow Creek. She likes to wear her Faire costume, enjoys the men in kilts, the fake fights and the people, especially Dex Mac Lean, the singer of the Dueling Kilts.


After having a little too much to drink, she decides to comment on Dex's social media. Emily has decided she wants more than a yearly hookup. A Cyrano de Bergerac situation entails and another Mac Lean might end up stealing her heart.

I didn't love Well Played as much as I loved Well Met. I liked both main characters, Stacey and Daniel but I thought Daniel gave up too easily a couple of times instead of fighting for what he wanted.

One of my favorite parts of Well Played was to catch glimpses of Emily and Simon's love story and their wedding.

Will I read Well Matched when it comes out? ABSOLUTELY. I really can't wait for April and Mitch.

Cliffhanger: No

3.5/5 Fangs

I do enjoy epistolary novels, so the email and text aspects of this book were fun. However, I never really felt that there was ENOUGH going on in the rest of the book. D never explained what motivated him to lie quite to my satisfaction, but the disconnect between what we seen in the book and what Stacey says about her life was the bigger problem for me: she complains that people treat her as a ditz because of her blonde hair, but we don't see that. She talks about this urge to leave her town and travel and to utilize her fashion training, but she doesn't spend much time thinking about those supposedly major dissatisfactions with her current life or doing anything to feed those urges while staying in her town.

A playful, banter-filled romp with just enough renaissance faire flavor to delight nerdy readers. While the twists and tropes are pretty predictable, it’s a comforting familiarity and exactly what I was looking for when I picked up this series.

Readers of Well Met will squeal at Emily and Simon’s appearances in this installment, but Well Played can be read as a stand-alone. This one is a slow burn with lots of emotional buildup, perfect for fans of Red White and Royal Blue.

One notable detail is Stacey’s self esteem issues. Living in her tiny hometown and stalled in her career, Stacey craves positive feedback from social media and disparages her figure. It’s hard to tell if she is actually plus size or just has skewed body image, but either way DeLuca does a good job of writing the other characters to be supportive of Stacey exactly the way she is. Her body image and self esteem issues are literally all in her head, and it’s something she works past privately as she learns to love herself as much as her friends and love interest do.

Definitely recommended.

Just finished up my Advanced Readers Copy @netgalley Of Well Played a sequel to one of my favorite romance reads Well Met by Jen Deluca. The sequel follows Stacey, friends with Emily and Simon, who’s 27 and feels like her life isn’t going anywhere. She decides to tell her summer fling how she really feels about him and was shocked to hear that he feels the same. Will their connection through email and text remain the same in person this summer at the renaissance fair ?! I liked this one but it wasn’t as magical as the original. I didn’t think they had the same connection as Emily and Simon in the original 🤷🏼‍♀️it was a good romance but not fantastic ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫.

I loved the first book in the series, Well Met, so I was extremely excited to get my hands on the sequel! I was a little concerned about the premise, why would someone lie about who they are? But I loved Daniel's character and the reason why he lied about his identity actually made sense! I really felt for Stacey, although sometimes it annoyed me how she was so upset about things but wouldn't talk to Emily about them or anyone else. I loved her and April's relationship development too. I enjoyed the little snip bits of April and Mitch, I can't wait to read their story next!

A down to earth romance about a girl finding love, but also finding the right life for her. The really stand out thing about this one for me was how the H/h's relationship grew through texts and DMs, so they became more and more a part of each other's lives and really got to know each other before the physical or looks was ever part of the equation. For that reason, it reads a little like Jane Austen, with the modern epistolary style. I also really loved that he was a genuinely nice guy (okay, a little subterfuge never hurt anyone) instead of another swaggering alpha. Loved seeing them become friends first!

I recently read the first book in the series and loved it, so I was thrilled to get my hands on this and it lived up to my expectations. It has all the fun characters I got to know, and it’s a romance that somehow manages to avoid feeling formulaic, despite the fact that the twist wasn’t that shocking and you know everything will be okay in the end. I’m looking forward to the third book in the series.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to the publisher for the egalley!

I went in with high expectations, Well Met is definitely my favorite romance book I have ever read. Well Played definitely lived up to the expectation!

In Well Played we follow Stacey (aka Beatrice) as she finds love. Since she is best friends with Emily (aka Emma) we get to see where Emily's romance leads. We also get some faire time, although not quite as much which was a little unfortunate. The romance between Stacey and her new man has quite a few bumps but it's very believable and cute. And I am so happy with the ending of her book!

