✨ the co-op by @authortarahdewitt ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

i was lucky enough to read this ARC, and i loved it! I loved the idea of a house renovation romance and the grief represented was so real and raw. I fell in love with the characters (especially Sal) and the romance made me heart burst. It was an honor being able to read this!
i highly recommend this book - releasing 11/12 🫶🏼

“And I don’t think there’s a version of you I couldn’t love.”

I cannot begin to describe how much the complexity between characters moved me. I was in love with this first version of this book and fell in love all over again this time. The writing was the literary equivalent of magic and you could feel the angst so hard in this one. Both main characters come from different backgrounds which brought their own particular traumas and watching them overcome those together just left my heart so full. This is one of the best books I have ever read and I cannot recommend it enough.

Okay so Everywhere, Everything (Noah Kahan obvi) is Deacon and LaRynn’s song. In my personal, correct opinion.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I read this originally many a moon ago, so reading it again with the additional content and updates felt like coming home but also making new friends, and I can’t stress enough how much I loved every moment.

The way that each of them lash out at the other when they feel vulnerable, and recognize that not only in each other but in themselves. The fact that they do so because at the heart of it all they still care for each other. The pining. The YEARNING.

Their grief and their hesitancy and their underlying bitterness is so gutwrenching and raw. I flinched with them and I ugly cried with them and I cheered with them. I was invested in both of them from the very start; because despite all their bluster and bravado and how entirely oblivious to it they each can be, they are both so incredibly transparent with their feelings (at least when it comes to each other).

Can Tarah do no wrong??? She actually cannot 😌 I have still not mentally processed falling in love with a goose and now here we are, falling in love with the nostalgia itself.

4.5 ⭐️
thank you net galley for this arc!

hgtv meets rom com by the beach- this book was so fun while still holding space for heavy feelings like grief and anxiety. navigating the dynamics of learning to love someone in a way that is different from what your parents modeled during your adolescence.. so reminiscent of real challenges that we have to work through in our adulthood

the only thing keeping this from a 5 star- i needed more from the past timeline. every entry we got left me wanting to know more but we never got many of the details and instead had to infer.

The Co-op is a lovely second chance romance with fun tropes including forced proximity, marriage of convenience, and slow burn! The story follows LaRynn who after her grandma's recent passing, has coinherited a home with Deacon, the former fling who broke her heart. Set on selling the house, LaRynn is shocked to find the home is in complete shambles and in dire need of renovations after a recent fire. In order to accomplish that, Deacon and LaRynn agree to marry so she can access her trust fund and they can renovate the house together. When the two begin cohabitating together, they are forced to acknowledge what led to the end of their previous relationship.

I absolutely loved this book, and had so much fun reading it! Deacon and LaRynn were amazing together. I loved the character development and how the two admitted to the faults in their previous relationship and were able to move on from it. Once they did, the connection they were able to forge was so healthy and comforting. I also enjoyed the tumultuous relationship the two had in the beginning, the banter and the way they were at odds with each other was so entertaining. This is my first ever read from Tarah Dewitt and I'm blown away by her writing, I'm so excited to dive into her other books.

I have been seeing this author everywhere on on Bookstagram so of course I had to sign up for this one and I’m so glad I did I really loved LaRynn and Deacon they were gorgeous together.

I loved this book! It started a little slow but it was such an emotional and lovely story. I love Tarah Dewitt and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

The Co-Op is my favorite book of Tarah’s because as a mean woman, I love reading about fellow mean women getting their happily ever after. This revamped version added more background AND more angst. I didn’t think it was possible to love it more, and yet here I am.
I love the before chapters where we really get to dig in to Deacon and LaRynn’s relationship as young adults which gave me a better basis to root for them in the now chapters (I mean, I already was, BUT) Elyse being a bigger part of the story and Jensens better half was a great change that made it flow. All in all, I love everything about this

I feel like I should start this review by saying I’ve read previous Tarah Dewitt novels and I’ve enjoyed them. However, the Co-Op just didn’t do it for me. Which is wild because some of my favorite tropes where all in this book. We had Second chance romance with marriage of convenience you think nothing could go wrong.

Unfortunately, it can go wrong. I didn't love this one as much as her previous book. The miscommunication trope went on way to long, to the point where at times I felt myself skimming. This also led to me having a hard time connecting to the main characters. I didn’t really start enjoying our two main characters until the last 20% of the book.

Overall, it was an enjoyable enough read for me to finish it. And surprisingly I’d still recommend it. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of this release. I’m still excited to continue to read books from Tarah.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Griffin from providing me a review copy!

I loved this book and it was so sweet to see the connection between the main characters and I loved to follow their journey, I def recommend reading this when it comes out!

Unfortunately, this one didn't work with me.
But take my opinion with a grain of salt: I'm not a contemporary romance avid reader. Just from time to time I decided to venture myself in the romance genre. Most of the time it fails. And this one wasn't exception.
I didn't relate or even care for the 2 protagonists or their personalities. And the tropes within this story don't appeal to me.
I'd say Tarah DeWitt's writing is decent enough. I was never bothered or annoyed by her writing style, per say.
So, I'm sure romance readers who are used to her books will most likely enjoy this new one, too.

