I didn’t love Well met so I don’t know why I tried thus book...
there was no chemistry and I didn’t like the fair one bit. I Alonso discovered I dont like the way Jen Deluca writes. I will recommend to people because I know some will enjoy this but it wasn’t for me. Thanks so much!

I absolutely adored Well Met, so I was extremely excited to hear about and read the sequel, Well Played. Unfortunately, the book employs my least favorite trope: mistaken identity (aka catfishing). Because of this, I found the story really difficult to get through – a relationship built on lies doesn’t sit well for me! That being said, I’m still going to give a plot summary and a short review – because although it personally wasn’t for me, the trope is a popular one, and I know there are those out there that like it! So it might still be the book for you!

Well Played follows Stacey, Emily’s “wench” friend from faire in the first book, and her journey to love. When Emily and Simon get engaged, Stacey comes to the sudden realization that her life has been on hold from when she turned down a job in the city years ago to care for her mother in Willow Creek. She lives in an apartment attached to her parents house, and goes through the motions every year until Faire rolls around each summer. Stacey vows to get her life together by the time Emily and Simon get married next summer, starting with her love life. So, on one drunken night, she sends a confessional email to her Faire-time fling, Dex, asking if there’s more to their relationship than their physical connection. When he responds with a heartfelt email, she is pleasantly surprised, and they begin a long-distance digital pen-pal relationship, forming an emotional connection. By the time next summer comes around, Stacey is excited to finally see Dex face-to-face again… but is Dex the one she’s been falling in love with?

From the blurb on goodreads, I knew going into the story that it would be mistaken identity, so I really shouldn’t have been too surprised that I disliked the book lol. The first half was tense and I struggled through it because of the whole “reader knows what the main character doesn’t” aspect, but once the catfishing was revealed the story moved a lot faster and I was able to enjoy it more. The love interest, Daniel, despite his lying, was a sweet and unexpected romance hero. My favorite parts of the book were the glimpses into Emily and Simon’s relationship from an outside perspective, and the small hints of setup for the next book – April and Mitch’s story.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book for fans of the mistaken identity trope, but it was personally not for me! Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for access to this ARC!

A sweet, cute follow-up to Well Met that contemporary romance readers will enjoy! Stacey is a relatable character who feels stuck in her hometown and afraid to move on. This mistaken identity romance leads to Stacey falling for the cousin of the hunk she thinks she's falling for.

This romance was cute, but some readers may find the catfishing plotline upsetting. While Daniel is portrayed as a likeable, sensitive love interest, the bulk of their relationship is initiated with dishonesty. I did miss the ren faire setting quite a bit--much of this book takes place in between faires--and wished that it had taken center stage as it did in Well Met.

As in Well Met, I would have loved to see a more diverse cast. There were brief mentions of minor characters who were queer, but for the most part, all of the main characters are cis, straight, white, and able-bodied. I'm hoping future books in this series will have a more diverse cast!

All in all, I didn't love Well Played quite as much as Well Met, but I still enjoyed it and will certainly recommend it to contemporary romance fans. I'll definitely read the next book in this series!

Official Rating: 3 1/2 stars.

Have you ever watched a movie with someone, and they complain about how something isn't realistic? Or say something like "that could never really happen, blah blah blah."
& you're sitting there like "well no shit, it's fiction. You're supposed to roll with it."
description
Well that's kind of how I felt sometimes while reading this book. I'm sad to clarify that I was the grumpy realist.

To break this down a bit, we return to Willow Creek coming off the end of the Renaissance Faire with Stacey "the small-town girl" feeling restless and stuck in rut. She's living in the studio above her parents garage, working part time at an entry level receptionist job, and feels like everyone she knows is moving on and progressing in life (with the typical weddings, babies, etc.) while she's still waiting for her life to start. Now that Faire is over she's reminded that the rest of the 11 months in the year she's just going through the motions while plastering a fake smile on her face for her friends and family. Everything in her life is pointing to change. & soon.
description

Too many drinks later she's writing her summer hookup, Dex, who has clearly been no strings attached (or words if were being honest) telling him she misses him, and is beyond pleasantly surprised when not only is he on board with everything she's saying, he's enthusiastic about getting to know each other. But the things is us, the reader, already know its not Dex from just reading the blurb. So as they exchange words over their screens, things get deeper between the two, but she's imaging the wrong face to go with the words.

