the co-op (the renovated version) is a special story, highlighting the healing a community can offer and how certain loves never leave you.

larynn and deacon, once young and fumbling through a palpable connection, return to each other's orbit once again a decade after their summer romance. thanks to unusual circumstances, they are soon sharing a home and a convenient marriage certificate. whether they're ready or not, the construction zone they live in won't be the only thing they'll have to rebuild.

while I read and enjoyed the original version of the co-op, I commend tarah for tackling this daunting rewrite. she took the assignment and ran with it. the inclusion of flashbacks and further emphasis on deacon and larynn's friends both served as great enhancements. there was tension and banter and vulnerability that felt raw and honest. these characters are in their twenties, navigating love and loss and the big questions that scare us all.

this couple found each other in the mess and fought for their healing and happiness. though larynn can be prickly, deacon loves her soft and harsher parts equally. seeing appreciation for a strong, determined, flawed woman is always something I can get behind. the ways they expressed their respect and admiration for the other were so special, resulting in tons of swoony dialogue and intentional showings of support.

for lovers of the original book, this reimagined romance still provides all those good bones but cranked up a notch. and to those who may be new to larynn and deacon's story, there's so much to adore about these hot-headed legends. forced proximity, second chance, marriage of convenience???? there's something for everyone.

endless thanks to tarah for the opportunity to read an early copy of this new version. additional thanks to st. martin's press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love reading second chance romances, I read this book in a day. I loved it so much. I could not put the book down. Tropes in this book were forced proximity, marriage of convenience and slow burn. I love these tropes a lot. It was a very good book.

I loved The Co-Op. Tarah Dewitt’s writing is great and her characters crawl right into my heart every time. The tension in this story is excellent. Love to see this getting trad published and in more readers hands, romance readers will love it.

To be completely honest, I very nearly DNF'd this book around a quarter of the way through. While I love the enemies-to-lovers combined with a second-chance romance plot, the beginning of the novel left me with confused looks on my face several times. For one, I find it a little odd and off-putting that the MMC and FMC are somewhat related through marriage, yet that's never addressed as unusual. Even in the flashbacks when they are teenagers who only meet through their grandmothers who fall in love and get married, no one in their family - who all know they are together as teens - have anything to say about them being semi-related? Of course it isn't like they're blood cousins or anything, but it felt odd as a reader, and odder that it didn't seem to feel odd to any of the characters. In the first few chunks too, the tension felt pure enemies without much hint of enemies to lovers. I couldn't really figure out why they were at all interested in each other now until much later on. This all said, the second half of the book took it from 2 stars or a DNF up to 3 stars. As the characters figured out the source of misunderstandings past and present and came together, the spice was 10/10 excellent and the romance grew incredibly sweet. The first half of the book could have set up for this loveliness much better than it did!

Disappointing overall because I adored Savor It by the same author, but I have high hopes for her other books as well!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for this advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

LaRynn and Deacon meet as teens when their grandmothers marry eventually having a passion filled summer relationship that was supposed to be only physical but evolved into more. Their inability to communicate led to breaking up and no communication until they are reunited after inheriting their grandmothers’ home and need to restore it in order to sell or rent it for income. To further complicate things they marry to access LaRynn’s trust. Through the rehabilitation of the home and grieving the loss of their grandmothers they explore the things they are holding onto from childhood both personal and together.

The Co-op is a fake marriage and forced proximity romance that explores the heavier dimensions of a relationship.

Through no fault of the author, this book was not for me. I have a hard time relating to the characters and references to their generation and its cultural icons. If I was younger I would have related to the characters and their references.

Tarah has a knack for making you emotionally invested in her characters, and the Co-op is no exception. She brought forced proximity and miscommunication to another level by giving Rynn and Deacon depth and even though I expected the HEA, I was still stressed enough about it to anxiously await each new chapter!

Very easy book to read! Loved the plotline, felt as if though there were a lot of extra scenes that weren’t necessary. But overall a great book that would totally be displayed on my bookshelf!

I absolutely loved Savor It, so I had high hopes for The Co-op. I really loved this one, too! I love the way Tarah DeWitt develops her characters and how they show their growth over the course of each of her books. I can't wait to see more from this author.

I already adored this book in its previous iteration. It's a soul book for me. This renovated version? Tarah DeWitt somehow made an already perfect book even more perfect. Everything that I loved about the previous version is there in full force: all of the iconic lines, music references, emotional beats, etc. The theme of music chronicling Deacon and LaRynn's relationship is even more present here, and I loved every bit. We get even more depth to these two. We see them during the summer they first get together and how their relationship developed then. We learn more of their backstories and why they are the way they are and react to each other the way they do.

Very rarely does a book resonate on a soul deep level for me the way this one does. I relate to LaRynn so much, from her insecurities and hang ups, to her French speaking, to the way she thinks and talks so beautifully about how healing and calming being connected to her grandmother and the beach is at this home she and Deacon are renovating right along side their relationship. Deacon is somehow even more endearing in this version, I loved getting more of his younger self so freaking much. This is a must read, especially if you love gorgeous and angsty second chances.

I'm a huge fan of Tarah DeWitt, and I am all about a second chance romance! Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me. I didn't connect with the characters and the pacing felt off throughout. I loved the plot, and will still recommend this one, but I wanted more!

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
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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!
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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!