When they were teenagers, LaRynn and Deacon had a summer romance. The summers were spent with their married grandmothers, CeCe and Helena. In their wills, CeCe and Helena bequeathed their house to LaRynn and Deacon. The house is currently deteriorating and needs to be significantly improved in order to sell. Despite being a contractor, Deacon does not have the funds to make the necessary repairs. LaRynn cannot access the money until she gets married, although it is in a trust. Convenience leads them into a marriage, but soon they discover that their old feelings are returning.

Tropes:
- second chance romance
- close proximity
- marriage of convenience
- flashbacks
- “my wife”
- home renovations
- no third act breakup
- dual POV

The story was cute. However, at times, particularly during the romance, the pacing was a little slow. Additionally, there is a lack of communication between the two MCs, which at times was very frustrating. I also had a hard time making any personal connections to the story. If any of these tropes are something you connect with, you may enjoy this one!

I absolutely loved this!! This is my first book from this author and I really enjoyed the writing style! I will definitely be reading more of her books!! Deacon and LaRynn were easy to love as main characters but I also loved watching them fall in love. This also had some of my favorite tropes, marriage of convenience and 2nd chance romance. I loved that it has both dual POV but also past and present timelines!! I think this is a must read to add to your tbr!!

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt
Romance
4 star

The TENSION in this one! (and spice!)

LaRynn and Deacon have a history from a summer spent together with their grandmothers, who become partners and end up leaving their large home to both LaRynn and Deacon. The problem: LaRynn and Deacon are no longer together nor are they speaking.

This book is dual POV and dual timeline, and I felt like the "before" chapters really added to the angst and tension that is also happening in the present. I also really loved the side characters: Sally the stand-in Auntie to both Deacon and LaRynn as well as LaRynn's best friend Elyse and her boyfriend Jensen...(psst Tarah: I would definitely read their story, if you happen to write one :-)).

I took one star away simply because I have a love-hate relationship with miscommunication trope between adults (made sense when they were teenagers, but come onnnn with it when you're adults and seemingly dealing with such big, grown up issues).

One of my favorite reading experiences is diving in a world that Tarah DeWitt creates. The characters, the setting, the conflict, and the relationships are always so resonant and familiar enough to feel lived in, while still providing me a unique and captivating reading experience.

I read THE CO-OP when it was self-published, and while it's not my favorite of Tarah's, it's still a beautiful, rewarding story with emotional heft and high heat. Deacon and LaRynn are complex, well-rounded characters, and I love watching them -- and in parallel, their house -- go through a journey of rebuilding. It's touching and sexy and funny, and Tarah manages the marriage of those qualities so well.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. THE CO-OP is out 11/12/24!

LaRynn and Deacon had a summer fling as teens that left them both heartbroken and now they’re stuck as co-owners of their late grandmothers’ home. In order to have enough money to fix it up to sell, they need access to LaRynn’s trust fund. They enter into a marriage of convenience to do that, all while angrily bickering with each other. But they really just still have a simmering attraction for each other and are resentful of how things turned out when they were younger. They each have to improve their communication skills and trust in each other. Super angsty and emotional with lots of sexual tension.

Tarah never misses! Her books are just so enjoyable and The Co-op was that and more! She has you hooked to these characters and their story instantly. The dual timeline keeps you reading so you can find out how LaRynn and Deacon fall in love.

From the moment you meet them you know they are flawed imperfect people. It makes them feel so relatable and fun to read. You see LaRynn and Deacon start out constantly having miscommunications with each other but they learn to be honest and it feels like a real portrayal of relationships.

This was such a beautiful, hilarious story of two people who both experience poor examples of love that end up learning how to love each other in spite of that. Tarah has such a masterful way of writing such fun intimate stories that leave you feeling good!

"a marriage under construction", as said on the front of the book...
This book was off to an interesting start. These two, who seem to represent the "enemies to lovers trope"- and once upon a time had a teenage fling- get married in order to split the earnings of the house they were left from their grandmothers.
I guess I didn't understand why they needed to be married to split their earnings from this house their fixing up. I must have missed why that was. Im glad there was no third act breakup. But this book wasn't anything to write home about, didn't really blow me away by any means.

Tarah DeWitt is growing on my list of favorites and this book is a big reason why. I absolutely loved it!! Marriage of convenience & forced proximity are two of my favorite tropes. The forced proximity gives us so much tension!!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC. I enjoyed the book overall as a whole. The start started strong then I got sort of lost in the middle and I really enjoyed the ending. LaRynn and Deacon inherited a property and must work together and rebuild it and decide what to do with it.But of course there is history that makes it complicated and makes this story a easy read.

This book has second chance, marriage of convenience, miscommunication, flawed characters, family dysfunction, and some much deserved spice. It was slow to start but I’m glad I didn’t give up because it was worth it in the end. LaRynn is a complex character that was written well. I didn’t connect as much to Deacon but he was a great match for her. Full of laughs, The Co-Op also dives into much deeper topics as the characters evolve. I’m a sucker for a “ten years later” epilogue!