Now here's what I did like. I really enjoyed getting to know Stacey and the reasons behind her staying in Willow Creek, when it is so obvious that she isn't happy there. Her feelings are completely relatable and her screen time admirer is understanding and steadfast as she divulges things she hasn't said out loud.
description
Mystery man, is caring, supportive, calming, a bit self deprecating, and a bit lost himself. He's so raw and I loved it. Someone being emotionally vulnerable is extremely brave.

But, and this a big but, at the end of the day he is still catfishing her! NOT OKAY. Now of course this is a romance novel, and of course, we all know this is going to be resolved before we get to the end. However, am I wrong in thinking that there should have been definitely been some type of grand reckoning? Like if this happened to me, and yes I may have some trust issues myself, but I think it is pretty universal to need to rebuild some of that trust before we just hold hands and move on? But we don't really get that. As it unfolded it was also fairly anticlimactic.
description

I mean Stacey tells us she's frustrated and feels betrayed but literally the same night she's like "okay, imma bust his balls about it, and then we'll go ahead and ride out into the sunset." Idk again I could just be prideful, and more jaded about the whole thing and would've missed out on my prince charming but this scenario couldn't have been me.
couldn't do it

But I get it. In this setting, time is of the essence because Willow Creeks' Faire is only 4 weekends, so I guess we can't get a cool down period. He's remorseful and they move forward. It's sweet and charming. Their interactions bring a smile to my face but after the unveiling of his identity we still have a good chunk of book left so I'm biding my time to see what the final obstacle will be. & once we have it again is up to Stacey to do something about the situation when she is the wronged party. Again. I know it written to give us the sense that "he" is giving her space, blah blah blah. But I just wasn't a fan. That's just me.
description

I feel like this book had great potential and overall I don't regret reading it. The way things were resolved just didn't work for me and I am fine with admitting that it's not the book, it was just me.
I'll still be tuning in for Mitch's and April's book next year.


Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for this eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion!

I really enjoyed Well Met, so I was very excited to get back into the Ren Faire with Stacey in Well Played. As Emily's best friend, I loved seeing more of Emily and Simon and where they are headed. But I also really enjoyed reading from Stacey's POV.

Stacey feels like she has been going through the motions and stuck in her small town life. But she absolutely loves Faire. When Faire is over, she decides to take up a long distance email/texting relationship with her old Faire fling. Along the way, she finds out a lot about both her guy and herself.

This was a predictable, but still very fun rom com/romance. From the "twist" of the texts to the direction her life would take... there wasn't much that was a surprise. I would also describe it as a coming of age story. Although Stacey is already 27, due to things that have happened in her past, she was sort of forced down her path rather than finding herself and choosing her own. I loved Stacey in Well Met, so I'm glad she got to star in her own story and find her happiness.

Well Played is another fun day at the Faire. I wanted to dress up and be part of the fun.

Stacey Lindholm couldn’t be happier that her friends Simon and Emily are getting married or her BFF from college just had a baby. Except Stacey’s life has been going, well, nowhere. Really. No. Where. Nowhere for the last few years actually. When her mother had a heart attack a few years ago, Stacey walked away from the internship of her dreams in the fashion district in New York City, and by the time she was recovered, it was simply too late — all Stacey’s prospects and connections had dried up. But things could be worse than a ho-hum job in the tiny town of Willow Creek, where she’s lived forever, right? And she loves helping out at the Renaissance Faire that benefits the school each summer. But is that really enough to make a woman happy?

That could be what prompted that drunk Facebook message to Dex MacLean, her hook up for the past two summers from the Celtic band, The Dueling Kilts. Dex is super hot and they had a good time together. I mean, they didn’t go out or anything or really have much conversation, but he did call her again to hook up again so that should mean something. Maybe? Stacey is actually surprised and delighted when he responds to her, especially since they didn’t really spend much talking during their hook ups. Stacey and Dex correspond and get to know each other pretty well over the next several months. Yet as summer approaches and it is almost time for the Faire to begin again, Stacey is wondering if there can be more to their relationship when Dex travels 10 months of the year and she’s just a small town girl along his yearly travel schedule.

Except wondering if there can be more between herself and Dex might not be the right question to ask once Stacey begins to think she hasn’t been speaking with Dex at all this whole time, and if the man she has been pouring her heart out to isn’t Dex, who is he?

