Two individuals, each dealing with their own demons, get brought together in proximity (neighbors) for the summer & as predicted from page three of this story, they fall in love. The characters are entertaining & would definitely be fun to hang out with for a day on the farm, but overall, the storyline was incredibly predictable.
Savor It by Tarah DeWitt is pretty much a spicy Hallmark movie in the written form. Small town vs. big city lifestyle & all the fun, passionate twists along the way.
Thank you, #NetGalley, for the ARC & I do hope to read more Tarah DeWitt soon.

Synopsis
Fisher's job is moving him from a big city to a small town, where he meets Sage. Fisher is the single Uncle of his teenage niece after a family tragedy and is learning to navigate parenthood while juggling his career as a chef.

Sage, the bright-eyed, fabulous sunshine welcomes her new neighbor, Fisher and his niece, Indy. Fisher has been through a lot over the last several years, developing a tough exterior. That's until he meets Sage and starts taking her sage advice.

This was more of a Hallmark-level book than an HBO Max-level book.

I prefer not to reveal too many tropes, as requested by my followers.

My Opinion
This is a feel-good, sweet book about overcoming loss and leaning on a support system. I found the slow burn to be appropriate, but there were times that I felt the two main characters were best friends and not lovers. This was a great story, but I would love to read more spice between the characters to show they were more than just best friends.

I did find there were unnecessary chapters, creating filler. I prefer a story that is captivating with every word and during every chapter.

Overall, I will be recommending this book to my audience and recommend to others. However, I will not be re-reading this book, myself.

Rating
4/5 stars. I enjoyed the book and will recommend to my audience.
2/5 spicy pepper emojis. Few spicy scenes and were very brief.

Small town romance fans rejoice!!! Single caregiver fans take note! Let me introduce you to your next favourite romance with heart, a feast for the senses, and all of the small town feel-good-ness of Stars Hollow.

This book!!! Small town romance mixed with grief and life’s other many challenges. I laughed. I cried. One of the most relatable romances I’ve read. I loved Sage and Fisher’s story so much. Also, 🌶️🌶️🌶️.

3.5⭐️

This was a small town romance book that hit all the marks. The great chemistry between our FMC and MMC along with all the side characters. I loved all the animals too.

Also I want to see a book on Ellis and Wren ASAP!

3.5 stars rounded up.

I've read all of Tarah Dewitt's books (except her holiday one), and I think Savor It is her best yet. I loved the setting of a small town in coastal Oregon, and Sage was a super sunshiney heroine to out grumpy chef hero Fisher. This has found family, meddling brothers, fake dating, and lots of yummy cooking. Oh, and farm animals aplenty! Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Well written steamy love story that makes you think about relationships with others. Great story. I loved the small town setting and dilemma involved with it. Good depth to the characters as well.

Everything Tarah DeWitt writes sparkles with so much love and beauty and characters that feel real, and Savor It absolutely continues that trend. Sage and Fisher’s story is everything I want in a romance and more: a gorgeous location, natural and realistic character development, and incredible side characters (including the animals).

WOW Tarah does it again!!! This book made me swoon so hard while kicking my feet in the air. It also talks about experiencing all the difficult things and made me absolutely attached to the characters. I could NOT put this book down. The plot? Perfect. The characters? Incredible. The romance? SWOON.

I loved it all. Highly recommend.

Tropes: small town romance, closed proximity, friends with benefits arrangement, expirationd ate
4⭐️
2🌶️

Big city boy finds himself in a small town in this delightful new book by Tarah DeWitt.

These characters have insecurities, struggles to work through, worldly desires, to sum it up they are human.

While Fisher is struggling with burnout at work and anxiety over guardianship of his niece, Sage feels out of place in her own town.

What you'll find in reading this book is a delightful small town, with characters full of depth, interesting secondary characters (I hope there's a book for Wren and Ellis) and a romance that develops naturally (and lots of endearing animals).

While reading, I did feel that it was a bit longer than strictly necessary, but didn't drag on either.

I was really looking forward to the story, because I’ve enjoyed other novels from the same author. The story started off really dynamic, and I sped through the first half, but I struggled to stay connected with the characters of the story continued. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

One of my absolute FAVORITES of 2023. What a book! It's my first by Tarah but it won't be my last. I need to go through her entire catalog now.

There is something so special about how Tarah writes. I had an instant connection to all her characters. She is absurdly witty and relatable. It feels like I'm reading a journal written by my best friend (if my best friend was an incredible author with a heart of gold).

Will be recommending this for the foreseeable future to anyone who will listen.

Ok, I'm rounding up from a 4.5, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sage and Fisher are 2 mature characters getting through their baggage together. They both have things to work through and are great together. I loved that there was actual communication between the two instead of the usual bumbling misunderstading. The side characters are mostly fleshed out well. I wouldn't mind more of Ellis and Wren. The story is well written and does what it should, it leaves you invested in these characters and wanting to know what comes next.
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Savor It- that’s exactly what I did reading this. It was a relatively short but incredibly sweet story of navigating grief, re-prioritizing your life and what really matters to you, and finding love where you least expect it. Fisher and Sage’s relationship felt very organic, I thought they had great chemistry and fit together nicely. They were always honest with each other, apologized and immediately set the record straight if anything got misconstrued. The fake dating didn’t really go anywhere as they acted on their attraction for each other pretty quickly, making it a very real situation but I liked it that way.

