I really liked this week's read! It was a nice easy read, where I saw a ton of myself in the protagonist! Plus, it takes place in a Renaissance Faire which makes my nerdy heart so very happy. But I'll talk about that all more later!
If you need a refresher on why I'm doing weekly book reviews, check it out here!
So, with no more ado, here's my review of Well Met by Jen DeLuca!
Well Met begins when Emily moves to Willow Creek to help her sister after she was in a car accident. Emily soon gets looped into helping with the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire when her niece Caitlin decides she wants to volunteer. Emily immediately butts heads with Simon, the Faire's coordinator. She meets Stacey, and the gorgeous Mitch. She is soon cast as a wench, and begins practice.
Emily soon gets her costume, and the Faire quickly approaches.
Emily begins working with Chris, the Queen, and local bookstore owner, turning the bookstore into a cafe too.
Faire begins, and Emily and Stacey begin running the tavern. But soon, Emily realizes she's crushing on Captain Blackthorne, Simon's pirate alter ego.
She becomes friends with Stacey and Mitch, and begins to think of Willow Creek as her home. With her sister healing, and needing less help, Emily begins thinking about her future. Does she stay in Willow Creek, or does she go to finish her English degree? After a bad break-up, Emily is unable to trust men, and doesn't trust her feelings for Simon.
Soon, Emily realizes that Simon likes her too, so she goes over to his house and spends the night.
The pair begin dating. And Emily is soon trained to take over the bookstore so Chris can go take care of her mom in Florida.
Emily realizes she enjoys Faire, and enjoys spending time with her sister and niece.
Soon, Emily learns that Simon's brother, Sean, started Faire 10 years ago, but has died of cancer since then. Emily realizes that Simon cares more about keeping his brother's legacy alive than her. She breaks up with him. Caitlin convinces her to come to the last day of Faire. There Simon shows up, not in costume, to show Emily she is more important than Faire. They then perform a handfasting, promising to be true for a year and a day. The novel ends one year and one day later when Simon proposes to Emily.
I found Well Met to be a fun little read. It was quick, easy, and wildly funny. I saw so much of myself in Emily, which really helped me connect with the story. She's a 24 year-old English major, who's a little lost, and a little crazy. I loved her as a character since she is basically me! Plus, she's a huge nerd, and ends up loving Renaissance Faires, much like I do! I think all the characters, while being a little basic, where perfect for this Rom-Com style novel!
I obviously liked the setting. It took places mostly in the woods in "Renaissance" England. So I was all for it! It was a different Rom-Com setting so I found it very original. While the plot was not the most original (it did follow the basic Rom-Com structure: Girl falls for Grumpy Guy, Grumpy Guy also likes Girl, some time of misunderstanding causes them to break up, Grumpy Guy turns out to be Sweet Guy and makes a big romantic gesture, and They live happily ever after), the setting helped give this novel something new to make it a little different.
One part I really liked was when they talked about a rival Faire, the Maryland Renaissance Festival. I was lucky enough to visit this year, and it was nerd-tastic! You can check out my post about my own Ren Faire experience here!
So, all in all, while it is a very basic Rom-Com, Well Met is funny, original, and an all around good read! I give Well Met an entusiastic 4 out of 5!