There are two reasons I enjoyed this story so much. First, I really like the backdrop of the Renaissance Faire. I enjoy going most years when it comes around our area. Especially this year, since there was no Ren Faire because of the pandemic but I could relive the shows, the fun and the costumes through the story. I almost felt like I should dress up while I was reading.

I also enjoy the plot of getting to know someone through correspondence, whether by letter, text or email. It gives the characters a chance to connect on a deeper level than just physical attraction. Now this isn’t really sight unseen, since they know each other, but still they are getting to know each other better without the physical distraction. I am not much for love at first sight or insta-love stories. That always comes down to a simply physical attraction and not much basis for a long-term HEA.

Since it is part of the book description, I am not giving anything away by saying Stacey is not corresponding with Dex but his cousin, Daniel. The big question is why and is this some sort of Cyrano de Bergerac mix up? Is Daniel responding for Dex or is he responding for himself?

There are two things that did bother me although they are not significant but they annoyed me nonetheless. First, we are told several times that Stacey graduated as a fashion major. She knew by looking at Emily what her wedding dress should look like and that her sister’s bridesmaid dress would look perfect on her. But when Stacey walks into the dressing room with her dress, which obviously looks different than the other bridesmaid, we suddenly learn that Stacey is plus-sized and suddenly she has body issues looking at the dress, and she is self-conscious trying on this generic sized bridesmaid dress that doesn’t zip all the way on her. First of all, this is the first hear about Stacey being plus-sized. Obviously, it is unimportant to the series so far since Stacey’s weight was never brought up until now. We know she looks great in her serving wench dress at the faire. She obviously dresses herself in clothes that accentuate her assets (see fashion major) or else she wouldn’t have been so attractive to Dex and Daniel. She obviously had no problems getting naked in front of super hot Dex, many, many times and he’s a man who has a woman at every town. So Dex can crook his finger at any woman, and he crooked it at Stacey. She also had no issue getting naked later in the story so why the sudden issue of how she would look in a bridesmaid dress when she was consulting with the bride about dresses and posting on Emily’s Pinterest page. Really WTF? Stacey is presented as a confident woman, regardless of body type, who obviously is very attractive. It bothered me as it was suddenly out of character for Stacey and unnecessary to the story.

When later in the story, Daniel texts Stacey to meet him at his hotel room. Stacey is saddened that maybe Daniel just wants her to hop into bed with him as a hook up like Dex. Well, let’s put aside the fact that they were getting to know each other for nearly a year in emails and texts and she should be able to come right out and discuss her concerns with him. But, if he believed that a year of getting to know each other would equate to an escalation of physical affection since he would only be in town for four weeks, especially after she hopped into bed with his cousin several times with no strings and barely any conversation, I couldn’t really blame him.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and the series so far as a whole.

When we decided to start The Cool Table on the first day of 2020, the very first thing I wrote was My Favorite Books of 2019, so you would know where I stand and so you’d have some good reads to start the year off right with. Little did I know it was going to be the hardest year of living memory, and one of the worst for readers. Not because there aren’t good books, but in part because there are no book cons, no book tours and no book clubs.

But we read on. At least we try to. And when we read, we read romance. That knowledge that it’s going to end exactly how the blurb says it will is the guarantee we need to keep going. Nothing feels better in 2020 than knowing it’s going to turn out all right in the end.

One of my favorite books of 2019 was the debut romance novel by Jen DeLuca, Well Met. And here I am, nine months later, telling you it’s time to get her next romance novel, Well Played.

Set in the same world, and indeed at the very same Renaissance Faire of Willow Creek, you will love the kilts, the kisses and the quirkiness of Well Played.

Another laugh-out-loud romantic comedy featuring kilted musicians, Renaissance Faire tavern wenches, and an unlikely love story.

Stacey is jolted when her friends Simon and Emily get engaged. She knew she was putting her life on hold when she stayed in Willow Creek to care for her sick mother, but it’s been years now, and even though Stacey loves spending her summers pouring drinks and flirting with patrons at the local Renaissance Faire, she wants more out of life. Stacey vows to have her life figured out by the time her friends get hitched at Faire next summer. Maybe she’ll even find The One.

