A beautiful small town romance between a woman who is sunshine personified and a grumpy hot chef who is grieving and soul searching.

Sage & Fisher are two very different people with different backgrounds but what both have in common is knowing loss of loved ones. How they have reacted to it, is however, different. There is a connection between them from the first meeting, they become friends first and then something more. Though friends with benefits is not my preferred trope, what I loved about this book was how both these characters support each other in their journey of self discovery.

The central theme of the book or rather the takeaway is how life is fleeting, we are burdened about a hundred things like career and relationships, but we should always take every opportunity to savor life, find happiness in basic things, and that it’s never too late to change the course of your life if the current path doesn’t make you happy anymore, and it’s ok to choose simpler life goals.

Yes there is fake dating involved, which turns spicy pretty soon but the underlying love story is a slow burn. Also, what is lovely is the small town vibes, the quirky townspeople, a farm full of adopted animals especially a goose in love with a human, a town festival which involves a competition.

Another important trope of the book is a single guardian. Fisher is the guardian to his teenage niece and we see their relationship dynamics evolve over the course of the story. The only thing that didn’t work for me, was probably the festival event itself. Personally I could not visualise the maze thing, sometimes felt lost with those details probably because I am not exposed to such activities.

I had a great time with these characters and would recommend for sure. Thanks to @netgalley & @stmartins for the e-arc of this book.

Will be posting on my bookstagram ( <a href=“https://www.instagram.com/booklover_swii”>booklover_swii</a> ) on 21st May 2024.

First, thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this wonderful book by Tarah DeWitt. I could not have loved Sage and Fisher more! Fisher, the grumpy, lost Chef with a teenage niece to raise, sent on a time-out from life to figure out the mess he's made of everything. And Sage, the quirky girl nextdoor with a small farm of goofy animals, that was dumped by her longtime love, and raised by her 3 big brothers after losing both of their parents at a young age. As the two become friends and try to help each other get through the trials they're facing, they eventually become so much more. They lean on each other as friends and lovers as they discover what they want from the next stages of their lives. Spunes, OR is a town that I would visit in a heartbeat, and Indy and Sam and Wren, and all of the loving, silly side characters are what make this story shine. It may hurt a little along the way, but the journey Fisher and Sage go through is 100% worth the read!

One character is career-driven, the other is laid-back in a small town. Their two worlds collide and sparks fly in this heartwarming, hallmark story.

“Savor it” will have readers rooting for Sage and Fisher as we watch their story unfold before our eyes. It will also bring about the need for patience as well.

Tarah Dewitt created a wonderful little world and I hope we get to see more of Spunes someday.

Thank you NetGalley, Griffin, and Tarah Dewitt for this ARC and happy publishing week!

Fisher is the epitome of a hot guy written by a woman.

I also think this is one of the best book covers in romance.

This book, this book, this book!!! Oh, how I ate this one up (we’re all doing “savor it” puns/wordplay in our reviews, right??). Sage and Fisher navigate their careers, love, loss, and the beauty of life with so much sweetness and tenderness. This book made me swoon, cry, and swoon again, while being so damn funny.

This was the perfect spring/summer read and it made me so happy :D Once I arrived in Spunes, I didn’t want to leave. So, so very excited for what comes next in this fun, small town.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

✨ PRINCEMAN REVIEW ✨

📝 Sage Byrd is the sweet, yet unique, girl next door in small town Spunes, Oregon. Her parents died when she was young, so her older brothers raised her. The whole town adores her. Now, living on her parents' old property, she takes care of stray animals and spends time in her garden. When her neighbors rent out their house for the summer, she's more than happy to help look after it. What she doesn't expect is star chef, Fisher Lange to show up. He may and hot and broody, but there's a lot more behind his hard shell. These two may be opposite in every way, but a summer fling could be just what they need.

What I 🤍:
🌊 Coastal Town
🌲 Small Town, Oregon
🐐 Farm Animals
👟 Single Guardian (Uncle)
🍇 Foodie Scene
💕 Opposites Attract
🏡 Neighbors~Close Proximity
🥊 Emotional Punch

I have a feeling that this will be "The Summer Read" of 2024. It has a lot of everything that romance lovers love: meet cute/disaster, small town, romance, passion and emotional backstory. I really loved Fisher and Sage. Fisher is dealing with the trauma of losing his sister and becoming a guardian (and not always a successful one) of his teenage niece. On top of that, he's going through an existential crisis at work, even losing his Michelin Star. In order to get back on track, he heads to Spunes, Oregon to hopefully find his passion for cooking again. I REALLY loved how he wears his emotions on his sleeve. He's also not afraid to to say what he's feeling. 👏 Let's normalize this, because it makes men sexy! Sage on the other hand is just a sweetheart. She loves her townies, and they adore her. Partially because she's the girl who lost her parents at a young age. And, because she's the one who got dumped by her longterm boyfriend only for him to become engaged months later. These two meet in the most hilarious way, and from there, a friendship grows. It really felt like a natural progression of how a summer romance would start.

