I've finally discovered @authortarahdewitt and it kills me that I am so late to the party. This book is so fun, full of banter, heartbreak and so much else I cannot have many words to express the range of emotions I felt while reading.

This is the story of LaRynn and Deacon, who meet as teenagers when their grandmothers get married, they have a fling one summer but something goes wrong, they get lost in a sea of misunderstanding and fear of showing their true emotions, and they end up not seeing each other again for seven years when everything inevitably goes bad.

When their grandmothers died, they both inherit their house and LaRynn and Deacon have to meet again to decide what to do with it.

Needless to say this is a second chance novel that, as I said, will fill you with banter, spice and fear of showing your true feelings to the person who hurt you seven years before. It's a journey to discover you can count on other people, not just yourself, and that if you open your heart even a little bit, the love you get in return will overcome the fear of being hurt.

These two have the most beautiful souls you can find in book characters and I am so happy I discovered Tara DeWitt's books thanks to The Co-op. And that epiloge was so good and heartwarming, I fell in love with this two a little but more.

As always, thank you @netgalley for the opportunit to read this eARC, all opinions and swooning are my own

#arc #arcreader #arcreviewer #arcreview #thecoop #tarahdewitt #netgalley #netgalley2024 #goodreadschallenge #romance #romancenovel #spicy #slowburn #onebedtrope #arrangedmarriage #secondchance #smalltownromance #newadult #doublepov

This story follows LaRynn and Deacon, old flames that had a falling out many years ago. Their grandmas were married, and both passed away in recent years. Their oceanside house in Santa Cruz is in disrepair, and Deacon demands LaRynn come back to Santa Cruz to chip in and do her part, as it was left to both of them.
Tensions run high between the two immediately and tempers flare. Both holding a grudge against the other for what happened when they were young. Deacon is disappointed to find out that LaRynn is not in fact loaded as he assumed. LaRynn does have a trust fund, but her dad put a stipulation in place to keep her from accessing it: she must get married. Deacon offers to temporarily marry her in order to get this project over and done with, so they can sell the home for an obnoxious amount of money and move on with their (separate) lives.
As the demolition and renovation project gets underway, the two of them must stay in the house together, with no walls or doors. They fight, they bicker, they steal glances, they each secretly long for the other. They eventually work their way to being friends and partners. But when they eventually dive into their past, can they forgive and move on? Can they go back to being more?
I really loved Deacon (as an adult). He was so handy and giving to all those around him. LaRynn's continued attitude from teenager into adulthood was irksome, but it gets worked out eventually.
All in all, this was a great second chance love story.
5⭐2🌶️

I read an advanced copy of this book and these are my honest opinions. Thank you to Netgalley, St Martin's Press, and author Tarah Dewitt!

I really wanted to love this book, because the marriage of convenience trope is one of my favorite tropes but this one unfortunately fell flat for me. I found I didn't connect to either of the MCs, and they had no chemistry? Borderline unlikeable. I skimmed the last 10% of the book just to get it over with. The second chance romance trope is a hard one to get me to love, and in this case it didn't work for me. Their "breakup" is based on a miscommunication that could've been solved with a conversation.

Thank you to St-Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

The angst in this book...wow!! I devoured this book in one day, couldn't put it down! This forced proximity/marriage book had me in all the feels! I was laughing, I was crying and I was melting!
LaRynn and Deacon have inherited a beach house together and the up and downs on the renovations, had me hooked!
I highly recommend you read this book ASAP!

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

After reading Savor It, I was so excited to pick up another book by Tarah DeWitt. This book did not disappoint. If I'm being specific, this is probably a 3.5 star book. I really liked the couple in this one. I liked that they had very clear and strong lines of communication between each other. I enjoyed the overall story. I think my one complaint is that the characters are quite young in this one. I wish they were aged up a little bit considering this book gets pretty steamy, and for me it just felt a little awkward reading about people so young (because I am not that young). The author does provide a content warning page at the beginning which I appreciated. Overall, I had a good time with this one and definitely recommend it.

