Who else loves to revisit old characters from past books and see how they are doing? Well Met by Jen DeLuca was one of my favorite books of 2019 so I was super excited to dive into Well Played and see how Simon and Emily from Well Met were doing while getting a deeper look into Stacey and her own love life. There was a bit of a Cyrano aspect in Well Played that knocked this down from a 5 to a 4 star read for me (no spoilers!) but I still really enjoyed and look forward to what DeLuca writes next!

So good! Stacey and Dex's relationship was so sweet and I really adored their chemistry. Well Played was fantastic!

First time I've put aside all my other reads and picked up a new book, was so happy to get early access to this one thanks to Penguin Random House!

I absolutely adored Well Met and I knew it was going to be hard to top that. This unfortunately didn't, but I still enjoyed it a lot. The world of it, the characters (plus points for the cat, fellow cat momma here). The story was heartwarming and yet heartbreaking and frustrating at times, definitely a proper emotional rollercoaster!

Can't wait to read more of Jen's books!

So, I loved loved loved Well Met. It gave me full Stars Hollows vibes. I was giddy when I got Well Played and even saved it until closer to pub date because we all know book anticipation is a real thing. Well, I was well played because it was meh. No spoilers so the short summary is that tells the story of Stacey, the other wench at the Faire, who ends up in an off-season texting relationship with a former Faire fling while dealing with her mom’s health issues and her own personal dilemma of whether she should leave the small town and leave her unfulfilling life behind. I am a total sucker for epistolary books so I really enjoyed the cute flirty texts and emails but other than that, it lacked the sweetness, humor and quirkiness of Well Met. One of my favorite parts of Well Met was the Faire scenes and the characters and that was all very sparse in this book. So, while mild entertaining, it was disappointing overall. But will I read the next book in the series, you bet I will.

this one was fun! I really like Jen DeLuca as a writer and her series in a resonance fair is super fun! I enjoyed this story but hated how insecure both characters were and how weak our male one was? He clearly had issues and needed to own up to them towards the end but we didn't see that. I still loved how it sucked me in though!

This was cute!! But not nearly as adorable as the first book, unfortunately. I saw the catfishing coming from a mile away and I wasn’t a fan at all!! 😞 I will definitely read the next book though because I love the setting of the Ren Faire!

Apologies. I started reading the first book in this series and it wasn't for me so I never got to this one. Clearly a matter of a single person's taste. The writing was good! It's just not my taste.

Mix romance, catfishing and ren faire antics, what do you get? Well Played by Jen DeLuca.

I completely adored Well Met, the first title in her Ren Faire romance series. The second book from DeLuca was no different. The characters were fresh, honest and romantic as well which is exactly what you want in our current climate of 'what the heck is happening .'

After her friends Simon and Emily get engaged, Stacey finds her life is on pause. She's stuck in a job she doesn't really love, doesn't have a love interest to speak of, and is still the wench in the faire Simon helms every year. While everyone around her seems to be moving forward, she's just stuck, until one evening on a drunken whim she decides to message her ex-fling who happens to be the lead in the band that plays at her festival every year. While she expects to hear nothing but crickets, she's shocked to find he's insightful and actually gives a damn.

While I loved this book thoroughly, I wished the back cover didn't give so much away. Less is more in romances of the catfish variety.

Thank you Jen DeLuca, Berkley, and NetGalley for the ARC. Love Love Loved it.

I was so excited about this one! But I ended up really not liking the hero at all, and it just felt like the author felt forced to make this book a part of a series. The romance starts online, which is usually something that I absolutely love, but I didn't like how it all wrapped up. This one wasn't bad, and I think if you don't go in with super high expectations, it's an objectively cute book. It was just disappointing for me because I loved the first book so much.

Jen DeLuca just might be one of my favorite new authors on the scene today. I know this isn’t her first book, but I fell hard and fast for her writing—and her characters—after devouring <i>Well Met</i>. And after my complete love for Emily and Simon’s story, I absolute could not wait to get my hands on <i>Well Played</i>!
Emily’s fellow Tavern Wench is our main character here: dependable, lovable, agreeable Stacey, who puts everything on hold to please everyone else in her life. She quit her job to help take care of her sick mother. She took a new job she absolutely hates. She’s the quintessential people pleaser...except when it comes to Faire.
At Faire, Stacey is the Tavern Wench. She looks forward to summers in small-town Willow Creek where she’s been stuck her entire life, because she gets to be someone else. She flirts with strangers. Pours drinks. She has a regular Faire hookup… Dex MacLean – the hot, kilted musician whose bed she’s visited a number of times in the past few years.
And as the end of another Faire season hits, she realizes how desperate she is for <i>change</i>.
She’s only ever been in it for the ahem—good stuff—where Dex is concerned, but one drunken night leads her to explore if there could be more to their relationship. One Facebook Message later, and Stacey’s entire world gets flipped on its side when she actually gets a response…
As much as I adored <i>Well Met</i>, I have to admit that this one did not quite hit me the same way. It was pretty much obvious from the very beginning what was going to happen, and when it did, I found myself a little bit uninterested? I’m not sure how else to describe it. Not that it wasn’t a great read—it was. But it was also very, very predictable. It was also less romancey than I expected (or wanted). The idea was great, it just lacked the buildup I wanted from it.
Still a definite 3 star read though, and I cannot wait for what I <i>pray</i> will be Mitch and April’s book!

