Get ready to squeal, kick your feet, and crave delicious food while reading another brilliant book by Tarah DeWitt! She has an incredible way of portraying real and relatable characters even with tropes like fake dating, neighbors, and small town. You may know it will turn out beautifully, but it’s a wonderful journey to get there.

I loved everything about this book. The characters were uniquely written and I felt really connected to their story. I couldn’t wait to see how everything would turn out and I definitely was not disappointed.
I rated this 5 stars as I genuinely have no qualms about it. There’s a lot more I could say but I’m afraid I can’t without spoilers. But I will say I’ll definitely be rereading this when it comes out. Mark your calenders! Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC.

I loved Fischer and Sage, and the whole crew of Spunes! Tarah’s writing was sublime and left me a swooning mess. My only issue is that it felt like the pacing was a bit off. I wish we could have had more of Sage and Fischer after the third act breakup; I just loved being in their world. I really hope this turns into a series and Wren and Ellis get a second chance romance!

ARC REVIEW (thanks NETGALLEY!)

Ehhh it’s 2023 are we still doing quirky girls with graphic tees?
Sage is a high school teacher/animal rehabber/aspiring florist. Still finds the time to flirt with her temporary neighbor, paint her nails 3x a week, teach his niece life lessons and train for some obscure town triathlon-festival?
Fisher is a fallen chef come to town to do something for the new restaurant his boss is opening.
There was no plot that I could see, mostly just internal thoughts and boring dialogue. Fisher and sage would go from sexual innuendo to talking about their dead relatives in the same paragraph. Writing style came off kind of pretentious, not like douchey but not the way people actually talk. I found myself wanting to read more about the teenagers or the unexplained bff and brother separation.

4.5/5

I ran to NetGalley when I saw this was a “read now” book. Small town with a slow burn, sign me up! While this wasn’t necessarily my favorite romance story ever, I loved it. The town of Spunes was adorable and had a cast of characters. I loved their annual festival and competition. But what really drew me in were both MCs - Fisher, a burnt out chef, and Sage, who had just experienced a breakup. He was not only burned out, but grief-stricken from the death of his sister and guardian of his teenage niece. Sage was dealing with her ex abruptly getting engaged after ending their 5-year relationship. Both are a little broken and find comfort and healing in each other. Their slow-burn relationship starts as fake dating, but slowly turns to more. The story was a mix of emotions, but especially funny, sad, and heartwarming.  There were also the excellent side characters (PLEASE let there be another book about Ellis and Wren's second chance!) and SO many cute animals. Also, the Farley nod made me want to immediately pick up Funny Feelings from my TBR! Overall, it was a beautiful, quiet, slow love story that I recommend everyone read!

Sage and Fisher have my heart. Spunes (not to be confused with Forks) has my heart. I’m invested in Wren and Ellis, Sam and Indy, Silas, and Micah. There is just something about small coastal town romances and this story had it in spades.

Tarah DeWitt is always an enjoyable read and this was my favourite of hers so far!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in return for this honest review!

This is one of those books that put me through the emotional wringer but also made want to say ‘thank you for doing that’ because it was a beautiful journey in the end. It was refreshing to have a good, emotional read that didn’t put the characters through a bunch of overly dramatic outside obstacles. They just have real life challenges that they have to navigate and find their way to the other side of.

Sage is content with her life in her small town of Spunes, Oregon (as stated: not to be confused with Forks, Washington 🤭). She’s got a menagerie of misfit pets, a garden she’s proud of, and a town full of people to care for and who care about her. Fisher is an award-winning chef suffering from burnout and loss who lands in Spunes with his niece, Indy, for a summer to regroup. He and Sage keep finding each other in ways that lift them, break them, and make them question what they thought they knew about their lives.

I loved both Sage and Fisher as individual characters and the relationship they built together. Sage doesn’t agonize over being happy in her small town and not having dreams of living a “bigger” life. Sure, there are still things she wants from life, but she has a strong sense of self and appreciates the ‘now’ as she lives it. Fisher is struggling with changes in his life and career, but he’s so genuine and earnest about *trying* and he’s putting in the work to sort through his challenges and come out on the right side. They find an authentic balance with each other that felt like it grew organically and with mutual care and respect.

