Blog Tour & Review: Well Versed by Jen DeLuca

Happy Release Day Jen DeLuca!

Well Versed is the fifth and final book in Jen's Well Met series.

It's a fun and heartfelt series and I highly recommend all the books!

About the Book

It’s a second chance at first love at the Renaissance Faire, where the search for a new queen shapes a destiny, from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Caitlin Parker was eighteen when she fell out of love with the magic of the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire—the site of her first real heartbreak. But now, twenty-four and unemployed, she finds herself in her childhood bedroom and her childhood lady-in-waiting costume, assisting a rotating cast of substitute queens for the season. The very last person she wants to see is Alexander Wright—the sword-fighting, Shakespeare-spouting young man who won and broke her teenage heart. Yet there he is, older, annoyingly hotter, and back on stage at her Faire.

When Alex broke things off with Caitlin the first time, he thought he was just ending a summer fling. He didn't realize how much he’d fallen for her until he let her go, and he certainly didn't know he’d tarnished her memories of her cherished Faire and worse, shattered her view on love and relationships. His need to right that wrong this summer brings them together again and again, and this time, it won’t be so easy to let go of this summer fling.

But as summer winds down, real life is catching up to both of them. Caitlin’s always thought that being an adult with adult responsibilities means leaving whimsy behind. Alex, with a life full of stage combat, songs, and sonnets, doesn’t know how to live any other way. Can they go after their dreams and find a future together where they can still say “huzzah”?

Excerpt

 

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.

My Review

Well Versed is full of growing pains, sweaty summer angst, RenFaire hijinks, secret kisses, and pages filled with all our favorite Well Met characters. 

Caitlin has grown up before our eyes in the Well Met series. From that shy teen full of hope and whimsy to a beautiful young adult with a head for IT, zero job prospects, and cynical views of love and the home town RenFaire. My heart totally hurt for Caitlin. 

Alex is a new character in the series and he doesn’t start out on good footing. He broke our Caitlin’s heart! He should be in shackles in the RenFaire’s town square for all to see his shame! Dramatic much? Maybe a little. I definitely didn’t like him at the beginning, but as his story unfolded and I learned about his life, I began to soften–just a little–towards the bright young man. 

Caitlin truly had a village to help support her as she navigates this hiccup in her life and as she reconciles the heartache of her 18-year-old self through the lens of her 24-year-old hindsight. The author really does a tremendous job with Caitlin’s character growth. It was beautifully done!

Well Versed is a bittersweet end to the series. While I am so very sad it is ending, I’m happy Caitlin, Emily, Simon, and the crew will forever be immortalized in print. 

Thank you Jen DeLuca for creating this magical world with wonderful characters we can all see ourselves in, and for the love stories that we all wish were our own. 

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a copy of the book generously provided by the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book or the content of my review.

Purchase Links*

Penguin Random House

About the Author

Photo: © Morgan H. Lee 2023

Jen DeLuca is the USA Today bestselling author of the Well Met series, which was inspired by her time volunteering as a pub wench with her local Renaissance Faire. She loves Publix chicken tender subs, cold brew coffee, and the Oxford comma. Jen lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, their rescue dog, and almost too many cats. Learn more at www.jendeluca.com

*Third party links to the publisher's website. May contain affiliate links.

Review: Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca

Well Traveled is Book #4 in Jen DeLuca's
Well Met Renaissance Faire romance series!

About the Book

The Renaissance Faire is on the move, and Lulu and Dex are along for the ride, in the next utterly charming rom-com from Jen DeLuca.

A high-powered attorney from a success-oriented family, Louisa “Lulu” Malone lives to work, and everything seems to be going right, until the day she realizes it’s all wrong. Lulu’s cousin Mitch introduced her to the world of Renaissance Faires, and when she spies one at a time just when she needs an escape, she leaps into the welcoming environment of turkey legs, taverns, and tarot readers. The only drawback? Dex MacLean: a guitarist with a killer smile, the Casanova of the Faire… and her traveling companion for the summer.

 Dex has never had to work for much in his life, and why should he? Touring with his brothers as The Dueling Kilts is going great, and he always finds a woman at every Faire. But when Lulu proves indifferent to his many plaid charms and a shake-up threatens the fate of the band, Dex must confront something he never has before: his future.