“I don’t care where we end up or what we do as long as I have you.”
~~~~
This was a great quick palette cleaner and I loved this story! Absolutely enjoyed this book, especially the plot and the banter! The characters were a blast as well!
Would absolutely recommend and reread this again! Thank you NetGalley and Tarah DeWitt for approving me for this title!

Messy, imperfect and emotional 🥹 There’s just something about a real life love story that just brings me to tears. Plus the 🌶️🌶️ spice was just right 😉 Really loved the parallel story of building, restoring construction project and the work it also takes in a relationship — it’s not shared enough!

🔨 grumpy fmc working at a cafe
🌊 sunny handyman mmc
🔨 so much pining and tension
🌊 marriage of convenience
🔨 forced proximity
🌊 second chance
🔨 “my wife”
🌊 dancing in the kitchen

★★★★★♾️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

This book is so seriously, stunningly gorgeous, it’s insane. I have had the hardest time trying to put my love for this one into words, and it’s taken a few weeks for me to finally pen my review.

I’m SUCH a sucker for stories about beautiful, sad, imperfect, sometimes quite sh*tty, h*rny, real people, and gosh The Co-op is a shining example of this weirdly specific category.

LaRynn and Deacon are far from perfect and have hurt each other deeply. But by the hands of fate—or their sweet departed grandmothers—they are back in the same orbit, dancing around one another while attempting to ignore the confusing swirl of Big Feelings™️. Because while they haven’t seen each other in years, they both still love and hate the other. The question is, can they rebuild what they once had? And will they survive renovating their shared townhouse as they attempt to figure that out?

You need this phenomenal book in your life. Read it, cry, highlight basically every single line, cry some more, probably. I don’t know, that might just be me.

This book means so much to me and will forever have a little piece of my heart. Tarah writes with a rhythmic grace, and every line is so poignant, lyrical, and tender. I wish I could carve her words onto my soul—but a tattoo might have to suffice.

5 stars!

Oh I loved this book. I've loved the others I have read by this author but this might be my favorite. I loved the dual timeline and dual POV. I loved seeing how they both grew from their first attempt at a relationship to now. And I loved how clearly the two cared for each other throughout but their own baggage confused things. Sure, if they just had a real conversation when they were younger, things probably would have happened differently but they were YOUNG. And both of their feelings made sense given their childhood. LaRynn (honestly I love a boyish nickname for a girl, I'd go by Larry), sure she was a tad unlikeable but I LOVE HER, my codependent girlie. And even when he was being an ass, Deacon was never cruel and still did very sweet things. Did I say I loved this?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I tried reading one of her books before, and I struggled with her writing style. This one was much better! I enjoyed the characters and witty dialogue!

Definitely the most unique reading experience I've ever had. It's been nearly two years since I picked up the original indie edition of this book, which was my first by DeWitt, and fell in love with LaRynn and Deacon through their interesting and complicated journey back to each other. I was overjoyed to discover that upon being picked up by a traditional publisher, DeWitt had renovated the tale complete with expanded scenes and bonus content, so it was fascinating to go into this with the story I knew already in my brain but with changes made as well as new content to discover. These modifications and additions elevate an already great story, akin to enhancing a pretty diamond ring with a polish and extra gems to make it more beautiful. While flashbacks were sparse and not entirely necessary in the previous version, the added portions from the past do such a wonderful job of filling in details I didn't realize I was craving and shedding light on everything that happened during the fateful summer when LaRynn and Deacon had a fling that turned into more but it all went wrong, and they nicely contrast with the tense marriage of convenience situation for access to money to fix up their shared inherited property. There is a new spicy scene late in the book that keeps readers from getting too antsy about forward progress with this pairing in present day and also eases the massive amount of sexual tension so an important conversation can finally occur. My biggest quibble the first time around was that there wasn't enough of the secondary characters, and even this has been tweaked in a positive way without taking anything away from LaRynn and Deacon. What a pleasure it was to experience this couple's tale all over again with further dimension, and they'll forever hold a special place in my heart.

LaRynn and Deacon used to date back when they were eighteen, and the relationship ended in heartbreak. Many years later, they both inherited their grandparent’s house and are now forced to see each other again in this house that needs major renovations. This book is a slow burn and includes second chance romance and marriage for convenience (to access a trust fund for home repairs).

I loved the idea of the book, but honestly, it was sooo slow and boring. I easily learned this author writes in a style I do not enjoy and was way too descriptive (about the most unnecessary subjects) for my liking. This book showed the perspective of both LaRynn and Deacon and was told from a past and present timeline (but never fully explained what happened in the past). I was actually enjoying the ending quite a bit, but it seemed too rushed for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

