Book Review: Well Versed
by Jen DeLuca
Well Versed by Jen DeLuca is a second-chance romance set at the Renaissance Faire, part of a well-loved series. Read on for my review and scroll all the way down for an EXCERPT from the novel!
If you like your love stories with a strong, smart FMC who is finding her way in the world and moving into her “Queen” energy AND a male romantic lead who can swordfight and looks good in a crop top while quoting Shakespeare, this novel is for you!
After losing her job, Caitlin is back home living with her mom, in a small town in Maryland. Her aunt and uncle, Emily and Simon (from the first novel in the series, Well Met) have asked her to fill in as a lady-in-waiting at the local Ren Faire. On the very first weekend, she comes face-to-face with her first love, Alex.
When Caitlin was 18 and Alex was 20, the Renaissance Faire was her happy place and he was in a show called Sword Bros. Now he is in a Shakespeare show and swordfighting with her uncle in her mom’s backyard. He shows up at her aunt Emily’s bookstore and Caitlin and Alex banter over the best Shakespearean sonnets (as an English teacher, I liked this!).
Yet for Caitlin, even though they dated six years ago, she is not ready to pursue the chemistry that is still there. Back then, she believed her first love would last forever. But Alex broke up with her via text. Now, she has realized that she was young and naïve then to think it would last, but still, seeing him at the Ren Faire this summer sours her on the whole experience. On top of that, she is searching for a new job in IT, but there are no leads.
Yet the book also has some found family vibes. Her mom and aunt Emily are reminding Caitlin of her long-lost love for Shakespeare and all things whimsical, but Caitlin thinks that being practical and guarding her heart is the safest way to be. Even so, she starts to enjoy being back home, wearing brocade dresses, and being surrounded by an imaginary world full of fun and spectacle. She even decides that dating casually and trying not to fall in love with Alex will actually work…until her feelings get in the way.
My Thoughts
For me, the book started out a little slow, and Caitlin seemed quite grumpy, which made sense with the situation. The situation picked up about 30 percent into the book, and Caitlin started to seem like a more unique character. At times, I didn’t like so much of her character being defined by her absent dad and one break-up experience. I would like to see her love of the Ren Faire and Shakespeare or literature explored a bit more in-depth, separate from Alex’s character.
On the other hand, there were some cute, swoony, and steamy moments with Alex and the novel ended up being a satisfying, sweet love story (even though the third act break up did have a bit of miscommunication trope, which is one of my least favorite). If you enjoy literary allusions and hanging out at the Ren Faire, you will have fun with this novel.
The Well Met Series
Years ago, I read the first two books in the series, Well Met and Well Played. Well Versed is the fifth book in the series, and there were two I had not read. I don’t think you have to read them in order, although you might enjoy it! You could easily read Well Versed as a standalone if it piques your interest and you would be able to understand it.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley and Penguin Random House for providing the excerpt below.
Excerpt from Well Versed
It was day one of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire, and I was somewhere I swore I'd never be again.
On cast and in costume.
"Caitlin . . ." Behind me, my best friend Nina Pritchard's voice held a ton of warning in just one word. She clamped my head between her hands and positioned it where she wanted it.
"Sorry." I shifted on my rickety folding metal chair, trying to find steady ground beneath me. There was a root around here somewhere, throwing everything off-kilter. "Sorry," I said again as Nina gave an exasperated sigh.
"Yeah, yeah." But her voice was warm as she clucked her tongue and got back to work braiding my hair. I couldn't help but smile.
"No more moving, I promise."
"Have I mentioned that I'm glad you're back?" When we were in high school, Nina and I had volunteered for the renaissance faire every summer. Now she was the dance captain. And apparently the de facto hair braider, since the one who'd come down from her booth was still doing the Queen's hair, and it was almost time for opening gate. We were all running late today.
"Don't get used to it," I warned. "I'm just helping out this weekend."
There was a snort from beside me, and I shifted my gaze as far to the right as I could without moving my head. In a similar rickety chair beside me, Toby Patterson was lacing up his second boot. "You say that now," he said darkly. "But this place has a way of sucking you in."
He wasn't wrong, and he and Nina were living proof. While a large part of the cast every summer consisted of high school students volunteering their time, there were also people like Toby and Nina, who'd graduated with me seven years ago. Now we were well into our twenties, yet every summer they were back, donning both the outfits and the accents. There were people around here who'd volunteered for even longer.
Not me, though. I'd sworn off the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire when I was nineteen, even before I left home. I'd told everyone who would listen that I was done with this place. And now, here I was. Back again like I'd never even left.
"It's just this once," I said to Toby, a stubborn edge in my voice. It bore repeating. I wasn't back. Not really. I was just holding up my end of a complicated bargain.
Toby held up defensive hands. "Hey, I'm grateful, believe me."
"So am I," the Queen chimed in from her seat beside me. I looked to my left, where my Aunt Emily was in full regalia, all blue brocade and red and gold silks. She tried to shake her head, but the braider behind her gave a little growl. We were both being held prisoner while the women behind us worked on our hairstyles. "There's no way Toby and I can do this without you," she continued.
That seemed to be laying it on a little thick, but Toby gave a solemn nod. "As the Queen's royal guard, I have to walk up ahead and do my 'make way for the Queen' schtick."
"Leaving me all by myself," Emily chimed in. "I can barely remember the gate speech, much less where I'm supposed to be any given moment."
"And the Queen has a very full schedule." I sighed; I got it. "You're supposed to have ladies-in-waiting."
"Exactly," he said. "And now we do." He looked pointedly at me, and I sighed again. God, I really didn't want to be here.
But it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go. People who were unemployed and had moved back home in disgrace rarely did. I'd expected Mom to charge me rent, but to my surprise she'd said I could stay for free.
I should have known that offer would become a bargaining chip. And when Simon and Emily had come over last night, I knew that they were coming to cash in that chip. And now here I was, shepherding Emily through her day as the Queen.
"I was a lady-in-waiting one time," I reminded Toby. "When I was fourteen. I'm really the best you could get?"
"On such short notice?" He nodded emphatically.
"We haven't had a lot of ladies-in-waiting recently," Emily said apologetically. "Chris knew the role like the back of her hand, and it wasn't really necessary."
I hadn't been home long enough to catch up on the local gossip, but I'd known this one: Miss Chris, our Queen since the Faire had started, had moved away and abdicated her role. So now Emily was filling in, and I'd been drafted.
"Cheer up," Nina said. "What better way to spend the summer than here with us ren faire lunatics, am I right?" She practically sang with delight as her fingers twisted my hair, tugging gently, and I couldn't help but snort in response.
'Lunatics' is one word for it." Toby stood and reached for his sword belt on the folding table to my left. "It was one thing when we were kids, doing this for extra credit in the summer." He cinched the belt around his waist, tugging down his linen shirt and then adjusting the fabric of his jerkin so that it lay right. "Now we're taking on an unpaid part-time job during the hottest weekends of the year."
"Running around the woods in pretty clothes," Nina said, reframing the concept with her usual optimism. "Flirting with pirates, cheering on knights in armor, hot women in corsets. It all sounds good to me."
"Yeah, well." If Nina sounded like sunshine, I was a thundercloud. "Be careful who you flirt with." I was speaking from experience, and they both knew it.
"Ohhhh." Toby blew out the word like a breath. "You're talking about Alex."
Excerpted from Well Versed by Jen DeLuca Copyright © 2026 by Jen DeLuca. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
