July 20, 2024
4.5 ✨ (2024 Version)

I had heard a lot of great things about this book, but I held off reading it, knowing that the author was working on a revised version.

I was fortunate to receive an ARC for the upcoming release!

I loved this book! I was shocked to learn that the original version was the author's first book. The writing style and character development are excellent. I thought both Deacon and LaRynn were relatable, but flawed, characters.

The story follows Deacon and LaRynn, who had a summer fling just after high school. They are brought back together approximately 8 years later after they jointly inherit their grandmothers' home. They have to work together to renovate home and learn to move past the way they hurt in each other as teenagers.

Both characters are harboring wounds from their past relationship, and they fight and hurt each other throughout the first half of the book. I think it can be difficult to write this kind of story well. When the main characters hurt each other, it's difficult to root for them or like the characters. I didn't feel that way about this book, and the dual POV and flashbacks to when they were teenagers helped understand their feelings and motivations. If you find it difficult to see past this kind of behavior from the MCs, this might not be the book for you, though.

I really liked that there wasn't a second act breakup or major miscommunication in this book. Once Deacon and LaRynn talk through their issues, the next time there is an issue, they talk and work through it, rather than breakup or assume the worst about each other.

I enjoyed the setting, and I will miss the wonderful cast of side characters! This isn't set up as a series, but I would love another book in this world.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, second chance romance, marriage of convenience, dual POV, beach setting.

Good gracious what a good book. Second chance, teenage loves to young adult enemies. With so much heart. The emotional journey that both that Deacon an LaRynn go on individually is just marvelous. (Writhing wise, it is a pretty heartfelt journey) there is a fake wedding, one of the best I have read in the enemies to lovers genre (she wears black). The whole book has such fulling thought out characters. Both people are struggling with parental relationships, and both get through them with the strength borne in this live story. It’s not the flashiest rom com you are ever going to read, but it is very much worth reading. (I read an ARC)

Tarah DeWitt has become an auto buy author for me!!

I absolutely loved Savor It and was so excited to get an ARC for The Co-op!

The Co-op combined humor, romance and steam so perfectly! The story is about LaRynn and Deacon, who are forced to work together after they inherited a home from their grandmothers. I loved that this was a dual timeline story so we got to go back to when they first met and had a summer fling - making their current situation a title awkward! I absolutely loved the ending of this story!

Some things I loved -
Second chance romance, forced proximity, marriage of convenience.and no third act break up!

“My wife and I have always found a way to dance.” - I just love Deacon !

Tarah DeWitt’s writing makes this such a fun story to read! I loved the parallel between the house getting fixed up and our main characters relationship!

I would recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this ARC!

I’m torn on "The Co-op." DeWitt’s writing is fantastic—creative and engaging. But the story felt slow at times, and I got confused about whose point of view I was in. The FMC just wasn’t for me, even though I understood where her character was coming from. Despite those issues, DeWitt’s talent is undeniable, and I'm still open to checking out her other books. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Tarah DeWitt for the ARC.

This will be a fun romance for a younger audience. I didn't really connect with the FMC, but I can definitely see how a younger person will relate to her!

The Co-op by Tarah Dewitt
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book tells the perfect story about finding a way back to love. I loved the way it shifted between the past and present, showing us how things unfolded when the characters were teenagers and their efforts now to restore a "grand's" house while repairing a relationship that was destined to be cosmic.

The book is filled with amazing tropes, including marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and second-chance romance. From the first to the last chapter, every page was brimming with emotions, written so well that you don’t realize you’re crying along with the characters, and you can't see the words on the page anymore. The characters are written flawlessly, with flaws that make you see them and see yourself in them, making it realistic and intimate. When Deacon tells LaRynn about his hurt, that scene won't leave my brain; it was the perfect turning point in the book for me!

I adored Tarah’s Savor It, but this one fell a little flat for me. I struggled with the immaturity of both main characters and didn’t feel the chemistry between them.

