Every now and then you read a book and it touches you in a way that you were not expecting. This was that book for me. It had me all in the feels, feeling giddy inside, and laughing out loud through the whole thing. No notes. It was perfect. My only complaint is that I left it on my TBR for way too long.

We have two characters here that are each going through it. Watching Sadie and Fischer work through their own problems while also finding each other in the process just felt so natural and relatable. When you add in Fischer, who has custody of his niece Indy, coming into his own as a guardian of a teenager, you really have something special here. Don’t get me started on the animals. The goose loving Indy and Fischer bringing home goats was hands down some of my favorite parts of this story.

This story is heartwarming, hilarious, and just feels like a warm hug. I wish I could read it for the first time all over again. Please add this one to your summer TBR pile!

I will forever be reading Tara DeWitt from now on. I can’t wait to see what she is working on for us next!

Fisher is a Michelin-star chef who is going through a career crisis. His boss sends him to a small town on the Oregon coast to help open a new restaurant and find new inspiration. He brings with him his niece who is now in his custody after the death of his sister. His rental home is next door to Sage, who grew up in the small town and knows all the locals and the dynamics of the small-town politics. They strike a deal that Sage will help him navigate the roadblocks his restaurant faces if he will help her partner in the town's annual summer competition. Fisher has plans to return to NYC at the end of the summer and his niece can't wait to experience big city life, but what happens when Fisher and Sage develop feelings along the way?

This was a sweet, small-town romance with lots of food references. Fisher was a well-developed character but I thought the author could have spent more time developing Sage as she fell kind of flat to me. Loved all the animals in the cast of characters.

Overall 3.75/5 rounded up
Spice 2/3

DeWitt is the queen of writing chemistry! She makes us believe in her couples like no other.

Contrary to many contemporary romances, the main character here is the MMC. Fisher's the one who has the biggest journey to go through, from finding himself again in his career to dealing with his grief over losing his sister. On the other hand, Sage's journey isn't that complex but that doesn't take away from her arc. She's an amazing protagonist to follow, and watching her and Fisher fall in love was a gift!

Someone in my book club defined this book as a special romcom episode of The Bear set in Stars Hollow, and THAT'S IT!

Wow. I adored it. What a lovely, heartwarming romance— complete with a swoonworthy small town setting. A+! No notes!

Sage and Fisher are perfection… a slow burn turned wildfire romance, but with MATURE COMMUNICATION. I could cry.

My first Tarah DeWitt novel and I’m now an enormous fan. To the backlist I go…

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || SAVOR IT [thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my #gifted digital copy and @macmillan.audio for my audiobook!]

Title: Savor It by Tarah Dewitt
Genre: Romance
Format: Audio
Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Narrator: Karissa Vacker, Zachary Webber
Narration: ★★★★★

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
Sage Byrd, a lifelong resident of Spunes, Oregon, seeks a win after her five-year relationship ends and her ex quickly gets engaged. Enter Fisher Lange, a former NYC hotshot chef, now grieving and responsible for his niece. Sent to Spunes for a sabbatical, Fisher faces challenges with the locals and rumors about his relationship with Sage after a kiss. They form a strategic alliance: Sage will help improve Fisher’s image, and Fisher will be her partner for the town’s annual competition. As their partnership heats up and emotional wounds heal, they find themselves savoring their summer together and dreading its end.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This book - oh, be still my heart. I laughed, I cried, and I could not stop myself from falling in love with Fisher alongside Sage. A friend described this as Abby Jimenez meets The Bear and I think that’s a pretty accurate description (and probably why I enjoyed it so much). I loved how Sage was unapologetically herself and she didn’t care who knew it - and that Fisher was absolutely in awe of her for it. This review is junk, but just read it and you’ll know why I’m speechless.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Small Town Romance
Opposites Attract
Quirky FMC
No Reservations (the movie)
Dual POV
Open Door Romance
Chef MMC
Single Guardian Romance

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 4.07 ⭐️
# of Pages: 336
Pub Date: May 21, 2024

“It’s been a privilege to fall in love with you, Sage.”

Solid 4.5 ⭐️ This has everything I want in a contemporary romance! Banter, friends to lovers, self discovery and stunning quotes 🫶 I devoured this, it had me giggling and kicking my feet. I even listened to the audiobook after it released and I loved it even more. Tarah is quickly becoming a favorite author!

Some of my favorite quotes:

“But it feels good to speak plainly for once. To worry a little less about making my feelings smaller to spare someone else the discomfort.”

“I don’t know how to defend you from yourself, though, Sage.”

“I think finding the right people—finding your people—can be the thing that makes anywhere feel like home,” I say.”

“Don’t worry so much about the clouds that you miss the flowers at your feet.”

“I just know I’ll never be the same, and want to keep going nonetheless.”

Love is this. Love is breathing. A sweet, deep, aching relief. And it’s somehow even more disorienting.

“That’s my girl, I think. Flexing her courage muscle.”

What to expect:
- Dual POV
- Friends to lovers and fake dating
- Adorable banter that had me giggling
- Gilmore Girls / Stars Hollow small town vibes

Savor It is a cute story about Sage and Fisher, who embark on a journey together to win the summer competition in a little town of Spunes. It's a cute novel that hits all the romance tropes and will leave you wanting more.

I always love reading Tarah's books. She has such a way with her words and characters. I felt so at home in Spunes. This book deals with grief and the unknown. Finding your path in life. All of which I can heavily relate to. The way these topics were talked about and portrayed within the characters made me feel so seen. I definitely teared up a time or two. Fisher and Sage find a connection unlike any other before. I love how they supported and loved on each other. Such a beautiful love story. The perfect summer read. I will read anything Tarah writes.