 Forced to spend days and nights together on the road, Lulu’s interest in the kilted bad boy grows as he shows her a side of himself no one else has seen. The stresses of her old lifestyle fade away as she learns to trust her intuition and follow her heart instead of her head. But when her time on the road is over, will Lulu go with her gut, or are she and Dex destined for separate paths?

My Review

Wow! I am so happy to be back in the RenFaire world!

I had a lot of preconceived notions about this book and was very skeptical about having Dex as the leading man. He’s been portrayed as a ladies’ man throughout the series and has been known to have a woman (or more) at every RenFaire. While Dex makes no promises other than a good time while he’s with a partner, it’s hard to see him as anything other than what he is. And if you’ve read Book 2, Well Played, you’ll know what I mean. It was hard for me to see Dex as anything but a sexy guy with a guitar…. but after reading Well Traveled, Ms. DeLuca has proven me wrong!

Lulu Malone is a strong heroine on a journey of self-discovery. After her professional life blows up in an extraordinary way, her cousin Mitch encourages Lulu to take some time to figure things out, and what better way to do that than riding along on the RenFaire circuit with Mitch’s friend Stacey and The Dueling Kilts, a RenFaire traveling family band with hot guys in kilts. Lulu begrudgingly agrees to go off-grid and enjoy time in the sun and lending a hand at the weekend RenFaires. What she DOESN’T want is to be hit on by the RenFaire bad boy and guitar-playing singer of the band, Dex.

Dex MacLean is a singer/guitar player for his family’s band, The Dueling Kilts. He’s super sexy, super talented, an unabashed flirt and an unrepentant ladies’ man. But there’s so much more to him than a killer smile and a guitar. I’ll let you discover that for yourselves 😉

Lulu and Dex together is an explosion of fiery passion that’s physically palpable! Their chemistry is off the charts and they absolutely made sense together. Lulu was able to see what others couldn’t, that Dex is a talented man full of heart and light and has a fierce intelligence. He has a quiet insight that’s often lost or misconstrued in the world around him but Lulu sees right through Dex’s dumb hunk routine. I promise you’ll fall hard and fast for Dex, and I NEVER thought I would be saying that out loud!

Well Traveled also depicts the whimsical and taxing lifestyle of a RenFaire traveler. What I really loved about the story was that these travelers are such a charming and diverse community that look out for and help each other. These lovingly and beautifully crafted characters and the rich descriptions of a Renaissance Faire feel just like coming home. It’s easy to get lost in the whimsy and magic of the story and I absolutely did! And I can’t wait for the next RenFaire romance!

I highly recommend this and every book by Jen DeLuca!

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a copy of the book generously provided by the publisher in 2022 in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book or the content of my review.

Purchase Links*

Penguin Random House

About the Author

Photo: © Morgan H. Lee in 2023

Jen DeLuca is the USA Today bestselling author of the Well Met series, which was inspired by her time volunteering as a pub wench with her local Renaissance Faire. She loves Publix chicken tender subs, cold brew coffee, and the Oxford comma. Jen lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, their rescue dog, and almost too many cats. Learn more at www.jendeluca.com

*Third party links to the publisher's website. May contain affiliate links.

Review: Well Matched by Jen DeLuca

Well Matched is Book #3 in Jen DeLuca's
Well Met Renaissance Faire romance series!

About the Book

A pretend relationship gives two friends more than they bargained for in a Renaissance Faire rom com filled with flower crowns, kilts, corsets, and sword fights.

Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell. 

Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire—a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship. 

As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch’s family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch’s girlfriend again…and it doesn’t feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans—and open her heart—for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.

My Review

First off, I absolutely LOVE this series! The books are centered around the town’s annual Renaissance Faire and they are completely enchanting! The characters are fun and endearing… well except for April. Ugh. I have never wanted to shake a character more in my life than her. And I know why, because she is exactly like me. A single mom who’s been burned before and stays FAR and WIDE from any mention or interest in the opposite sex for the purposes of dating, and whatnot. But April’s got me beat in the hard-headed department. She was such a hard character to like.

Now our beloved high school gym teacher, coach and kilt-wearing Mitch is a different story. He’s funny and kind and has a heart of gold despite his hound dog persona. Although underneath all the fluff and the easy smiles, Mitch has a lot of depth and some hidden hurts that he hides so seamlessly, not even his closest friends realize it.He’s such an amazing guy and I think he can do better than April the cactus. Double ugh. 