This is one of my favorite books and marriages of convenience. These two had all of the tension built up from their teenage trysts and I loved the banter/fighting. They were so funny. Tarah is one of my favorite authors and I will absolutely read anything that she writes.

I enjoyed the book, but not enough to rave about it or read it again. Easy, quick read, but I felt it lacked luster and I found myself not itching to pick it up to finish.

The Co-op is a second chance story about a couple who have known each other since high school. When a house they equally inherit needs immediate and desperate repair, they must carefully tread through their past and get the house into sellable shape without risking their hearts all over again.

For a romcom about house renovation this one hit the right spot, this execution of a second chance romance was perfect.

I really enjoyed “Larry’s” prickly personality, not being able to open up to people, coming across as cold but there is also that side of her that is genuine and loyal.

At around 60% the story was beginning to fall flat, there was not much working against them and it the charectors were not progressing. Once I made it past that slump the rest of the story went by fast.

The epilogue was perfect, their grandmother’s would definitely have been happy.

There was almost no spice until the very end and connection between the lead charecters was strong.

Overall I enjoyed this story.

Read This Book If…you enjoy HGTV and messy relationships!

Genre: romance
Spice Level: 3/5🌶, 2-3 open door scenes
Setting: Santa Cruz, CA
POV: dual, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: marriage of convenience, enemies to friends to lovers, second chance romance, forced proximity, roommates, one bed

What I Thought: I really liked this one! I thought the conversations had throughout were really heartfelt and I appreciated the messy parental relationships. There was a lot of history and hurt woven throughout this story, but a lot of lighter moments, too!

Memorable Quote: “I want it all, LaRynn. You’re a fine friend, but I can’t take having less than all of it with you.”

the scream i let out when i saw this was available. i had read one book of hers previously but didn’t enjoy it quite as much as i thought i would, so i was hesitant but this pleasantly surprised me! it had heart, humor, and a really steamy love story i couldn’t help but fall for.

Honestly I kind of loved this!

The worst part about this book was that her name was “LaRynn” and I’m sorry but I do not think it’s a cute name at all.

This book reminded me of “You Deserve Each Other” at times, but I hated that book and really liked this. I think it helps that though they’re married it’s just for convenience. And they have a fractured history where they’re both dealing with their own trauma and aren’t communicating well.

And sometimes books that include home improvement can go overboard but this felt like a perfect mix. Like obviously it’s a huge part of the story but I never felt myself ready to skim through them picking out tile samples or whatever.

Banter here is 10/10, just like “Funny Feelings” so Tarah Dewitt is quickly becoming one of my must read authors!

But overall, I thought this was a real sweet story. And it felt like Cece and Helena were like the silent characters in this story encouraging them from beyond the grave because they just wanted them to be happy.

This book captures the stress of DIY renovations, adds in a marriage for financial benefit plus their history. Deacon and LaRynn were flawed, terrible at communicating, and had family baggage. Thru this story, we see them mature albeit slowly in the middle.

I was given a copy by the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!) and all opinions are my own.

The Co-Op was a beautiful romance about two people falling back in love while tackling a renovation and some past demons. LaRynn and Deacon spent a summer together when they were younger, and it didn’t end well. Both believing the other wasn’t as into the relationship. They are forced to reconnect when their grandmothers leave them their old beach house (which happens to need a lot of love). In order to get the funds they need, a marriage of convenience becomes their only plan forward. Only problem?? They can’t stand each other. Or…are they actually obsessed with each other? 🤭

I’m a huge fan of Tara DeWitt, my favorite being Savor It, and this book had all of the character development and banter I’ve come to love with her books. And in this one, The banter was definitely bantering 😮‍💨

Read if you are a fan of:
🛠️Marriage of convenience
💖Second chance
🛠️Forced proximity
💖Slow burn
🛠️Small Town
💖No third act breakup

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc in exchange for an honest review!

“I’m a married man. To a woman who hates me”

Thank you to Tarah and her publisher for sending me an ARC.
LaRynn and Deacon have a bit of a history, one summer years ago they fell in love with the pretence of their relationship just being physical. So when years later LaRynn moves back into town and sees Deacon again she can’t hold in her resentment despite needing to work together.
There is such passion in their banter that you can feel the history behind every word. LaRynn is a flame that Deacon is drawn to, that he wants to blow out just to irk her. Which makes everything so fun to read that i couldn’t put it down. Finished this book in a day!
The depth to each character is so complex, and we get resolution of their past which makes them each grow as a character. And seeing them grow individually brings them together even more.
LaRynn and Deacon have a romance that’s kin to a burning flame, and when they finally do something about it 😮‍💨 those scenes are HOT.

Tarah Dewitt is easily becoming one of my favourite authors the more i read from her.

“I think i want you against my better judgement and i think you hate how much you want me”