I was trying to explain the book to a friend and had a hard time putting the feeling I got as I was reading into words. The story moves along kind of like a gentle wave. There’s not a lot that’s necessarily *exciting* happening (I meant that in a genuinely good way), but it keeps flowing. I was halfway in before I felt like it was really getting somewhere as far as advancing a plot, but getting there didn’t feel like a chore or tedious or something I had to push through. I was just enjoying the ride and getting to know Sage, Fisher, and, by extension, Indy. Things were happening to people outside the relationship bubble, but none of it felt vitally important, and sometimes that’s ok. It helped create the community to be featured in future pieces of the series, but didn’t feel like filler even without there being a major impact on the relationship. The exception to the relationship impact being Indy obviously, as she and Fisher are a package deal and he is determined to do his best for her. It was simply life happening around Sage and Fisher in a natural way and it allowed them to support in each other as things came.

For a book that didn’t feel like it was burning with drama or intensely high stakes, I was deeply invested and stressed when I had only 10-15% left, genuinely wondering how they would find their HEA. I held onto my faith in getting there as promised by the genre. It was delivered in a way that felt hard-earned and lasting.

I think this might be Tarah Dewitts best book so far! I read this in one sitting and to be honest I have been left with the biggest book hangover ever since.

Fisher and Sage are just the loveliest characters I have ever read about and I really wanted them to have their happy ever after.

I did like how the story dealt with grief it was done very well.

On a final note, the library scene and the canoe…..that is all!!

Now I just need the release date so I can own a copy of my own!

In this sweet romance, Fisher and his orphaned niece arrive in the small town of Spunes. Fisher is a chef in New York but has taken a consulting job for the summer. He meets his temporary neighbor, Sage, and she shows him around town and tries to help with what locals will like to see in a restaurant. They begin to have feelings but both of them know that their relationship will only be for the summer.

This was such an adorable escape! I haven’t read any books by this author before but I will be adding some to my list soon. This book was full of heart and serious topics that were tackled in a sensitive and satisfying way. I love how Fisher discussed and treated therapy as a normal part of life and the grieving process. Sage’s animals were so much fun to read about and made her character so endearing. The small town was quirky and lovable. If you enjoy rom coms, you need to pick this one up!

Thank you to Tarah DeWitt and St. Martin’s Press for sending me a digital arc in exchange for my honest review!

Tarah did it again. Her writing is drop dead gorgeous. It is clean, precise, fluid, and eloquent. Her plot flows. The characters are developed, realistic and relatable - to the point that they feel tangible.
This book had me in love with Sage, Fisher, Indy, and all the farm critters. I could picture the sunsets and feel the breeze. I loved that the “third act break up” was not until the last 10% and only lasted 3.5 chapters - I respect that so much. That tells me that her book could stand without the typical cookie cutter drama. That being said, I was truly stressed that this was not going to be a HEA - bravo, Tarah.
5 stars - I need a physical copy to embrace NOW.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Why was the book so freaking cute? We are suckers for small towns and farm animals, okay!

Sage and Fisher fell in love so beautifully, and we loved seeing how Fisher's relationship with Indy grew and matured. Also, THE BROTHERS?! If we do not get a second chance romance book for Ellis and Wren, we will REVOLT! There is absolutely a story there.
The end though, with the coordinating canoe tattoo, had us in tears! We are huge fans of Tarah and will read absolutely anything she writes.

This was a fun, sweet story. Fisher and Sage took me on such a beautiful journey. The comedy woven into the emotional highs and lows - it was impossible to put this story down! Small town antics are always entertaining - this was a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

3.5 stars. Tarah DeWitt writes excellent dialogue and this is one of the few books that has actually made me laugh out loud recently. I liked Sage and Fisher's dynamic and how they evolved, as well as how they supported each other. And I'm intrigued by the other characters and the community, especially since it will be featured in other books.

A few parts didn't work as well. The competition aspect is almost an afterthought and doesn't feature as heavily as I expected, based on the synopsis. Additionally, the interactions with Ian felt unresolved. I don't really understand that as a motivation for some of the action. I think we could have understood Sage's insecurities and desires without the actual interactions, because it left me wanting something big to happen.

Overall, I think a lot of readers will really enjoy this.

i love sage and fisher. the character development here was chef's kiss. the booktok girlies are going to love this one!

