Where Is Your Bookmark: My Bookish Mewsings on Well Played by Jen DeLuca (& Books I Want to See on the Screen)

Along with this mini review, I am linking to both Book Beginnings, a meme in which readers share the first sentence of a book they are reading, hosted by Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader and Friday 56 hosted by Freda of Freda's Voice, in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading.

It all started with a necklace. 

A beautiful pendant, made of gleaming silver in the shape of a dragonfly, strung on a green silk cord. Its eyes were tiny crystals that caught the light, and the wings were a delicate filigree. I spotted it on the last day of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire, while Emily--or Emma, since we were still in character--and I strolled the grounds.  [opening line of Well Played]

               ★                    

His arm went around me, his fingertips stroking slowly up and down my upper arm. There was no expectation of anything physical. He hadn't even kissed me since I'd first arrived. 

It was the best date I'd been on in years. [excerpt from 56% in Well Played]

Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca
Berkley, 2020
Romance; 332 pgs

My thoughts: I adored Well Met, the first in a romance series by Jen DeLuca, and so was looking forward to reading Well Played. Now seemed like the perfect time since my family and I had just been to a Renaissance Faire, and I was very much in the mood to maintain that Ren Faire ambience. It didn't take me long to settle in with the book, and the next thing I knew, I was done! 

While a portion of the novel takes place off season, much of it is set during the summer in small town Willow Creek. Stacey lives for the faire and looks forward to being a part of it each year. Her dreams of a career and her own life fell away years before after her mother got sick, Stacey has accepted that she's stuck in her current life. She tries to pretend she's happy, but that façade cracks a little when her  best friend Emily and Simon get engaged. After drinking too much one night, Stacey leaves a comment on the Dueling Kilts band fan page of her sometimes Ren Faire fling, which leads to a year of e-mail correspondence and later texts.  She pours her heart out to him and him to her. Or so she thinks. If you are getting a Cyrano de Bergerac vibe, you wouldn't be far off. Or catfishing for the less romantic take on it. But this is a romance so let's go with with the Cyrano vibe . . . 

Although Well Met was magic for me in every way, I was a little less enamored with Well Played. I did enjoy it though. It was funny and charming, not to mention the setting. I found Stacey relatable (and it's always nice to come across a plus sized heroine). On the outside, she's confident and flirty, which we see some of in the first book in the series where she is a secondary character. But in this book, with her front and center, we get to see a more complex character, as the layers fall away. It was great to see some of the repeat characters from the earlier book--Emily, Simon, April and Mitch (whose turn it will be in Well Matched, which I look forward to reading). 

I admit to not knowing much about faire life, but one aspect I really appreciated about this novel was how it gives readers a glimpse behind the curtain of a Ren Faire and some of it's moving parts--from the local volunteers to the vendors and entertainers who spend their life on the road traveling from faire to faire, as well as the rehearsals, costumes, and some of the behind the scenes action. 

Challenges Met: Backlist, Mount TBR, COYER

Have you read Well Played or any of the other books in the series?  If not, does this sound like something you might enjoy?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. It is co-hosted by Linda Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life, and Karen from For What It’s Worth. Join in by answering this week's question in the comments or on your own blog.

Which book/series would make a great movie/tv series?

I am currently watching Shadow and Bone on Netflix, having just read the first five books in the Grishaverse series (the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Crows duology) by Leigh Bardugo. There was some crossover because I actually started watching the show before I read the books. As often is the case, I wish I had read the books first. And I wish I had put some time between the books and watching the show because . . . well, if you've read the books and seen the show, you will understand. Seeing how the writers weave the books together despite the separate time lines, creating new content, and manipulating the book material to fit this new story has been fascinating to say the least. I am enjoying the show--but I loved the books, especially Six of Crows and even more so Crooked Kingdom. Anyway. To the question of the week! 

My mind is stuck in Renaissance Faire mode right now, and so I admit I would really like to see Jen DeLuca's Well Met series come to life in a television series. Or maybe a movie for each book. I think though it'd be more fun as a short television series because you could really get to know the characters more that way. I would want the series to maintain the humor and lightheartedness of the book series--in a smart and clever way. I don't want them to be turned into Hallmark-esque movies. Although, those  types of movies have their place too. 

Has Dear Martin by Nic Stone been made into a movie yet? It should be, if not. 

I hope they make a movie out of Lisa See's The Island of Sea Women. It's a part of history worth featuring on the big screen and such a moving story!

I tend to gravitate a lot towards fantasy and science fiction, and I can think of an endless number of possibilities. Here's just a small few that come to mind:

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes would make a great movie--science fiction and horror mixed together. 

Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab please. My daughter seconds this idea! Preferably in a series format.

Oh, and what about the Hollows series featuring Rachel Morgan by Kim Harrison. I would have that series on repeat. 

Genevieve Cogman's The Invisible Library series would be such fun to see in television series form! The fae and dragons and Librarians! I don't think I could take it if it wasn't done right though. 

I could keep going. But if all of these books and all the others I would want to see on screen were made into television series or movies, when would I read?!  Besides, we all know the books are often better.

What books would you like to see come to life on the screen--if done right, of course? 

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Have you ever attempted to repair a damaged book? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Kind of. I once ordered a set of books on E-Bay that were said to be in good condition. The seller's definition of good condition and mine are not the same. The covers were ripped and extremely loose (I could see the threads barely hanging on) and pages were falling out. My husband and I tried taping the pages to the covers but it was clear we didn't know what we were doing. 

Then there was the time I accidentally dropped a book into a bucket of water. I ended up buying a new copy. There was no coming back from the damage done to that soaked book. 

I have read a few fiction books in which characters restore damaged books.  I am in awe of their skills. It really is an art all its own. 

What about you?

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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