I have been struggling writing this review because I don’t like April’s character. At all. We first meet her in Well Met (Book 1). April is Emily’s older sister and she’s laid up recovering from a car accident so there’s a reason she’s a bit grumpy. April’s the hardened, skeptical character that humbugs things like magic and love… and fun. But it’s okay because she’s a secondary character. 

In Well Played (Book 2) April is more prominent in the series, still a secondary character with the crusty attitude and an easy banter with Mitch. They support Stacey (main character) well and you’re not really affected much by April’s cynicism. 

In Well Matched, April is front and center and so is her hard, inflexible demeanor. And April is NOT a fan of the Renaissance Faire and makes it clear in the previous books as well as this one. April’s character and her dislike of the Faire and pretty much everything else is like a cloud over the story and it feels like some of the original magic of the first two books is dampened in Well Matched.The book is not as fun or as joyful, it really made me sad. However, this in no way will stop me from reading future books in the series. 

Overall, I give the story 4 Stars because Mitch is amazing and the Renaissance Faire never fails to bring good cheer! Huzzah!

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a copy of the book generously provided by the publisher in 2021 in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book or the content of my review.

Purchase Links*

Penguin Random House

About the Author

Photo: © Morgan H. Lee in 2023

Jen DeLuca is the USA Today bestselling author of the Well Met series, which was inspired by her time volunteering as a pub wench with her local Renaissance Faire. She loves Publix chicken tender subs, cold brew coffee, and the Oxford comma. Jen lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, their rescue dog, and almost too many cats. Learn more at www.jendeluca.com

*Third party links to the publisher's website. May contain affiliate links.

Review: Well Played by Jen DeLuca

Well Played is Book #3 in Jen DeLuca's
Well Met Renaissance Faire romance series!

About the Book

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.

My Review

Another winner from Jen DeLuca!

I really loved Stacey's story! She is a fun character and was easy to relate to. I was definitely living vicariously through her and "Dex's" email/text romance.

This book is a little hard to review since I can't really say much without spoiling stuff. If you read the book blurb though, it is revealed that it's not Dex who Stacey has been communicating with. Say what? Oh, there's going to be some more of those moments in the book and you may want to throat punch a character or five.

And there's most definitely a lot of Renaissance Faire action in the story and plenty of page time with many of the awesome characters from the first book! I really enjoyed Well Played and I'm looking forward to the next book!

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a copy of the book generously provided by the publisher in 2020 in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book or the content of my review.

Purchase Links*

Penguin Random House

About the Author

Photo: © Morgan H. Lee in 2023

Jen DeLuca is the USA Today bestselling author of the Well Met series, which was inspired by her time volunteering as a pub wench with her local Renaissance Faire. She loves Publix chicken tender subs, cold brew coffee, and the Oxford comma. Jen lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, their rescue dog, and almost too many cats. Learn more at www.jendeluca.com

*Third party links to the publisher's website. May contain affiliate links.

Review: Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Well Met is Book #1 in Jen DeLuca's
Well Met Renaissance Faire romance series!

About the Book

All’s faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author Jen DeLuca.

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon’s family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn’t have time for Emily’s lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she’s in her revealing wench’s costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they’re portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can’t seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

My Review

WELL MET is whimsical, hilarious and brilliantly written!

I absolutely LOVED it! Ms. DeLuca cracks me up with her witty dialogue and endears us with an imperfect hero and heroine. Feeling unworthy of favor and happiness yet deserving of both!  

I love everything about this story! I love Emily’s character! She’s been hurt and heartbroken, but she has a wicked sense of humor that tickled me every single time she opened her mouth! Her character is vulnerable and easy to relate to. I want to be her!

Now Simon… poor, poor Simon. This guy… I love him so much!!! He puts on a brave face but deep down he was suffering, but only Emily was able to see his true pain and she wanted so badly to heal and love him. Even though he was a total jerk the moment they first met! You gotta love a good enemies-to-lovers trope. 

The secondary characters are just as brilliant! Emily’s sister and niece are sweet and so funny! And one of the most memorable characters in the story is a tall, blonde and handsome kilt-wearing gym teacher with a mighty big…. sword 😉 

I.Love.This.Book. There is so much heart and loss, and hope and heartache, and promise. And love. SO much love! If you love witty dialogue, snarky heroines, wounded heroes, kilted men (and sexy pirates) all centered around an Elizabethan Renaissance Faire, then you definitely need to beg, borrow and buy WELL MET!

