I really enjoyed this read. The quirky characters and the silly animals helped make the book even more enjoyable. Thank you for the ARC!

*thank you to NetGalley and SMP for an eARC of this book in exchange for my review*

This tender romance is written for hurting and healing hearts. Sage and Fisher find each other in differing seasons of grief and growth, and they are inexplicably drawn together but their need for a safe space to be vulnerable. They both fall fast, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that this small town romance emphasized the importance of good communication and teamwork—not just the thrill of new love. It was a quick and refreshing read.

The premise and small town vibes of this book were cute and promising, but ultimately it fell flat for me. Everything felt very rushed and surface level. If you enjoy a very low stakes and quick romance, then you’ll probably enjoy this book!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. ✍🏻

I was not prepared for how much I was going to love this book, but I'm so glad I finally decided to read it.

Fisher, a hotshot chef from New York was thriving (or so he thought) until the death of his sister and gaining the custody of his teenage niece almost overnight. He is forced to move to Spunes, OR as a last ditch to save his career and get a first start with Indy. Which is where he meets Sage, a small-town teacher and town sweetheart. However, a clash with the town and not so secret kiss between the two of them lead them to making a secret alliance, but feelings always seems to grow in the least expected ways...

I practically devoured this book in one sitting. Fisher and his relationship with Indy hit me hard. I was rooting for the two of them to finally understand each other through their grief. As for Sage, that's my girl. I love her so much. I love her millions of farm animals, her personality, and even her ability to over explain herself in situations. Watching Fisher and Sage fall in love was as easy as breathing air.

I'm so excited to have read the next book in the series. Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to read this (even though it is year later).

I'm a Tarah DeWitt stan. Wren + Forest + Food.

She writes yearning and life crises so well. I also loved the community in this one and the setting (Spunes, Oregon, not Forks, Washington).
THE BEST .

To be completely honest, this was a bit of a flop for me. I wasn’t able to get fully immersed in the story and wasn’t able to connect with the characters. Maybe I was distracted when reading? Anyhow, it was not a bad novel by any means - just not for me! I may try it again in the future

Savor It is a warm, witty romance that balances humor and heart with ease. Tarah DeWitt creates relatable characters who feel real and flawed in the best ways. The slow-burn romance is satisfying, with plenty of emotional payoff. While a few scenes felt a bit drawn out, the overall pacing kept me engaged. It’s a charming and feel-good stroy that left me smiling.

Savor It was a wonderful slow burn small town romance. Fisher lands in Spunes, OR with his niece Indy where he meets Sage. The characters were love able. They had incredible banter. The steamy scenes were very well done. Spicy but not offensive.
This story also explores grief and career burnout. I loved the relationship between Fisher and Indy. The way it developed throughout the story was very well done.
Pacific Northwest was such a nice setting. First book by this author. Will not be my last. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun for me but honestly nothing special. I was looking forward to book 2 so I of course has to read this one first. The small quirky town aspect was fun but at times could be annoying. The lover story between the main characters felt very quick so that may be why I feel the way I do. I don't know but this one was for me.

Tropes:
- single guardian
- neighbors
- grumpy x sunshine
- forced proximity
- slow burn
- small town

This is my first book by this author and definitely won’t be my last. The flow of this book was great. I really enjoyed it. This was a very quick read and have told many others to read it.

This was great! I loved the Twilight references from the get-go and the romance between Fisher and Sage was "chef's kiss" (pun intended).

The enjoyed the focus on relationships in this book. We don't just get a steamy romance. I liked how the book focused on the relationship between Fisher and his niece Indy. He has three years to make up for not taking Indy in after his sister passed away and it took him losing his job to get him to step back and realize he still hasn't dealt with his grief.

This story is a beautiful romance about finding yourself again, even if it's in a new and unexpected place. The romance was well done, the steamy scenes tasteful and fun, and the challenges were faced together head on.

I definitely recommend!

Savor It - review
Genre - Romance
Rating - 4⭐️

My first from this author but not my last! This was so fun and sweet, with a quaint small town setting and all its characters, along with some quirky animals. This was a quick read, and I rooted for Fischer and Sage right from the beginning. I plan to pick up book two soon, to get back to the town of Spunes, to see Ellis and Wren's story.

Thank you to the publisher for an arc of this novel; all my opinions are my own.

What a lovely read. Sage and Fisher are wonderful characters and they had depth and flaws and I loved them together so much. I thought the story was sweet and heartwarming and definitely a good set up for an interconnected standalone series. I will say, I think this book tried a bit too hard to tug at my heartstrings, and the ending definitely felt rushed. I still had a great time though and I’ll be reading the next books in the series.

Savor It was an ok romance, but I didn't love it. The pacing of the story was a bit too slow for my liking, and I didn't necessarily feel the chemistry between the love interests. I really liked the small-town setting, even if it was a little over-the-top.

Overall, I didn't hate this book but found it extremely forgettable. I think I've determined that Tarah DeWitt is just not my jam.

I've read several of DeWitt's novels now, and she's quickly become a "will read anything by her" author for me. Savor It was super cute and enjoyable.

Sage Byrd, a small-town teacher content with her quiet life, and Fisher Lange, a charming, big-hearted guy temporarily in town to get a new restaurant up and running. What starts as a casual arrangement slowly turns into something much more complicated and undeniably sweet. This is a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance with plenty of heart and just the right amount of spice.

The chemistry between Sage and Fisher is so natural and fun. I’m a big fan of playful banter, emotional depth, and those stolen moments that make you feel the build-up. They’re the kind of couple you root for from the start and watching them slowly fall for each other felt warm and real.


