Thank you to netgalley and the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review Savor It before publication.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a sweet read with some deep moments/conversations that really stood out to me. This was my first book by this author.

Love love this book so much. The romance, the storyline, the found family, and the animals!!! I love Fisher so much and Sage. Everything about this was perfect.

Maybe I am so attached to small town romance novels because I am from a small town- either way this one was perfection. In this moment riding off of the high of finishing the novel, I am struggling to find words to describe how this book made me feel.

Upon being forcibly removed from his job as a head chef at a prestigious restaurant- Fisher with his niece Indy in tow is banished to the small town of Spunes. Given a chance to redeem himself, Fisher is tasked with creating a menu for a new restaurant opening there- albeit it proved harder than originally anticipated when some of the towns busy bodies are actively working against the restaurants opening. With the help of his floral-loving temporary neighbour Sage, he seeks to win over the town and move forward with his project.

Sage is Spunes' sweetheart, unfortunately after the demise of her five year relationship with the towns golden boy and his subsequent engagement to an all childhood friend, she's getting a lot of pitying looks flung her way- and she's over it. When Fisher shows up next door, in desperate need of a friend and maybe some serious SAGE advice, they come up with a plan to both warm up the town to the new restaurant and compete in the yearly festival.
This book was like the equivalent to golden hour in a field of wild flowers. It gave me such a warm fuzzy feeling when reading it and I LOVED Sage. Her outlook on life is so beautiful and her selflessness and willingness to help others was so adorable. Her family dynamic was also interesting (having three brothers! oh my).

Following along as Sage and Fisher fall in love and face their own insecurities was so therapeutic. Sometimes when I read these kinds of stories they're hard to get lost in because the characters don't always feel like they are real people. But Sage and Fisher could walk by my house and I wouldn't be surprised in the least.
This was my first novel by Tarah Dewitt, but it is certainly not my last.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of Savor It. Pub date: 5/21/24

Solid 4 ⭐️s! I love Tarah Dewitt’s characters & story-telling, with Funny Feelings being in my top 3 RomComs of all time. I appreciate how she handled the topics of loss, grief, & identity in Savor It. I think Sage is a veritable treasure trove FMC & Fisher is easily a top contender for an ideal book boyfriend (weekly therapy appointments? *swoon*). I do wish we had gotten a bit more of the quirky small-town vibes & side characters/dialogue (à la Stars Hollow), but I enjoyed the setting & fictional history of Spunes, puns galore, & some mouth-watering descriptions of Fisher’s food.

𝙁—𝙠, 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩. 𝙉𝙤, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚.

Oh the tears that were shed through the final portion of this book! I loved these characters, and this setting, and I love hard fought happy endings! 😭

Fisher is the guardian for his teenage niece, whose mother died tragically three years ago. After being fired from his job, he is given a job opportunity in the tiny coastal town of Spunes, Oregon, where he meets the effervescent Sage, who decides to take these two under her wing.

And, you guys! There’s a town competition!! My absolute favorite! 🥰

First of all, shout out to the Oregon Coast. It felt warmer than normal on the page, but I loved the additional fictional towns of Yoos Bay and Gandon. And Marionberries!! It don’t get more Oregon that that!

I loved how strong Sage was from page 1. Having grown up with family difficulties, she still seemed so centered (even if she doesn’t feel like it all the time). And I loved how unapologetically she loves her quirky town.

Fisher is the one that grows in this one, from feelings of hitting rock bottom in his personal and professional lives, to finding passion in what he loves, getting closer to his niece, and being so frickin 🥵 while cooking for Sage. (That one chapter was pure 🔥; truly hunger inducing in all the ways!)

My favorite part of this book was definitely how good these two were with communication! Even the hard stuff. It definitely added to the swooniness for sure!

Such a fabulous read. I’ll definitely be checking out Tarah DeWitt’s backlog now.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What this book is giving:
✅ Romantic comedy
✅ Dual POV
✅ Small Town
✅ Single Guardian MMC
✅ Quirky, loves her small town, adopts all the animals FMC
✅ I LOVE the library!
✅ Communication!

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

I love this authors books so much. Just like all of her previous works, this book has a blend of everything in here! Fun banter, emotional depth, hot chemistry, everything!

The book is described as sweet, beautiful, and wrenching, despite appearing like a fluffy romcom. The characters, Sage and Fisher, have a cute and balanced relationship, supporting each other through grief and reminding one another of their worth. Their chemistry and communication are highlighted as positive aspects of their relationship, with no miscommunication tropes present. Fisher is portrayed as an ideal character, with notable favorite elements including puns, food as a love language, and the presence of animals.

However, I do wish there was a more depth to the plot and the characters. Like I wanted a little bit more for my liking. Overall, the book was sweet, spicy, and enjoyable!.

Savor It is a small town romance that made me want to jump on a plane and head to the nearest PNW small town to take part in their local canoe race! This story is perfect for romance lovers that want a swoony story that has both fun banter and deep connection.

The setting of Spunes, Oregon is the perfect place to settle into this story. It had me craving foggy mornings and starry nights. This town is filled with believable yet still quirky characters that will waltz right into your heart. The story is well written and the plot moves easily even though it is predictable. I want to hear more about all of Sage's siblings!!

4.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Tarah Dewitt for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My 2nd Tarah Dewitt novel and UGH I loved it! A fun fake-dating summer fling that eventually turns into real love? SIGN ME UP! Tarah Dewitt I swear is going to be the queen of the fake-dating trope if she keeps this up! I loved Sage and Fisher’s relationship so much!! I love how Fisher and his niece grew closer throughout the book as well. This book was just such a fun time. Gotta love small-town romance! Also the little Easter egg she threw in there that references Funny Feelings was a pleasant surprise. :)
Thanks again to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was such a sweet love story! I loved their love so much. It was innocent and mature. A lot of give and take.

