I usually enjoy Tarah's books, but this one was challenging because it often felt like there were missing parts that should have connected the events more smoothly.

The Co-Op by Tarah Dewitt
Standalone Romance Novel
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars

This is such a fun marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and a second-chance romance! LaRynn and Deacon met when they were kids after their Grandmothers fell in love and would spend time together at their house, which eventually led to a summer fling that ended in disaster. Then 8 years later are thrown back together after their grandmothers both pass and leave them their condo, the only issue is it is in disarray and needs so much work. LaRynn is desperate and broke with no other place to go, so she goes back to the small coastal town to sell her Grandmother's condo, the only issue is she is co-owner with Deacon and doesn't know how much work is needed. Deacon is frustrated and angry with LaRynn for staying away so long and then not answering his calls when he needed her to get this condo fixed. So when they are stuck together to figure out this project and how to get along, it ends up being a banter-filled entertaining read! I loved the slow burn between them and the sexual tension from the start! This book was such a fun and easy read. The small-town aspect was also heartwarming and made this book so much better with all the fun side characters! I also enjoyed the flashbacks and learning their history. This is such a fun romance read and would definitely recommend it to romance readers.

“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”.

2 exes who had a summer fling years ago are forced to reconnect when their grandmothers leave them a house along the beach front that needs A LOT of work.

Of course, each of them have refused to admit how much that “fling” all those years ago meant to them. But instead of either showing any vulnerabilities, the gloves are off and they are fighting and bickering with each other every single interaction. The phrase “hurt people hurt people” comes instantly to mind with LaRynn and Deacon.

Here is the thing, this story is actually beautiful. The struggles that the characters face are very real. LaRynn’s struggles with her parents hit particularly close to home. The grief that both of them have for their grands was palpable and raw.

But the first 70% of the book is them fighting, with very little successful communication, or even attempts at civility. This is a second chance romance, but in order to fund their house project there is a marriage of connivence at play as well so LaRynn can get access to her trust fund. I absolutely eat up that trope, but it didn’t end up really influencing much of the plot besides a few scattered “my wife” comments.

The last 30% of the book really does shine, but at that point it lost much of it’s impact for me because the bickering and fighting didn’t result in the butterflies I chase when I read my romance. It felt like they went from such disdain, to none in the blink of an eye, and I just could not get back into the story as much as I wanted to at that point.

However, I will be trying more books by this author, because if I can get a story where they don’t hate each other for almost 3/4 of the book, I think I could really love it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this title! It came out Tuesday and is available now!

I was pleasantly surprised by this rom-com! The story didn't initially sell me, but the BANTER.  Exactly what I love.  Forced proximity is one of my favorite tropes, and DeWitt did a stunning job making the interactions seem realistic.  My only cons were the time gaps and the epilogue.  Sometimes it felt like it would skip weeks at a time and I think it would have been better to just shorten the timeline and up the banter and will-they-or-won't they tease moments.  The epilogue was more than cringey and unnecessary.  I guess some readers like the family HEA? Not me, but everyone already knows I hate a pregnancy trope.  Still very much a DeWitt fan! Keeping her backlist on my TBR ❤️

Thank you NetGalley, DeWitt, and St. Martin's for an advanced copy I'm exchange for an honest review!

tarah dewitt’s books never fail to bring a smile to my face and make my heart so full by the end.

larynn and deacon are perfectly imperfect people who had to work through their past to get the happy ending they deserve. to fully renovate the house they inherited from their grandmas, they got married to access the funds needed. through this process, they had to work everything backward, learning how to communicate and trust one another, ultimately falling back in love and loving each other's messes.

it was so fun reading about their house renovation scenes, seeing them banter and bicker over home decor, while pulling pranks on each other. there were many laugh out loud moments. i love the past chapters, getting to see how they met through their grandmas and be their fun, reckless teen selves sneaking around. it gave a backstory to how everything all started and made them revisit their past to fix what was broken.

the way deacon loves larynn is everything! he makes her feel seen and mattered. the epilogue was my favorite. it was heartwarming to see larynn have the love she never experienced growing up. it's so healing for her to start a family with deacon, who all look at her like she is their entire world. the scene of them putting music on in the house and dancing in the kitchen? that's the kind of love i dream of

"i'd find you...and i don't think there’s a version of you i couldn't love."

tropes: second chance romance, marriage of convenience, dislike to love, forced proximity, beach town, pranks

thank you netgalley and smp for the arc

I enjoyed this book. It had characters that I felt connected well with. I like the second chance storyline and was really into how they were going to work things out.
The house renovation was interesting, and I liked how it was handled.
This book will have the attention of many readers. For me it is a book that I will not think about for too long after I have now finished reading.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy of The CO-OP.
This is my personal review.

This was a second chance, enemies to lovers, and marriage of convenience all in one. My top favorite tropes all in one book. So did I enjoy every second of it?! The answer is yes, I definitely did!!! The banter in this book was hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions. Such a fun read.

