In The Co-Op, a man and woman, whose grandmas were married to each other, are reunited when they inherit the grandmas’ house and have to renovate it in order to put it in the market. These two had something when they were teens and now they hate each other so you can see where this is going. Enemies to lovers, close proximity, you know the drill. Oh, and throw in a fake marriage to get an inheritance. All the tropes. It was cute with some heavier moments about their upbringings and struggles. And lots of 🔥. I enjoyed the flashback chapters to learn more about why they are the way they are now. A little fluffy cute romcom.

LaRynn and Deacon are reunited by their grandmothers years after a youthful summer of passion and heartbreak. Tasked with renovating a house they’ve inherited, their unresolved emotions simmer as they navigate their shared past and present.

My favorite part of this book was how vividly the Grands’ presence lingered, even long after they were gone. LaRynn’s and Deacon’s deep connections with their grandmothers were beautifully portrayed, and the home renovation served as a heartfelt tribute to their memory. However, I felt disconnected to the story at times due to the execution of the dual POV, dual timeline structure. The past timeline stood out, drawing me into their original relationship and making me invested in their origin story. That said, I missed the tension and playful banter that I’ve come to expect from DeWitt’s writing. Overall, this was a sweet and charming read that left me smiling.

Readers who enjoy:
+ second chance romance
+ marriage of convenience
+ dislike to love
+ she’s mean, but a secret softie
+ he can’t stop doing things with his hands
+ dual POV
+ dual timeline

Thank you Griffin for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the early access read of this book. Overall, I really enjoyed the first 70% of the book. I am a sucker for second chance and dual timeline books, as well as some good forced proximity. However, I didn’t really connect with the FMC LaRynn and found her behaviors to be pretty immature. Though you do see some growth from her throughout the book. I did really enjoy Deacon’s character, especially in the ways he looked out for others. The book took a turn for me towards the end, where it seemed the author was trying to pack as much spice as possible into the last 15% and things resolved so suddenly. This brought it down from a true 4⭐️ for me. I am still excited to read other works from Tarah DeWitt.

Deacon and LaRynn had their share of ups and downs, both together, and as individuals. I loved getting to know them and their relationship through flashbacks to when they were teens and young adults. They felt real and relatable. The angst was angsting and the tension was tensioning between them and the slow burn was just simmering there, adding to it! I just enjoyed this book! Their banter and the pranks were all so so good.

I absolutely loved everything about this book!!!! I am a sucker for second chance, marriage of convenience and enemies to lovers so this was the perfect storm.

One of my favorite parts of this story though was the pacing. It was never rushed. I loved how everything came together and the alternating timelines between the past and the present was really well done.

4/5 (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Book: The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt
Genre: Romance

I had such a fun time reading "The Co-Op" by Tararh DeWitt. It is the kind of romance that hits you right in the feels, capturing the messy, beautiful journey of love and second chances. LaRynn and Deacon's story is a rollercoaster of emotions that will make you laugh and cry.

The pure magic of this book lies in how it explores two people who were once so shy about their feelings that they let an incredible connection slip away. Fast forward a few years, and fate throws them back together with a plot twist - a marriage of convenience to renovate and sell a shared summer house. The banter, the tension, the slow-burn romance was amazing. Almost every moment between LaRynn and Deacon feels so authentic that you can't help but see yourself in their journey of growth, miscommunication, and ultimately, understanding. It is a beautiful exploration of how time, maturity, and a little bit of unexpected proximity can transform two people who were always meant to find their way back to each other. If you love romance that makes you feel all the emotions, then please read this book!

Thank you SO much to @netgalley and @smpromance for sending me the beautiful ARC of #TheCOOP #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Alright so first things first - I loved this book. I read it in one sitting (and stayed up way too late to do so!). I loved the premise, the second chance at love and the fact that they had a summer fling as young adults that they didn't know how to handle well.

LaRynn is very insular, with parents who were too caught up in their own crap to see how they were affecting their daughter. Deacon was also dealing with parent issues that left him insecure and scared to voice his emotions. It was not a recipe for a good relationship. But life brings them back together and forces them to deal with their past from both of their perspectives. I think this was the key to the story being successful. They both did wrong and were young, so they didn't realize how things affected the other one. I loved the happy ending to the story.

I appreciated that these were adults who had the maturity to own up to their actions and grow from their mistakes. The one thing that I will say was a negative for me (and the reason for the four stars) is that the internal dialogue at times dragged. I found myself skimming until the story picked up again. Other than that, it was a great book!