This book was terrific and the perfect rom-com romance in my opinion. Great characters, neat setting, a smattering tropes but still stuff with small town charm, realistic problems and adorable characters. And a little spice thrown in too. I couldn’t ask for anything more and will definitely be reading more by this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fast paced story and I loved the romance in it. The pacing was good and easily digestible, I flew threw it and could not put it down. Sage and Fisher have great vocabulary so Tarah Dewitt caught me having to look up some words through my kindle as I read but it was not so much so I struggled to follow what was happening.

With Fisher being a fancy loosing inspiration NYC chef and her a prospective florist / school teacher, I enjoyed their dynamic alot. From Fisher calling Ian and Cassidy the wrong names on purpose to Sage’s advice, it was such a good read I wish there was more. The girl dinner mention by Fisher (“very sad, girl-meal charcuterie board adult lunchable dinner”) and the Taylor Swift mention was top notch.

Being from a small town myself, I found the small town gossip to be very relatable and wholesome to see and pay tribute to the people who want to stay in that environment, even if growing up I maybe didn’t either.

Some of my favourite awh moment quotes from the book were:

“I refuse to let not having a partner preclude me from enjoying my life. It’d just be nice to share it with someone who appreciates and loves me as is”.
-That is exactly what Fisher does!!
“She’s so cute it’s downright offensive”
“He thinks my sunroom’s nice!”
“It feels good to speak plainly for once. To worry a little less about making my feelings smaller to spare someone else the discomfort”

And another thing, I loved the funny banter, here are some excellent ones of that:

“Does the new restaurant have a theme yet? Casserole with a side of arrogance”
“Don’t give the townies fuel, Fisher. You know better”
“I overhear a string of curses so explicit they’d made a line cook blush” “I’m gonna gas this motherfucker”.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this touching and sweet romance. It was a charming small-town romance about finding romance when you least expect it.
I loved Sage's character. She was so unique and refreshing herself. She was outgoing, fun, and constantly living in the moment. Fisher was deep but not too moody, which was really nice. Him and his niece are spending the summer in Sage's small town, next door to her house. They start up a romance which has a summer clocking ticking on it.
It was a very lovely romance. It had the perfect balance of light and sad. It was a quick and enjoyable read. I highly recommend it!

This book....is EVERYTHING. I am a sucker for small town romances and this book really checked all the boxes for me. Sage and Fisher have to be my favorite story line, they are both trying to figure themselves out and regain some kind of purpose in life. Sage and fishers banter, and dynamic just screams instant connection and seeing them grow and learn from one another is just chefs kiss. Also can we talk about the spice? All the stars for the spice. This book had me laughing out loud, kicking my feet and grinning from ear to ear and crying like a baby. If you can definitely get your hands on this amazing read.

I am going to talk about this book to anyone who will listen! Tarah DeWitt hasn't let me down with a swoon-worthy small-town romance yet.
First of all, I'm going to need more; more trips to Spune, and more of the Byrd family starting with Wren and Ellis.
But back to the stars of this book, Fisher and Sage. These two were just so stinking cute. I loved Fisher's grumpy pirate vibe and Sage's absolute joy for the little things in life. I felt like I personally took some sage advice from this book about living in the moment. Their love story is definitely a slow burn, but the way these two communicated with one another was just *chef's kiss* Give me a good healthy relationship any day!

I'd also be remiss not to mention Fisher's relationship with his niece and their character growth in the story. I loved watching them heal and come out stronger together. Beyond the story, there were a lot of life lessons to take away from this book and our characters put in the work to show it.

This book has it all: A+ side characters, swoony romance, and tiny goats!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book! Catch this one when it comes out on May 21st and read if you love:
-Small Town Romance
-Single Dad (guardian)
-Grumpy/Sunshine
-Fake Dating
-Grief/Healing

To no one’s surprise this book was incredible. I am fully convinced that I could never dislike something that Tarah writes. I loved Sage and Fisher both separately and together which I think is something that can sometimes be hard to accomplish for me. They were both equally funny and caring and amazing. Sage is actually everything I want to be. Fisher is one of the best book men I’ve ever experienced. Their relationship works so seamlessly and I just love a small town romance so much. I adored this book!