Well Matched

By: Jen DeLuca

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

A pretend relationship gives two friends more than they bargained for in a Renaissance Faire rom com filled with flower crowns, kilts, corsets, and sword fights.

Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for 12 years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell. 

Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire - a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor, too: She'll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what's real and what's been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship. 

As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch's family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch's girlfriend again...and it doesn't feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans - and open her heart - for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life. 

©2021 Jen DeLuca (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A great comfort read. Warm, sweet, and hopeful, Well Matched is about daring to come out of your shell and building the life you always wanted." (Helen Hoang, USA Today best-selling author of The Heart Principle)

“This series is one of my ultimate comfort reads. I knew I’d adore April and Mitch together, but I didn’t realize how deeply obsessed with them I’d be. Well Matched is for anyone whose life hasn’t gone according to plan, and about all the joys that come with veering off course. Warm and witty, sweet and sexy — this tender hug of a book is Jen DeLuca at her best.” (Rachel Lynn Solomon, national best-selling author of The Ex Talk)

“Jen Deluca writes with exceptional warmth. Well Matched is cozy, sweet, and brimming with charm. It’s such a joy to go back to the faire with Mitch and April!” (Rosie Danan, national best-selling author of The Intimacy Experiment)

Main character is 40 but acts 19

The main character emotionally immature. I felt she acted like a teenager and I was listening to some teen romance movie. The main character is so insecure that it’s cringe worthy. I felt very irritated listening to her narrative and thoughts throughout the story. The “issues” she had just seemed petty. I did like the reader’s voice though.

A light-hearted Rom-Com with surprising depths.

I went into this book expecting a very light fun read. And while I was highly entertained, I was also unwittingly engaged by the depth of the story and how different the characters were from what I knew of them from their secondary characters in the previous books in this series.

Hunky, kilt-wearing, gym teacher, and ladies' man Mitch Malone is much more than I thought. I knew he was a great guy, but a bit of a player. What I forgot or didn't recognize is that he is also an awesome friend and mentor. Both Mitch and April have hangups they need to deal with, but they are friends. When Mitch needs a girlfriend for a family dinner and April needs some help rehabbing her house, the two make a deal to help each other out. That's where things begin. The chemistry between the two grows, and soon they have problems discerning how much is real, and how much is fake. The fact that they have a hard time keeping their hands to themselves doesn't help their situation any.

I love this book. I first read it as an ebook for NetGalley, then listened to it for my own enjoyment. The narrator does an outstanding job with all the various voices and accents. I always knew who was speaking. I highly recommend this book in any form to anyone who likes Rom-Coms, Renaissance Faires, men-in-kilts, and women in corsets.

Another good book in this series

I've loved all the stories and characters in this series. This was different because of the older woman/younger man romance. I loved Mitch! He was so considerate and really cared about April. April was great. I could relate to Her feelings about not being good enough for Mitch. Her relationship with her daughter, Caitlyn, had some "Gilmore Girls" vibes.
April and Mitch were a lot of fun together. I enjoyed getting to know them, and look forward to the next book in this series.

Favorite of the series

Well Matched is my favorite installment of the Well Met series & the narrator is fantastic!

The best one yet!

This was my favorite of this series, it might be because it had some of my favorite tropes in it. But also April reminds me a lot of me, so it was easy to fully get lost in her story.

fun

this is a fun sequel to her series. nice to visit the characters again.

Escape to Willow Creek

This was a great escape on a winter day. It was a chance to go out in public to a Renaissance Faire, a bookstore, school functions, and a bar. There is more to Mitch than a fun loving, kilt-wearing, cheerful guy and to April as Emily’s older sister and Caitlyn’s mother. I enjoyed Mitch and April’s story as April’s daughter graduates from high school and starts her new life at college. It’s now April’s time to move on and find out where home is.

Love this series!!!

I just love this series, its so cute and different. I really enjoyed this last book, I liked seeing the different sides of the two main characters. I would definitely recommend!

After an hour I decided this was not a book for me.

I can deal with some colorful language and other stuff, but after an hour the story just wasn’t quality.

Lacking any build up or romantic tension

The reviews I've read call this novel disappointing because of the lack of Ren Faire or because the trope of "fake relationship" is overdone. I think both would be ok if the plot line were developed with any sort of investment. This book suffers from a total lack of imagination, and a failure to develop any sort of convincing relationship between the protagonists. It's just phoned in, and two characters with interesting but sketched character profiles in the previous books are left as sketches...there is no additional character development or engagement with the allusions to chemistry between them and then they are suddenly both crazy about each other out of nowhere, and then she is defending him to his family, and then they are having sex.... it's just blah...uninspired...

More Faire, is only fair

i did enjoy this installment, however i was very sad in the lack of Renaissance Faire in this one! it's definately what drew me into this series and made me fall head over heels in love with Well Met and Well Played.

Still, the writing was great and had all the witty banter that i love from a Jen DeLuca book.