So it's official, Tarah Dewitt is a top 3 auto read, auto buy, favorite author for me! I’ve now read Funny Feelings, Savor It, and this masterpiece. LaRynn and Deacon are perfection. But actually they aren’t perfect at all. Like all of Tarah’s characters they are deeply hurt, deeply flawed, and deeply real people. This is a blueprint of how to write no third act breakup while still having so much relationship building. These characters have hurt each other and they work through it in a real, adult way (hehe after some not so adult ways that will have you laughing out loud). While reading this, I thought to myself I bet some people don’t like LaRynn. She is a tough, opinionated woman and we all know that is something that some people don’t like. But it’s my absolute favorite thing about Tarah’s writing. Her female characters never make themselves smaller for the comfort of others. LaRynn is 6 feet tall and instead of settling for someone who would have both literally and figuratively wanted her to be smaller, she waited and found someone who loved every inch of her. Deacon is so amazing and so hot in all of his vulnerability. In case you can’t tell, I absolutely loved this book!! I devoured it in about 24 hours including a full working day lol. Do yourself a favor and go read this immediately!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

This is my third book by Tarah DeWitt and though I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as Funny Feelings and Savor It, it is still a book I'd recommend to others who love a good second chance romance. Plus bonus points anytime a marriage of convenience is written into a contemporary romance, something we just don't see enough of. Looking forward to what comes next from this author!

Omg I absolutely loved this. Marriage of convenience is such a god tier trope and no third act break up?! THANK YOU!!! This was such a lovely and cozy read and I will be suggesting to my friends!

I LOVE THIS BOOK AND I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS. i was so nervous about reading this edition/version because the original book was one of my all time favorite reads - why mess with something already perfect? but this new version is just a fine tuned version of what it already ones, and original fans of the book are in for a treat. thanks so much for the ARC!

Tarah DeWitt is an instant read for me. She is a master of weaving banter and tension and this is no exception. This is a romance between the equivalent of a cactus and a brick wall, which makes it all the more satisfying when the characters get vulnerable with each other and start to come together. There were definitely frustrating moments, but they were all building to a very sweet payoff.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

I have now read a few of Tarah DeWitt's books and really enjoy her writing! I thought that this book was extremely real in the way she portrayed the pain of our two main characters LaRynn and Deacon. I will say that I never read the original version of this book before her books were bought by a traditional publisher, but this was a good read despite whatever differences there may be between this version and the original version.

I think that the concept of two people who hurt each other in their teen years being made to work together on renovating a whole house (and their friendship) was such a breath of fresh air. While I love the stereotypical fluffy 'rom-com' vibes that books have been giving me lately, I really needed something with a touch more depth - which this book provided perfectly.

I thought that the marriage of convenience trope wasn't overdone here and viscerally swooned everytime the phrase "my wife/my husband" was said in a conversation. The growth we get to see between our characters did take the majority of the book to be fully fleshed out, but I think that made the story move along at a genuinely 'real life pace' if you will. A small nod to all of the volleyball references in the story, it made me want to throw myself on a court and just enjoy sports again!

Overall, if you're looking for a new romance read where you aren't ever sure of what is going to come out of either characters mouth, then this is definitely one you should pick up!

If you don't like to read spicy scenes in books (like myself) then I recommend you skip/skim the following chapters:
🌶️ Closed Door Modifications: Chapters 11, 19, 27, 31, 39, 41 & 42

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Griffin for this advanced copy on NetGalley! 🤍

This was delightful and angsty — Deacon and LaRynn both share these feelings of mutual pining and regret over their relationship all those years ago. I loved their love for the grands and the house. I loved watching these ideas and changes bloom in Rynn with the café and everything coming together.

I wish we would’ve gotten more of the love either a little earlier OR through a few more flashbacks. But, once we got there it was SO good. There was a lot of good tension along the way and I do love a good slow burn, this one was just a hint too slow for me. The epilogue was great, and I loved how realistic these characters felt.

