4.0 (1 rating)
Well Met
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.
Published: September 3, 2019
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9781984805393
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Available in: Ebook, Paperback, Hardcover
See all editions (5)Reader Reviews
4.0
1 rating
Read Letter D.
Feb 8, 2026
3.5 rounded up.
The Ren Faire setting is so much fun! Who doesn't love a Ren Faire? Emily is a reasonably well developed character who is lost in life, coming to help her sister for the summer is an easy break that lets her get her feet under her. I wanted to like her a lot, but at some point her inability to realize what was going on around her got tiring.
I don't mind a miscommunication or non-communicateion trope, but her being so oblivious to the things Simon was picking up on in the second half of the book was frustrating. It was incredibly clear (even without any POV chapters for him) how he was interpreting what he was seeing and yet Emily had not one single clue.
The parts where they were in their faire personals were so much fun, totally rom-com material and had me turning pages, to get to the next weekend's antics. But much of Emily's overthinking/inability to recognize what her actions looked like was a bit tough to get through and her inability to empathize made her feel really self-centered at times. I wanted a happy ending more for Simon's sake than for hers.
Simon isn't perfect, but he's given solid backstory reason for being in a weird headspace so I mostly forgave him. Emily over-corrected from her door-mat past and I just wish she could have been more open sooner instead of acting like a child and projecting her problems.
The setting and banter during the good bits does make me interested to read more of the series. I have to see which characters book 2 is about.
The Ren Faire setting is so much fun! Who doesn't love a Ren Faire? Emily is a reasonably well developed character who is lost in life, coming to help her sister for the summer is an easy break that lets her get her feet under her. I wanted to like her a lot, but at some point her inability to realize what was going on around her got tiring.
I don't mind a miscommunication or non-communicateion trope, but her being so oblivious to the things Simon was picking up on in the second half of the book was frustrating. It was incredibly clear (even without any POV chapters for him) how he was interpreting what he was seeing and yet Emily had not one single clue.
The parts where they were in their faire personals were so much fun, totally rom-com material and had me turning pages, to get to the next weekend's antics. But much of Emily's overthinking/inability to recognize what her actions looked like was a bit tough to get through and her inability to empathize made her feel really self-centered at times. I wanted a happy ending more for Simon's sake than for hers.
Simon isn't perfect, but he's given solid backstory reason for being in a weird headspace so I mostly forgave him. Emily over-corrected from her door-mat past and I just wish she could have been more open sooner instead of acting like a child and projecting her problems.
The setting and banter during the good bits does make me interested to read more of the series. I have to see which characters book 2 is about.