Not my favorite of the series but I still really enjoyed this opposites attract, slow burn romance that takes place in the world of Renaissance Faires we've all come to adore with a strong cast of new and returning side characters.

I LOVED how LouLou (Louisa) finds the courage to walk away from a corporate law firm job that is making her miserable. This was a great second chance/second act story about a woman in her late 30s discovering what makes her happy and refusing to settle for corporate misogyny any longer.

Great on audio narrated by Brittany Pressley (one of my favs) and highly recommended for books like Susannah Nix's Pint of contention or Lindsey Kelk's The Christmas wish! Much thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Romance and @prhaudio for early digital copies in exchange for my honest review!

5/5 stars
Thank you Berkley Romance for the early review copy!

Well Traveled follows Lulu as she starts out the book fed up and unhappy with her life. She decides to quit her job and ends up living the Renaissance Faire life. She ends up living with, working with, and traveling with the Dueling Kilts and Dex MacLean. Dex of course gained a reputation in a past book, and he is trying to work past that. Lulu completely changes her life and learns more about herself and what she wants throughout the book. Both characters go through a large amount of growth. Their relationship is very believable and starts out slowly which I loved. The characters we loved from past books make little cameos throughout, so if you're interested in this series I'd recommend starting from the beginning even though it's connected standalones.

I highly recommend this series!

Well Traveled is the fourth installment in Jen DeLuca’s charming romance series set among Renaissance Faires. This time we get to accompany burned-out-lawyer Lulu as she joins Stacy, Daniel, and the rest of The Dueling Kilts—including handsome Dex—as they journey from faire to faire.

I was happy to be approved for an early copy of Well Traveled, my first from DeLuca, but I knew it meant I wanted to get caught up on the series. I’d only read the first book Well Met late last year, but I adored it, picking up copies for the second and third books when I could. I read Well Played a few months ago and Well Matched right before I picked up Well Traveled, so I’ve been happily immersed in the Ren Faire setting.

It’s always fun to check in on the characters we meet in other books, and most of them make an appearance in Well Traveled. We, of course, get to spend the most time with Stacy, Daniel, and Dex, but we also get to hang out with Mitch and April, as well. And there are plenty of new characters, including a very enigmatic group of fortune tellers who Lulu gets to work alongside.

I adored Lulu, Mitch’s cousin, when we met her in Well Matched, and I was happy Well Traveled became her story. Overworked and under appreciated, she decides to escape her life by joining up with the Ren Faire.

While it was hard to believe anyone would so quickly disengage from their life, it was fun to imagine it. We’ve all had those fantasies, right?! And getting to watch Lulu as she learned the ways of the Faire was very reminiscent of the first book, just with the addition of traveling and sleeping in a camper, which added a coziness to the experience.

Fans of the series may find it hard at first to warm up to Dex, known as the Casanova of Ren Faire, but it was nice to dive deeper into his backstory. DeLuca did a good job of rounding out his character and making him more empathetic.

More lighthearted than the previous books, Well Traveled is fun and refreshing, but I still found myself misty-eyed at the end—a rare occurrence for this reader. Steamy and romantic, it pulled all the right heartstrings!

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Check out my reviews and playlists at A Book Wanderer

I received a gifted galley of WELL TRAVELED by Jen DeLuca for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, PRH Audio, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

WELL TRAVELED is the fourth book in Jen DeLuca’s Well Met series which revolves around the the renaissance fair circuit. For this installment, we are following Lulu (Mitch’s cousin met earlier in the series). Lulu is a lawyer working hard for success with her law firm, but she can never seem to get the recognition she deserves. While on a work trip, she makes her way to the fair and makes a bit of a spectacle when a call from work goes awry. Before she knows it she has quit her job and disposed of her phone in a rather grand gesture.

Mitch convinces Lulu to take some time away from her phone and from her career and travel with The Dueling Kilts, the musical performers who book gigs on the road at the festivals. She is assured that they can always use an extra set of hands, so she is soon hawking turkey legs, collecting tips for the band, and booking visits with the fortunetellers. She’s been warned about Dax, one of The Dueling Kilts with a lady at every stop, but soon she begins to see there is more to him than meets the eye.

