Well Met
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3.9 • 20 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
All's faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author Jen DeLuca.
Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?
The faire is Simon's family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn't have time for Emily's lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?
This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
DeLuca shows a strong familiarity with Renaissance faire culture but a shallow comprehension of relationship dynamics in this humorous but thin debut romance. Recently dumped Emily Parker is living with her older sister, April, and niece, Caitlyn, in Willow Creek, Md. After a car crash takes April temporarily out of commission, Emily is roped into tavern wenching at the local faire. She immediately dislikes micromanaging, pedantic killjoy Simon Graham, who has run the faire since his brother died three years earlier. But when Simon's pirate character, Capt. Ian Blackthorn, takes to dramatically wooing Emily's Emma as part of the show, that energy seeps into real life. In-character banter with the whole ensemble and Emily's heart-to-heart chats with the queen (bookstore owner Christine Donovan) flow naturally with warmth and wit, and setting details will resonate with those familiar with Faire while remaining comprehensible to other readers. But the love-hate energy between Simon and Emily is both overstated and lukewarm, and it's hard to believe their romance will last beyond August. Anyone who's not deeply into Ren faires or nostalgic for costumed summers past should give this a miss.
