Love Tara Dewitt! Her stories are always funny and romantic. Glad to have gotten a copy of this to review.

This is the second book by Tarah DeWitt that I’ve read, and I’m even more in love with her writing. LaRynn and Deacon are two characters I fell for right away—I lost count of how many times I caught myself smiling at my Kindle. Tarah brought plenty of tension between the characters, and the chemistry between them is just off the charts. I also love how she introduces serious topics without making the book feel heavy. I’m completely obsessed with this one!

Tarah Dewitt is amazing and I adore her. Anything she decides to write, I will be reading. Her plots and characters are so unique while still being realistic. The Co-op is a perfect example of this and Dewitt’s usual writing style aka perfection.

The tropes in this book are extremely exciting and every one adds more fun elements. LaRynn and Deacon had a spark when they were younger that has now morphed into enemy-like feelings. Things get even messier when they get married and begin to live under one roof to complete their renovation.

Format - E ARC (NetGalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶

Series- N/A

Troupes- Second chance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, constriction romance, Marriage of Convince

Representation-

CW- Death of Loved ones

Why did I wait so long to read this book??I do not know, but don’t you make this same mistake.

I love everything Tarah writes this author can do not wrong in my eyes. And when I figured out that this is a Marriage of Convince with my favorite micro troupe of romance in the mist of construction I was gleeful!

LaRynn and Deacon have off the charts chemistry from the very first pages. And the banter and wit only got better. There is so much to love about this book and Tarah’s writing style is only one of them.

I can not wait for Tarah’s next book!

Thank you to the author and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This just wasn’t for me. This is my third book by this author and I have just realized that I don’t think we click. I didn’t care about the characters at all, and to be honest the FMC really annoyed. I wasn’t really drawn to the storyline. The writing was overall well done, but I just wasn’t invested at all. Totally a me thing, but not a book I enjoyed.

4/5
Another coming of age story for two people who have known each other since childhood and grown through the years. I loved the love story of their grandmothers and how their grandmothers brought them back together.

Tarrah DeWitt’s *The Co-Op* has an intriguing premise and moments of genuine wit, but it doesn’t quite stick the landing. The slow-burn romance has its charm, and the banter between the characters is enjoyable, but the pacing felt uneven, and some plot points lacked depth.

While the humor and chemistry shine in places, the story sometimes veers into predictability, leaving the emotional stakes feeling underdeveloped. It’s a decent read for fans of light contemporary romance, but it doesn’t fully deliver on its potential. A mixed bag with flashes of brilliance.

I am not being dramatic when I say that I loved this book and it was everything to me. The banter between Deacon and LaRynn is the best. I found the FMC and MMC to be very relatable and their relationship was swoon-worthy! Tarah DeWitt is a great author and I cannot wait to continue to read her books in the future!

The banter, the connection, the spice! So so good! Loved the setting and the MMC (coming from a blue collar wife) Tarah is ON A ROLL!

I always love a good romance with angst, and boy, did The Co-Op deliver!! I can see where some readers may find the two main characters immature and frustrating. I definitely had a few moments where I wanted to shake them and beg for those two to JUST TALK!!!!! I really enjoy Tarah’s writing style and the fact we don’t get a third act break up here was the cherry on top of a great romance. I kind of expected some sort of blow up or climax regarding Larynn’s relationship with her father, but I appreciate that not all familial ties are worth redeeming or trying to salvage. Also, can we talk about the epilogue?????? I always want some sort of future update with romances and I got exact what I’m always begging authors for - so thank you Tarah 😩😭

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!

You know an enemies to lovers story where the characters seem to have no connection and the book seems to have no real plot? That as The Co-Op for me. I was expecting a fun, flirty romance with a side of DIY home construction, but I got a book where the characters quickly went from hating each other to loving each other with little-to-no conversation about the actual home renovations. Bummer.

When LaRynn and Deacon’s grandmothers leave them a home in their will, the two must finally face their enemies to pick up the pieces. While they had a fling as teenagers, hurt feelings led to miscommunication, leading to a mutual disdain for one another. In order to access her trust fund to repair the falling apart home, LaRynn needs to get married, and unfortunately it seems Deacon is her only hope at accessing the account.