Prince's Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Passion: 🔥🔥🔥 (An Open Door, Several Fade to Black)
Read if ➡️: You want a summer romance with some emotional punch.
📍 Oregon Coast
Read 📅: Summertime ☀️
CW ⚠️: Death of Parents, Sister (Off Page), Fire Accident

Overall, this book is one you'll want to grab for your summer TBR. I really enjoyed it, and especially since it's a nod to all the coastal Oregon towns (where I live). Even the walking labryths (sand mazes) made me smile because DeWitt fully captured the magic of Oregon. It's small towns mixed with nature, food, a love for your community and a bit a weirdness. I did take off a star because for me, the book did move slowly. For some reason, it took me over a week to read. It's still a book I would recommend to others though.

Thank you to St. Martins for sending me an ARC of this book! Savor It is out on May 2oth!

I really tried to like this book, but I just never got into it. I think the cover is lovely and the premise sounded amazing, but from the first chapter I really struggled to connect with the characters and the story as a whole.

Thank you to NetGalley and Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“We’re better than how you found us, but we’re still working on ourselves.”

Savor It is heartwarming, sweet, steamy, hilarious, tender, and hopeful. All things I’ve come to realize that Tarah writes so wonderfully. The small town of Spunes, Oregon is charming and full of so many silly, meddlesome, and lovable characters.

Sage and Fisher have such a beautiful relationship. The slow burn progression from strangers to neighbors to friends and eventually more felt so natural. I really loved how they were just vulnerable, honest, and completely themselves around one another. I’m so soft for them both separately and together.

I’ve gone back to reread my favorite parts from time to time and still end up teary eyed and full of joy like it was my first time experiencing this story. I’m definitely looking forward to reading this many times, as well as for what Tarah has planned next.

I went into this book not knowing what to expect as I have never read a book by Tarah Dewitt before. This was a pleasant surprise! I loved the summer, small-town vibes and the great banter between the FMC and MMC. The writing was fast paced and easy to read.

The pacing was great (until the end) and I loved the side characters as well as the themes of grief, healing, etc. That being said, this was not a 5 star read for me as I felt a lack of connection to the main characters and the pacing and events of the last quarter of the book felt weird for me.

I definitely will want to read another Tarah DeWitt book in the future and I am glad I picked this one up.

A wonderful book with a lot of humor and heart. I loved the quirky town that this book was set in. The characters were all a little eccentric like the people we meet in real life. I loved both Sage and Fisher. They didn't immediately seem like they would fit together, but they worked so well together. Their emotions were written so well, I did feel the tugs on the heartstrings. The book was well paced and the ending was very satisfying. I will look for more books by this author. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Rating: 4/5 stars
Steam level: Open-door content

Thoughts:
I’ll be honest. I could not connect with this writing style, but it is very clear upon my reading that this is a high-quality slow-burn romance novel. It truly is a slow burn, and each moment provided a lot of meaningful backstory for both characters. This novel masterfully presented difficult topics, such as trauma, aftermath of said trauma, and imposter syndrome. These details were personalized to the characters, which allowed their individualities to shine. Although this novel discusses many dark topics, DeWitt incorporated moments of lighthearted and comedic relief that shaped this book into a sweet, lovely experience.

Another notable feature is that time truly stopped when the main leads interacted. The characters were flawed and incompatible in some ways. However, the beauty of their relationship was the honesty, effort, and sensitivity they projected into it. Overall, this was such a lovely book that captured humanity and lifestyle well. This novel truly celebrates the “mundane” of the world–all the little moments matter, making this a truly special and heartwarming romance novel. These moments paved the way for a beautiful romance and one of the sweetest, most candid happily-ever-afters I have ever read.

I received this advanced reader’s copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a small town romance with both a food and farm based setting. There are quirky humans and animals in the mix which makes for a somewhat interesting story.

I love the fact that there was no insta love; the author took time to pace and build the relationship between Sage and Fisher.

I enjoyed the relationship between Sage and her brothers. I also enjoyed how Sage and Fisher got on with each other.

It is deep on some level as you take in a teen’s perspective of life in a small town and the behaviour of adults who should know better. This celebrates and highlights the best and worst sides of small towns.

The characters were perfect and relatable and I loved the mental health representation.

If you love small town romance with quirky animals then you will enjoy this.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read Savor It by Tarah DeWitt.
.
This is my first book by this author and I thought this was really cute. I did think it started out really strong, but I found myself a bit uninterested in the middle, but enjoyed how it wrapped up.
.
What to expect:
🍲grumpy x sunshine
📖 opposites attract
🍲small town
📖forced proximity
🍲friends with benefits
📖dual pov
🍲foodie
.
Sage has lived in a small town her whole life. She’s a teacher at the local high school, loves her hobby farm, and her friends and family. Fisher is struggling to get back to what he loves. Once a success chef in New York, he’s lost his Michelin star and his love of cooking. He’s in Oregon to get a restaurant up and running. Fisher and Sage work together to help each other.
.

