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A review by justagirlwithabook
Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
It's Renaissance Faire season once again! Lulu, a very busy attorney and desperate for a break and an escape, finds herself stopping in at a renaissance fair in North Carolina that might remind her of the faire she's always enjoyed with her grandma back at her cousin's stomping grounds in Willow Creak. In a moment of extreme stress, she makes an impulsive decision to quit her job, throw her phone in a bucket of water, and go off the grid for a while. Hardly any time passes before the enormity of what she's done crashes into her. What will she do now? Can she get her old job back? What does she really want for her life after living it for so long trying to meet others' expectations? Enter Stacey and Daniel (our couple from Well Played), who encourage her to travel around with the band, the Dueling Kilts, as they go from faire to faire over the summer. It might be just the reset Lulu is needing, and the lead guitarist, Dex MacLean, might also make for a great distraction, and maybe even something a little bit more.
What I Loved:
- Fast-paced story, as usual (thank you, Jen!)
- Lighthearted with fun characters that were easy to love and enjoy, with plenty of returning characters but of course a few new ones! It's fun to read about each of their stories with each book in the series and it's also fun to catch up with previous characters to see what they're up to now.
- The Renaissance Faire aspects continue to always be my favorite parts about this book series. The third book didn't have as much faire in it as this one did, and so I'm really happy to say that there was more faire added into this newest edition (I was left feeling like I wanted more in that last book)
What I Didn’t Love:
- I don't know that there was anything I didn't really love in this book. I think the second and third books fell a little short for me in a couple of aspects (the second one didn't feel like it had much depth to the characters and their relationships, and the third book felt like there was even less 'Ren Faire' than ever before), and I'm really happy to say that this book seemed to bounce back to something more akin to Well Met, which will still always be my favorite. (But this one is easily a close second!)
- As a note for readers, the first couple of books have been published in September (still giving off summer and end-of-summer vibes), and the most recent book was published a little bit later in October. This 4th book is slated to be published in December, which I find to be a bit unfortunate because it's such the perfect summer read, and I've been very fortunate enough to have the opportunity to read the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books in the series early over the summer as advance reader copies. I find it to be such a wonderful experience as these books always feel so summery and so perfect for the season. So while I loved so much of this book, I wish that was something that was considered in order to make the reading experience the best it could be for readers.
Overall:
I read this one over a couple of nights before bed and one lazy morning. It's such a fast read (as these books always are) and it brought a bit of lighthearted joy to my reading life. As I continue to say, I realize that no subsequent books in this series will ever be as pleasantly delightful as the first book, Well Met - there was something extra special about that one (perhaps discovering a fun, unique twist to the classic rom-com with the introduction of a Renaissance Fair!). But this fourth book brings back some of that whimsical joy of the Ren Faire, two characters that you can root for, and their summer escapades. As always, I look forward to reading hopefully another book in this series (please keep writing, Jen!).
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an e-ARC of this book!
What I Loved:
- Fast-paced story, as usual (thank you, Jen!)
- Lighthearted with fun characters that were easy to love and enjoy, with plenty of returning characters but of course a few new ones! It's fun to read about each of their stories with each book in the series and it's also fun to catch up with previous characters to see what they're up to now.
- The Renaissance Faire aspects continue to always be my favorite parts about this book series. The third book didn't have as much faire in it as this one did, and so I'm really happy to say that there was more faire added into this newest edition (I was left feeling like I wanted more in that last book)
What I Didn’t Love:
- I don't know that there was anything I didn't really love in this book. I think the second and third books fell a little short for me in a couple of aspects (the second one didn't feel like it had much depth to the characters and their relationships, and the third book felt like there was even less 'Ren Faire' than ever before), and I'm really happy to say that this book seemed to bounce back to something more akin to Well Met, which will still always be my favorite. (But this one is easily a close second!)
- As a note for readers, the first couple of books have been published in September (still giving off summer and end-of-summer vibes), and the most recent book was published a little bit later in October. This 4th book is slated to be published in December, which I find to be a bit unfortunate because it's such the perfect summer read, and I've been very fortunate enough to have the opportunity to read the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books in the series early over the summer as advance reader copies. I find it to be such a wonderful experience as these books always feel so summery and so perfect for the season. So while I loved so much of this book, I wish that was something that was considered in order to make the reading experience the best it could be for readers.
Overall:
I read this one over a couple of nights before bed and one lazy morning. It's such a fast read (as these books always are) and it brought a bit of lighthearted joy to my reading life. As I continue to say, I realize that no subsequent books in this series will ever be as pleasantly delightful as the first book, Well Met - there was something extra special about that one (perhaps discovering a fun, unique twist to the classic rom-com with the introduction of a Renaissance Fair!). But this fourth book brings back some of that whimsical joy of the Ren Faire, two characters that you can root for, and their summer escapades. As always, I look forward to reading hopefully another book in this series (please keep writing, Jen!).
Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an e-ARC of this book!