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a copy of the book generously provided by the publisher in 2019 in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book or the content of my review.

Purchase Links*

Penguin Random House

About the Author

Photo: © Morgan H. Lee in 2023

Jen DeLuca is the USA Today bestselling author of the Well Met series, which was inspired by her time volunteering as a pub wench with her local Renaissance Faire. She loves Publix chicken tender subs, cold brew coffee, and the Oxford comma. Jen lives in the Arizona desert with her husband, their rescue dog, and almost too many cats. Learn more at www.jendeluca.com

*Third party links to the publisher's website. May contain affiliate links.

Release Day Review: One Shattered Crown by Rebecca Zanetti

Set in a steamy, neon-lit, high-tech world of magic, money, and explosive desire, this sultry, dark fairytale retelling offers a dystopian romantasy twist on Cinderella for fans of Lauren Asher, Harley Laroux, and Emily McIntire.

*** DELUXE SPECIAL EDITION HARDCOVER with stenciled edges, reversible dust jacket, foil stamping, and designed endpapers! Available only while supplies last.***

About the Book

ELLA

It’s the wedding of the year—a lavish union of two powerhouses. But I’m only here for vengeance against the woman who stole my position as sole heir to my late father’s company, TimeGem Moments, and shipped me off to boarding school. I’ve only made more enemies since. Tonight is my chance to reclaim control. Tonight, TimeGem’s diamond-powered servers are this girl’s best friend. Unless he ruins everything. Justice Beathach, the groom’s unbearably hot brother, with hands built for war and a mouth that spells destruction. He’s lethal, unyielding, and now has me in his crosshairs . . .

JUSTICE

Ella Rendale almost killed my brother once. Now, at his own wedding, she’s almost done it again. I don’t care if he’s forgiven her or if she’s been wronged. I care about one thing: the locked flash drive she leaves behind, spelling my destruction. She can run, she can hide, but when I find her, she’ll give me what I want. But someone else wants her even more than I do—they want her dead. When our enemies close in, I’m forced to protect her, turning the fire between us into an uncontrollable weapon. Now, she’s not just my quarry—she’s my obsession. And I’ll kill anyone who even thinks of taking her from me . . .

My Review

One Shattered Crown is the dark retelling of the Cinderella fairytale with fantastical world building, a smart and cunning heroine, and a possessive Irish mob enforcer Prince Charming.

The story has …
- a wickedly smart FMC
- a stoic & sexy MMC
- combustible chemistry
- secrets
- surprises
- danger
- mystery
- betrayal
- more betrayal

Ella is …
- smart as a whip
- loyal
- a spitfire
- an escape artist
- fighting for her birthright
- refuses to be caged

“A happy Ella is easier to manage than a pissed-off sprite who looks like Tinker Bell but acts like the Terminator.” 

Justice is …
- tall, Irish, & dangerous
- the anti-hero
- deadly
- cursed
- an alphahole
- can’t get Ella out of his system

“He’s lethal in a way no code could predict. The kind of danger you don’t see until it’s already in your bloodstream.” 

Ella and Justice are explosive together! Their hate-hate relationship makes for great chemistry. Ella refuses to bend and Justice will accept nothing less than her total surrender. I blushed and side-eyed my way through their scenes together and laughed every time Ella obliterated Justice’s expectations of her. The jagged edges of their puzzle pieces fit together perfectly.

My favorite part of the story is Ella’s godmother Aura and her two BFFs Mags and Jos. They are so much fun to watch and are so protective of Ella. I love these glittered up, capeless crusaders! I wish they had more page time. 

One Shattered Crown is the jewel in Rebecca Zanetti’s Grimm Bargains dark romance series! 

I highly recommend them all.

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a copy of the book generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book or the content of my review.

Purchase Links*

Kensington Publishing Corp. | Rebecca Zanetti Website

About the Author

Rebecca Zanetti is the award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over eighty romantic suspense, dark paranormal, and contemporary romances, many of which have also appeared on the Publishers Weekly, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple bestseller lists and sold millions of copies worldwide. Her books have been featured in The Washington Post and New York Times Book Review and received numerous starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, and Kirkus. Previously an art curator, Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner, Rebecca has ridden in a locked Chevy trunk, asked the unfortunate delivery guy to release her from a set of handcuffs, and discovered the best silver mine shafts in which to bury a body – all in the name of research. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and can be found online at RebeccaZanetti.com.

