I picked up the first book in this series on a whim. I had seen the third book around the social media world and thought it sounded cute but wanted to start with the first book in the series (which I loved by the way!). Naturally I moved on to this second book with a ton of enthusiasm! I downloaded the audiobook for this one as well as the first book. The narrator is the same and I enjoyed her quite a bit. Plus, I can listen at work which is a huge bonus for me!
I have really enjoyed this quirky series. I mean it’s not every day that a Renaissance festival provides a backdrop for a romance series. It’s a fun quirky series that really has some laughs and charming characters but also manages to bring the heat and chemistry between the characters so well.
If you haven’t discovered this series yet you are totally missing out! I have since finished the series to date and I have to say I think I could have skipped around in the series a bit and maybe read the third book Well Matched before this one so if you are wondering if you need to start at the beginning of the series, I would say no but it’s nice to see the characters evolve and make reappearances in other books! This is a fun quick romance series and I adore it!
Summary
Stacey is jolted when her friends Simon and Emily get engaged. She knew she was putting her life on hold when she stayed in Willow Creek to care for her sick mother, but it’s been years now, and even though Stacey loves spending her summers pouring drinks and flirting with patrons at the local Renaissance Faire, she wants more out of life. Stacey vows to have her life figured out by the time her friends get hitched at Faire next summer. Maybe she’ll even find The One.
When Stacey imagined “The One,” it never occurred to her that her summertime Faire fling, Dex MacLean, might fit the bill. While Dex is easy on the eyes onstage with his band The Dueling Kilts, Stacey has never felt an emotional connection with him. So when she receives a tender email from the typically monosyllabic hunk, she’s not sure what to make of it.
Faire returns to Willow Creek, and Stacey comes face-to-face with the man with whom she’s exchanged hundreds of online messages over the past nine months. To Stacey’s shock, it isn’t Dex—she’s been falling in love with a man she barely knows.
Another laugh-out-loud romantic comedy featuring kilted musicians, Renaissance Faire tavern wenches, and an unlikely love story. (summary from Goodreads)
Review
I have to say this one started out a lot more promising than it ended. I really enjoy Stacey as a character in the first book and couldn’t wait to read her story but I felt a little disappointed with this one. It was still cute and I love the series over all but I felt like this one had more to over come. I think what turned me off was Stacey had been having a physical relationship with Dex and then kind of moved on to his cousin. It was a little awkward and I struggled a bit with it. I did like the hidden identity aspect and how Stacey and Daniel ended up connecting but I just felt like the whole Dex thing was tough to get past. It make me feel like Stacey’s character was a little cheep or made to seem that way at times in the story. basically I just didn’t love it.
Now that’s not to say there wasn’t things to like in this one. I loved that Daniel was mostly honest about his whole deception. He didn’t try to hide that much from Stacey—-yes he held back some things (no spoilers) but I felt that he was mostly upfront with her and honest about his feelings for her as time went on. I loved the correspondence aspects of this book. Love letters and such are so outdated but that doesn’t mean they are obsolete. In this book I loved that the author tried to make the love letter more modern and applicable to a younger audience. It really worked for me in this one! Plus it made Daniel’s character so lovable and I couldn’t help but just love him as much as Stacey did.
Of the series so far (I am writing this review after reading the third book) I would have to say this is my least favorite which makes me sad because I had such high hopes for Stacey’s story. It was ok but not amazing. I found that I read the first part of the book very quick but then the second half took me quite a while to get through. Even listening to it at work I found myself mostly checking out and not paying attention and then having to go back and re-listen to parts. The series over all rocks but this one just didn’t measure up for me in the expectation department.
Book Info and Rating
Format: Audiobook
Published: September 22, 2020 by Berkley
ISBN: 9781984805409
Review copy provided by personal collection. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 3 stars
Genre: contempo romance, romance
The Lit Bitch 