I was a little skeptical about how the author would change a career woman into a traveling festival employee, but I wound up really enjoying this book! Though not at all in the same boat, I could absolutely relate to Lulu’s burn out when it comes to her work and the appeal of having a way to get away from it all. I really enjoyed the way both Lulu and Dax had a whole community around them that they managed to prioritize in their lives while also looking after themselves.

I remember complaining just a bit that the last book in the series didn’t spend a lot of time at the ren fair that is what the series is known for, but this book certainly made up for the lost time as we got to follow the on scene life along the way. There were good callbacks to some of the moments from past books as well which were fun, but they were done in a way that you could certainly read this as a standalone.

WELL TRAVELED is out today!

Thanks @prhinternational for this ARC!

Louisa "Lulu" Malone praticamente vive para o trabalho, na esperança de se tornar sócia do escritório que é advogada. Quando recebe uma ligação do seu chefe, ela percebe que esse seu objetivo nunca vai ser alcançado.

Então, em uma atitude motivada a adrenalina, frustração e decepção, ela (literalmente) joga seu celular por ar e aceita um convite para viajar de feira renascentista em feira, como uma espécie de férias. Entre seus parceiros de viagem, está o charmoso Dex MacLean e ela vai descobrir que há mais nele do seu sorriso fácil e a longa lista de conquistas.

Lulu é uma mulher divertida, determinada, engraçada, dedicada e esforçada, mas praticamente viu sua vida passar diante de seus olhos nos últimos anos ao focar em uma promoção que nunca iria acontecer. Nesse tempo viajando com Dex e sua turma, ela vai se redescobrir e também realinhar seus objetivos.

Vemos Dex apenas pelos olhos de Lulu mas é o suficiente para aprendermos que ele é mais que um garanhão. O cantor já tem sua participação marcada aqui desde Well Played e aqui vemos que ele é um cara mais de atitudes que palavras, e Lulu parece ser a única a perceber. Sim, ele é charmoso e tem uma longa lista de conquistas a cada feira que passa, mas também é carinhoso, atencioso e bastante dedicado à sua banda.

O desenvolvimento de Lulu e Dex se dá aos poucos e em pequenas doses. Uma camaradagem nasce entre eles em meio a flertes e provocações. Confesso que até as últimas páginas eu estava com muito medo deles realmente não ficarem juntos, já que suas vidas e rotinas são completamente diferentes.

Foi bem legal ver novamente os eventos pelos olhos de Lulu, uma pessoa que de repente se vê parte do entretenimento. Temos participação dos outros casais, principalmente de Stacey e Daniel (Well Played) e eu amei a amizade que nasceu entre as duas. Não sei esse será o último livro da série, mas eu espero que não porque queria demais um livro da Caitlin, filha da April (Well Matched). Fora que as histórias são divertidas e com uma ambientação diferente.

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca is the fourth book in her very popular Well Met series that focuses on a Renaissance fair. I just loved this new installment to the series and had to read this all in one day.

Story Recap:
Louisa "Lulu" Malone is a high-powered attorney who lives to work and is on track to make partner in the prestigious law firm where she works. While on a work trip, she takes some time to visit the local Renaissance Faire. She’s enjoyed visiting Faire’s ever since she went to one with her cousin Mitch.

When she gets one too many work calls on her day off at the Faire, she ditches her phone and quits her job. On the advice of her cousin, she finds a job at the Faire and travels with them until she can decide what she wants in life. The only flaw to her plan is Dex MacLean, a devastatingly handsome guitarist who is a ladies' man and has too many women after him to count.

Dex has never met a woman who is immune to his charms until he met Lulu. And he doesn’t know how to be just friends with such a beautiful woman, but that’s all she’s offering.