When Stacey imagined “The One,” it never occurred to her that her summertime Faire fling, Dex MacLean, might fit the bill. While Dex is easy on the eyes onstage with his band The Dueling Kilts, Stacey has never felt an emotional connection with him. So when she receives a tender email from the typically monosyllabic hunk, she’s not sure what to make of it.

Faire returns to Willow Creek, and Stacey comes face-to-face with the man with whom she’s exchanged hundreds of online messages over the past nine months. To Stacey’s shock, it isn’t Dex—she’s been falling in love with a man she barely knows.

Oh, it’s so good even the summary makes you feel better. Well Played is a sweet, sexy and fun read that is sure to make at least something in 2020 turn out the way you expect.

This is book two of the series set in a ren faire, a unique setting that I absolutely adore, the characters, the medieval jousting, bar maidens amass! I really enjoyed the character development and growth that’s illustrated by the main characters. We meet them when their lives are taking uncertain paths and finding the right way to go is not easy. A case of mistaken identity, life choices and smoking chemistry gives us a story that will charm you from start to finish.

Well Played is a charming follow up to DeLuca's debut, Well Met. This time around, DeLuca focuses on renaissance faire veteran Stacey. Stacey lives for the four weekends every summer when she can throw off the day to day drudgery of her normal life and take on her persona, Beatrice, at the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire. As the Faire winds down for another year, she finds herself longing for change. And she just might find it in flirty emails and texts with itinerant faire musician, Dex. But nothing is quite as it seems.

Readers who enjoy their contemporary romance on the sweeter side of angsty will find a lot to like here. Since a good chunk of the novel takes place in the time between Faires, a little bit of that ethereal magic that was woven throughout Well Met is missing this time around. Still, readers will enjoy rooting for Stacey and seeing a continuation of Emily and Simon's love story.

2.5 stars rounded up.

The synopsis for Well Played caught my eye, but sadly for me the book fell short. I just don’t see why this would be billed a romance when the majority of the story was a guy catfishing a woman, that’s not romance, that stalkerish behavior and honestly it’s unacceptable.
Stacey contacts her Renaissance Faire fling shortly after the faire closes for the summer via messenger and when he contacts her back, the begin to engage in a messenger/text/email relationship where she can’t believe how eloquent and sweet he is because basically they had sweaty sex for two weeks during the two weeks his band played the RenFaire in her small town. Turns out it isn’t him, but his cousin and even though he had NUMEROUS times in the almost year they chatted. Stacey is stuck in a rut, her friends are moving on with their lives but she’s working a dead in job in the town she grew up in to stay close to her parents after her mother was ill years ago.
Personally I really liked Daniel and had he owned up to what he done early on in their chatting I would have appreciated his gumption for going after the woman he’d been crushing on despite knowing his cousin had had a two summer fling with her, but because of his continued lying I just felt ambivalent towards him and their relationship.
Stacey was way too forgiving and while I’m happy she made the decision to make changes in her life and followed through, I just not sure the ones she made were the best for her.
Unfortunately, I’m not sold on the romance in this book and felt the characters were a bit one dimensional. Overall, Well Played was not my cup of grog.

I really enjoyed this-in fact, I enjoyed it enough that I stayed up past my bedtime to finish it. The characters of Stacey and Daniel are fun and I enjoyed their banter, which clearly shows that DeLuca knows what it's like to be with someone. Yes, it's a catfishing scenario, but if you read the summary, you know that's what you're getting into. Plus, I liked the modern update of the Cyrano De Bergerac scenario.

Reading the rest of the comments on this book, I gotta wonder if I was able to actually enjoy this book _because_ I have not read book 1 in the series. I had nothing to compare it to, so the fact that Stacey and Daniel are quieter characters didn't bother me.

TLDR: If you haven't read book 1, read this first and then go back to book 1. (Says she, placing hold right now!)

Well Played is the second book in the Well Met series and after my heart-moving experience with the first book, I couldn’t wait to dive into the familiar world once more and see everything anew through the eyes of a new character and hear their story.

Stacey, first and foremost, is the biggest surprise in this book. She’s not the cheery and got-everything-going-for-her woman we had thought her to be. Her personality is much more complex than we’d initially presumed and along with this deep complexity comes her feeling of restlessness, and of desiring for more and seeing no way to seek it. She hides this side of her from the world and shows them nothing but the parts of her that she thinks the world wishes to see, so much so that you wonder whether even those close to her truly know she struggles this much.