*Third party links to the publisher's website. May contain affiliate links.

Release Day Review: How (Not) to Renovate a Haunted House by Jenny L. Howe

In this spooky Summerween romance, an amateur ghost hunter and a supernatural skeptic team up for a haunted home renovation project. 

But is their relationship the real fixer upper?

About the Book

Amity Callaway is sick of being known as the weird girl. As annoyed as she is that her recently divorced mom just moved them across the country to the tiny, quirky town of Harlow’s Rest, Massachusetts, it could be the fresh start she needs.

Until Amity discovers their absolute disaster of a new house is supposedly haunted.

Theo Hargrave, amateur ghost hunter and son of the local general contractor, is a true believer. When he shows up on their property with his EMF reader in hand, Amity is ready to debunk all his theories. She’s definitely not staring at the small scar through his eyebrow or his ridiculously soft lips.

But even Amity can admit their home renovation is doomed. Nothing is going right, from the paint that refuses to dry to the fixtures that keep coming loose. So Amity and Theo strike a deal—his family’s construction expertise for her help investigating the house’s supernatural secrets. Even scarier than ghosts, though? Amity’s growing feelings for Theo.

Excerpt

 

Chapter 1

“Have you ever tried to stab something with a chef’s knife?”

Pausing the slasher movie we’re watching, I glance at my best friend and toss another fish-shaped cheddar cracker in my mouth.

Taylor sits against the tufted headboard of my bed, a pillow clutched against her chest. Her eyes flit to me. “Um . . . have . . . you?”

I nod. “That pumpkin last Halloween. Remember, Mom left the carving knife at my aunt’s? It was impossible.” I swing my fist through the air in a stabbing motion. “The tip doesn’t pierce anything. It’s not even sharp.”

Taylor snorts. “Sometimes you frighten me.” She tucks a lock of her fire engine–­red hair behind her ear, then submerges her hand in the bowl of similarly red fish beside her. Her black-­painted nails swim through the sea of candy like piranhas.

If anyone else said that to me, it would hurt. But it’s a badge of honor from my best friend. Being scared is her favorite extracurricular activity. The girl dreams of falling in love with a ghost (or other supernatural entity—­she’s not picky) someday. “I’m just saying that a chef’s knife is not a good weapon to murder people with.”

“What is, then?” Taylor’s left eyebrow arches.

“My cousin says, if you’re using kitchen utensils, it should be a slicing knife. But you use the blade, not the point.”

Taylor decapitates a fish with her teeth, then uses the body to take pretend notes. She mimes ending the last word with a flourish. “Use slicing knife to do murders. Noted.”

“Bobby’s a sous chef. He knows about this stuff.”

“Amity, it’s a movie. About a guy who keeps coming back to life after being blown up, set on fire, shot until he looks like Swiss cheese, and catapulted into space. I don’t think they’re going for realism.”

I shrug. “All I’m saying is that if they tried, it might actually be scary.”

“Someday, Callaway, I’m going to find something that freaks you out.” Taylor thrusts her hand into the air. “This is now my mission.”

“Best of luck, Prescott,” I deadpan.

When I was five, there was a three-­day span when I refused to go in my room at night because I was convinced a monster was waiting in my closet. My father kept telling me to stop being dramatic and that monsters weren’t real, but it was my mom who proved it to me. We geared up with flashlights and wore whatever outfit made us feel bravest (mine was my oversized Queen Elizabeth I T-shirt that I’d stolen from the back of her closet, hers was her favorite navy-­blue suit), and then we investigated the closet together, eventually discovering that the “monster” was a family of mice that had made a cozy home in the wall. That night taught me that even the scariest things can be disempowered if you just understand what they are.