This book was so adorable! The development of the characters’ relationship was fun and the Ren Faire setting always keeps things interesting.

I wanted to like this one, but Stacey is sooooooo boring. For most of the book it’s just the day to day happenings of her life. No Romance, no fun. Just everyday life with boring conversations that don’t further the story in any way. I read 58 pages before I started skimming. I gave up after the big sex scene (which was awkward) and then skimmed for another 20 pages before I gave up on it completely. Nope.

I really like Jen DeLuca's Willow Creek universe and am looking forward to the next visit. My hesitation regarding the catfish romance was expressed vicariously when Simon shouted "What kind of Cyrano bullshit is this?" But, I trust Stacey to take care of herself, and I like Daniel so I enjoyed the exploration. My only complaint otherwise was her dependency on social media. This is the second book in a row that I've read that relies heavily on social media for identity and validation, and that's on me but I need a break. At any rate, that dependency is addressed in the epilogue. This is a series of very sweet, realistic characters finding love in unexpected places, and I can't wait to be back.

While I enjoyed staying in this small town with Stacey and the gang, I didn't relate to Stacey overall.

She was a grown woman who put her life on hold for her parents. That is commendable, but there comes a time that she needed to move on and never did. Also the weird catfish vibe wasn't my favorite.

Overall, the story was fine, I just found it really hard to relate to the main characters.

This was another great book by Jen Deluca. I'm quite enjoying the series and I really liked how Daniel and Stacey's story played out, even though it was slightly heart wrenching at times! I like that we got to see more of Simon and Emily's relationship in this book too. Can't wait to read the next one and get April and Mitch's story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Well Played was a great follow-up to Well Met! Setting up a romance where only one half of the couple is lying about their identity is tricky, but Jen DeLuca manages to pull it off remarkably well, both Stacey and Daniel remaining likable despite the drama—and Stacey also holding her ground.

I’d have appreciated a little bit more of their relationship arc together alongside to counterbalance the inevitable pain and betrayal of the dramatic arc itself, but ultimately, this was an enjoyable read and a welcome escape.

I received a digital advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another absolutely adorable romance novel by Jen DeLuca! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy of this title.

I’ll admit that I was a little skeptical about this one, I wasn’t sure if this would just be a repeat of her first novel, Well Met, and I especially wasn’t sure if this concept could sustain itself for an entire book. Color me pleasantly surprised on both fronts. I sped through this quick read in just two days, and it was a pleasure to return to the world of the Willow Creek Ren Faire.

Stacey, the best friend of protagonist Emily from the first novel, has been trapped in her hometown for most of her life. She looks forward to the yearly Ren Faire as a break from the monotony of working in a dentists office and taking care of her sick mom. After a few too many glasses of wine at the end of this year’s Faire, she sends a drunk message to her former summer fling, a traveling Faire musician who only visits her town once a year.

What started as a drunk message quickly develops into a vulnerable and honest online flirtationship. She’d always thought of her summer fling as a shallow meat heads, but his messages reveal a surprisingly tender and thoughtful side that Stacey never knew existed. She finds herself falling for him harder than ever through their months of soul-bearing emails and texts.

However, everything changes when a Faire coordination email reveals that Stacey has not been communication with the handsome guitar player but with the band’s shy and hardworking band manager, Daniel. Caught in a modern day Cyrano, Stacey seeks out to uncover how much of her feelings for Daniel are true and how far she can follow a relationship with a man who only visits her town for a month out of the year.

Like a Well Met, this book is witty and charming. I was worried that the Faire setting might seem tired, but it was still a delightful escape from reality. It was cute to see all the love between Emily and Simon, the protagonists of Well Met, while also getting to explore a whole new set of characters. Although some of the drama between Stacey and her mom felt overdone, the characters over all were sweet and believable. I’m excited to see what other dorky and cute romance novels this author has in store,

welcome back to the ren faire world of deluca's well met this time with a helping of you've got mail on the side. in well played stacey is shocked out of her rut by emily and simon's engagement, and so when she finds herself corresponding with her himbo hookup, dex, she is surprised by the depth of their connection.

there never seemed to be much more to him than sex appeal and muscles. but when summer comes around and it's time for the latest willow creek ren faire, stacey is shocked to realize that the man she'd been falling in love with from afar is someone she doesn't even know.

this is just another delight of a story. the mistaken identity, the setting and sweet moments we have with characters from the first book, it's all just so much fun to read.

**well played will publish on september 22, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/penguin random house (berkley) in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. I recently learned this is the second book in a series and am definitely going out to grab the first after writing this review. I thought the backdrop of the faire was so unique. The characters were so adorable and funny and the book had some good steamy scenes to boot.

A sweet, engaging follow-up to the first Well Met book! Of course I couldn’t help but picture Domnhall Gleason every time Daniel was on-page, but it was a really interesting twist on the epistolary romance with a light Cyrano component. Jen’s books always make me miss Faire and this one was no exception, and I loved Stacey’s journey of forever trying to get out of her small hometown and break from her old routines. The deceptions didn’t bother me too significantly? But only because I knew there was a happy ever after around the corner.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.