LaRynn and Deacon had a short summer fling at 19 that went up in spectacular flames. Now 8 years later, they have inherited a house together that needs major improvements. Deacon can handle the renovations, but they’ll need access to LaRynn’s trust fund for the cash. Problem one? LaRynn must be married to get her money. Problem two? They can’t stand each other. Problem three? They’re forced to live together in a construction zone where the only walls separating them are the emotional ones they’ve erected and reinforced year after year. Can they learn to work together or will their investment flop?

I thought The Co-op was going to be right up my alley. Second chance romance, marriage of convenience meets home renovation forced proximity? Check check double check! The reality was it was so heavy on the miscommunication and light on the renovation details that I had a very hard time enjoying most of the book. LaRynn is so angry (rightfully so) that she’s downright evil towards Deacon (inexcusable). The last 25% of the book managed to bring me around a little bit (no third act break up will do that for me) but ultimately I can only recommend The Co-op if you enjoy stories where hurt people hurt people and then magically they end up with a happily ever after.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. #TheCo-op #NetGalley #BookReview

First, I love Tarah DeWitt; I would read anything like her! The rivals to lovers with forced proximity was too good! The tension between the 2 main characters had me kicking my feet the entire time. While this wasn't my favorite book of hers, this is a second-chance romance about two people who have a teenage fling. It really did something for me! Then their romance was rekindled; I flew through the book!

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress , and @authortarahdewitt for the advanced readers copy.
#thecoop #stmartinspress #netgalley #arcreader #advancesreadercopy

4⭐️s Enemies to lovers with forced proximity and a deal to work together. That called for a fun read. Coming November 12th.

LaRynn and Deacon can’t let go of that one summer fling and how it ended. When their grandmothers leave them the dilapidated Santa Cruz building, they have no choice but to work together. LaRynn has the money and Deacon has the construction experience. Oh, and they had to get married. In order to for LaRynn to get the money to fix everything, she has to marry. They agree to this bargain in order to fix everything. Now they will have to work together and confront past demons. As they literally build walls, can they build a good foundation for their fake marriage to turn real?

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress , and @authortarahdewitt for the advanced readers copy.
#thecoop #stmartinspress #netgalley #arcreader #advancesreadercopy

If Tarah DeWitt writes it, I’m going to read it. I liked this book, but I have to admit it was not my favorite of hers. There was nothing wrong with this book, but there is nothing that really stood out for me. I went in expecting more. I din’t love the FMC so that could have been the reason the book didn’t do it for me. I will continue to read DeWitt, but this one just missed the mark.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

I've tried one book by Tarah Dewitt before, and I didn't like it very much. Now I've read this one, and I didn't like it very much either. This definitely had a different vibe than the last one I read, and I can't explain why—it just felt different.
The beginning was a bit rough and, judging on the first 20%, I was not looking forward to the rest. As the romance progressed, I found myself enjoying it a lot more. This is a second-chance romance about two people who shared a summer fling when they were teenagers that ended with the heroine hurt. When their romance is rekindled, I flew through the book because I felt they were the driving force in the plot.
I still didn't love the book by any means. I don't think Tarah Dewitt's writing is for me based on how I felt about the two books I've read from her. Life is too short to read books you just feel meh about.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advanced arc of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is my first Tarah DeWitt book - and I was so excited to get approved for it. I've heard nothing but good things about her writing, so this was my opportunity to get a sneak peek at her new book. Unfortunately, I think I may have hyped her up too much in my head because this book wasn't it for me.

I wasn't a fan of either of the MC's - I thought they both acted EXTREMELY immature. While they both have reasons to feel the way they feel, they're not children anymore, and it's time to stop blaming Mommy/Daddy/your childhood for your current behaviors. It's time to be grown ups, have tough conversations, and maybe seek some therapy - both individual, as a couple, and LaRynn with her mom.

There were definitely parts of the book that made me happy inside which is the only reason this book isn't getting a lower rating. I'm not a fan of dual timelines, so there's that. Just wasn't the writing I was looking for, but I'm definitely not writing this author off yet. I've still got Funny Feelings to read, and I'm excited for that.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Tarah DeWitt for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I LOVED this book! Deacon and LaRynne are everything. This book was so well written and truly took you on the best maturing and growth journey with both characters, and illustrated so well that communication and swallowing pride is so essential to have mature, solid relationships. I will definitely be recommending this book!

Absolute Excellence from this author. So many layers for the characters in this story. You get to see them grow and overcome their demons. Hilarious and heart wrenching moments abound. Slow burn, Steamy, HEA and everyone wins in the end. I absolutely loved this novel. 5 stars!