Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds had a hot and heavy summer when they were kids, and years later, they find themselves with shared ownership of a building left to them by their grandmothers. As they are forced to live and work together to renovate the deteriorating building, miscommunications from the past hang in the shadows of their reconnection.

While I've enjoyed other books by Tarah, this one just didn't hit as hard. I love slow burns but this one felt a little more dragged out than necessary, and didn't burn as much as I'd like. I kept finding myself losing interest. Not gonna lie, I was definitely siding with Deacon when he discovered all of the expensive pillows she brought home when they were supposed to be on a tight budget for the reno.

But overall, it was a sweet second chance story as the two join a marriage of convenience to help fund their renovations. Both are dealing with loss of loved ones and abandonment issues, and their journey to finding comfort and support in each other is lovely.

Tarah Dewitt can truly do no wrong. I have cuteness aggression towards her and the characters she writes. I just want to squeeze them.

Tarah never fails to make me want to take the risk of falling in love in real life and that’s so special to me.

I’d let Deacon ruin my life any time. I will eat up a marriage of convenience EVERY time.

Tarah, you’re stuck with me forever because I’m obsessed with you queen.

The Co-Op by Tarah Dewitt needs to be added to your TBR right now! This is an outstanding second chance rom-com and I could not put it down! I will definitely be reading more books by this author and recommending this one to all of my friends. Thank you NetGalley, the author, & the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

Two former flames are left a house that’s falling apart… a giant metaphor for their current personal relationship. The foundation is there; they just need to figure out how to build something new while salvaging what they had.

And that’s kind of how I felt about this book. The bones of the story were good, a great premise, excellent chemistry and banter between the two main characters.

It just all sort of… fell flat for me. The flashbacks to when they were teens really made me infuriated. They were so in love and they fell apart for something less than a miscommunication. Literally something that one sentence would have cleared away and fixed.

But the premise of the book has to exist, and I recognize that. There was just simultaneously too much and too little happening here.

Loved it! The beginning is a masterclass on petty and was so funny, but also the development of the characters and them working out their self-awareness and relationship was excellent. The epilogue gave me everything ❤️

I had a difficult time with the majority of this book. Im not usually a fan of Second Chance Romances; and this was one of those cases. I did start to enjoy this more around 80% when they finally started to respect and sympathize with each other has gone through. I found that to be very touching.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Such a cute and steamy read that features characters with loads of chemistry! My problem was the FMC. I feel like she was unnecessarily annoying with her constant bickering and childish behavior. The ending though was great!

If you need a quick read palate cleanser, this one would definitely get the job done!

THE CO-OP review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🛠️I was so happy to be back in a Tarah book. 👏 I read THE CO-OP when it first published a few years ago, but I was excited to read the updated version! Let me tell ya, knowing what was going to happen didn’t make this one any less enjoyable!

🛠️Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
LaRynn and Deacon have a tumultuous past, and are less than thrilled to be forced back together in adulthood. Their grandmothers have left their apartments behind and Deacon and LaRynn have to work together to get them in tip top shape to sell. Can they put their history behind them and work together?

🛠️This book somehow hit me harder the second time around? I definitely teared up at the end. Tarah’s writing is just so fun and if you haven’t read one of her books yet, add it to your 2025 tbr! I can’t wait to dive into her newest release asap!

This was really cute. I laughed and it brought tears to my eyes. I enjoyed the metaphors and the beautiful story. LaRynn and Deacon were very deeply developed characters.

4/5

Quick Breakdown:
-Dual POV
-Multiple timelines (past and present)
-Second chance romance
-Forced proximity
-Marriage of convenience
-Enemies to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers

This was such a real, complex, emotional story. I felt like I was watching my two friends circle each other and just wanted to shout “get on with it!” at them. The slow burn REALLY slow burned. At times it was a bit excruciating, but I don’t think I would have valued their relationship and characters as much without it.

I think what really made me devour this story was just how gritty and real it felt. Everything was believable. My heart broke for LaRynn and Deacon. I cheered them on. I waited patiently for life to help them find their ways. LaRynn and Deacon felt like people I know, and it made their HEA that much sweeter.

