Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

24 reviews

bexi's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The heroine was kind of dense. The hero was a butthead. They both needed therapy. 

Also,
WOOING SHOULD TAKE MORE THAN ONE DAY! ✋️😭


But it was cute, I guess?? It kept me entertained 🤷‍♀️

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booksandbabble's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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jg34's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It was cute and cheesy but a tolerable amount of cheese.
I could see how all Emily’s second guessing and over complicating things would be annoying but I kind of related. Simon’s extreme grumpiness was over the top and the change from grumpy to lovey was not gradual at all but
overall it was a nice story and an easy read

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you, Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing, for sending this book to rate on the spice-o-meter and to write an honest review.  

This book is based on Emily who has moved to the small Maryland town of Willow Creek for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident. But when her teenage niece Caitlin volunteers for the local Renaissance Faire, Emily’s suddenly signing up too as a . . . tavern wench. She’s not sure how it happened, but it’s certainly to do with Simon, the infuriating and inscrutable schoolteacher running the show. The Faire is Simon’s family legacy, and he doesn’t have time for Emily’s jokey approach, her take on Shakespeare, or her suggestions to liven things up. Yet as the Faire comes together and each inhabits their costumes roles, he becomes a different person. Is irritation turning to flirtation? Soon, Emily’s asking herself: is there mutual attraction real, or just the roles they’re playing? 

Sometimes I love when you can relate to a character and other times I hate when you relate to a character. Emily is this character to me. I love the fact that she is all over the place and doesn’t know what to do with her life. She was also made to feel worthless about her ex-boyfriend and is also doubting her skills and confident and I also relate to that, and it felt like she was in my brain.  I love that Jen DeLuca managed to make a male MC with problems that are real problems like grief and pressure and the small-town problems such as only being known as someone’s brothers or someone’s best mate. The storyline was cute, and I liked the idea of the Faire and how everyone particates. I have a soft spot for enemies-to-lovers in a small town, it just makes it 1000% times better when everyone knows they have feels for it each other except them. I loved the family aspect of this book with Simon having no one and Emily having a weird and wacky relationship with her sister and niece.  

In terms of Spice-O-Meter, I thought it was spicy, you don’t get the spice until chapter 15 or 16. With this being a slow burn, I expect that, but I would have loved more spice once it finally happened. The spice that we do get I would say is a 4/10 but I enjoyed it and it fit with the storyline and these characters.  Personally, I love dual POVs which would have made this book better, I would have loved to have heard Simon’s thoughts when he was shutting Emily down in the first couple of chapters because all we saw was Emily’s POV and her opinion was that he was an asshole who was looking down at her for being a dropout.

Whilst writing this, I've noticed that there are more books in this series, so I'm excited to see how this will carry on and if Mitch doesn’t get his own book, I will riot.  

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daisy2050's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.0


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queenginger's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh my goodness.

I’m not a romance reader.

I love all things dark, horror, and thought provoking. I love when a book forces me to sit with its theme or overall message.
But, I found myself stuck in a rut reading the same sorts of things over and over again.

I work at an indie bookstore. Some of my coworkers love romance, especially contemporary romance. But I always pushed it aside. Why on earth was I doing that.

I wanted something to get me out of my reading slump. And this series popped out to me. A love story centered around a Renaissance Faire? SIGN. ME. UP. 
I’m a gung-ho Ren Faire participant. I love them. I want to live at one. So, most definitely I was interested in this shiny new tale. 

The story was ultimately so much fun. I laughed. I felt the pain of the main character. And most of all, I felt like I was getting dressed for the faire. 
DeLuca created such a fun escapism and I’m delighted I was able to find it. 

I’ve already purchased the second book. And I’m keeping my eye on three and four. Keep ‘em coming, DeLuca. You’ve got a permanent reader right here. 

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alyssajp's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
Trope: enemies to lovers

Content warning: grief over death of brother

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ecobookworm's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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bookwormbullet's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


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