Met Her Match has a scattershot narrative that lacks a central focus. Additionally, dropping characters into an unbelievable situation without enough context is off-putting. The lack of a primary focus makes the plot feel scattered and directionless. Jumping between strands without proper integration leaves the reader feeling lost and disengaged. While Deveraux fans might be familiar with the intricate family ties, their unnecessary inclusion in this novel bogs down the narrative and steals attention from the protagonists. There needs to be more time given to get below surface level with Terri and Nate. Therefore, the romance suffers. Rushing through Terri and Nate's development prevents the reader from forming a genuine connection with them. We never get to see beyond their surface level, making their romance feel lukewarm and forced. The mystery was the only saving grace, but the convenient and quick solution again did not improve believability. The execution might be suspenseful, but the awkward presentation weakens its impact. Disappointing.

This is book 2 in the summer hill series and Jude Deveraux has really told an amazing story. Her characters are strong, however the main character has lived her life under the radar due to rumours that were spread about her and her mother all throughout her life. It takes a strong male character who feels a strong attraction to her to help her move out of her shell and find the confidence that she needs. This story is full of emotions that take you on a roller coaster ride. It is a great read, perfect for the beach!!

There is a lot going on in this novel and I enjoyed all the happenings! You have a bit of romance, family drama, and a twisted mystery to finish out this tale. My favorite part was the twisted mystery at the end. However, Nate is not a bad distraction at all!

Perfect summer romantic suspense read! Loved that it took place in Virginia - where I am from. I felt even more connected to the setting and characters.

I enjoyed this book. It was very predictable but a good book. I enjoyed the connection between all of the characters and I enjoyed the fact that you really got to know more than just the 2 main characters. This book was hard to put down as you wanted to know what Terri was going to do and even though she was living the life that she really didn't want to, she bucked up and did it anyway and was vindicated at the end. I like books that you can see not told.

Small town gossip near Lake Kissel surrounds Terri wherever she goes. Never mind the fact that Terri grew up near Summer Hill. These rumors about Terri’s childhood swirl around her very existence, in spite of the truth. With so much to think about, imagine the surprise when Terri discovers Nate Taggert in the house she is currently residing in.

Nate is a completely unexpected intrusion in Terri’s life. However – since Nate is engaged to the mayor’s daughter, he is completely off limits. Determined to uncover everything he can about Terri’s past, Nate dives into the secrets with a vengeance. Can the duo survive the aftermath of hidden secrets?

When I saw that Met Her Match by Jude Deveraux was centered around the small town of Summer Hill, Va – I knew I had to jump right into this novel. As a long time fan of the author, I was excited to find a novel about the small town feel of Virginia. What I uncovered was not the giddy and feel-good romance that I typically expect from the author. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the pace of the novel. Something that is unusual for me when reading anything by Deveraux. I found more fluff than substance for my tastes. However – this did not dampen my desire to read anything than Deveraux pens to paper. This one was just a bit ‘hit and miss’ for me personally.

Jude Devereaux!

As per all stories penned by this legend - thoroughly enjoyable.

Immediate action. Magically written. A beautiful summer romance as only Jude Devereaux can write.

Loved it!

This is a very very belated Netgalley Review

I had never read any Jude Deveraux before this book, and I was pleasantly surprised. I think for me the most surprising element was that toward the end of the book, the storyline abruptly changed from being a sweet romance story, to being romance with an old local mystery being solved. Overall a lot of fun. The author did a great job of creating a setting that feels very real, and welcoming. I would love to spend a week at this lake.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I liked this book a lot. The author creates very compelling characters that grew on me as I read the book. A satisfying romance, 4 stars.

Terri Rayburn grew up on the edge of Summer Hill, Virginia and has a reputation. It is not one she earned, but she has it nonetheless. She tries to keep to herself, taking care of the rentals at the summer resort on Lake Kissel. When she returns from a short trip, she finds someone living in her house. Nate Taggert is an extremely handsome, talented stranger, who she thinks someone is trying to set her up with. She feels attracted to him, but he is engaged to the mayor's daughter. Nate and Terri spend a lot of time together, as his fiancee is out of town and he helps her around the resort. As they both begin to have feelings toward one another, there are still rumors that Nate wants to learn more about.

