Well Matched (Book 3) (Lead Title)

I thoroughly enjoy that the author does not reuse tropes in her books. It’s a way to keep things fresh within the world she has created. I will do my best to give a full review without spoilers (or minimal spoilers at worst).In this book, the main trope is Fake Dating with a side of Too Hurt To Ever Love Again. There are also dashes of Age Gap and Only One Bed. And again, in this novel, two of the minor characters from the first book in the series, Mitch and April, have their time to shine. They were already fleshed out 3-dimensional characters when first written and now the readers get to see even deeper into their respective hearts. This is not a book that switches POV though; all is told from the point of view of April because she is the one with a wall around her heart.Mitch is not looking to smash that wall down when he suggests to April that she pretend to be his girlfriend at the big party for his grandparent’s anniversary, an event that quickly becomes a whole weekend away. Mitch has always wanted to be taken seriously by his family and, as the black sheep of sorts, he feels presenting April as his girlfriend, a more mature and together girlfriend, will shut down the naysayers of his clan. It’s a role April fills to a T, and without having to act. She has always respected Mitch and what he does as a teacher and as a senior cast member of the annual Renaissance Faire in Willow Creek and strongly defends him against his family’s catty remarks. They go back to the hotel, the only family members not staying at the grandparent’s house, and by the end of the weekend make a very deep connection. They have little choice with the room only having one bed, a surprise “gift” from Lulu, Mitch’s cousin and one of the few family members in his corner and the person who made the arrangements.As quid pro quo for the family weekend, Mitch agrees to help April prepare her house for sale. April’s daughter Caitlyn is graduating high school and April will be an empty nester. She had kept to her self for over a decade since moving to Willow Creek, divorced and abandoned by a husband that wasn’t ready for children and now that Caitlyn will be going to college in the fall April wants to move closer to her job in the City. But Mitch’s help and kindness start breaking down the wall around her heart to the point where she wishes the fake dating was real.The chance comes when Mitch’s grandparents and cousin Lulu come to the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire specifically to see what Mitch really did with his time. April’s impassioned pleas and exhortations at the anniversary weekend stoked their curiosity. Which shocked April as she had finally decided to volunteer at the Faire for the first time ever. So she must reprise the Fake Girlfriend act except this time it doesn’t feel fake to her anymore. She wants it to be real but still isn’t quite ready to trust her heart. Which is unfortunate because Mitch is completely ready to make it real. He doesn’t want to feel like he and April are sneaking around and had known since the weekend away (bonus He Fell First trope) that he wants it to be real too.April however is not as ready for that as she wished, still worried about what the neighbors must think. It takes dropping Caitlyn off at college for April to realize that she was in love with Mitch and that Willow Creek had always been her home, not just a temporary stop. She reaches out to him as she breaks down and discards the last bricks of the wall around her heart, her fear of abandonment finally conquered.This was a wonderful read that I had a hard time putting down. You will enjoy it too.

Well Matched is the third book in the series and we are back to well-known characters from Well Met. April is Emily's sister and Caitlin's mother while Mitch is Simon's friendly rival in the Ren Faire games and the high school's gym teacher.The story is told from April's POV. She's about to become an empty nester with Caitlin going off to college, so she plans to sell her house and start living a life different from her single mom-hood. Mitch offers to help her fix up the place in exchange for her accompanying him to a family reunion. April is ten years older than Mitch which she makes a huge deal out of, but he wants a smart woman who he can show off to his family.The first half of the book seemed slow to me and I struggled to get through it, but it picks up later once Ren Faire actually starts. April is frustrating in that she's so insecure and set in her ways, but it was fun to see Mitch pull her out of herself. Mitch is just a sweetie, and I wish I could have seen more from his POV since I think that would have offset April's personality some. Anyway, I give this 3 1/2 stars.

This is my favorite installment of the Well Met Renaissance Faire romance series.We follow April, a 40 year-old single mom who is about to be an empty nester. She never really got involved in her small town life, so as soon as her daughter is off to college, she is going to sell her house and move to the city. She needs to prepare her house in order to sell it, so she could use some help. Enter in Mitch, a 31 year-old gym teacher who is known as the Kilt man in the local summer renaissance faire. He certainly is capable to help out, but he needs a favor in exchange; his annual family reunion is coming up and his family has been pressuring him to settle down. He needs a girlfriend to bring with. April agrees, as she’s known Mitch for awhile since her sister is a large organizer of the renaissance faire, and really, Mitch isn’t a sight for sore eyes.I just incredibly related to April as a protagonist. She cares too much about what people think, and dating the local hunk who’s about 10 years her junior is not something she wants people to gossip about. She also has a hard time admitting her feelings, and it takes a long time for her to come into her own. Readers might be frustrated with this aspect, as it can feel like it is dragged out. But as someone with pretty bad social anxiety, I thought this book was executed perfectly. April was also relatable to me in that she was a homebody and never really got involved in her area. She somehow avoided the renaissance faire every year she’s lived there, despite he daughter performing in it for the past 2 years. I like to think I would get involved in a local renaissance faire if we had one (I am a big ren faire nerd), but I’m also a homebody.The fake dating troupe was cute here, and there were several instances where the fake dating had to come back into play. If you don’t like that troupe, you’ll grow tired of it here, I’m sure. I also enjoyed getting Mitch’s story since his character was pretty well fleshed out in the previous two installments. He’s a fun and nice fella. I also think this is one reason I enjoyed this book more, as both April and Mitch were a lot more prevalent in the previous two books. The previous book, Well Played, only followed Stacy; the male lead was a new character tossed into the mix.Unrelated to anything in regards to an opinion of the book, but I was so impressed by April fixing up her house in order to sell it. My partner and I are in the market to purchase our first home and we get frustrated over all these owners who don’t take care of their houses. If only April existed in real life! I’d buy her house– it has a kitchen island! Anyway, the slight direct life correlation also just had me all for this book,I recommend if you like the fake dating troupe, small town romances, and/or read previous books of this series and enjoyed those. If you’re in it just for the Ren Faire, fair warning that the Ren Faire doesn’t occur until the last 1/3 of the book or so, but honestly it was my favorite part and so worth it.

I like this series, it is a fun romp through the Ren Faire. Yet this one I was rooting for them not to get together. April was such a buzzkill, you felt Mitch could and should do better. I understand she had a divorce in her past, but it was more than a decade and half ago. It seems like she should be able to make friends and talk to people by now. Mitch was a fun loving guy, it is hard to believe she would have been his ideal woman. The Ren Faire stuff was fun again, the supporting characters were great. Her daughter as well fleshed out, it's only April I constantly felt exasperated with, it was hard to believe she was forty when she acted like she was teenager and hated everyone.

Third book in this series and probably my favorite one so far. I do kind of wonder if the author is anti-kids. Everyone in her books is like NO KIDS FOR ME, THANKS! And I’m not saying everyone needs to be pro-kids but the only person in these books with a child is completely honest that it was an accident. Just give me one couple who isn’t vocally anti-kid, Jen!