I reach for more fish crackers, then organize them into rows of two on my palm. “You know, I think this is the first time we’ve ever broken the snack tradition.”
Since we started our Friday night sleepovers in sixth grade, Taylor and I have always created a menu that matches the theme of the movie. Tonight Taylor was supposed to finally experience Jaws, so we had sushi for dinner with Phish Food ice cream for dessert, and we’d gathered up every aquatic-­shaped snack we could think of. Only the movie was no longer streaming for free, though Taylor could have sworn otherwise. And neither of us was spending any of our money on a ridiculous killer shark, so he got replaced by some summer camp murder spree Taylor’s girlfriend Nadya promised was the best in the franchise. (It’s true, but the bar is like, so low it’s in Earth’s core.)

“There’s a lake,” Taylor counters, waving at the screen, where the killer is still frozen mid-­burst from the water’s placid surface.

“But no fish.”
Holding up a finger for me to wait a second, Taylor shimmies off the bed. She rummages through the top drawer of my desk for a moment, then she’s taping candy fish to the lower half of my flatscreen TV so it looks like they’re swimming in the lake, unperturbed by the murderous undead man introducing chaos (and corpses) into their ecosystem.

“Perfect. All is now right with the world.”

Taylor flops down next to me, a satisfied grin pulling at her round cheeks, and we resume the movie with our new homemade fish filter.

I let my head fall against her shoulder. “Do you really have to go away to college?” I mumble. UC Santa Barbara is her dream school, and I’m thrilled for her that she got in, but I’m used to having her in my backyard (literally, our properties share a fence). I’ll be living at home, since I get free tuition at the college my mom teaches at, and working part-­time as an assistant to the activities director at our local library. I could have gone to UCSB with Taylor, but it seemed like a bad life choice to shackle myself with student loans when I could get my degree for free. Plus, my mom’s school has a better history department and good connections to grad programs in library science and archives management, all of which I’ll need if I’m going to fulfill my dream of being an archivist.

“Dude, it’s hardly ‘away.’ ” Taylor throws some quotes around those words. “It’s not even a half hour’s drive. Besides, you’re going to be so busy being the next Indiana Jones that you’ll probably forget all about me.”

Taylor’s got this idea in her head that archivists and archaeologists are the same. “You don’t find rare manuscripts at dig sites,” I remind her for the four hundredth time. “Not usually, at least.”

Taylor shrugs. “Technicalities. I’m still getting you a fedora.” Her eyes narrow mischievously. “And a whip.”

I grab a crocheted Amelia Earhart from the shelf above my bed and toss her gently at Taylor’s head. She’s about the size of my palm, and entirely made of yarn and stuffing, so she’s the safest of projectiles. Amelia was my first “Great Women of History” crochet project freshman year of high school. She was for a class assignment, but I loved crocheting her so much that since then I’ve added about ten more (including, but not limited to, Harriet Tubman; Marie Curie; Frida Kahlo; and my two personal favorites, Queen Elizabeth I and Joan of Arc) to my collection. Taylor and my mom both think I should sell them online, but crocheting is something I do for me. To keep my hands—­and thus my brain—­busy when my thoughts get overwhelming.

“Don’t make Indy dirty.” I may not want to dig up bones and relics, but the man is still an icon. One of the hottest history nerds around. My mom finds it hilarious that I have posters of movies from her childhood up on my walls.

“I bet he knows how to use—­” Jane Austen is my next missile. Taylor catches her easily, then raises her hands in surrender. “Sorry. It was too easy.”

Taylor and Nadya love to turn everything into an innuendo. I do my best to play along with the jokes, but half the time, I don’t really get them. I have less than zero experience with relationships and sex and all that, and I end up flushed and uncomfortable when they come up, making me feel like a weirdo all over again.

Dating just seems more trouble to me than it’s worth. Relation­ships need you to open up. You have to give people way too many targets. Too many places where they can wound you.

And too many people take every shot they can. I learned that the hard way.

Taylor beans me in the head with Jane. “I don’t even know why we’re talking about this. My mom said I only had to live in the dorms for the fall. Then we can get that apartment together and you’ll never be rid of me!” She lets out one of her loud laughs that sound like an audition for a cartoon villain.

“And until then, we’ve got the Great Taco Mile,” I add. For the next two weeks, Taylor and I will be breaking in the Jeep her aunt gave her by trying every taco within driving distance of our houses. We’re going to document the whole thing on social media. Taylor’s hoping that we’ll go viral and become the next big foodie influencers, but I’m just excited to eat nothing but my favorite food for almost fourteen days.