Savor It is a great summer read for anyone looking for a cozy romance (with some spice). The premise was cute and felt very Hallmark with a small town and all of the expected drama that goes with it. The characters were likable and believable. (Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC)

I loved the focus of being present in your life and really finding happiness where you're at - this was such a charming and cozy book and gave me Hallmark vibes! <3

Wow, I didn’t expect this one to hit so hard. This was definitely an emotional romance. It was fantastic though when I think sometimes the most emotional ones are the ones that stay with you the longest because they leave such an impact I really loved both of the characters and just feel their struggles and they triumph.

Every single time I read a book by Tarah I am blown away by the voice she gives to her characters and the depths she takes them. It’s challenging to capture the hard shit in life but every book she’s written has left me feeling both more empathetic and more understood. This book left me feeling all those things. These characters felt like best friends and that’s part of Tarah’s magic I think, she writes characters so relatable that you feel deeply for them and their story. The emotional and romantic aspects of this book had me literally sobbing and swooning.
Fisher and Sage love hard and their love is given without expectation, they meet each other where they are at, they learn a lot for each other in a short time and in turn the depth of their connection is truly beautiful. Even as I was rereading some favorite quotes for this review I was tearing up from the emotional depth this story has. Don’t fret though while you’ll likely cry, you will also laugh a lot. This book is filled with some really fun side characters that you will easily fall in love with too!
My favorite quote
“The important thing is to have courage and try again. And what is courage, Indy?” A sniffle. Indy’s tiny voice saying, “Courage is a muscle.” You strengthen it with use.”

I loved this so much I started using it with my own kids

Best character banter I've read all year! And the Twilight references had me chuckling. I loved this book and I hope we get a few more novels for the other characters.

‘Savor it’ is a small-town romance where Fisher, a former Michelin cook now in charge of raising his teenage niece and overseeing the opening of a new restaurant, comes to Spunes, a small town in Oregon and meets Sage. A teacher on holiday break who also owns a small farm.

I know we have been focusing a lot on book boyfriends, and Fisher isn’t a bad one at that, but what about the badass girlfriends. Sage Byrd is almost too good, in my opinion. She has her life together, takes care of others, houses all kinds of rescue animals and just has the best attitude ever. She’s also funny, forgiving and has all the patience. I don’t know if I have ever read about a character that is so well-adjusted without being too on the nose.

Spunes is an amazing little town, and Sage’s cottage seems like a little piece of heaven. I had some serious envy reading this book. Thankfully, we can all immerse ourselves into this stunning atmosphere whenever we want by picking up this (audio) book. I do hope that this will become a series and that we will somehow get to go back to Spunes with another story. (I also seriously want Sage’s brother and best friend to get a happily ever after – so maybe a second-chance best friend’s brother small town romance, pretty please?)

The whole book is one big feel-good vibe. If you’re looking for an earth-shattering romance or a suspenseful story, I am sorry to tell you that this is not it. But if you’re looking for a book, with small town summer feel good vibes, farm stay, gardening and cooking themes that you can just relax with and not worry about anything else – this is the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for gifting me this ARC to review. All opinions are my own. I was not paid to leave this review.

Really was hopeful on this book after seeing several good reviews. Unfortunately, I could not really get into it, starting from the beginning with Oregon towns having tweaked names. I didn't understand the point of that and wasn't a fan.

Sage loves her life in small-town Spunes, Oregon with her menagerie of animals.

But it stings that her long-term boyfriend left her for a friend… and almost immediately proposed to her.

Grumpy Fisher has had a hard past few years. His sister passed, leaving his niece in his care, and an incident involving a pie to the face caused him to lose his job *and* a Michelin star.

So he moves from NYC to Spunes for the summer to get back in his chef groove (and his boss’s good graces).

Sage and Fisher are an unlikely pair, but Sage warms Fisher, and Fisher steps in to stop Sage from feeling small when she faces her ex and his new fiancee.

So they decide to partner for a competition in Spunes, growing closer while knowing that it can’t last between them.

I love how organic their relationship is. Fisher and Sage simply go together— they couldn’t stay apart, and I loved their chemistry.

Fisher lifted Sage up, and Sage smoothed Fisher’s jagged edges. They simply complemented one another, and the way they were written was impeccable.

I couldn’t get enough of the gorgeous writing, whether that was our characters pining for each other or the descriptions of a gorgeous coastal Oregon summer.

This book was heart-wrenching and uplifting, making me want to read it again and also demand the author for more stores set in Spunes.

I highly recommend adding this to your summer rom-com reading list. Think Emily Henry meets Sweet Magnolias, but make it Pacific Northwest. Top marks!

Savor It is a story about two people who find each other in an unlikely time, but meeting might be exactly what they need.

First off lets talk about the vibes. I love a small town setting that gives us an opportunity to get acquainted with a slower pace of life and more secondary characters. I loved Sage as a character and her big heart. I loved how she learned that being soft is a strength and that you don't have to move mountains in your life to have meaning in it. Fisher's character is a bit more broody as he is suffering from the loss of career and added responsibility. I liked seeing how both characters used loss to grow as people and closer to one another. I also really enjoyed the town competition setting and the guardianship tones.

I was a little taken back by the spice content as it wasn't in my preference. I think if it had felt a little more slow burn then it wouldn't have bothered me as much so if anything that's my only personal preference critique.

Overall a really lovely story that I am sure many contemporary romance fans will enjoy

This might be my favorite book from Tarah. Her writing literally does something to me and i just can't get enough. The emotions i felt reading this book just felt so comfortable. I will always love a PNW small town book.

This book had as much sweetness as spice. I wish it included more information about the restaurant and menu but otherwise I really like the authors writing style.

This is my first book I read by this author, and I can confidently say I will read them again. if you love, smalltown romances and swoon worthy relationship this one is totally for you.