Arc Review: Well Matched (Well Met #3) by Jen DeLuca

Title: Well Matched (Well Met #3)
Author: Jen DeLuca
Genre: Adult Contemporary / Romance
Publication Date: October 19th, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an earc to review! All opinions are my own.

“An accidentally in-love rom-com filled with Renaissance Faire flower crowns, kilts, corsets, and sword fights.

Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell.

Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire–a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship.

As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch’s family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch’s girlfriend again…something that doesn’t feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans–and open her heart–for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.” (Goodreads)

I’m always worried about continuing on with a series because sometimes the next book just doesn’t live up to the hype. I loved Mitch from the beginning so I was really hoping this book would be good and guys, it didn’t let me down! I laughed and I cried. This author knows how to give me all the feelings.

The book is told in the perspective of April. In the first two books there isn’t much from her but I did like getting to know her better in this one. She is facing a lot of change when it comes to her daughter graduating high school and an ex-husband who left her who now wants to congratulate their daughter who he has never even met. No wonder she goes to a bar and runs into Mitch who rescues her from a guy who doesn’t understand the word no.

Even though this is a romance, there is a lot of development when it comes to April. I loved seeing her grow and realize that sometimes we just have to break free and do things we wouldn’t normally do or change our plans for something better.

Mitch is a sweetheart and I love him to pieces! I can’t ever get enough of him. We are used to seeing the confident side of him and this time around there is a more vulnerable side. In those moments it was easy to understand him and I seriously loved April for standing up for him when it came to his family belittling him about his job choice. There is nothing wrong with not getting a degree that pays more. Do what you love! Success shouldn’t be determined by how much money you make. Success is also weighed differently by person and if one person loves what they do than who cares! I’ve seen this type of thing in person and it just annoys me to no end.

Emily, Simon, Stacey, and Daniel are back as side characters and I always like seeing how their lives are going. Emily and April also share a great sibling bond.

When it comes to the romance of the book, I loved it all! The plot of fake dating is mentioned very early on when Mitch asks April to be his fake girlfriend for a family affair. The banter between them was hilarious. The book is just funny in general! It doesn’t take too long for them to realize that something is there between them and I liked the journey of them finding out together even if it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Relationships, even fake ones haha, have their obstacles. If you also like the “only one bed” trope then it’s just another reason for you to pick this one up!

Overall, this was another fantastic book to add to the series. I finished it in one day and stayed up way too late but it was just so hard to put down!