Well Played
Ratings28
Average rating2.9
15
Ratings28
Average rating2.9
A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy featuring kilted musicians, Renaissance Faire tavern wenches, and an unlikely love story. LibraryReads Pick 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 onstage 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.
Series
4 primary booksWell Met is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by Jen DeLuca.
Reviews with the most likes.
Considering how much I adored [b:Well Met 43189874 Well Met (Well Met, #1) Jen DeLuca https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1548353675l/43189874.SY75.jpg 67013218], this was something of a letdown. I didn't feel like there was sufficient groveling for the yearlong catfishing by Daniel, and Stacey forgave him way too easily for what most people would consider a pretty big betrayal - again with female characters basically gaslighting themselves into being okay with completely unacceptable actions by their love interests (looking at you [b:The Boyfriend Project 52211784 The Boyfriend Project (The Boyfriend Project, #1) Farrah Rochon https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570712674l/52211784.SY75.jpg 73615834]), and seriously, y'all deserve better! Daniel was very underwritten as a character as well, probably because he wasn't really on the page all that much, certainly not enough for Stacey's decision at the end to make sense - you have a degree in fashion merchandising and some talent as a stylist and you quit your job to manage merch for a Ren Faire touring act? I understand wanting to get out of town, but that is a Choice. I liked Stacey and it was fun to return to this setting, but this wasn't quite what I was hoping for, unfortunately.(Review edited 5/21/21 - why did I give this three stars in the first place? Definitely a two-star situation.)
I generally don't like catfish/liar love stories. It's just not a red flag I can overlook. Stacey's character was far removed from the way she was portrayed in Well Met. The author tried to cover this up as a masking reflex the character had in order to seem more aloof to her friends, but it didn't work. Daniel was a creep and the fact that Stacey wasn't suspicious at all during the entire year she was emailing/texting him was too unrealistic. How do you not have a phone call or a FaceTime in the modern age once during a year long exchange, especially if you are obsessed with social media? The saving grace was the 1 sex scene. It was worth all three starts. I'll read the next one and see if I the series recovers for me.