Highly recommend both of these books!

This was just as cute as the first in the series! I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, plot and read it in one sitting. I can't wait to read more from this series and author,

Just as charming as the first! Loved seeing all the characters again, and the plot moved well. Stacey is super relatable and I loved seeing her story. Excited for the third one!

Fun sequel to Well Met full of missed signals and long distance. A modern look at Cyrano de Bergenec And how we often assume the truth we want. Also examines the guilt children of sick parents can feel when faced with opportunities to flee the nest. I really enjoyed this one.

I really liked "Well Met," so I couldn't wait to read this. But...SIGH...it doesn't quite make it.
I mean, I liked Stacey's back story, but my brain had a hard time getting into the buildup because we all knew the set up (Stacey's not talking with Dex; she's talking with Daniel) and it annoyed me. Also, it made Stacey appear stupid thinking Dex suddenly had some hidden depths, when anyone of us who has talked to a himbo for more than 30 seconds would've realized there wasn't nor would there ever be any depths. So a lot of time was wasted not creating that tension that we look forward to before a couple finally gets together. Another twist comes later on that only made me madder at Daniel. I thought Stacy was a little too forgiving. I think April and Mitch are he focus of the third book? I hope that turns out better.

All of our favorites are back for this years fair! It ends with a surprise though, Emily and Simon are engaged! Everyone just knows they have to have the wedding at the fair next year! While being a bridesmaid in the wedding of two of her best friends, Stacy realizes how lost and alone she is feeling. She has one glass too many and sends a message to her summer fling Dex. Surprisingly he replies and thus begins their year of emailing and texting almost daily. When the fair comes around again, Stacy cant wait to see him…but is everything as it seems?

So Well Played was one of those books that I won in a giveaway and was like eh I don’t know if its for me. But I hit a slump and gave it a shot and I loved it!! So I knew I needed to read this one as soon as I saw it available on netgalley! It did not disappoint! All of my favorite characters are back, Emily and Simon are more in love than ever, and its finally Stacy’s turn! I did figure out the situation pretty much immediately but it didn’t take away from the story at all! If you loved Well Met, you do not want to miss out on this sequel!

[4.5/5stars]

I love Jen DeLuca's romance books. Though I loved Well Met a bit more, I still really enjoyed this one. In this book we are following Emily's best friend, Stacey, and her romance with a member of a band, the band being one of the acts that plays at their faire. I love Stacey as a main character and really connected to her in certain regards. She is such a kind person, putting others above herself and putting on a positive facade as to not bring others down. She also stayed home after college to take care of her mother after heart surgery, again placing others before herself. She is the kind of friend you can always rely on, but the kind of person that needs to learn to put herself and her feelings first once in a while. And she begins to learn how to open up about her feelings when she begins emailing and bonding with the love interest.

The reasons I couldn't give it a full 5 stars was that (1) the conflicts in this book felt too easily resolved, (2) I wish we had gotten to know the male love interest more, and (3) I wish there was a bit more of the faire elements like the last book (but there were still some!). Also, it didn't matter too much to me, but the summary kind of spoils a plot point. So, it's not technically a spoiler, but the love interest that she has been emailing actually turns out to be his cousin...even the cover spoils it, but this isn't revealed until halfway through. I feel that it would have been more intriguing to be a surprise in my opinion (so don't read the summary if you want to be surprised!)

But overall it is just such a fun romance and I love Stacey a lot. I also really love the other characters, such as the couple from the first book Emily and Simon, and enjoyed the bits we got to see of them again! I am extremely excited about the third book in this series, and the couple that it follows!!

So excited to be back in the world of Ren Faire, this time following Stacey’s story. Stacey is a bubbly personality and veteran to the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire, and her feelings of wanting more from life, I felt for her and related so much. She puts up a front and only opens up when she thinks she’s having an earnest conversation with Dex, her Ren Faire hook-up when it isn’t.
It was a new take on the masked identity from her last novel, Well Met, which I loved the parts featuring Emily and Simon. Though in this instalment it took a little bit of warming up to the idea, the cat-fish troupe wouldn’t be my top favourite.
I love Jen Deluca’s writing and I’m a huge fan, can’t wait for the release and more from her and this Ren Faire world and it’s Shakespeare references.

3.5/5 stars