Spicy, male female, second chance, contemporary romance. This couple could be frustrating at times (lots of miscommunication), but ultimately I was rooting for them. An easy read with fun banter and a happy ending.

“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. “𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆.

MY HEART! This book. Seriously 🥹🥹🥹 Okay, let’s get into it. This story is about two people, LaRynn and Deacon, who were together for one summer. They were both so shy about communicating their feelings that things ended… badly. Fast forward a few years later, and fate (plus a summer house neither wants to let go of) throws them back together. The perfect solution? Get married, renovate the house, and sell it for more money. Totally normal, right? LOL 💍🛠️

The emotions in this book hit SO close to home!! At 20 something, let’s be real..most of us didn’t know how to fully express our feelings. Opening up was hard. Reading this really took me back to that time in my life, and it hit me right in the feels 😭😭 The way the author captured how much a few years can change someone was incredible. You see their “growing up” glow up and how they maneuver their lingering feelings from the past to finally get closer and move forward. ✨

And LaRynn and Deacon? SO PERFECT. 😍 The banter between them had me hooked. The back and forth, even in the middle of their fake wedding, was chef’s kiss. 👌 Oh, and let’s not forget LaRynn showing up to their wedding in a black dress?! ICONIC 😂

This book is a heartwarming, funny, and emotional rollercoaster, and I LOVED every second of it. 🫶

𝑴𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍, 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔, 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏.

Not only that, but this book really dives into how insecurities can shape someone’s perspective to the point where two people can experience the same moment and take away completely different meanings 🥺💔 It’s such a powerful reminder that communication is ✨EVERYTHING!✨

𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰’𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰’𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒚

I recommend this book to anyone who loves wearing their heart on their sleeve 💕 Yes, there will be bumps along the way that will tug at your heartstrings and make you feel every emotion, but by the end? It’s so insanely beautiful that you’ll just sit there like, I can’t even. 😭

tropes
🔨 summer fling
🔨 marriage of convenience
🔨 friends to lovers
🔨 second chance
🔨 forced proximity

things I liked ˋ°•*⁀➷
-their wedding
-the throw pillow argument
-washing machine scene hehe
-his reaction about flirting
-adams family costume
-the curtain divider

The Co-op is a light, steamy rom-com with a unique premise—two people forced to cohabitate and marry to renovate a dilapidated building. LaRynn and Deacon’s past fling fuels their chemistry, and the forced proximity sets the stage for plenty of tension. The premise is fun, and the dynamic between the characters is engaging, with Deacon’s construction expertise balancing well with LaRynn’s financial prowess.

However, while the plot had great potential, I felt like it didn’t quite reach its full depth. The pacing was uneven, and some of the emotional arcs between LaRynn and Deacon felt a bit rushed or underdeveloped. Their back-and-forth, while entertaining, didn’t fully convince me of the emotional connection that would justify the more serious moments of the story. The forced marriage trope is fun, but I would have liked to see a bit more growth and conflict to give their relationship more weight.

The setting and premise of restoring a property as a metaphor for building a relationship had real potential, but I found myself wanting a bit more emotional depth to match the steamy, funny moments. Overall, The Co-op is an enjoyable, quick read, but it left me wishing for more complexity in both the characters and their journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the arc.

It should be noted that this book was printed with another publisher beforehand a few years ago, and this 2024 version is an updated version of the book with some small details changed.

I thought this was another fun and sexy read from Tarah DeWitt. I enjoyed the romantic chemistry in this book. Tarah Dewitt is quickly becoming a popular romance author among the likes of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez among others.

I recommend this book if you enjoy romance novels as much as I do! I am looking forward to Tarah's next book!

Thanks @netgalley @smpromance and @authortarahdewitt for the chance to read and review The Co-Op. It released on November 12, 2024.

If you haven't already discovered the brilliance of Tarah DeWitt's writing, please let The Co-Op be your gateway book and then you can thank me when you devour her entire catalog (and pre-order Left of Forever).

Told in dual timelines, The Co-Op follows the love story of law school dropout LaRynn and contractor Deacon who are forced back into each other's lives when their beloved grandmothers bequeath their beautiful (but dilapidated) Santa Cruz house to them. It's been years since they had one HOTTT summer, but the hurt feelings haven't faded, and now they're expected to live in a construction zone and scrap by to get the house ready for sale? It's a recipe for disaster, only made more tense when they have to marry in order for LaRynn to get her inheritance and pay for her half of the renovations.

Filled with crackling chemistry and more twists and turns than a drive down Highway 17, I love, love, LOVED their love story. You won't want to miss it.