Savor It by Tarah Dewitt is an adorable small town romance set in Oregon.

Sage is a high school teacher who had been dating her boyfriend for five years and that relationship recently ended. She's just found out that her ex is now engaged and she's had enough of everyone's pitying looks and comments. Fisher, who lives in New York City, has had his life turned upside down, and so he has headed west with his niece, Indy, and is renting the house next to Sage for the summer.

Sage and Fisher are unlikely friends, but as the summer progresses, they end up spending more time together and something more may or may not take root between the two. Not only did the relationship between Sage and Fisher develop slowly, there was also real growth in the relationship between Fisher and Indy, which was great to see.

This was a book that makes you feel all the feels!

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

This book was a complete delight to read. I was playing it during any free listening time I had because I was so attached to Sage and Fisher’s story. I loved the small town setting and how it had such different meanings for Sage, Fisher, and Indy. I adored Sage as a character because she knew who she was without anyone else’s influence. She was comfortable in her own skin and town, but was still so very open to the newcomers. Fisher and Indy both clearly had a lot of work to do on themselves, which was completely understandable due to their shared grief. I loved all the quirky animals, Sage’s brothers, and some of the interesting towns people. This was a really fun romance, even though it handled the topics of grief and belonging. Chemistry between Sage and Fisher was so palpable and their Romance usually came alive as the story progressed. The conclusion felt a tiny disjointed and abrupt at some point and I felt like it could’ve been done better. However, still thoroughly enjoyed the story, the romance, and the aspects of found family. 4.75⭐️, 2.25🌶

Savor It by Tarah DeWitt has went on my list as the most stunning story with the most gorgeous cover art ever! I LOVED IT…
I absolutely ADORED this book. Perfection from start to finish. I truly felt like I was the one experiencing all the fun and exciting things these characters were feeling.
The romance is beautiful with so much tension.
Both these characters are flawed but so lovable. If you want a laugh-out-loud rom-com with emotional depth, pick this up immediately.
Romance readers better be ready for this swoony, unputdownable small town romance story.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is such a cute small-town romance! I loved the main character Sage Byrd. Sage owns her own farm and is also a teacher. She was such a caring and loving person. She is someone that you would want to be friends with.

Fisher is a big-city chef who has to go to a small town called Spunes, in Oregon to check out a new location. After the loss of his sister, he currently is caring for his teenage niece who hasn't warned up to him just yet. Fisher then moves in next door to Sage.

I loved the insta love that Sage and Fisher had. They were perfect for each other. The characters were all great in this book and all showed growth throughout the storyline.

I enjoyed this friends-to-lover with a hint of grumpy sunshine in the mix. I am crossing my fingers that this book turns into a series with some spinoff characters.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love, love, love this book! The setting is in Oregon coast, small town where everyone knows everyone, and Sage Byrd finds out her ex is now engaged to be married. Oh no! Fisher, a chef from NYC arrives and finds himself not like much in this small town. Fisher finds out that Sage is his ticket to winning over the town accepting him.

This is a romance that I will for sure purchase to add to an upcoming gift basket as I would highly recommend this book to anyone that just loves love.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital book in exchange for my honest review.

This small-town romance had me laughing and feeling so cozy the whole time!

Fisher, a Michelin star chef, moves to Spunes, Oregon for the summer with his niece, Indy. His closest neighbor is Sage, who cannot turn away an animal in need and wears fun printed kimonos. They enter into a mutually beneficial agreement: fake dating and competing in the town’s canoe race. We follow them through complicated family dynamics, grief, mental health, and a whole lot of growth and development.

There’s banter, puns, beautiful quotes, and some small-town busybodies! The side characters are amazing and I’m hoping for an Ellis and Wren reconciliation book! (Pretty please?? I’m not ready to let go of Spunes yet)

My only complaint is I wanted more animal cameos in the epilogue! I loved Sage’s menagerie. Geese! Tiny goats! A 3-legged cat! AND MORE!

I will absolutely be checking out Tarah’s backlog and following for her next works.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

At first I thought this book was very cute. Sage is the quirky (literal) girl next door and I found her very likable. I also have a heart for animals so I enjoyed their involvement in the story. Obviously Fisher had his issues but I’m glad he wasn’t written as grumpy and surly. I even liked all of the side characters including Indy. Most of the time I have low tolerance for bratty teens but she seemed to be written a little more realistically and her attitude was not over the top. What threw me off was the sexually explicit content and excessive curse words thrown in. Normally I try not to let that affect my stars given because it’s more preference than anything but it really didn’t seem to match the story. The characters and plot seemed cutesy and the sex and cussing didn’t seem to mesh with the story. It was more jarring than seamless. I feel the book needed to choose a path one way or the other because the two didn’t merge well in my opinion. The conflict was understandable and the characters were mature so I really wanted to like it more. I wish it had found more of an identity of clean.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!