Emily’s life is kind of at a dead end. Her fiancé ended their engagement, leaving her with nowhere to live, and really no prospects. When her older sister is in an accident, Emily drops everything—not that it's too big a sacrifice—and heads to Willow Creek, a small town in Maryland, to care for her sister and her teenage niece, Caitlin.
Taking care of all of her sister and niece's needs makes Emily feel like she has a purpose again. Since her sister is so much older, they're finally getting the chance to build a relationship. And when Caitlin wants to work at the town’s renaissance faire for the summer, Emily has to accompany her, but she doesn't mind. She gets to play a serving wench at the faire’s tavern and she finds herself enjoying all of it.
All of it except Simon. During the year he's an English teacher, but he also runs the faire, which was his older brother’s legacy. He doesn’t tolerate any suggestions for changes and he certainly isn’t interested in Emily’s ideas or even her jokes. In fact, it seems like he just wants Emily to leave as quickly as possible.
But when the faire officially begins, something inexplicable happens. Why does Simon’s pirate character take such delight in flirting with Emily’s wench? It only seems to happen when they're in character. Is all of this just for show, or is there something else happening here?
As Emily struggles with her feelings for Simon, and tries to figure out her future in Willow Creek, she'll realize that living in a small town and having everyone know her business might not be as bad as she thought. But more than that, she'll discover that sometimes loving somebody means giving them the space to figure out their own problems and solutions, no matter how much you want to help.
I loved this book. Sure, it was predictable, but the fact is, it was fun, charming, romantic, sexy, and emotional, too. DeLuca captured the setting and tone of a renaissance faire so perfectly I felt like I was right there in the woods alongside everyone. Beyond that, reading Well Met made me crave one of those giant turkey legs, too!!
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