Jen DeLuca mad me want to go to a Renaissance fair when I read Well Met a couple years ago. I felt the magic in that first book and unfortunately I have not felt it in either of her follow up books. Mitch and April were a couple I was so looking forward to, however, we got so little of Mitch that it sort of felt like a let down. The pacing felt like the biggest miss here, the beginning was so slow & then boom they were in love even though they would not admit it. Maybe this is a personal preference, but if I am reading a single parent romance I want the kid to be more involved then Caitlin was here. She was always conveniently doing something off page and therefore there was little to no interaction between her and Mitch. 3.5 rounded up to 4

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

This was definitely my favorite of the series thus far. It was nice having both of the previous couples show up in significant supporting roles in this book, as well as seeing the Renaissance Faire which ties all of the books together. This book contains a particularly good version of the "fake relationship" trope, well fleshed out and with good insight into how it affects both protagonists. Well done!

Very possibly my favorite in the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire series! I LOVED Mitch and April's story SO SO SO much! What begins as a faking dating/friends situation quickly develops into something more. Forty year old, single mom April is getting ready for her daughter Caitlin to go off to college and is planning on leaving Willow Creek behind but as she gets more involved with Mitch and the Faire pulling up her roots and moving gets harder to do. My only criticism for this book was that we didn't get a dual perspective narrative - I would have loved to get inside Mitch's head more. He's a 30 year old gym teacher that everybody likes to dismiss, even his family but April sees him for the big-hearted guy he really is and I adored their steamy chemistry. Main takeaway: a strong independent woman doesn't need a man but it's OKAY to want one, even a younger, hunkier guy who just wants to make her happy. Run to get this one when it comes out in October, especially if you enjoyed the other two books in this series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced review copy. I dropped everything to binge read this great rom com and I have no regrets!

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for this eARC!

Though this wasn't my favorite of the series, this was another fun entry into Jen DeLuca's local ren. faire saga.

I liked the beginning of this one, which was a fun take on a fake dating trope. However, the back end of it (once the dating is beginning to be less fake) was a little bit frustrating. I liked Mitch and April and the subplot about April's daughter going to college, but I do think this entry suffered from having the faire less present and from the fake dating being a little too drawn out. I also really wish we'd had some chapters from Mitch's perspective. I wanted to get to know his character better. I mean what we do know about him is great, but I wanted more.

I still enjoyed this book and wonder who the next one will focus on.

I have been waiting since last year for April and Mitch's story, and I'm so thrilled (and not at all surprised) that it's every bit as sweet and funny and heartfelt as I had hoped for! In the first two books, April and Mitch have both been such intriguing side characters with so much blank space to fill in, and I really love the choices this book made in fleshing them out and turning them from comic relief sidekicks into complex romantic leads.

The setup is twofold: April, whose daughter is about to graduate and head off to college, is planning to sell her house in Willow Creek - where she's never felt she quite fits in - and finally move. To get her house ready to put on the market, she enlists Mitch's help, but he needs her help too: to pretend to be his girlfriend for a big family gathering, only for the lie to spin out of control. Fair (heh) warning: we don't spend as much time at the Faire in this one as in past installments, but the scenes we do get are WORTH. IT.

April is such an interesting character to get to know, especially since, we realize, she doesn't really know herself as well as she thinks. Life has forced her to be strong and all-business and self-sufficient, not in a "tough/not-like-other-girls" kind of way, but in that kind of way where you wake up one morning and realize that you've been going it alone so long that it's easier just to keep going that way indefinitely and find reasons to keep it up. Watching her give herself permission to actually *want* is magical. Getting to peel back Mitch's layers is equally satisfying. Don't get me wrong, he's always been delightful as everyone's favorite kilt-wearing himbo: easygoing, good-natured, maybe not a genius. But seeing that persona pulled back and revealing how frustrated he is with being pigeonholed makes him even more attractive and interesting. It's a banter-y, sparkling delight that perfectly continues one of my favorite series.

I wanted April and Mitch's story, but I didn't know I neeeeeded it!

April was relatable to the point that I've had to revaluate my social habits after experiencing her do the same.

Mitch... Miiiiiiiitch... Mitch was a fun side character I didn't get too attached to in the first two books. Now Mitch is close to Simon level sexy for me (which is a very high level of sexy). Thoughts of a Simon/Mitch sandwich (a Simitch) have made their way through my mind and I let them stay as long as they like.

Fake dating, mutual respect and support, sexy banter, kilts, and cupcakes. What else could you want? Maybe a little more ren faire time, but really, overall this book was super fun!!

Just like with Well Met, I'm left with a bubbly, happy, giddy feeling that hasn't gone away for days.

Thank you, Jen DeLuca!

Mitch and April, who bantered in the previous two books, get their own story in Well Matched. When Mitch asks single mother April to be his fake girlfriend at his family's outing, she reluctantly agrees, but only if he helps her get her home ready to sell. What starts out as a fake relationship soon turns into something April is not willing to identify, because her plan for years has been to leave Willow Creek as soon as her daughter Caitlyn graduates. She's never gotten into the spirit of the town and the Renaissance Faire that her sister and daughter love so much.
Can Mitch change her mind about leaving and about love? I loved watching these two hang out and fall in love. It felt very natural and I identified a lot with April and I felt all of her insecurities and inhibitions. And I adored Mitch. This was my favorite of the 'Well Met' series. 5 Stars.