I enjoyed this book and liked the fact that the book would go from present day to back when they were teenagers. I was confused at first by the fact that their grandmothers were married but realized that they weren’t related. The book was well put together and had some moments that made me laugh and others were I thought awww that’s sweet.

ahhh!! Tarah added so much to this story and made me love it even more. I'm so happy we got more context to Deacon and LaRynn's past, it added so much more to the story and their rekindling.

I love a marriage of convenience so much, but add in all the angst and old feelings from their previous relationship that ended in heartbreak?!? Truly, fantastic banter, tension you could cut with a knife and a second chance romance that has you rooting for these two to get it right this second time around.

I was really looking forward to this read. I’m afraid I hyped it up a bit too much and it ended up falling a tad flat. Don’t get me wrong this story definitely had its good moments. And I adored the last 30% of the book. But both main characters had moments when they were insufferable. Their consistent lack of communication throughout the first half was infuriating.

This was my first Tarah Dewitt book and the fact that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hope was disappointing but I won’t let it hold me back from trying her again. Sometimes you just have some duds. Such is life.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the e-ARC of The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt.

Such a fun second-chance romance! LaRynn and Deacon are part second chance, part enemies-to-lovers. When they inherit a dilapidated beachside condo from their grandmothers, they must get married in order to access LaRynn’s trust fund to renovate and flip the property. Renovating a home with your teenage fling turned husband—what could possibly go wrong?

DeWitt skillfully weaves several popular romance tropes—second chance, marriage of convenience, a bit of enemies-to-lovers—and makes you root for these characters to be together without it feeling overly formulaic. Though the book shifts between timelines, I found it easy to follow.

I really enjoyed this book. It offers a unique spin on contemporary romance, and I found myself emotionally moved several times, especially by LaRynn’s backstory.

Tarah Dewitt knows how to write cute romantic comedies; that’s for sure! I think the premise of two people coming together after their grandmothers left them a house is absolutely brilliant. I think some of the tension and slow burn was very well done in this book. If you love angst and witty come backs, I highly recommend picking this one up!

Where this one a fell a little bit for me was the immaturity that screamed off the pages of this one from the main characters. It was pretty constant stupid arguments and outrageous blow ups over more childish things. Instead of coming off as more lovers to enemies to lovers, it was too much immature ways of handling conflict and problems.

Super cute read, but fell a little flat for me!

Thank you for the advanced copy!

LaRynn and Deacon have a second chance at romance, but they will have to work together to renovate a home that meant so much to both of them. They will have to put their past hurts aside to live and work together, but will they be able to?

They get into a marriage of convenience, and when they spend time together, old feelings start to come back. It's a slow burn romance, but then, it gets spicy! Wow, was this a spicy book!

I loved the dual timeline because it was great to see what happened to them in the past as well as the present. The story is also dual POV, and I loved being in the mind of both characters.

LaRynn and Deacon's story kept my attention the whole time, and I just wanted to root for them so much. Their chemistry was off the charts, and their HEA was so amazing to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book.

TARAHHHHHHHH! MA’AM how did you make me fall in love with LaRynn and Deacon even more than the first time?!?! Y’all know I absolutely love a second chance, dual timeline, dual POV book and THIS DELIVERED 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 the banter, the tension, the pain, the hurt, and the character growth where phenomenal!

DNF - I DNF’d this book at the 43% mark. I really tried to stick it out, but I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t mind the FMC but I absolutely loathed Deacon. So many people love this book. What am I missing????

I am obsessed with these two. The banter is top tier and and I love a marriage of convenience. I wish we got a sequel with these two because I need more. The pace was perfect for this book.

Such a fabulous ride. LaRynn and Deacon have already been through so much as this story begins and it continues to escalate as they are faced with a home reconstruction project with no end in sight. This story is pure chaos, which is so fitting because any home repair project has similar ups and downs. LaRynn has (life) mess that she needs to handle and seeing Deacon again presents her with so many memories interwoven with her mess. Deacon is an adorable hero, their banter and fighting worked so well. I really enjoyed watching them grow and rebuild together. Lots of spiciness as well, which was great! Would recommend this and all of DeWitt's books, she's a go-to for me!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC (for the re-release).

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how we got to better understand LaRynn throughout the book and she her grow. I really liked reading and seeing Deacon and LaRynn’s relationship change and flourish.

The FMC was annoying at times.
It took me a while to start this because of all the emotional drama she brought.

The writing was a bit confusing too, when we were flashing back to years ago vs now.

The story, or idea of was sweet, but I don't felt it played out as well as I'd hoped.

Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice🌶️🌶️🫑
Tropes
🔨 Enemies to lovers
🏡 Marriage of convenience
🔨 Second Chance-ish
🏡 Duel POV & timeline
🔨 Forced proximity
🏡 Summer fling
🔨 Black cat fmc / golden retriever mmc

This was ADORABLE. Good god im such a sucker for a second chance. I loved this book from the get go! The characters were great and their development was so so so good!! I really felt connected to LaRynn. She was so misunderstood and Deacon was so important to her healing! So good!! I can’t wait for more from Tara!