❤️ The ANIMALS!!
❤️ reading Indy and Fisher become closer and understand each other
❤️ the references to therapy and how it got them over their grief
❤️ Sage. Period. Her personality, her maturity, her puns lol
❤️ Fake dating - I always love a good fake dating story !

Small town girl. Big city chef.

I loved this book. It was such a quirky mix of characters.

Fisher and Sage’s love story felt so real and authentic. I loved the message of the book that life often has plans for us that are both unexpected and beautiful. We must savor the moments, because we never know what will be coming next.

Sage’s life is one for the dreamers…flower farmer with an amazing crew of animals to love. Gary the Goose deserves a book to himself.

This book also touches on the loss of loved ones so beautifully, the memories live on through the flashbacks and stories told of them.

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves contemporary romance.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me and I did not end up finishing it. I read 50% of the book and it felt like nothing had happened. There was essentially no plot, and I did not feel connected to the characters, the town, or the story itself. I also found the writing to be a challenge to understand, especially in the beginning, and there was very little context provided for who people were, the setting, etc. When the romance did start developing and our main characters started to interact more, their interactions felt forced and unnatural to me.

I wanted to love this one, but I ultimately did not feel it was worth my time to continue. I do feel the right person would enjoy this romance, that just wasn't me. I will still give this author another try in the future!

PUB Date 5/21/2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶

“D-did you know g-geese bond for life?!

......and I lost it. I was already on the brink and had tears welling up, but Indy pushed those over the threshold of my eyelashes, and I lost it with sobs and lots of tears.

I loved so many things in this story. The banter, Sages tangents and puns, the townspeople, his grumpiness but how he saved her from herself over and over, how she encouraged him and let him grow and just be, and of course ALL of the animals!

Yes, this is a rom-com, but there is also grief, and healing, and growing, and finding "your" people, whether they are blood related or not.

I love how @authortarahdewitt uses real life in her stories. Here are some warnings to be aware of in the book:

-Grief
-Death of a loved one (occurs off-page)
-Career burnout
-Bodily injury (occurs off-page)

I don’t know how to explain how much I loved this book. If there’s anything I love automatically is the friends to lovers trope and small town romances…luckily for me, this had both. Sage and Fisher are now high up in my book-ship hall of fame because they not only captured my heart, but made me sob uncontrollably. Savor it is the second book I’ve read by Tarah DeWitt and she’s already an author I’m becoming quite fond of; I’ll read anything she writes at this point

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review

After loving Funny Feelings, I was SO excited to read this one. However, I just couldn’t connect to the characters or the story. I know so many are loving this one, but it wasn’t for me.

You’ll like this one if you enjoy…
- small town romance
- a man that can cook
- summer love
- fake dating

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for my eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

If you love small town romances, Savor It is a must read. My absolute favorite part was the small town in Oregon that serves at as the setting, but the two main characters were also absolute perfection!

Heyyyyyy St. Martin’s Press. I won’t be reviewing this title until you get yourselves together and respond to Readers for Accountability. It’s been five months and we aren’t going anywhere!

Xoxo

This was my first book by Tara DeWitt and I ended up having a great time. The story was a sweet reminder that life is what you make it and home is where you build community. All in all, I enjoyed this one and would definitely pick up more books by DeWitt in the future.

Pros:
- The chemistry between Fisher and Sage was amazing. That library scene though....
- Speaking of Fisher - loved this MMC. He was so sweet and caring and wow do I want a man to cook for me like that. He often had me grinning from ear to ear.
- All the quirky animals on the farm - I never thought I would want a pet goose but here we are.
- The small town vibes were top notch. I loved the Gilmore Girl inspired town meeting and just the general antics.
- The conversations on grief and loss were poignant.
- The characters were all pretty lovable and easy to root for.
- Dual POV is my fave.

Cons:
- The pacing was a bit off / jarring at times.
- I wasn't sure about the dialogue in the beginning as it didn't feel natural. But this did shift for me as the book progressed.
- I wish the side characters got a little more development - especially Indy. This could have helped to pay off the emotional beats a bit more.
- This book WILL make you hungry for earl grey scones.

I cannot wait to get a physical copy of this book, and then force all of my friends to read it! The read was super entertaining. The characters were relatable and adorable. Nothing felt forced as I was reading this. The storyline just kept getting better and better as the book went on.

A special thank you to Tarah DeWitt, Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a fun romance about finding yourself so you can figure out where you belong and who you belong with. Not just romantically but finding your people and what makes you happy. I enjoyed the romance but even more, I appreciated the message of whatever brings you joy is enough. You don't have to have a fancy job or live in a certain place. Doing what makes you happy is a life well lived, whatever that looks like.

This book gave me Beach Read by Emily Henry vibes. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin, Tarah DeWitt, and NetGalley for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

I was sucked in to this book based on the beautiful cover and the story inside ended up being just as lovely! Spunes felt like such a perfect small town that I would move to immediately, and the whole book made me want to eat some delicious food, buy a farm, and also be part of a canoe race. I also really enjoyed how DeWitt built the relationship and dynamic between Fisher and Sage, as well as their backstories, and how well and sensitively their grief and experiences were handled. The whole love story just felt so tender and sweet, which made the spicy scenes feel even more meaningful!

You can expect: chef MMC, teacher/gardener/farmer FMC, small town, unexpected guardian, grumpy/sunshine (for a bit), forced proximity, friends with benefits, fake dating.

TW: grief, death of a family member, injury (off-page to a peripheral character)