As I have gotten older, I have been more picky as to the books that I have on my bookshelves. I want to own books that I adore and I could easily re-read at any given moment. One series that will always be given a spot is the Well Met series by Jen DeLuca. The Well Met series is a series of romance books that feature a romance at a Renaissance Faire. Each book is centered around one of the characters and how they meet their partner. This book focuses on Emily’s older sister April, and Mitch, one of the fighters in the Chess Match. It’s no surprise that Well Matched was amazing and solidified why I enjoy this series.

April Parker is a single mom living in Willow Creek and preparing for her daughter, Caitlin, to go off to college. April has been prepping for this moment as she’s been preparing to sell her house and move to the city. April could use some help getting her home ready to sell. It’s a no-brainer that when Mitch Malone gives her a proposition to “fake date” at his family gathering in exchange for helping with house projects, April takes him up on it. While April is adamant that she and Mitch are not dating, Mitch starts to fall for her. April has to grapple with her feelings for Mitch and how she can finally be ready to put herself first.

Starting off with the characters, I enjoyed reading from April’s point of view. I think it’s easy to write April off as being a cold-hearted person, but I think her character is more nuanced than that. April has a lot of trauma that I don’t think she has unpacked. She gave birth to Caitlin alone, her husband left her as he didn’t want to be a father, and she moved to a small town where April heard whispers about her being a single mom. I couldn’t imagine going through what April did and not feeling a bit hardened by the experience. April is snarky and gets defensive toward the people she cares about which I think directly relates to her back story. With all of that being said, I liked April as a character and I was rooting for her to get her happy ending.

Speaking of April’s happy ending, let’s talk about Mitch. Mitch is the “Golden Retriever” boyfriend in a kilt. Mitch often is judged over his looks and not taken seriously. I appreciated the fact that Mitch calls April out towards the end of the book. Mitch falls for her and April isn’t ready to go public with their relationship. I see this trope a lot where it’s the female character calling out the male character for this, so I thought it was neat to see this reversed. Mitch is the best and serves as a good foil to April.

Well Matched is no different than the other books in the series since it features The Willow Creek Renaissance Faire in the background. There’s a moment where April gets a She’s All That makeover with her own Renaissance outfit which I thought helped bring April out of her shell. In between April and Mitch’s love story, it’s fun to see the other characters who were featured in the previous books.

As a complete side note, I like how this series normalizes not having kids. Simon and Emily adopt a dog, but it’s hinted that they are happy without kids. Stacey and Daniel travel a lot, so it’s not clear if they will start a family. April is in her 40s and she clearly states to Mitch that she isn’t going to have any more kids. I think it’s a nice touch to show happy and healthy couples choosing to not have kids.

Well Matched is everything that I could want in a romance book. I will always recommend this series. If I had to perfectly describe the Well Met series, I would say that this is if Gilmore Girls was set at a Renaissance Faire. I rated Well Matched five stars on Goodreads.