[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
At the end of the summer’s Renaissance Faire run, Emily is engaged and Stacey is feeling stuck. She gave up a career and a life in New York to help out her mom with a health scare. Her job feels like a dead end. She lives above her parents’ garage. And the only relationship she’s had is her hook up with Dex from the Faire.
After an evening of melancholy – and wine – Stacey messages Dex and lays out her loneliness. The next day, she’s mortified over her boldness and vulnerability. But he actually responds! Soon they are messaging back and forth, and she realizes he has more depth than she ever gave him credit for. Occasional messages turn into regular emails and then daily texts. And Stacey’s feelings for Dex grow.
Until the moment, a week before the Faire begins the new season where they will be in the same town for a few weeks, when Stacey realizes she’s been texting with Daniel, Dex’s cousin, for the last year and not Dex.
Review
It’s so good to be back at the RenFaire! I loved the first book in this series, Well Met (♥♥♥♥♥), and I was eager to see how things were going for Emily and Simon while digging into the new relationship at the center of this book.
I enjoyed Stacey and Daniel’s story. While I didn’t feel they had the same spark as Emily and Simon, I liked them together. In a lot of ways this is Stacey’s story alone. She feels trapped and resigned to her situation. I was eager to see how she was going to change over the course of the story.
The main conflict here – Daniel’s identity – has some layers. And it’s prickly when everything comes out. The lying is bad – he should have just told her the truth from the start. But then there wouldn’t be much of a story. So in some ways it was a plot device to give tension to the romance. But the romance is warm and sweet in the end, so you can forgive a lot.
I don’t think these books have to be read in order, but I think it’s more fun that way. Then you can see how the first relationship is growing while the second one is getting started. Book 3, Well Matched, is scheduled for next year, and I’m excited to read it. It will star Emily’s sister, April, who is a prickly character in the first book, but she softens a little in this one. I am extremely curious to see how my image of her changes as I get to know her from her own story.
I love the RenFaire setting for this series. It’s really what keeps bringing me back. Romance fans and Renaissance Faire fans should check this out. (Language, sex)
Rating: ♥♥♥½*
*♥♥♥½=Good+