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A review by prudence_aubergine
Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca
2.0
2/5
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited to get an e-ARC for this book! 'Well Met' is one of my favourite romcoms to date, so much so that I read it once every year. I have never gone to a Renaissance Faire (though I'm sure I would freaking love it), but I have done outdoor theatre in period-garb, immersive theatre, etc., so I am basically the target demographic here.
Unfortunately, this book was a big let down for me. I did not feel the same magic or whimsy as the first one, or even the third book. (I haven't read the second book in this series, but I'll touch on that in a moment...) I found myself only able to read this in short bursts because if I spent too much time reading it, I grew bored. It was very repetitive: wake up, hang out with the band/work at the faire, talk to the Divination ladies, head back to the trailer, rinse and repeat. Of course there was repetition in the other books, but this one felt verrrrry repetitious to me- so much so that it affected the pacing and my overall enjoyment of the book.
Now, I didn't read the second book, but I heard a lot about it from people who did, and hearing that it was essentially a catfishing trope that had little to no consequences, I decided to skip it. Well, it appears the author felt the need to defend her choices, because she literally had Stacey, the main character from book two, defend her actions and give us her perspective. I did not care, and it came across as very obviously Jen DeLuca speaking to the readers who didn't like that book.
The chemistry between Dex and Louisa/LuLu was a missed opportunity for me. This story on paper sounds *so good* with so many chances for slow burn, sexual tension, banter... I didn't get enough of that. We barely learnt anything about Dex, just that he was a nice, normal guy who is not just some 'Ren Faire Lothario' as they refer to him. But like... who IS he? Why do these two people work? It has to be more than just 'we hang out and you actually ask me about my day- no one ever does that with me'. *Insert eye roll here*
Overall, I clearly was not very happy with my reading experience, which is a huge bummer because I am a HUGE fan of 'Well Met' and I really enjoyed the third book, 'Well Matched'. I would read another book by Jen DeLuca, but hopefully the next one will not take place in this world because I think it has run its course. Looking at other reviews, I seem to be in the minority, but hey, to each their own. This was not it for me.
EDITED TO ADD:
How could I forget- there was like ZERO communication between LuLu and Dex. It was SO FRUSTRATING! This lady is supposed to be mid-late thirties and a lawyer, and yet... nothing. So many of the 'problems' (I say 'problems' because the conflict was very weak in my opinion) could have been solved with either of them literally saying ANYTHING to each other!! This is why I felt like there was no chemistry and didn't know anything about Dex because if they had conversations, we didn't really witness them. I'm not far off when I say their conversations went something like:
Dex: Yeah, I'm a smart guy but I'm just here to be the pretty face for the band, you know? That's alright by me. I'm just going to give everyone what they want.
LuLu: Ugh, he's such a great guy. Why can't people appreciate him?! Does he like me? Does he do relationships? Maybe I should ask him?? I'll just ask him about something else vaguely related and hope he interprets it the way I want him to.
And this lack of communication/chemistry/any real relationship foundation was all solved or explained away by the author stating that they were an "unconventional couple". ...Sure, why not? Why. Not.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited to get an e-ARC for this book! 'Well Met' is one of my favourite romcoms to date, so much so that I read it once every year. I have never gone to a Renaissance Faire (though I'm sure I would freaking love it), but I have done outdoor theatre in period-garb, immersive theatre, etc., so I am basically the target demographic here.
Unfortunately, this book was a big let down for me. I did not feel the same magic or whimsy as the first one, or even the third book. (I haven't read the second book in this series, but I'll touch on that in a moment...) I found myself only able to read this in short bursts because if I spent too much time reading it, I grew bored. It was very repetitive: wake up, hang out with the band/work at the faire, talk to the Divination ladies, head back to the trailer, rinse and repeat. Of course there was repetition in the other books, but this one felt verrrrry repetitious to me- so much so that it affected the pacing and my overall enjoyment of the book.
Now, I didn't read the second book, but I heard a lot about it from people who did, and hearing that it was essentially a catfishing trope that had little to no consequences, I decided to skip it. Well, it appears the author felt the need to defend her choices, because she literally had Stacey, the main character from book two, defend her actions and give us her perspective. I did not care, and it came across as very obviously Jen DeLuca speaking to the readers who didn't like that book.
The chemistry between Dex and Louisa/LuLu was a missed opportunity for me. This story on paper sounds *so good* with so many chances for slow burn, sexual tension, banter... I didn't get enough of that. We barely learnt anything about Dex, just that he was a nice, normal guy who is not just some 'Ren Faire Lothario' as they refer to him. But like... who IS he? Why do these two people work? It has to be more than just 'we hang out and you actually ask me about my day- no one ever does that with me'. *Insert eye roll here*
Overall, I clearly was not very happy with my reading experience, which is a huge bummer because I am a HUGE fan of 'Well Met' and I really enjoyed the third book, 'Well Matched'. I would read another book by Jen DeLuca, but hopefully the next one will not take place in this world because I think it has run its course. Looking at other reviews, I seem to be in the minority, but hey, to each their own. This was not it for me.
EDITED TO ADD:
How could I forget- there was like ZERO communication between LuLu and Dex. It was SO FRUSTRATING! This lady is supposed to be mid-late thirties and a lawyer, and yet... nothing. So many of the 'problems' (I say 'problems' because the conflict was very weak in my opinion) could have been solved with either of them literally saying ANYTHING to each other!! This is why I felt like there was no chemistry and didn't know anything about Dex because if they had conversations, we didn't really witness them. I'm not far off when I say their conversations went something like:
Dex: Yeah, I'm a smart guy but I'm just here to be the pretty face for the band, you know? That's alright by me. I'm just going to give everyone what they want.
LuLu: Ugh, he's such a great guy. Why can't people appreciate him?! Does he like me? Does he do relationships? Maybe I should ask him?? I'll just ask him about something else vaguely related and hope he interprets it the way I want him to.
And this lack of communication/chemistry/any real relationship foundation was all solved or explained away by the author stating that they were an "unconventional couple". ...Sure, why not? Why. Not.