Bibliophile in the Desert is our book review column. Local reader, writer and #ThisIsTucson Book Club moderator, Genevieve Dahl, shares recommendations and reviews of novels penned by Southern Arizona authors and books set or themed around Tucson.
Gold Canyon may serve as host of the annual Arizona Renaissance Festival, but Tucson is the home of Renaissance Faire romance author Jen Deluca. Huzzah!
Deluca, author of “Well Met,” this month’s book in review, quietly moved to the Old Pueblo two years ago and she is here to stay.
The pastel green cover of “Well Met” features an illustration of a sword-wielding man and a perturbed-looking woman. This visual quickly clued me in — I was about to read one of my favorite tropes, an enemies to lovers romance story.
Book reviewer Genevieve Dahl was drawn in by the cover of "Well Met."
I will absolutely judge a book by its cover, but the real identifier of a good story is found in the first few lines. And the first and second sentences of “Well Met” read: “I didn’t choose the wench life. The wench life chose me.”
If an introduction like that doesn’t pull you right in, I don’t know what will. The rest of “Well Met” did not disappoint. I found myself laughing out loud on more than a few pages, and I finished this book in two days because nearly every time I went to close it, I had to read just one more chapter.
Happy-go-lucky Emily finds herself in the charming small town of Willow Creek, Maryland. She is there as a visitor of sorts. Emily’s somewhat estranged older sister has shattered her leg and her niece, April, a refreshingly and realistically sweet teen character, falls under Emily’s care.
This all works out well for Emily, as she has recently been dumped and is feeling a bit lost in the world. Emily shuffles April to and from school, and to a casting call for the community Renaissance Faire, which is apparently a big deal in Willow Creek.
Unbeknownst to Emily, each student participant is required to have an adult participant accompany them. She’s faced with a decision: join the Ren Faire crew or crush her niece’s teen dreams. Emily, of good and noble heart, chooses the former and is cast as a wench.
Book reviewer Genevieve Dahl says "Well Met" did not disappoint.
And that is how we meet the love interest of our story, Simon. Though he may be a schoolteacher by trade, he is a Renaissance man through and through. Simon takes his position as the Volunteer Manager very seriously, and he has little patience for apathetic participants.
Emily shows up for rehearsals. She endures a corset. She chooses for herself the Renaissance name of Emma, a moniker that is true of the times, but so close to her actual name, it further demonstrates to Simon her apathy for his beloved Renaissance Faire.
Slowly but surely, Emily begins to see what all the fuss is about. She quickly befriends just about every adult in the cast, save for crotchety Simon. For the first time in a long time, Emily feels like a part of something. She has community, something she wasn’t necessarily looking for but was most assuredly longing for.
As the Renaissance Faire ends, and Emily’s sister begins to stand on her own two feet again, Emily’s exit comes into view. It seems there is no reason for her to stay in the little town of Willow Creek any longer.
Or is there? You’ll have to read for yourself.
When you finish the novel, I have some great news for you. “Well Met” is the first of Deluca’s Renaissance Faire romance series. The second book, “Well Played,” and the third book, “Well Matched,” are waiting for you at your local bookstore alongside “Well Met.”
Say hello to your fellow Tucsonan, “Well Met” author Jen Deluca, at jendeluca.com or over on Instagram. Looking to dive deeper? Join the #ThisIsTucson book club on Facebook here.
