Well Met
Renaissance faire romance where the costumes come off but the feelings stay real
By Ember · Updated July 2, 2026
Well Met is set at a small-town Renaissance faire, which could be precious but never is. Jen DeLuca uses the faire as a backdrop for a grounded romance between Emily, who's volunteering to help her injured sister, and Simon, who runs the faire with intensity that borders on controlling. In costume, Emily plays a flirty tavern wench and Simon plays a charming pirate. Out of costume, they can barely stand each other.
The book works because how DeLuca uses the faire to explore identity and performance. Who are you when you're playing a role? What parts of yourself come out when you have permission to be someone else? Emily and Simon are different people in costume, and those differences reveal truths about who they really are.
The small-town setting feels lived-in. The faire is a community effort, and DeLuca shows all the personalities involved, the family dynamics, the way small towns operate. The romance is enemies-to-lovers with genuine friction that resolves into compatibility. It's sweet without being saccharine, sexy without being gratuitous.
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Quick answer
Well Met by Jen DeLuca is set at a small-town Renaissance faire where Emily and Simon clash out of costume but have undeniable chemistry in character. The book explores performance, identity, and enemies-to-lovers romance within a tight-knit community, blending humor, heart, and found family.
Renaissance faire romance where the costumes come off but the feelings stay real
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What you're really looking for when you search for books like Well Met
You want small-town romance that doesn't feel claustrophobic. You want community as a character, where everyone knows everyone and that's comforting rather than suffocating. You want found family and ensemble casts where you care about the side characters as much as the leads.
You're also looking for enemies-to-lovers that's actually earned—couples who genuinely irritate each other at first, rather than secretly attracted people pretending to hate each other. You want the banter to have bite, and you want to believe the transition from antagonism to attraction.
And you want romance with a hook—a specific setting or circumstance that makes the story distinctive. Contemporary people falling in love, yes, but shaped by context: a Renaissance faire, a bookstore, a theater production.
The reader take
DeLuca found a romance niche no one knew existed: Renaissance faire love stories. The setting is specific enough to be distinctive but universal enough in its exploration of performance and authenticity. It's warm, funny, and ultimately about finding community and love in unexpected places.
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Book recommendations
Well Matched
by Jen DeLuca
The second book in the series, about a single mom and a man pretending to be her boyfriend for the summer. DeLuca continues to use the faire setting to explore performance and authenticity.
Well Played
by Jen DeLuca
The third book, about two people who hooked up at faire and are now stuck working together. It's second-chance adjacent and has the same community warmth as the first book.
The Hating Game
by Sally Thorne
Office enemies-to-lovers with banter that bites. Thorne writes antagonism that slowly shifts into attraction with precision and heat.
You Deserve Each Other
by Sarah Hogle
An engaged couple tries to make the other break up first. It's enemies-to-lovers when you're already supposed to love each other, which creates delightful tension.
The Unhoneymooners
by Christina Lauren
Enemies forced to share a honeymoon. It has Well Met's banter and small-town community vibe with a destination romance setting.
Common questions
Do I need to know anything about Renaissance faires to enjoy Well Met?
No. DeLuca gives you everything you need to understand the setting. If you've been to a ren faire, you'll appreciate the details. If you haven't, it's a fun introduction that makes you want to go.
Should I read the Well Met books in order?
They're loosely connected with recurring characters, but each stands alone. Reading in order gives you more community context and makes the ensemble cast richer, but you can start anywhere.
Is Well Met more small-town romance or enemies-to-lovers?
Both. The small-town setting shapes the enemies-to-lovers dynamic. They can't avoid each other because the community is small and the faire brings everyone together. The setting makes the romance possible.
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Get a Life, Chloe Brown
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The Spanish Love Deception
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Related tropes
Common in these genres
Ready for your story? Imagine living it.
Ember writes you into the faire romance you've been reading. You're the one choosing your faire persona, deciding how much of yourself to reveal through performance, whether to fight your attraction or admit it. Your choices shape whether antagonism becomes partnership or the summer ends with you still at odds.
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