But, Tarah writes gorgeous characters with depth, heart, and a great backstory. I’m looking forward to reading more of her work in the future!

4 ⭐ 2 🌶 3 🎧

This was super cute. I loved the whole idea, and while they were a little too mean to each other (without the offset of intense chemistry and spice) at times, I loved watching their relationship progess. And the ending was so perfect it made up for any pitfalls found in the beginning.

These characters were beautifully flawed and mirrored each other in ways that they didn't even realized, which made my heart ache at times. I love bully romances, so I'm not shy with that kinda theme, but it hurt bad seeing these two treat each other the way they did sometimes, knowing how the other was feeling... Thankfully the moment where they broke down their walls was wonderful and out my heart back together.

The audio was a tough one for me... As a western states dweller, I am not used to that much Boston accent packed into a tiny space and it was a little much for me. However, both narrators were great and I enjoyed this listen outside of that aspect.

She’s done it again. Another fantastic, humorous, contemporary romance with the perfect amount of banter and pining. Tarah DeWiit is an instant-read, let-me-bow-down-to-you writer for me. Just truly a well rounded romance story.

I found LaRynn’s personality to be very unique and often underrepresented in fiction. We so often see grumpy men in romance (ayyy in fact we love to see it!) and while she’s not an absolutely grump, she’s not smiling when some man told her it would make her look prettier. She felt real and relatable. Deacon is a gem too.

A heartwarming story of love and second chances is found in The Co-op. The powerful and restorative power of love is beautifully shown in this love story. For those who appreciate a touching romance that makes an impression, it's a must-read because of its compelling characters and beautiful writing style. The misscommunication was a bit frustrating at times and it got a nit redunant. Yet this book was a solid read.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s always so fun to find a book like this one that includes multiple different tropes all intertwined into one lovely story, while also expressing the challenges of feeling like you have tons of emotional baggage but nobody to share it with, and nobody to help you through it either. I think Tarah DeWitt really captures that feeling throughout the story with both LaRynn and Deacon, which only makes them even more relatable. Even though they seem like complete opposites on the outside, grumpy and sunshine, black cat and golden retriever, once you get to know them and the story goes along I think both the reader and the characters can see how, in many ways, they’re actually a lot alike, and maybe that’s all they needed to realize in order to work through their history and move along together. I think the story really articulates the chaos that comes with reconciling with someone from your past, and getting to know them again, seeing where your judgment might change about who they really are. I would highly recommend this book to all romance readers who love some good banter, but can also cry it out with the characters when things get heavy. Overall amazing story.

A wonderful second chance romance.
Forced proximity, spice and marriage of convenience. What more could you want from a contemporary romance?
Just an overall delightful read, that is enjoyable from start to finish.
The perfect summer read, that feels like a movie.
Highly recommend.

It’s official, Tarah Dewitt is the master of writing rom-coms that are so much more than just a romance. She has the amazing ability to write about characters with familial hardships that cut through the characters like a sharp knife. I always empathize with the struggles of our main characters, but I also always find myself feeling for the characters that are causing the MCs pain. There are two sides to every story and there’s never a clear cut answer to solve each problem.

There’s healing in these pages, trust given to people who have once hurt each other, and forgiveness for things we just can’t control. The attraction between LaRynn and Deacon is instant, but the trust between them is slow and built from love and respect.

LaRynn is a headstrong, take no crap kind of girl that I always seem to fall in love with. She’s made to feel like just because she had a privileged life she isn’t allowed to feel neglected. She’s tired and lost and I can’t help but relate to her. And Deacon with his wit and just a bit too long hair can do no wrong in my books. The guilt he feels for thinking badly of his father and his history with LaRynn slowly eats away at him. I just want to hug them both and tell them to breathe.

To me, music was a side character throughout the novel. I could hear Redbone, Elvis, and of course “Good Vibrations” playing in my head while I read each chapter. Also, the epilogue is PERFECT