Stacey is in a place in life that exists between stagnation and transition, which means neither is she still, nor is she particularly moving. From what I could see, she was unhappy in her life and while she didn’t regret her choices, she certainly knows they’ve turned her into the person she doesn’t particularly like being all the time. After seeing her friends move forward in their lives, she experiences this deep sadness even while being extremely happy for them, and I understood that space she was in. In one of those moments of wanting more, Stacey takes a bold step that perhaps leads to something she never expected coming her way.

The challenge with this book for me was that there were many facets of the protagonist’s life that were initially explored and don’t all have the time to be handled well. The protagonist explains being comfortable with her body, but goes through a little bit of anxiety in a certain social situation wherein her friends play a lovely role by pointing out something she hadn’t thought of. However, later on, you feel that while the heroine is comfortable with her body, she still struggles with how she looks at times and I would’ve loved to see that explored more so the reader could see the protagonist transition into being wholly comfortable with herself and loving how she looked. It did feel like many such little things had been overlooked in the face of two things: one, the scene space that the previous couple occupy in this book and two, the risky love trope.

While it’s always lovely to revisit a couple from the previous book, when that happens at the cost of the present protagonist’s growth, the overall effect leaves us a little unsatisfied and as if a large part of the story is missing. The trope chosen in this story was very risky and I do feel that it wasn’t handled well enough as the love interest in the story never felt like he was truly trying or particularly apologetic for his mistakes. I failed to feel that he was redeemed and felt sad for the protagonist because I did feel she was the one always taking that step to fix issues even when the fault was not her own. There is a lot of conversation between the protagonists, and while their relationship was growing, it felt glossed over; so sometimes their relationship felt a little unconvincing to me. There was a strange situation that helped in amping up the angst but didn’t particularly feel required and I’d rather have seen more of the protagonists growing to trust each other and make some decisions more organically.

That being said, the book is a warm read that you can start and finish in a single sitting because it’s entertaining and gripping. You'll enjoy the rapport between the characters; you’re moved by their friendship, their love and loyalty and you’re definitely proud of the protagonist for never ever taking out what she felt on the people for whom she’d made a certain choice. The book reminds you of all the lovely little things in the world and how all of us are in search of how to balance our different wants in life and are struggling to transition.

Well Played is the sequel to Well Met, which I read earlier this year 🤔 I think, time blurs together these days. In Well Played we follow the cast of characters from Well Met, but this time the story is focused on Stacey. 👸🧚‍♂️

This one was just 🆗 for me. It was cute and there were some nice moments, but it didn't really hold my attention. The plot was very predictable, which I don't always mind, but it ended up feeling like it stretched on too long. It also felt fairly YA (with the exception of one scene that reminded me it is an adult novel). I don't know, it felt more like Stacey was April's daughter's age then in her late 20s 😕

Overall, not my favorite, but if you enjoyed Well Met, still check it out! ☺️

I loved Well Met and was excited to jump back into the renaissance faire world in Well Played. While the first book featured Emily and Simon, the second installment focuses on their fellow ren faire volunteer and friend, Stacey and her unconventional romance. The outcome is not quite what she expects, but she does learn a lot about what she perceives her family expects of her and how to put her own preconceived notions of what her life should look like aside in order to carve out a life she loves.

In the end, I found it hard to really connect with the new couple due to the nature in which they came together. I also found it challenging to believe that sleeping with cousins wouldn’t cause any tension or longer lasting effects. I did appreciate the continuing thread of Emily and Simon’s life as it was sprinkled throughout and thought it was fun to see them get married. All in all, I preferred Well Met, but would definitely pick up the next in the series.

The REN FAIRE romance books have brought so much joy and light to my life, and I hope this latest installment can do the same for other readers.

There is so much I loved about WELL PLAYED: the delightful characters, the swoony romance (and the Cyrano plot!), the steamy, sexy scenes, getting to have a reunion with the gang from WELL MET, and finding a way to experience the fun of Ren Faire during a year in which most Faires were canceled because of Covid-19. WELL PLAYED was the perfect way to submerge myself in the Ren Faire world from the safety of home.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙:
🐈 Learning more about Stacey - We didn't get a good grip of her personality in Well Met
🐈 Getting to see Emily and Simon's wedding
🐈 Seeing how the relationship between Stacey and [redacted for spoilers] ebbed and flowed
🐈 Can we get a #3 about Mitch please!?