It was such a cute, comforting read, and I really enjoyed it. Also plenty of Food vibes! If you’re in the mood for a small-town romance with charm, heart, and some swoony slow-burn vibes: this is it.

Savor It is out now. Huge thank you to William Morrow for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
Tiktok @speakingof.books
Website: SPEAKINGOF.ORG

Thank you to NetGalley, Tarah DeWitt, and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sage Byrd lives in the small town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be mistaken with Forks, Washington) by the Pacific Ocean. She's content with her life, taking in and rescuing farm animals, her older brothers, Micah, Silas, and Ellis, and her close, tight-knit community around town. Fisher Lange and his teenage niece, Indy, show up for a few months when Fisher is called to do some consulting for a new restaurant his company is opening in Spunes...a restaurant that the town isn't necessarily happy about. He wasn't supposed to be here, but after getting fired from his main job, losing Michelin stars from his restaurant, and burning out, his company decided he needed a reset. After rumors start flying around about him and Sage dating, they strike a deal: Sage helps Fisher with his restaurant consulting since she knows the town's vibe and population and interests, and Fisher becomes Sage's partner for the town's annual summer festival to help her prove to her ex-boyfriend, Ian, that she's fine without him.

I loved the small-town vibes we get from the story. I loved the tight-knit community, the way everyone knows each other's names, and the idea of how everyone seems to take life in the slow lane in Spunes. If you want the perfect vibes while reading this, I feel like this would be the perfect book to read during the summer in your backyard on a hot summer night while the sun sets and the temperature's cooling ever so slightly and you see all the vibrant colors of the sunset around you with a bonfire going.

As for the writing, I felt like something was severely lacking and missing. I think there were massive blocks of the characters' inner monologues that served no purpose whatsoever to the overall plot. Sure, there were bits here and there of some really good quotes and life advice, but overall, I felt like they were there just for the sake of being there, and it didn't serve an overall purpose to the storyline at all. I'm pretty sure if you cut out most of the monologues, or at the very least cut their length in half, the book--which is already on the "shorter" side of 336 pages, assuming you would consider an "average" length book to be about 350-375 pages--would be about 300 pages long or so, give or take 10-15 pages. (Editing my review to add this because I realized this in retrospect: the quote that I put at the very top of my review is a PERFECT example of what I mean by the monologues being way too long. Yes, it's a really good quote and I think I relate to it a little too hard from personal experience which is why I made it the quote in the first place, but to put things in perspective, the actual length of the paragraph that said quote is in is about twice the length. I remember it being a giant wall of text that took up my entire screen.)

With that being said, I think that the long inner monologues made it difficult for me to stay engaged at times. It was a lot of telling but not a lot of showing, if that makes any sense. I felt as if there were more monologues than actual plot at some points! The monologues took away from what I felt was a good message to take away from a story: that it's okay to slow down, reflect on your life, celebrate your wins, but also to mourn your losses and learn to grow from them and be a better person. I think that a powerful message like that would be more emphasized throughout the story, but the monologues made what was supposed to be a cute, small-town, summer rom-com quite bland and difficult to read.

Additionally, I felt like there wasn't a whole ton of buildup or introduction to the town at the beginning of the story. You're immediately dropped into the story from the very first page, and I'd have to admit that I was quite confused as to who was who, what they did, and why they were relevant to the story in the first place for the first few chapters or so. I'd argue that there was an info dump, but there weren't any explanations behind said info dump, so you had to keep reading to find out who was who and their role in the town.

Now, getting into the characters themselves:

Sage: Honestly? I think I liked her more than Fisher, but that's not saying much. She seemed to have a level head on her shoulders, and I think living life in the slow lane and being so tight-knit with her community made her POV a lot more interesting to read than Fisher's. However, I will admit that I thought she was too indecisive when it came to her relationship with Fisher, and her monologues were quite long and boring. It was quite annoying at times to watch her go through the "should I or should I not" talk with herself about her relationship with him. Like, you guys have made out multiple times, and you still don't think there's feelings there, and he doesn't like you, so you don't want to take a chance?

Fisher: I think he needs to work on himself before he wrecks himself. I empathize with him in the sense that he had to suddenly take care of his teenage niece in a whirlwind of events on top of burning out at his job and losing passion for something that he loves. However, I wish we got more about him uh...I don't know, working on himself? Cheffing it up since that's his job? The behind the scenes of his consulting work for the new restaurant? Were all of these things present? Yes, in varying degrees, but again, I feel like the inner monologues overshadowed literally all of this. The only thing I can tell you about Fisher's POV is the fact that he would just follow Sage around and do whatever she needed to do, so maybe I just felt his POV was forgettable. I also wish we had more moments of Fisher and Indy together and bonding.

Overall, while I loved the vibe of the story, I felt like it fell flat and was overall extremely bland.

This was slow-burn, small-town perfection. A broody chef, a fiercely independent heroine, and some serious food chemistry? Say no more. It’s cozy without being corny, and the emotional payoff feels earned. If you loved Funny Feelings or Archer’s Voice–type intimacy, this one’s for you. Tarah DeWitt knows how to write a romance that simmers.

I loved the small town Schitt’s Creek vibes in this story and all the quirky characters. We love some firefighter overprotective brothers, but a MMC who can cook and takes care of his niece?? Loved him!

Small town romance for the win here. It’s full of tropes that are done often, but here it did not feel overused. I especially loved the dual pov. I would be interested in reading the rest of the series based off of this book.