My Thoughts:
I loved going back to the Renaissance Faire and revisiting some of the characters from the previous books. I loved that this installment focused on Dex, who seemed to be such a one-dimensional character in the previous books, and in Well Traveled we learn that he has a lot more emotional depth than I had ever thought he could have. His love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude is just a cover for deeper emotional wounds, and we get to see how Lulu helps him unravel his issues.

Lulu is also a wounded character. She’s focused her entire life trying to please her parents and do what she thinks they want from her and in the process, she’s sacrificed any kind of social life she could have for herself. When she meets Dex, she immediately knows he’s not the kind of man for her, but their attraction is immediate and intense.

Recommendation:

I highly recommend Well Traveled to anyone who enjoys romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love this series. It was a great welcome back for me as I skipped the last one in the series, so that means you can definitely read each as a standalone. The story opens with Lulu doing what most of us dream of and throwing her phone away and quitting on the spot. What ensues is a summer of transformation as she throws away her lawyer life and throws herself into the ren faire circuit. We see characters from the other books in the series who help her along the way but the story is mostly focused on Lulu and how she changes and develops throughout this summer. Even though she's 35, it shows that there's no age limit on changing your life track. There is a slow burn of a romance in this as well that depicts you should never judge a book by its cover. Lulu and Dex are an unlikely pair and part of the charm of the story is waiting to see how they can make it work after Lulu's deadline of one summer living free.

Lawyer Lulu Malone has been killing herself to try and make partner. Frustrated and exhausted, everything goes wrong one day and Lulu quits her job in a most spectacular fashion. She’s at a crossroads and her cousin, Mitch, has the perfect idea: travel the Ren Faire circuit with The Dueling Kilts. Lulu adapts to her new life on the road faster than she could have imagined, thanks to the help of her new friend Stacey and the friendly guys in the band. But there is one thing about her new life that throws her off (aside from being banned from computer and cell phone usage): guitarist Dex MacLean. Dex is the bad boy of the Ren Faires with a girl (or two or three) at every stop. He’s handsome as heck but shallow… Or is there more to him than meets the eye?

Well Traveled is sweetness, comfort, romance, and fun all rolled into one. I love escaping into the world of Jen DeLuca’s Renaissance Faires and this time was no exception. Lulu is tired of trying to live up to the expectations set by her family, which is why when she has a meltdown her cousin suggests a break from reality. I loved Lulu’s journey as she came into her own, melding her old self with her new. It was a delight to watch her become part of the Ren Faire family, doing odd jobs and making friends along the way. Her friendship with Stacey (of Well Played) and the MacLean family charmed the heck out of me.

In many ways, Well Traveled is Lulu’s story more than hers and Dex’s, but don’t fear that DeLuca skipped the romance. Dex seems charming and shallow and he plays into that, but there’s more to him than even his own family gives him credit for. Lulu is the first woman to treat him like a person rather than a plaything and it broke my heart a bit for him. Dex can be sweet and caring and I liked how easily he fell for Lulu. But Lulu’s time at the Ren Faire is only for a few months and the two of them live in different worlds. To make things work, they have to be willing to compromise and risk being open and vulnerable to each other.

Well Traveled was a pleasure to read. The world of Renaissance Faires is just a delight and I loved seeing it through Lulu’s eyes. The romance was understated but built as the story went on, culminating in a happily ever after that made me smile. Lulu and Dex’s story is a true comfort read and I am very much looking forward to revisiting them.

A cute and quick read! We’ve met Louisa and Dex in previous books so it was really fun seeing them come together and form a bond and relationship.

Louisa (Lulu) is a hard working, aka overworked, attorney desperately trying to make partner at a big firm. And for the last five years she’s been overlooked for promotions. She goes to a Renaissance Faire to take a break and ends up having a minor breakdown, quits her job, and throws her phone into a washer tub. She then decides to go off the grid and joins the Dueling Kilts as they play at Faires until they return to Willow Creek. Louisa really comes into her own at the Faire, helping out the witchy women at their tarot reading tables. She starts to listen to her heart, not just her head.

While the romance is clear and obvious, I would say this book is more about Louisa’s journey to a more balanced person. Overall, 4 stars!

