Well Played by Jen DeLuca
Title: Well Played
Author: Jen DeLuca - We had the pleasure of interviewing Jen for the podcast! Check it out here.
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 2 of The Well Met series. You can see our podcast review of Well Met book 1 here.
Genre: Contemporary Romance with a Faire flair
Plot: 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 on stage 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.
Thoughts:
Oh my geez what a fun ride. I thought this book was more lovely than even the first one and really showed the evolution of writing for author Jen DeLuca. Makes me excited for books 3 & 4 within the same world.
Plus, my catnip is when characters are writing or texting each other to get to know each other and the fun and longing and falling in love are all there on the page. Delicious.
This book really captures that feeling of being stuck in your life really well. Stacey sees everyone in her life moving "forward" feels like she has nothing going on. This is thrown into sharp relief by how alive she feels at The Faire and by the false cheer she puts on for all her friends, keeping her true feelings secret from everyone.
Enter Dex, the lead singer of the Twisted Kilts, and her two summer hookup. She feels like she's going to miss him, but really, she misses the feeling of being someone else, of being an insider in the Faire and like she belongs. She begins a year-long correspondence with Dex (she thinks), but really it is with his cousin Daniel, the tall, rangy, ginger manager of the band.
I wanted Daniel to fight for Stacey more at the end, however, I did like that she took the reigns and didn't wait for him or pine or hope, she decided that she wanted him and the life he was offering and went after it. With her best buddy Mitch and April in tow!
Hope we are getting Mitch and April vibes for book 3!!
McDreamy to McSteamy: McGinger Dream
Classy to Nasty: Vanilla
Hero rating: 🍆🍆🍆🍆 I forgave him for the initial switcheroo because he loved her and wanted to get to know her. While it was a lie, it was also romantic and he really listened and supported her in their year-long courtship. I didn't like the 2nd thing he keeps from her, or that he doesn't even try to fight for her at the end. But his letters were dreamy and he likes her just the way she is.
Heroine rating: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 I liked Stacey but also wanted her to get outta her shell more during the year in between Faires! She forgives Daniel real quick and I woulda made him GROVEL and also been mad he didn’t try to convince me on his reasons.
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Definitely recommend. Dip yourself back into Faire life and see how you can change your life and choose to embrace who you want to be until you are. And learn that love is just around the corner and while a hot body is great for a while, you want the man who makes you laugh and feel like yourself to hang around forever.
Thank you @netgalley and @berkley for my ARC!
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May your books be your lover and your hand your best friend
On Romance at a Glance, Bridget and Shani review a different genre of romance novels each season and interview some of romance’s biggest authors. They crack each other up while getting into the nitty-gritty of real-life romance, relationships, and sex. Expect spontaneous singing, funny anecdotes, life lessons, naughty language, and 1000% honest reviews. We’ve been called savage and we’re not mad about it.
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