“Do you think the parents would let us have one overnight? There are so many good tacos in San Diego. I found four spots we absolutely have to check out, and they’re all right on the beach.” Taylor flashes me a wide grin. “We can get a tan while we stuff our faces.”

I glance down at the fair white skin of my thick thighs and calves, what little of it isn’t hidden beneath my bike shorts and the fish socks pulled up to my knees. I can never get a real tan, no matter how often I go to the beach. “She’s been wound super tight lately, but I can try asking my mom,” I say.

“Ask me what?”

Taylor and I scream at the same time, upending our bowls of snacks. A school of orange and red fish swim across my comforter and crunch beneath my palms as I spin toward the door. My heart rams against my ribs.

My mom lurks in the half-­open doorway like a phantom (or creepy serial killer).

Excerpted from How (Not) to Renovate a Haunted House by Jenny L. Howe. Copyright © 2026 by Jenny L. Howe. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

My Review

This is my first read by Jenny L. Howe and I am thoroughly enchanted!

I got literal goosebumps while reading!

How (Not) to Renovate a Haunted House is an adorable read with relatable characters, an exciting storyline, and a super sweet (and clean) romance.

On the way to their new home state and still reeling from her parents’ divorce news, Amity scrolls through YouTube to dull the white noise in her head and combat the boredom of the road trip. Her gaze catches on a random video with a couple of cute amateur ghost hunters in front of a rundown house called the Harlow Homestead. It’s a very old house with a long and varied history of mysterious incidents and deaths and rumored paranormal activity. 

Some think the house is haunted by ghosts, others think they are just strange–but not out of the ordinary–coincidences. As the video ends, Amity discovers her mom has pulled up to their new home… the Harlow Homestead. Dun, dun, DUNNNNNNNN!!!! Good thing she doesn’t believe in ghosts… yet 😉

This was such a great read! I was immediately sucked into the story and couldn’t put the book down! I loved how well the author fleshed out the history and the lore surrounding the house and the town and how intricate each detail was. 

I am a HUGE small town romance fan and I absolutely love this quirky town of Harlow’s Rest. The people are lovely and the businesses are just as unique as the townsfolk. A particular favorite of mine is a diner/restaurant dedicated to a very popular 1980s movie! You’re gonna love it!

I love watching Amity and her mom’s relationship unfold and how it weathers the new life changes for both of them. I really admire it. It’s a relationship I would have loved to have had with my own mom. 

Amity and Theo are SO cute together. Their banter is funny and their awkward teenage chemistry is loveable and endearing. I loved how joyfully and exasperatingly they tried to convince each other of their own (non)beliefs. Just adorable! 

Theo is such a wonderful character. He is thoughtful, kind, a hard worker, and fully dedicated to discovering ghosts in the Harlow Homestead. I enjoyed learning about his family dynamic. The author really did a great job in portraying the highs and lows of that relationship. 

Amity is a beautifully crafted character. She had some big life changes happen to her that greatly affected her. I loved how fearless Amity seemed as she tried to make a place for herself in this new life, even though she felt anything but. 

I really loved the way the author addressed the vulnerabilities of a young woman as she tries to discover who she is and how she reconciles her thoughts and feelings about herself and her life choices with the societal standards and pressures many people–especially young people–place on themselves and others. I thought it was addressed beautifully and in a positive way.

I absolutely loved this coming-of-age story with a curvy FMC, supportive best friends, a strong and loving mom, and a boy who thinks she’s perfect just the way she is. It’s a cozy read light on romance, heavy on the spooky vibes, with a territorial squirrel, and lots of fun times. I laughed-snorted, smiled, ooo’ed and aww’ed, and shivered my way through the book. It was so good! I couldn’t put it down!

This story is very appropriate for young readers but also for readers of any age. 

I highly recommend How (Not) to Renovate a Haunted House to every reader!

FTC Disclaimer: I voluntarily read a print ARC generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influences my thoughts or feelings about the book or the content of my review.

Purchase Links

Penguin Random House*

About the Author

Photo Credit: Anastasia Aranovich Photography

Jenny L. Howe is a literature professor, amateur dog wrangler, and owner of too many Lego sets. Getting lost in love stories is her favorite form of escapism, and she still can’t believe that she gets to write her own and share them with the world. She is the author of romances for teens and adults, including her YA debut Love at Full Tilt. Learn more at www.jennylhowe.com

*Third party links to the publisher's website. May contain affiliate links.