I laughed, I cried, I swooned and ultimately had so much fun reading this. I am praying to Tarah DeWitt herself that she gives Ellis and Wren a second chance and let’s us read about it soon 🩷

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC of Savor It in exchange for my honest review!

It took me a little longer to get into compared to Tarah’s previous books. I think the fake dating storyline got lost a bit so I would have liked another town scene where they played into it, and maybe more town/fake dating scenes in general.

I loved how healthy the communication was between Sage and Fisher, and how they slowly opened up about their pasts with each other. It was also heartwarming seeing Fisher and Indy’s relationship grow and start to heal.

The theme of grief was woven throughout the book and manifested in different ways in each character. Whether it was the loss of a parent, a sibling, or a relationship, it felt palpable through the pages.

Savor it releases May 21, 2024!

🌻 single guardian
🌻 small town
🌻 grumpy sunshine
🌻 fake dating
🌻 next door neighbors
🌻 opposites attract

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Tarah Dewitt for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I enjoyed this book very much. It was a cozy friends to lovers romance with minimal spice. Definitely a slow burn! I enjoyed the healthy communication between the main characters, including Indy. At the farm animals were an added bonus!

Thank you Netgalley, St Martins Griffin and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Overall, this book was ok. It would make an ok TV movie minus the intimate scenes (not quite open door, maybe cracked a bit). I think the pacing was off. It was a really slow start and to9 a while for anything to build up, then the ending was rushed.

This book had potential but the execution wasn't the best. For some reason I felt like this book didn't had enough dialogue between the main couple, which is extremely weird. The plot wasn't going nowhere and there was an excessive amount of filler that could've been easily removed.

I always have the same problem with this author: the pacing is weird, she uses random words to make her writing seem "fancy" and "eloquent" but have these have no correlation with is really happening (it seems pretentious to me) and the worst one, her characters never have chemistry. Sage wasn't a likable FMC, she was too quirky for my taste and would say the most random out of pocked things (why would they talk about dead relatives after having sex???? Every single time). I don't know. This wasn't horrible but it wasn't great either.

This was so unbelievably beautiful. Tarah DeWitt has outdone herself with Savor It. The characters are so well written and throughly crafted with unique personalities. I’m still at a loss for proper words after finishing this. Fisher & Sage had amazing chemistry and none of the dialogue was cringey or felt “corny” at all. Overall, would 100% recommend to anyone and everyone.

With a soft, tender romance and a small town that is bursting with eccentric charm, this quiet love story slowly got under my skin in the best of ways. I've loved all three of DeWitt's previous books, so I was nervous that this wouldn't meet my very high expectations, but I shouldn't have worried. Her writing is fresh and distinct (as always), with an undercurrent of emotion weaving through the pages. I loved that this was so fun and genuinely funny, while also sneaking in moments of heart-wrenching angst. This couple knows from the start that their connection is meant to be a temporary one, so that adds a layer of tension to the bond that forms between them. It's got a great strangers to friends to lovers feel, with tons of chemistry and a fantastic cast of characters. The heroine is a delight, and I so appreciated that she found her partner in a man who is worthy of her time. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough, but I have a feeling we'll be back in this small town before long. I loved it!

The story follows Sage, a woman who has found family in her small community. While others can't wait to get out of town, Sage has flourished here. When a sexy chef and his troublesome teenage niece move next door for the summer, Sage isn't sure what to think. Fisher is clearly a bit of a mess and trying to find himself again, while his niece is counting the days until they can return to the city. Though Fisher is attracted to Sage, he knows that starting something up is ill-advised at best. So the two form a tentative friendship that sometimes feels like more. As Sage and Fisher grow closer throughout the summer, their connection starts to feel deeper than anything temporary ought to be.

I tried to avoid all spoilers and go into this with fresh eyes, though I was already drawn in by my past love of DeWitt's work and that gorgeous cover. It took no time at all before I was feeling the attraction between these two, and I loved that everyone in the story felt unique and authentic. The small town vibes are immaculate, and I sincerely hope we're getting several of the other stories that are teased here. But I loved Sage and Fisher most of all, because they were absolutely perfect together. Sage has the lightness that Fisher needs in his life, and he was such an empowering presence for Sage. They were better together. I've never enjoyed a hero who is described as looking like a sexy pirate, but Fisher definitely stole my heart. Their story is just the right mix of soft, sexy, and sentimental, with as many playful, humorous moments as there are angsty and emotional ones. The spice certainly didn't hurt either, lol, and I felt the slow-burning attraction in a big way. I would've eaten up another 50-100 pages of their love story, but the shorter length made it easy to devour in a single day. It was everything I wanted and more.