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Tropes: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, second chance romance, marriage of convenience, touch her and die, secret softies

LaRynn and Deacon had a past as teens and Now they’re forced to work together, in fact they might have to do more.

When a marriage of convince seems the best way to help each other out, I think we all know where this is going.

The story is cute and fresh. I liked the characters and their journey.

Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Cute romance, good writing. Love the premise. I did hear this was a rewrite from the original publication. Curious as to what changed.

I received an advance reader copy (ARC) of *The Co-op* in exchange for my honest opinion. I found the beginning and end of the book to be incredible, but the middle section felt sluggish. It seemed that Dewitt got a bit bogged down while trying to address LaRynn and Deacon’s issues with their fathers and their reluctance to communicate in healthy ways. If they had resolved their mutual pain and past traumas sooner, I would have given this book a higher rating. Unfortunately, by the time they rebuilt their love for one another, it felt like it was too late.

I would also like to express my gratitude to St. Martin’s Press for providing the ARC.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars. I really wanted to like this one more than I ended up liking it. I felt like the beginning was a little slow for me and it took a while for me to get into this. I really ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I loved the flashbacks to their youth and when they were originally together and then showing how they were kind of enemies at the start of the book. I loved the enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience. I just wish we got a little more of the actual house renovations. I did enjoy the character growth and the way that both of them grew up and owned up to their past mistakes. The spicy scenes were good! But the pacing at the end felt a little too fast. I did like seeing the epilogue but felt like I could’ve lived without it.

Thank you so much SMP and Tarah DeWitt for the privilege to read this early. It's now one of my favorite reads of 2024 and one of my all time favorite Marriage of convenience stories ever. 🫶

It's been weeks and I still think about them daily. LaRynn and Deacon are so... special. Hurt, imperfect, snarky and so in love I cannot deal. I am obsessed with the way they are pining and obsessed with each other. 🫠🥹

Their story left me staring at the wall, thinking I'm ruined. Ruined for second chance romance, for marriage of convenience, real marriage, relationships, writing and everything in between. In the best way, obviously.

I don't know how the initial edition was and what was added on after the rewrite/republishing, but what I just read was a masterpiece. In feelings, tension, heartbreak, healing, realism, complex imperfect characters pining, spicing and all the delicious little things.

I don't know what Tarah put into this but I stayed up until 3 am reading and proceeded to walk all day in a daze, with some of those iconic lines playing on loop in my head.

As usual when I get so invested and in love with a story, I don't find the adequate words to review and describe it. Which is so aggravating because I want everyone to read it and feel what I felt.😭

I have over 120 highlights. 20 notes.Tell me SMP what do I do with those? Do you accept tears and incoherent ramblings and 2AM DMs as a review?Because that's all I have. (I did post some quotes on my bookstagram though).

I will leave you with Deacon and LaRynn's words for now, because the way they felt about each other pretty much portrays how I felt about this story. It's absolutely intense and real and maddening and how can it be super hot and spicy but ALSO slow burn (as in, nothing really happens until the 75-80ish% mark???)

Anyways. Thank you.

"I am a fcking wreck.
I feel undone.
I feel like I'm in a trance." (Deacon)

"You ruined me for everyone else." (LaRynn)

Yes. What they said.

So this is more than a story about two people meeting after a few years, years while they grew, changed, dealt with their own sets of obstacles and well, adulting, unresolved feels and hopelessness. It's more about getting into a marriage and renovated the house they ironically inherited together. It's more than fixing crumbling walls and walking on tip topes around each other or their feelings, their quips, pranks and spice. It's all the little things in between. It's where the story shined the most, in showing their true selves in realistic situations and loving with everything they got. 🫶

This was the second DeWitt book I have read and I was so hoping to like this one better than my first read. But I did not. The characters fell flat and the pacing of the story was just too slow for me.

I ate this book up!!! The amount that I real aged to both main characters was mind blowing. The growth both personally and as a couple that they both did was so well written. The amount of tropes all wrapped up into one book was something I was worried about, but they were all done so well and it didn’t feel excessive, just perfect. This is on my top 2024 list for sure! Right up there with Just for the Summer by Abby!

“They say love and construction don't mix.
By that logic, hate and construction may as well be condemned.”

I absolutely devoured this book in two sittings. It was that good. We’re at the point that if Tarah writes it, I will read it. This book had all my favorite tropes and I am living for them completely.

AND THE SLOW BURN. The best of the best,

I don’t know what else to say except that everyone needs to read this book immediately.

A very special thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!