This was cute but I still didn't find it as enjoyable as the very first book in the series. Dare I say I'm kind of renaissance faired out?
I didn't love the romance as much in this book either, I didn't feel the chemistry was there and it just didn't spark.

When Louisa detonates her life by abruptly quitting her job, she isn't expecting Stacey, a friend of her cousin Mitch, to take pity on her. Stacey offers her a job and a place to stay while she detoxes from work and figures out what's next. The only problem is that Stacey comes with Dex, and Dex is a test of Lulu's patience, sanity, and, unfortunately, her self control. But Dex reveals another side to Lulu, and she quickly falls for him. Too bad their lives are headed in opposite directions: Dex loves his music and doesn't want to give up his traveling lifestyle...

This was such a fun, quick read. I couldn't put the book down and ended up finishing it in a day. I got to live vicariously through Lulu - who among us doesn't imagine throwing their phone (while their boss is on the line!!) into a washtub and then disappearing to have an adventure?? It was perfect escapism for someone feeling the burnout. I highly recommend the entire Well Met series.

When we met Lulu in the previous book, I immediately loved her and I’m so happy we got her story.

I love that Lulu and her personal journey was the main focus of this story. It’s the story she deserved and I had a blast reading it.

I seriously hope this series never ends.

Louisa Malone has spent the last several years of her life as an attorney working long hours while being passed over many times for a promised partnership. Her days have become very joyless; she is so tired of banging her head on the glass ceiling. Known as Lulu by her cousin, Mitch, who is a Renaissance Faire participant and had introduced her to the fun times before, Lulu decides to take a break from a nearby assignment by attending a Faire; there she has an epiphany about her unhappy life. Lulu summarily quits her job essentially running away to join with the group known as the Dueling Kilts and working various places in the Ren Faire as a volunteer.

Dex MacLean, guitarist for the troupe, has a reputation of a player, not just the musical kind, who has a different female companion at every stop. This has worked for Dex many years on the tour, but once he meets Lulu again, who is indifferent to him, things began to change. Dex is an example of someone who gets stuck in playing a role that everyone expects him too; however, he may just be ready to grow up.

Lulu takes on jobs she never imagined before including helping the fortune tellers as their front-woman bringing in patrons and handling the booking and money. Her time at the Faire allows Lulu to realize that her job as attorney was soul killing. Now she has the freedom and opportunity to explore what she really wants. Dex and Lulu spend time together on the road and as they become more than friends, each has a decision to make about what they want for their lives and with each other going forward.

This fourth book in the Well Met series includes main characters from the earlier ones including Stacey, who is once again is a major part of a book as she becomes a mentor of sorts to Lulu. The challenges of life on the road as well as the idea of reinventing one’s life make for an interesting and enjoyable read. Fans of the series will be happy to have this new addition to the appealing world Ms. DeLuca has created.

This one was hard to rate. One side, I did like it but on the other, it wasn’t a favorite which is really disappointing. Again, I did like it though! Close proximity, finding oneself, and kilts? Come on!

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Lulu. We were introduced to her in the last book and I loved her! I couldn’t wait to see what her story would be about. She definitely goes through a lot of growth when it comes to her job, family, and love. I do wish that there would have been more when it came to her family but I understand, she was living off-the-grid. It’s just a shame we saw them in the last book with Mitch but not in this one. I think it would have added a bit more.

There are other characters that were present in other books come back for this one. Stacey and Daniel are one of my favorite couples! I am happy they are back and helping Lulu find her purpose. It was nice to see another side from them as well as the others in the Dueling Kilts, especially Dex. He is the definition of not judging a book by its cover and he gets judged a lot from those close to him as well as all of the other people putting on a show at the ren faire. He is hiding a softer interior and I loved getting to know him a whole lot better.

The romance between Dex and Lulu was cute. It involves close-proximity and not knowing what the future holds. They learn a lot about each other before ever getting into anything I liked that approach. The downside is that even though they were getting to know each other, it felt like a rapid stride from somewhat friends to lovers and it just didn’t work for me. Don’t get me wrong, there were cute moments between them and I still loved them but I just wanted more between them. You know what I mean?