4.5 stars from me! I loved the first e-ARC I was granted by this author and this new one is no exception. I am a sucker for childhood friends to adult lovers tropes so this book immediately reeled me in. I loved the switching between past and present and all of the heartfelt connections in this book. As always, Tarah DeWitt painted a dreamy scenery that I could picture the whole time. I did find myself feeling frustrated with the main characters at times, which is why I’m giving it 4.5 stars. I look forward to reading more from this author!

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is another absolutely delightful story!
The main characters were easy to fall in love with.
Deacon and LaRynn were just so perfect together!
This is the best romance I’ve read in such a long time.
The writing was engaging and sucked me in immediately. I finished it in one sitting.
A steamy second chance romance that I absolutely loved!
My second novel written by DeWitt and I’m officially obsessed with her!

I didn’t know what to expect getting into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised! The banter, the tension and the story were incredible, so much that I couldn’t stop reading (I literally devoured it in a day).
The second-chance plot was so well executed and I loved how the relationship between LaRynn and Deacon evolved from lovers to enemies to friends to lovers again. They were so funny and reading this book was just pure delight!

this book was so beautiful! amazing tension, banter, and romance. the slow burn was so satisfying. I loved the dual timeline and dual POV. I experienced so many different emotions while I read this. I laughed and I cried and the epilogue nearly killed me it was so sweet. I love the author’s writing style and humor, but I did notice a few typos.

I read the OG Co-op and I remember enjoying but.....not THIS much! I don't know what it was but the changes DeWitt made were obviously great because I LOVED it this time around!
The timelines were a bit more jumpy this time but I liked having that background. It gave the MCs' relationship more depth and just helped me understand them more, especially Deacon.
I remember thinking he was as ass the first time around but I honestly felt for him in this second read. He and LaRynn had some misunderstandings and once they started hashing it out things got better.
They worked well together, their marriage of convenience provided a good excuse to spend time together and it was beautiful and sexy and fun and deep.
Not only do we get more love scenes but we also get more of them simply talking and falling in love again with the people they were in the present. It was honestly beautiful and love version of the story SO much!
If you haven't read it yet, be sure to GO READ IT as soon as this updated version is out! 10/10 recommend 🤩

4⭐️
3🌶️

Well damn, I want me a Deacon 😍. This book was super cute! Loved seeing them work through the renovations while working through their relationship. Their banter is awesome and the chemistry?? Off the charts! Which is super necessary in a major slow burn like this one. This story was heartfelt and serious, but also silly and cute. Definitely recommend this one!

LaRynn and Deacon were brought together when their grandmother's fell in love. They purchased a house together that both grandkids spent many a summer visiting. What LaRynn and Deacon didn't plan on was their grandmothers leaving the house to them in their will. The house needs a great deal of work and the two have fallen out of touch following an emotional summer.

They soon find themselves tearing down more than just physical walls during this renovation.

This book is basically the exact opposite of miscommunication tropes and there is no third act breakup! I found myself smiling along with the story. A quick read!

Once I started this one I couldn't stop. Watching these characters come together in such a beautiful and well written story felt like watching a slow build of a my favorite comfort movie.

When I requested this book, I didn’t realize that it was a re-release. When I discovered that it was I became a little hesitant, but I’m so glad that I read it as it really was a delightful book. I’m giving it a solid four stars because it was enjoyable I liked the characters, as they had some realness to them which I really enjoyed even though it was very predictable. However, I really didn’t mind that it was.

I really enjoyed watching the relationship and romance evolve throughout the book. In the sense, it had a traumatic starting point when they were teenagers and then the forced proximity was a great tool to get them to evaluate and allow the relationship to unfold in a way that it wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. I also liked that the subplots had layers to them that all centered back on the main plot point. They didn’t just seem like random things just to flush out the book a little bit more they all were intentional and had a point serving the greater plot.

I am thankful to have gotten an eARC for free from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.
The book re-releases on November 12 so grab your copy today and if you read it in the past, give it another try because there is some new revised content in the book,
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

LaRynn and Deacon had summer fling when they were teens. Their grandmothers CeCe and Helena were married and they would visit in the summers. CeCe and Helena left their home to LaRynn and Deacon in their wills. The home is now in poor condition. To sell the house there must be major improvements. Deacon is a contractor but lacks the money to invest in the repairs. LaRynn has the money in a trust but is unable to access it until she gets married. They enter into a marriage of convenience but soon find old feeling coming to the surface.

I have read other Tarah DeWitt books that really knocked it out of the park. Unfortunately this one didn't quite get there for me. Neither of the main characters stood out or resonated with me. There was too much miscommunication going on. There were some really good elements. I was so happy that there was no third act breakup after they finally started to come together as a couple. I have really come to enjoy a slow burn romance so that was nice here. I loved the memories of the grandmothers. Their relationship sounded lovely, give me a prequel of their romance please!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.