I wanted to love this, but it tried to juggle too much—two timelines, multiple tropes—and ended up falling short. I couldn’t connect with the romance in either timeline, and the characters felt immature and unlikable. Their relationship lacked emotional depth, making it hard to stay invested. It upsets me because I have loved some of her other books and had such high hopes for this one.

LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds had one short and contentious summer fling when they were teens—certainly nothing to build a foundation on. But a decade later, when their grandmothers have left them with shared ownership of their dilapidated Santa Cruz building, they're thrust back together and have to figure out how to brace up the pieces.

LaRynn has the money, but in order to access her trust, she has to be married. Deacon has the construction expertise, but lacks the funds. A deal is struck: Marry for however long it takes to fix up the property, collect a profit, and cut ties.


It was very heartwarming story of a second chance romance. LaRynn and Deacon getting together again in a different circumstance. A marriage of convenience is hard to pull off, but Terran did it beautifully, it may of started off slow but you could feel the angst between LaRynn and Deacon.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read to this book

I wanted to love this book but it just didn't work for me. If I wasn't reviewing it for NetGalley I would have DNFed by 20%.

I think part of my issue is that this book tried to do too many things and just wasn't able to solidly deliver for any of them. There's 2 love stories (past and present), marriage of convenience, second chance, and home remodel.

Unfortunately I didn't buy in to their romance in either the past or present timelines. I know they were telling me that they broke each other's hearts and that they love each other but I didn't see or feel it based on their actual actions.

I feel like they started hate screwing but in the context of this book with their history and personalities I didn't understand it. It felt like it was more about them being horny than it being the person they wanted to be having sex with.

Lastly, I don't think the characters need to likeable or without flaws but man I didn't enjoy either of these people and they felt very immature in the current timeline so I didn't have much to look forward to in this book.

This book wasn’t my favorite but it kept me pretty entertained and engaged throughout! At first, the FMC annoyed me but I liked her more at the end and the romance was cute!

Such a great romance! Adored the writing and the setting, and it was so easy to fall in love with the characters.

The Co-Op is a book about a marriage of convenience, second chance (ish) between two people who have poor examples of love and family learning to love and become family. This was such a fun quick read. The characters have so much depth, but it’s done in a lighthearted way. The beginning was a little slow but once it picked up.. it really picked up!

This was a cute, quick read! The forced proximity was perfect and I loved the house renovation content as well. There were a few spicy scenes, but nothing too crazy!

This was a cute read! I loved that the FMC had black cat vibes and I ate the forced proximity up!! I’m also a sucker for a marriage of convenience so this was right up my alley!

3.5 ⭐️

<i>"I don't mind your mess." 💕</i>

Ok hear me out I love Tarah DeWitt, but this one just didn't hit for me. I think I just have a hard time with the second chance romance trope and I really just didn't care about the characters. Mid for me, but I know a TON love it.

LaRynn & Deacon's relationship at first is complicated to say the least. They have an unfortunate reunion when their grandmothers leave them with their old home in desperate need of repairs. LaRynn's trust fund is on the line since she needs to marry before gaining access to the funds. Deacon is just trying to work through the grief while attempting to fix the house when there are so many memories attached.

The two butt heads at every step and the slow burn was good. With access to some money and fixing up the house to sell, the house brings them closer, they struggle to go their separate ways through the end. I thought the concept was cute, but honestly it wasn't extremely memorable for me.

✨ Second Chance Romance
✨ Marriage of Convenience
✨ Witty Banter
✨ Dislike to love

✨ And they were roommates✨

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Griffin for sending this book (eARC) for honest review.

It's been seven years since LaRynn and Deacon have seen each other. In that time, their grandmothers have passed, leaving their home to the two. Unfortunately, their inheritance is breaking apart and the last time they saw each other they broke up after a summer of love and firsts. Now, to afford to fix the beloved building, they marry for LaRynn's trust fund, begin living together and remodelling, and face the feelings, that despite their best efforts, never went away.

Sometimes modern marriage of convenience books feel silly, but DeWitt's style comes through, making the world have an edge of fantastical (I need to visit Santa Monica now), but the characters real and grounded.

I'm glad we got to see their past with chapters that flashed backed, even when I needed to know what would happen next in the modern day. It helped build their tension and you saw how their chemistry evolved, as you waited for the big explosion!

Overall, I really enjoyed this read! LaRynn and Deacon were understandable and their relationship was written so well. Their was no crazy drama , just the complexities of human relationships and the angst and passion love can bring.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc to read and review!

Read for: second chance romance, slow-burn, marriage of convenience, first love, dual POV, flashbacks, tension 🔥, yearning, rebuild a house=rebuild a relationship

4.75 ⭐️
2.5 🌶️

This gave me Beach Read vibes and that’s a high compliment. It was a little spicier than I like and I think that’s Tarah Dewitt’s style and I should’ve expected it.