Once again, Tarah Dewitt writes a story that I enjoyed and (practically) devoured. She always brings something unique and believable to the table. And her tackling of hard subjects like grief and emotional abuse are handled with such grace and care. It’s always a delight to read her stories.

Such a fun and quick read. I just enjoyed the main characters and the side ones too. I loved the world created and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

The Co-Op is simply a fantastic, “read-it-in-a-day-and-purchase-the-entirety-of-the-author’s-backlist-that-same-day” kind of a story.

This is my second Tarah DeWitt book, and it 100% solidified her auto-buy status for me.

Even more than loving the storyline, this book, like Savor It, is a masterclass in how to write a compelling contemporary romance that is set apart from the rest.

So much heart and humor here, a blend of sweet and spicy. DeWitt is an excellent storyteller overall, but what impressed me most, was how fun this was to read at a sentence level. So many charming details and blink-and-you’ll-miss-it jokes. Absolutely on par with - if not better than - Henry or Jimenez.

- Second chance after heartbreak
- They flip a house and fall in love
- Dual timeline
- Black Cat / Golden Retriever
- Small-town feel
- Memorable side characters and setting
- Grief and loss/starting over
- Banter. Banter. Banter.

Thank you to SMP Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.]

This was my first time with this author and this seemed like an intriguing book about an arranged marriage with a second chance trope.

LaRynn is a bit hard to read throughout the book though I do understand she is meant to be at a point. There are moments where she's making great progress but still falls back (though without mention of doing it) but that's my perspective on it.

Deacon is - absolutely one of those types where chaotically he's an interesting individual. Like I couldn't tell if I liked him or annoyed - he drove me crazy (not necessarily in a bad way. Just frustrating.)

Sal and Deacon's mother where I couldn't stop laughing.

Fun, easy to read book that left me interested in reading more from the author.

My Rating: 3.75 (rounded up)

LaRynn and Deacon are old foes. They had a short summer fling when they were teens. LaRynn thought it was more until Deacon squashed that. From then on, LaRynn declared Deacon an enemy.

Fast forward a decade later when LaRynn is summoned to her and Deacon’s late grandmothers’ home to fix the dilapidated building. Deacon has been fixing it but has run out of money. LaRynn has a trust but to access it, she needs to be married. They strike a deal: marry for fund access and after the building is fixed, sever ties to each other.

But emotions run high as do their tempers. They push and pull until they realize that maybe that long ago summer fling started something they don’t want to end.

First off, I am a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers trope. And then add in some second chance romance? That is gold. I loved the chemistry between the two. I thought the forced proximity definitely worked here and loved the beach vibes.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC.

Not my favorite DeWitt book. Second chance romance is one of my least favorite tropes, usually because I think there's a good reason for the original breakup and not enough work has been done between the old and new relationship to warrant a reconnection, lololll. So this one was already on my side-eye, and unfortunately it felt right being there. Adults not communicating drives me absolutely nuts and that was definitely the case here for most of their relationship, esp when their teenage relationship woes could have been cleared up with one conversation. There were however multiple funny parts, which TD is great at doing, and some good banter thrown in here and there.

Overall, not the best... but def not the worst.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I was excited about receiving this eARC as I have loved so many works by this author. Recognizing this was a return to a previously published work from her, I am glad this wasn’t my first foray into Tarah Dewitt’s novels. Unfortunately, I never really felt the chemistry between the two characters and many times I found I wasn’t genuinely rooting for them to make it in the end. Somewhat lacklustre for me unfortunately.

3.5 stars!
A HGTV-style renovation meets marriage of convenience.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is a cute story!

LaRynn and Deacon must work through their complicated past in order to move forward. Their feelings are complex and hearts have been broken.

It is a sweet story. A second chance at love. Love the epilogue. 😍

3.5 rounded to 4.

This book was super cute! It started off a little slow, but once the story picked up, I really liked it.

Really loved her writing. Good flow throughout the story! Love and life are very clear and well written. Enjoyed thoroughly.