This book should have everything – enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, one bed for two characters, and a side of home renovation, but I just found the plot to be lacking any substance. It’s like I blinked and LaRynn and Deacon went from jumping down each other’s throats to jumping down each other’s clothes. This feels like a book that will be quickly forgotten in the grand scheme of romances I read this year, unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book was super cute!! I’ve seen a lot of great reviews for it, and I agree with all of them. It had a lot of fantastic tropes that were used in unique ways - marriage of convenience, forced proximity, second chance…everything was done so well.

The writing really flowed, and the author created a story that I could relax and get lost in. I loved the flashbacks with Deacon and LaRynn and kept wanting to learn more about their past. There were a lot of great topics that the author tackled, and the story was a perfect balance of humour, romance, and conflict.

If you’re a romcom lover, I definitely recommend you pick this one up.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for my gifted copy!

I went into this book with no idea what it was about. I judged it on the cover and I am SO glad I did! This book had me from the first few lines about mortifying moments. I knew I'd be able to relate to LaRynn since my life is always riddled with mortifying markers of time. This story is about Deacon and LaRynn, who met as teens when their grandmothers fell in love, and inevitably the two bonded and fell in love as well. After not talking for many years, the two must reconnect after inheriting their grandmothers' home. They must work together to renovate the home to sell it. Along the way, Deacon and LaRynn work through the loss of both their grandmothers and find their way back to one another as well. I lost both of my beloved grandparents this year, so the death of their grandmothers hit me a bit harder. Also, Sally was the funniest part of the book. A sassy little old lady who made a great addition the story. This book had humor, emotion and all the spice as well. It was wonderful! I had never read a book by Tarah DeWitt before and I can't wait to read more. Funny Feelings and Savor It are next on my list.

- Marriage of Convenience
- Forced proximity / roommates
- Second Chance romance

Trigger warning - death of a loved one. Off screen though. The author did a great job sharing all the trigger warnings right at the beginning of the book. So make sure to read if you are on the fence.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

one of the greatest books i’ve ever read in my entire life !!! i love this author so much and i love these characters more than myself

I loved this!!🩷🩷 Super fun, cute, quick, and I loved both main characters. The marriage of convenience and forced proximity tropes were done really well, the banter was great, and there was even second chance romance. It was a super fast read and I couldn't put it down absolutely loved it!!!!

I love this book so much!!! I wasn’t sure it would live up to the hype and it absolutely did!! Thank you for letting me read this!!

With recent deaths in the family, our two main characters now are left with a ruined house to inherit and co-own; however, the catch is that the only way to gain access to their inheritance and be able to renovate and sell the house, is to get married. Sounds simple enough, right? Well these two had a summer fling 10 years ago leaving them heartbroken and now they can't stand each other.

I was sold the second I saw "marriage of convenience," but this book serves up some of my other favorite tropes too: small town vibes, enemies to friends to lovers, second chance romance., slow burn, forced proximity.

I loved the character development and how honest, raw and relatable to two main characters were. The banter and the way they were at odds with each other was so entertaining, but once they were able to admit their faults and move on from it, the connection they forged was so healthy and comforting.

This book was humorous, thoughtful, and such an enjoyable read! I can't wait to see what Ms. Tarah Dewitt will do next!

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book in return for my opinion.
The Co-Op is billed as a Rom Com by Tarah DeWitt. In many ways it it but it is also a book that have daily multi mention al characters who’ve experienced trauma and have some major issues they need to address.
This is a “ I didn’t love it but I also didn’t hate it book” for a little while about a 1/3 of the way in, I seriously considered DNF ing it. However, I persisted and I’m glad I did because I did get a HEA.

Enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience and forced proximity. Not to mention they had a summer fling as teenagers.

Larynn and Deacon really hated each other at the beginning. But being forced to work together and be together, you can see their walls come down and the old feelings return to the surface.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have mixed feeling about this book! I really liked the second half but felt like the characters in the first half were completely different than in the second half. They went from mean and spiteful to normal people who recognize that people have feelings. It felt like the entire conflict was based on a lack of communication. That said I loved the home renovation aspect of the story.