Well Matched

I truly love this series by Jen Deluca, and though it has been sitting on my kindle for a little while, I knew I would savour another trip to the Ren Faire!This time the story centres around April Parker a single mother, who is dreading the whole Empty Nest syndrome which she is about to experience when her daughter Caitlyn graduates from school and disappears to college.There will be plenty of time for her to get her life back, but there is also plenty that is happening that she might not want to change.April gets talked into pretending to be her child's Gym teacher, Mitch's girlfriend for a family dinner. Not a bad shout considering he is one of the hottest guys around, but things get a little sticky, as feelings begin to erupt. But that can't be happening because he is much younger than her.Added into the mix, she is planning on selling up her house and leaving, plus, he's one of the Renaissance Faire's main players. And April has no interest, whatsoever... or does she?As much as I wanted to savour it, I finished it in a day. Loved being back there, and even more excited to find out there is another instalment coming this year!

Although a cute story with some relevant contemporary issues, I struggled to get through the first half of ‘Well Matched’ (book 3 in the series). Why? The plot is formulaic with an all too familiar storyline – fake romance, challenges, concerns and then ... turn it all around to develop a real relationship. There is one difference, the female main character, April, is older than the male, Mitch, which is novel.Jen DeLuca brings some insight into April’s introverted personality, her anxiety and life hurdles. She also portrays April as being a people reader, but didn’t develop that interesting trait any further. I got the feeling Jen was just telling a story, but not really feeling it. We get less of Mitch, other than he’s a ‘himbo’ with heart and a measure of emotional intelligence.I’m unsure if writing a romance during our pandemic was a hindrance for the author. In her ‘acknowledgements’, she references this point.“The majority of this book was written in the year 2020, which was unprecedented for so many reasons. It was a challenge to write a rom-com—especially a rom-com that had so! many! public gatherings!—in the middle of a pandemic. But in a lot of ways it was an escape.” She goes on to say she took comfort in being a part of the Willow Creek community. Yet, despite this, the book was a bit flat and predictable.I haven’t read books 1 or 2, but based on the price of book 1 and the pre order price of book 4, I probably won’t hand over my credit card for what I consider high prices, based on what I’ve read in WM.

This is my favorite installment of the Well Met Renaissance Faire romance series.We follow April, a 40 year-old single mom who is about to be an empty nester. She never really got involved in her small town life, so as soon as her daughter is off to college, she is going to sell her house and move to the city. She needs to prepare her house in order to sell it, so she could use some help. Enter in Mitch, a 31 year-old gym teacher who is known as the Kilt man in the local summer renaissance faire. He certainly is capable to help out, but he needs a favor in exchange; his annual family reunion is coming up and his family has been pressuring him to settle down. He needs a girlfriend to bring with. April agrees, as she’s known Mitch for awhile since her sister is a large organizer of the renaissance faire, and really, Mitch isn’t a sight for sore eyes.I just incredibly related to April as a protagonist. She cares too much about what people think, and dating the local hunk who’s about 10 years her junior is not something she wants people to gossip about. She also has a hard time admitting her feelings, and it takes a long time for her to come into her own. Readers might be frustrated with this aspect, as it can feel like it is dragged out. But as someone with pretty bad social anxiety, I thought this book was executed perfectly. April was also relatable to me in that she was a homebody and never really got involved in her area. She somehow avoided the renaissance faire every year she’s lived there, despite he daughter performing in it for the past 2 years. I like to think I would get involved in a local renaissance faire if we had one (I am a big ren faire nerd), but I’m also a homebody.The fake dating troupe was cute here, and there were several instances where the fake dating had to come back into play. If you don’t like that troupe, you’ll grow tired of it here, I’m sure. I also enjoyed getting Mitch’s story since his character was pretty well fleshed out in the previous two installments. He’s a fun and nice fella. I also think this is one reason I enjoyed this book more, as both April and Mitch were a lot more prevalent in the previous two books. The previous book, Well Played, only followed Stacy; the male lead was a new character tossed into the mix.Unrelated to anything in regards to an opinion of the book, but I was so impressed by April fixing up her house in order to sell it. My partner and I are in the market to purchase our first home and we get frustrated over all these owners who don’t take care of their houses. If only April existed in real life! I’d buy her house– it has a kitchen island! Anyway, the slight direct life correlation also just had me all for this book,I recommend if you like the fake dating troupe, small town romances, and/or read previous books of this series and enjoyed those. If you’re in it just for the Ren Faire, fair warning that the Ren Faire doesn’t occur until the last 1/3 of the book or so, but honestly it was my favorite part and so worth it.

Staying in the Willows Creek was never an option. April raised her daughter like many single moms on her own, putting her needs on the back burner. But her daughter about to graduate high school and go to college. It’s time April gets what she wants, even if she won’t admit she has feelings for Mitch!April might not be everyone’s favorite character she has heart protected in tall walls. She’s not very social and hates the idea of people talking about her. But as my mom was also a single mom I get that being a softy isn’t an option sometimes. Letting someone else take care of her needs is hard. Relying on someone else is scary. Not to mention her baby making days are over.That is one topic I love the author touched base on! Babies and forties. April is not having anymore kids at maybe forty, hot mom that she is, she is not interested more kids. Mitch maybe in his mid thirties might still wanting babies. When he admits he doesn’t, because he’s a gym teacher and coaches younger kids and teens, he’s around kids all the time and has had his fill. I feel like it really said “you don’t need kids to make you happy”. And now all he has to do is break down the walls around April’s heart and they could have something special!Tropes include single parent, fake dating, one bed, renaissance fairs and families!

I adore going back to Willow Creek and the Renaissance Faire, this book was no exception. Lovers of fake dating, only one bed, age gap and single mom romances will love ‘Well Matched’. I’ll be vague because the details of this story NEED to be enjoyed as they build!Well Matched drew me in from the start with our cinnamon roll of a hero, Mitch, saving April from a sleazy guy in a bar and the story takes off from there *swoon*At first I was leaning toward a lesser rating due to me constantly screaming at April to knock down the walls around her heart and FALL, however, you have to realize the trauma April is trying to grow through. I came to this realization myself when April mentioned ‘getting divorced while giving birth’ my heart ached. After that moment I saw April in a different light and understood her reservations better.Mitch, on the other hand, I adored from the start (haven’t we all, though? Really?) Maybe it’s because I’ve read the books in order but I got a sense that Mitch had a thing for April right off the bat, at least maybe it had built from ‘Well Played’? He was tender, passionate, funny, sincere and the Rock April didn’t know she needed.I love the ‘Well Met’ series and recommend them to anyone I can. Jen Delica writes heartfelt, funny and swoon worthy stories that flow with ease.