I haven't read a Jude Deveraux book in a long time, but I am glad I picked this one up. It was perfect for my lazy Sunday by the pool and putzing in my gardens. This was a great story with romance, secrets, lies, rumors and a bit of a mystery. Unfortunately, highschool often brings unfounded rumors, started by jealous classmates, but to have them carry on into adulthood is rare. Small towns do have long memories though. I like that the characters that visit Lake Kissel and those who live on the edge of town are supportive to Terri. Not everyone participated in the "bullying" but they have a hard time helping Terri see what a great person she really is. She is carrying a lot of baggage from her past. Nate was awesome. A swoon worthy character, who sees all the good in Terri and wants to find out what happened in her past, because he can't believe she deserves the treatment she gets. I enjoyed watching Nate and Terri become friends, very good friends. Nate was not going to do anything with Terri to damage his relationship with his fiancee, but sometimes our feelings shine through. There are some tense moments, some humorous ones and some sad ones, but overall, this was a satisfying romance. There is a mystery that is not a huge part of the story, but it is there and plays a big role towards the end of this story, which adds just a bit more meat to the story. There are well-developed characters, some fun dialogue, friendship and romance. All things I enjoyed in my visit to Summerset.

Great story with interesting characters and a mixture of mystery and romance. A book that draws you in as you begin to care about the characters. I always enjoy books by this author

Great book! Interesting characters and plot. Thank you to Net galley for the opportunity to read it!

Met Her Match started off strong for me. It appeared to be the perfect Spring read....slowly it became harder and harder to see where we were going. I don't want to say too much considering it is a huge spoiler. For me it was problematic and I was not able to continue as a person choice. I have read and enjoyed Jude Deveraux before...I will do so again. This particular title was not for me.

I should have never started reading this book at 11 o'clock at night as I couldn't put it down. I don't know why I waited so long to read this book. I loved everything about it. Your emotions with range in this book to sadness, happiness, laughter, tears, steaminess and everything in between. The mystery in this book was quite a surprise on what happened but more why it happened. Terry and Nate are perfect for each other and it was fun to read them become friends to lovers. I hope there are more books in this series or even with these characters. Also you can read this as a stand alone. I didn't even know this was the second book in this series until writing this review.

Going into this book, I thought it was going to be another romance type of story. Boy was I wrong. Yes, there was the romance aspect of the book, but there was so much more. I loved the friendship/relationship between Terri and Nate. It's the type of best friend relationship you would want in real life. This story had so many different layers that it surprised me and had me enjoying it more than I thought I would. 4 stars for keeping me engaged. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. I really enjoyed the story.

I really like the idea and the setting but this one was a little too cliched for me. It was cheesy and the male MC got on my nerves from the beginning. I’d read another from this author because I liked the writing. I think the rest just wasn’t for me.

I really enjoyed the mix of mystery and romance in this book. The romance was slow to build, but fit with the temperament of our characters. The first few chapters were a little awkward and the dialogue felt stilted, but everything smoothed out (for me) after that.

The author drew me in emotionally - I found myself feeling protective of Terri when insinuations were made about her character over and over. The story was fun and escapist.

This is part of a series (which I have not read) and I found it worked fine as a standalone.

Met her Match is one of those great summer mystery books with just a dash of romance. Enough to keep the storyline going but not so much that the mystery is completely overwhelmed.

Anyone can read Met Her Match, but it should be understood there are other books set in this universe, so there are a lot of characters. I haven't read the other book in this series, this is only book two, so I know that it's easy enough to follow, but every once in a while I got the vague sense that I should know more about these characters or the town in general. But it's a very vague sense and didn't impact my enjoyment of this book in the least.

For me, Met Her Match can be split into two parts: the falling in love (part 1) and solving the mystery (part 2). Jude Deveraux was able to take all of the threads from part 1, things we didn't even know were important detail and just felt like color for the story, and wove them into a murder mystery for part 2. Honestly, it was pretty impressive.

For the first time while reading a romantic novel, I wasn't sure I wanted the love interests together. I mean, yes, I wanted them to get together, but I didn't know how they could do it. I didn't think they could get together in a way that wouldn't bother me, since Nate starts the story engaged to one of Terry's childhood schoolmates. Seemed like no matter how they fell in love, I was going to fell wrong about it. But through a bit of subtle story telling, Jude Deveraux made me happy with the result. There were so many elements to how they got together, so many factors to consider, that I wasn't at all reticent about their relationship.

Met Her Match is a delightful, lakeside read that any mystery lover would enjoy.

There is something about this book that I just love. It has a classic romance feel about it. It had a slow start for me, but the characters are well-drawn. One of the things I most like about the story is the look at how special a close relationship between friends of the opposite sex can be. The slow turning of friendship to love for Terri and Nate is heartwarming. It has been years since I read my first book by Jude Deveraux, but now I’ll go back and read the first in this series, The Girl From Summer Hill. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-MIRA for an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the setting of this book. I thought it was picturesque beautiful and I liked learning about the town. I just found that the story didn’t really go anywhere for me. It was nice and definitely something to check out if your looking for a light read but on the whole just wasn’t for me. Thanks