I enjoyed it! The banter, the tiny gestures, the tension it was all so good. They worked together so well, it just made sense.

one of my comfort reads. the indie version was like a warm hug on a slightly chilly day by the ocean, and this new version is the same. this is the kind of petty romcom behavior turned surprisingly heartfelt hgtv hallmark collab i am here for

Rating: 3.5
Mode of Reading: NetGalley Digital ARC Courtesy of Tarah DeWitt & St. Martin's Press in exchange for my honest review...
It's an ARC... When does it Release? It's out now - Snag a copy for yourself! (Published October 20 2022 & Re-published in 2024)
How did I pick this up: When the publisher decided to make copies available on Read Now to celebrate the formal/ traditional publishing of the story (and with new cover art), I had to snag it up!
Short Yet Sweet Review: LaRynn and Deacon have a complicated past—one that resurfaces when their grandmothers leave them with an old, rundown home that desperately needs repairs. LaRynn has access to a family trust, but there's a catch: she has to be married to access the funds. Enter Deacon—good with his hands, both in construction and (maybe) in mending hearts. While this starts off as a marriage of convenience, it quickly becomes a story about teamwork, personal growth, and building something lasting—both literally and emotionally. Can they fix the house? Can they fix their relationship?

This one has all the tropes—marriage of convenience, forced proximity, second chance romance—and Tarah DeWitt brings them all to life with complex, relatable characters. I’ll definitely be picking up more from her in the future!

Just finished The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt, and I absolutely loved it! This book is a perfect mix of second-chance romance and home renovation chaos.

LaRynn and Deacon, once teenage sweethearts, are thrown back together when they inherit a rundown Santa Cruz building from their grandmothers. To access her trust fund, LaRynn needs to be married, and Deacon has the construction skills but not the funds. So, they strike a deal: marry, fix up the property, sell it, and go their separate ways.

Living in a house without walls brings them closer, and old feelings resurface. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and the slow-burn romance had me hooked from start to finish.

If you’re into witty banter, steamy tension, and a story about rebuilding both a house and a relationship, The Co-op is a must-read!

Tarah Dewitt has not done me wrong ONE single time, and this one blew me out of the water just as much as the last!

I adored every moment of this book, and while it took me longer to pick up than I wanted, once I did I couldn’t put it down for literal hours. I effectively read this in one single sitting, and didn’t find myself losing interest even once. This has so much that I love: forced proximity, an (actually) prickly MC, two characters who have complicated pasts but are genuinely doing their best, and conflict that reflects that in the most human way possible. It also has laugh out loud humor, the most genuine and sincere connection, toe-curling spice, and a stunningly satisfying conclusion.

I adored both of these characters so much, and found that they both made an intimate kind of sense to me, even though I couldn’t actually consider either of them similar to me at all. I think this says something wildly impressive about Tarah Dewitt’s writing, and it’s something I’ve found to be true in every book of hers I’ve read: she knows how to write humanity in this perfectly understandable and compassionate way, and also manages to keep the inevitable complications involved in that humanity from tearing the story into a dark and dull place. Instead, it makes it this perfectly charming balance of charm and humor and sincerity.

I just don’t have enough words to accurately depict just how impressed I am, but what I will say is that Dewitt has officially worked her way into Emily Henry status for me. It makes me endlessly excited for everything that is to come, and for me to set aside some time to read the rest of her backlog (which only consists of Rootbound and Left of forever, both of which I cannot WAIT to get my hands on!). Thank you so much to St, Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this eArc!

3 stars

This book follows LaRynn and Deacon who are renovating their grandmothers house that was left to both of them in very bad condition. LaRynn came back to town that she spent her summers in growing up after her father cut her off after she dropped out of college. To get her trust money (to help finish renovations) she has to get married. And Deacon volunteers to get (fake) married.

Tropes:
Fake marriage
Second chance romance
Forced proximity

I really wanted to love this book but I just could not get over the main characters. But they actually like kids instead of adults. Don’t get me wrong I love a little arguing and miscommunication in my books but this was borderline annoying. I loved the plot and storyline and loved ALL side characters. If they acted more like adults I would have loved it way more.

Second chance, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, and even a bit of enemies to lovers: this mix of tropes makes this book a little something for everyone. Enjoyed the audiobook, too!

4 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Tarah is always an auto-read author for me! She almost never misses. This one certainly had all the steamy bits and snappy banter you can expect from her work. The only piece I really struggled with was the our MMC and FMC were related! Yes, it was just by marriage of their queer grandmothers…but still. Doesn’t that make them at least second cousins or something? I had a hard time getting past that fact. 😬

Tarah DeWitt is SPICY but funny and writes chemistry so incredibly well. This was my first book by her and I really loved the setting and careers of her characters. I think she shines in dialogue. Can't wait to read more by her.

This is my first book for Tarah and I had a really great time with it. I recently learned she’s a local to me author which was what put this on my radar after going to an event for her. I have a couple others of her books on my shelves now that I’m really excited to get to.