Well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions… again. I may have picked up yet another novel that is not the first in its series. I know, I have a problem. But how was I supposed to scroll on past a book with a guy in a kilt on the cover? One simply does not do such things.
Luckily for me, Well Matched by Jen DeLuca works well as a standalone too. You can tell which characters are involved in the prior two books (Well Played and Well Met), but their love stories aren’t detailed enough to feel like it’s spoiling it in case I want to go back. I mean, we know they are going to end up together because it’s a romance novel. It’s the details along the way that keep us reading.
Anyways… Well Matched. This book tells the story of a single mom named April. Her daughter is wrapping up her senior year of high school, so she’s in her feels about empty nesting. She’s also in her feels because her ex reached out to her daughter for the first time since he left.
Meanwhile, the local high school gym teacher is facing his own set of struggles. Mitch’s family gives him crap about ‘not applying himself’ and not settling down and having kids. So ahead of a family dinner, he asks April to be his fake girlfriend. But that one dinner turns into a family weekend with them at a hotel… and you guessed it, only one bed. It’s fine because Mitch agrees to help April get her home ready to sell in exchange for sharing the bed.
What’s fun about Well Matched is the Renaissance Faire aspect. While April has never participated before, her sister, daughter, and Mitch are all actors in the town’s annual fundraiser. Mitch inspires April to get more involved in the community, including at the Ren Faire. It just adds a fun, nerdy vibe that you don’t often get in romcoms.
Well Matched is one of those stories that feels like a comfort read. Their pain points aren’t overwhelmingly tragic and it’s full of enough happy moments to keep you buzzing on serotonin.
Note: As an Amazon affiliate, I can receive compensation for your qualifying purchases.
Literary HypeWoman 