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝘿𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🐈 I wish we'd have gotten more of Chris - I'd have liked to see how her life was turning out

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙄𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙:
🐈 Gilmore Girls
🐈 Really any small town romance!

I was very disappointed in how problematic Well Played was. The cat-fishing plot made Daniel and the relationship between him and Stacey toxic and made it difficult to root for them (not exactly what you want in a romance novel). The frustrating thing is, it would have been easy to make it the cute misunderstanding it was obviously trying to be had Stacey never said the name of who she thought she was talking to.

This was just ok.

A huge thank you to Berkley Pub and NetGalley for my advanced copy!

What I enjoyed-

The Setting- Like the first book, Well Played takes place in a small town in Maryland called Willow Creek. I love Willow Creek and look forward to visiting there again in the upcoming third book in this series.

The Characters- all likeable. I especially appreciated that our main character Stacey was family oriented and felt a responsibility to be close to her family. I could relate to that.

The Writing- This was a very fast read. I love Jen DeLuca and will read anything she writes.

What Didn't Work -

The Romance- I could not get behind this romance. This book had a lot of issues in this department. I did not like how it was handled. From the beginning Stacey and Daniel's relationship was built on a lie. I felt like Stacey forgave Daniel too quickly and the romance progressed unnaturally- aka insta love. Another lie of Daniel's was exposed later in the book and although I understand he didn't want to hurt Stacey- it's still a lie and she forgives him again.
THEN- Daniel has skipped town without any conflict resolution and Stacey runs after him.
No. Just No. I was so frustrated yall. I just couldn't.

The Pacing- Something about the pacing of this book was off for me. I liked that we got a good portion of the characters lives outside of faire. I felt like at the very beginning we were focused on the wedding portion of the book and at some random point we were at the wedding and I was like wow lol. I understand that this book is not about the wedding. This book is Stacey and Daniel's story. I get it. It was just weird in my opinion.

Overall- I still recommend this book very much. I am just one reader with an opinion. I loved parts of this book and other parts really irritated me. I look forward to reading the third book in this series.

Well Played is the second book in the Well Met series. Each book features a new couple so they can be read in any order. I can say this with certainty because I haven’t had the chance (yet) to read the first one and had no problem following this one.

For the most part, I thought Well Played was a cute story. The plot is unique as it’s a love story that stems from 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗙𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 which I haven’t seen much of in romance. However, I did find the story to be a little… dry? I was thinking this would be a romantic comedy and honestly didn’t find it funny in the slightest. It was also extremely slow (to me) and took me forever to read it. Perhaps I just read it at a bad time and would have enjoyed it more had I read it earlier (or later) but for NOW it wasn’t the most exciting thing I’ve picked up.

No matter how slow or humorless I found the novel, I did enjoy Stacey and Daniels 𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 love story. There were a few things about it that rubbed me the wrong way; how easily Stacey forgave him for his lying and how easy it was for Daniel to give up, but they did make a cute pair and watching them fall for one another through texts and emails was really cute. I also love how much of the setting revolves around a Renaissance Faire! I have never read a book like that and I found it absolutely adorable. It’s the little things like this that make a book for me and it certainly highlighted the story.

Overall, this book is getting 𝟯 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦 from me which means it’s a 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 but lacks a certain charm to make it completely lovable. I would certainly recommend it to fellow readers and will be taking the time to see how this world started in Well Met as soon as I can. I’ve heard form the grapevine that Well Met is a bit better than this one (no offense) and look forward to reading it!

I am OBSESSED with these books. "Well Met" was one of my favorite reads last year and one of my favorite romance reads ever, and I was actually nervous to read the sequel because I had such high expectations! Well, Jen Deluca delivered. I loved Stacey's story - I grew up in a small town and it's easy to feel stuck sometimes, so I really connected with her story even outside of the romance.

I thought I'd get a little bored with most of the interactions between Stacey and her man (no spoilers!) happening over email/text during the beginning of the book, but it was really nice to see the conversations between them as a background to Stacey's daily life. This was a great read because while it *is* a romance, it wasn't just about the man - we got to see the female lead live her life, make mistakes, succeed, and feel happy, sad, frustrated, all of the above, even outside of the relationship.

I can't wait for more from Jen Deluca!