Well Met
Author: Jen DeLuca
Trope: Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Grumpy/Sunshine
Point of view: Single, First person
Relationship: MF
Type of series: Standalone part of a series
In a nutshell: All's faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com.
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.
What I thought: I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did. I don’t know anything about Renaissance Faires and was pretty far off my radar as far as what I think I would think of as fun on the weekend. But call me a convert, because I adored this book! Enemies to Lovers is one of my favourite tropes and Emily and Simon’s story met every unknown hope I had for them. Grumpy heroes and sunshine heroines get me every time, throw in a medieval village and a delicious slow burn and I’m officially looking up Faires near me. Book one in the Well Met series, I can’t wait to dive back into this world that has absolutely captivated me.
Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual.
Trapped in a shared office together 40 (OK, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything - especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking. If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth-shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong.
Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn’t hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.