Overall, I liked this one. Not a favorite but it was still a good read and I’m glad that Dex had a happy ending after meeting him in book two. I’m also glad we got to see Lulu and understand her better as well. She really is a great character.

Lulu is fed up at work and when it dawns on her that she is never going to make a partner she quits her job and joins the Rennaissance Faire circuit. Enter Dex a guitarist for the Dueling Kilts that has a reputation for having a different maiden at each faire. As the two spend more time together, attraction and understanding grow. I've really enjoyed this series so far and this latest installment did not disappoint. I love all the characters and the atmosphere that is created.

I have really enjoyed reading this series from Jen DeLuca and while this book may have taken me a bit longer to get into than others in the series I ended up enjoying it.

Louisa has just very dramatically quit her job in big law and faced with a life on unknowns she makes the decision to spend the summer travelling with the faire before figuring out what to do with the rest of her life. It is there we meet Dex (who we are well aware of in the series already) and immediately learns about his Casanova behaviour and charm. When they are forced to travel together they may end up learning more than just the basics from each other.

Though it took me a bit to get into this book, by the end I really liked Dex and Lulu's story and how they both evolved through the course of the book. It is always fun to come back to the world of the Renaissance Faires and is a great escape.

I really enjoyed this book, but I do believe I enjoyed the first and the third installment the best. Something about the Ren Faire atmosphere sucks me in every time!

3.5 Stars

Lulu is an overworked and under appreciated attorney and runs away to the Ren Faire! Add in a sexy kilted musician and some tarot cards and it’s a perfect set up. It’s the fourth book in this delightful series and one of the more memorable plot lines but it was also thin in some areas.

Dex doesn’t get enough build. He needed more presence from the beginning and stronger vibes (for lack of a better term) overall. I didn’t get enough of the “Casanova” directly from him to be pigeonholed so firmly. And then the attraction, flirting, and romance was too subtle. I wasn’t feeling it.

On the other hand Lulu, as a singular character, was great. A solidly built woman that you loved following around the faire and watching unwind. Her discovery of self, new found passions, and career goals was a good arc through to the end.

There were some things that felt unfinished, though. Mostly Lulu’s family, and their tension, which is repeatedly mentioned but there is never a confrontation or resolution. And general career things that fell into easy rom-com wrap-up.

Still, overall, I think that Lulu and Dex were a good match. Their personalities really did mesh well and with a better build and more effort put into their chemistry, it would have been amazing. They balance each other. So I wasn’t walking away from this one only thinking of what could have been. I’m still satisfied with the pairing, and that’s a win.

I absolutely loved this installment of the Well Met series! It was so fun to visit characters from the previous books and get to know Lulu and Dex, who didn't have huge roles in the earlier books. This book had such great character development from both main characters as well as smart and funny dialogue and steam. I thought DeLuca handled the backstory between Dex and Stacey so well. I especially liked that Lulu was portrayed as vulnerable yet strong and self-confident at the same time. Her relationship with and devotion to her grandparents was especially touching. Honestly, I love everything about this series and am sad that I think it's come to an end.

I enjoyed this fourth installment into the Ren Faire series, but it wasn't my favorite. I think it felt less romance-y than the others and was more about Lulu finding herself after abruptly quitting her high profile career. It did focus more on life at the Faire itself but I'm not 100% sold on Dex as a monogamous partner. It was written well and in a way that could work - he wanted to be understood and treated as more than just a playboy but this is how he behaved so it was hard to separate the two. Do I think he would have given up that life for a relationship with just Lulu? It's hard to say, but I think it would have been easier to believe if Lulu was someone he had known for years and fell in love with, rather than someone he just met. Lulu's life at the Faire was more interesting than the romance and I enjoyed watching her try to fit in with the tarot readers. This is still a good book in this series, but definitely more for the Faire feel than the romance with Dex. 4 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.