Well Met

So damn delightful and exactly what I needed right now! Not wholly a romance - I mean, it definitely ticks the boxes of the genre, but it's almost as much about Emily rebuilding the relationship with her sister and niece, making friends, and restarting her life after a bad breakup as it is about the romance with Simon. That's not to say I didn't like the romance, because I absolutely did (though I read a tweet from the author comparing Simon and Mitch's energy to that of Chris and Brad from the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen videos, and that was a little bit distracting, because it changed my mental image of Simon to Chris Morocco, which isn't all that far off from the character description, but the pirate outfit in Faire was ... yeah, a lot.) I really liked this world, though it was a little bit white and straight for my tastes, but a nice, low-conflict, low-drama romance was perfect in these “challenging times,” as every email I've gotten from a company phrases it. Very excited to read the next book in this series!

This was a very cute enemies to lover rom-com situation. We have Emily, who's life is up in the air at the moment and has moved in with her older sister and niece to help out after her sister's accident. Then we have Simon who seems to “have a stick up his butt”. The banter was absolutely the best at the Ren Faire when they were each in their alter ego as bar wench and pirate. I was really enjoying the whole Ren Faire background because I've always wanted to go to one.

This, all in all, was a cute and easy read ( I don't mean that in a bad way). It didn't rock my world but it wasn't a waste of my time either.

This book started off really well and I loved the premise but it went downhill once the story/romance started. It all seems so unrealistic. I enjoyed the banter between Simon and Emily but their relationship did not feel organic at all to me. I'm curious to see what happens in the companion novels. but was disappointed with how this relationship unfolded.

CAWPILE Breakdown:
Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 9
Writing: 4
Plot: 3
Intrigue: 5
Logic: 5
Enjoyment: 5

3,5~4
Esse livro começou como um dos melhores RomCom de todos.
Um enredo bem amarrado, simples, com personagens com bastante background e alguns defeitos mas que sabem lidar muito bem com sua adversidade. Personagens de aparência “normal”, nada daquelas belezas raras e cheias de características que nos levam a pensar “óbvio que esse povo é lindo”.
E, sem contar que, “se as estrelas fossem minhas para dar”, ganharia uma a mais só por comentar de Shakespeare in Love.

Mas aí então, teve os 80%ish do livro, quando Simon e Emily tiveram um fight e....
Bom, já chegamos nisso.

A Renaissance Faire (Ren Faire) deu um toque todo especial ao livro - como se houvesse duas histórias em andamento: a parte lúdica do romance de um pirata charmoso com uma garçonete (?) de taverna; e a realidade-tapa-na-cara de duas pessoas bem diferentes, com seus problemas da vida cotidiana, com suas famílias, responsabilidades e “erros”.

Ri alto com as descrições dos Kilts e os corpos que os habitavam. (!!!!) Terminei esse livro bem obcecada com essa imagem de homem, inclusive. Mesmo com bike-shorts por baixo. cof cof

Simon... (suspiros apaixonados). É um fofo. E ouso dizer um dos personagens mais retrato da realidade que nos rodeia que já li até hoje (um cara normal, magro, sério, que teve poucas “aventuras” na vida, mas sabe o que faz), mesmo com as crises e problemas internos que carrega.

Usar tradições da Ren Faire para o wooed a girl system foi uma sacada de mestre. Olha... está de parabéns.

Também, o desenvolvimento da relação da Emily com o Simon - de archenemies para amor da vida - foi menos abrupto do que imaginava. Com cenas de dar uns suspiros.

E estava super bem. Um relacionamento que duas pessoas conversam e falam várias verdades e fica tudo bem. Ask the right question como sugeriu o bilhetinho do biscoito, funcionou que foi uma beleza... Por que não continuar assim então?

Daí o pessoal espana. E isso que retirou a estrelinha dos 5 estrelas desse livro. A Emily tomou o papel “do cara” nos romances, quando se vitimiza e generaliza todas as mulheres como iguais. Bem, essa foi a Emily na briga com o Simon - sem antes perguntar as coisas direito como o bilhetinho havia sugerido. Colocando-o como o monstro preso no passado, quando ela estava tão na mesma merda quanto ele (num nível menor, veja bem, ela não perdeu um Shawn).
O que levou ao GRAND GESTURE, tradicional dos romance, onde temos o cara fazendo uma cena para demonstrar o amor que sente (que na vida real, provavelmente, todos nós morreríamos de vergonha), duas vezes.

Não deixa de ser uma leitura gostosa.
Lamento apenas o segundo volume ser com a Staicey que senti zero afinidade do começo ao fim - talvez pela característica b-side que ela teve desde o primeiro momento, faria muito mais sentido a continuação ser com a April ou o Mitch. Enfim. Quem sou eu para julgar a autora?

This book wasn't bad but overall I felt a little let down by the second half of this book. Personally, I came into the novel for the Renaissance aspect and I completely loved that part. Later in the novel, there was some mild drama between the love interests and I didn't think it was necessary and felt like it could be taken out. I think that this book would have done better as a novella as a lot of the end wasn't needed but I still really enjoyed it.

A book that brings together my love of sweet romance stories and renaissance fairs! What more could I ask for? Not much, actually. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

In this summer romance story, Emily volunteers to be a tavern wench in the high school renaissance fair so that her niece can participate. Emily at first takes a major disliking to Simon, the man in charge. However, as she learns more of his true personality, she finds herself drawn to him.

The characters in this book are very likable. Emily is believable as a young woman who is a bit lost after being burned by her long time boyfriend. She is not sure where she fits anymore or what she should do with her life. Luckily, she finds the renaissance fair and forms bonds that help to ground her and make her feel like part of a family. Simon is a character with a lot of weight on his shoulders, some of it self-inflicted. He is so serious most of the time, but it is fun to watch his more playful side emerge when he become a pirate at the fair. As someone who has always been serious, I completely relate to the way Simon has to take on a persona to let himself have fun. The secondary characters are all fun and charming. I especially enjoyed Mitch, the handsome charmer in a kilt.

The plot moves at a really nice pace, never getting slow or boring. There is just enough detail about the fair to be charming without becoming too nerdy. I use that word with love as I am a bit a of a nerd myself when it comes to these types of things. Some of the romance elements are a bit cheesy, but then its a renaissance fair setting. Cheesy is expected, but in a good way. I like that there is no overdramatic plot conflict between the two main characters. There is a conflict, of course, because it is a romance novel and they all have at least one. However, it is a believable, realistic conflict that feels like something lots of adults deal with in relationships.

Overall, I enjoyed this reading experience. I am rating this at 4.5 stars. I would recommend it to any contemporary romance reader, especially those with a little bit of renaissance fair fan in them.

All 4 of the stars I'm giving this one are for the squee moments. I blew through this one. The writing didn't blow my mind, nor did the characters, but this was a quintessential, yet great romance book.
My hang up with the romance genre is that I tend to hate one or both of the main characters. But I liked both in this one. I mean, who wouldn't want a pirate after adding devout loyalty to the rodomontade?
I also already purchased the next one in the series.~
Cute read.