I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book felt like it was about two teenagers instead of two adults. How one can hold a grudge that long is insane to me. 2.5 stars

✔ Marriage of convenience
✔ Forced Proximity
✔ Second Chance

Two people you can't see together but in the end are perfectly matched. I struggled to find a reason they should be together but alas...they were able to resolve the issues they had and find a happy ever after.

While this story didn't do it for me I'm confident there will be readers who devour this.

The angst!!!

I loved this book. A second chance romance (paired here with a marriage of convenience!!) is really one of my favorites because you have the history of the couple that makes it more realistic for them to find each other again and aren't dealing with the insta-love you get in a lot of romances.

The dual timeline with little glimpses into the grans' lives and LaRynn and Deacon's teenage love was what made it so easy to understand the pull they had toward each other so many years later.

I really enjoyed this book! I enjoyed the back and forth banter from the characters. Their marriage was anything but convenient and they had their fair share of disagreements, but I liked how much they grew with each other and learned how to really understand and finally love one another, which is exactly what I think their grandmothers knew and had hoped for all those years before. The development with the characters was really good. It kept me wanting to read more.

I am a big fan of Tarah's books, but this one missed the five-star mark for me. Why? I found the character progression very repetitive and slow-moving. I was expecting a whole lot of spice, a lot earlier on, so I was a bit disappointed that we had to wait so long for our MCs to realize they should get together! I also found the dual narrative a bit off as we spent so much more time in the present vs. the past. I understand why the decision was made to do that, but it felt like we were missing something. That said, I still enjoyed it and am rating it 4 stars! Tarah is an author I'll always read!

I loved the indie version of this and am so glad I’ve now read the trad pub version!
Enemies to lovers, second chance, marriage of convenience -> need I say more?!
LaRynn and Declan had a teenage summer fling that ended pretty badly, and they haven't seen or spoken in years. Both of their grandmothers have passed away and left them *both* their house. In an effort to renovate and sell the place, and go back to their separate lives (but with more money than they had before), they agree to marry so LaRynn can use her trust fund money.
Living in the same construction zone proves to be disastrous, at least for a while, but these two eventually figure out how to talk to one another, and once they do, everything changes! I really did love seeing LaRynn and Declan both individually and together face their insecurities, doubts, anger, and unforgiveness. They both hurt each other, but they both could help heal each other too! Another 5 star read from Tarah! I will read everything she writes!

I loved this book- really anything by Tarah DeWitt. The lovers to enemies to lovers trope was great. There was so much chemistry between the two main characters. I definitely cried at the end.

Tarah does it again! This book is so good. If you’re looking for a sexy “enemies” to lovers but also super sweet and romantic at the same time- this is for you!

Will hook you and keep you interested from the beginning!

3.25⭐️ Some cute moments for sure, but how was there so much communication yet so much MIScommunication 😭 Had me banging my head against the wall, for real. Also, the FMC kinda really annoyed me, but it did get a bit better near the end.

Heavy on the slow burn, the tension was THERE in this book for sure. Chapters were a good length to fly through (in my opinion) which I liked, and the writing style was easy to read and follow!

This was my first read by this author, definitely willing to give another book a try!

—

Overall Ratings ↴
Star: 3.25⭐️/5
Spice: 1.5🌶️/5
Emotion: 1-1.5💧

Tropes ↴
🧡 Marriage of Convenience
💗 Second Chance (kind of)
🧡 Summer Vibes
💗 Forced Proximity
🧡 Dual Timeline
💗 Witty Banter
🧡 Slow Burn
💗 Lots of Tension
🧡 “My Wife” Moment(s)

3.75 rounded up!

I enjoyed this one a lot. There was a lot of drama with Deacon and LaRynn throughout this book which kept you hooked but it did start to get redundant. I think I’m just a huge supporter of communication that sometimes I just want to shake characters when they don’t just have a conversation 🤣 however, I know it’s easier said than done. I found the dynamic of this to be a little odd because they are related by marriage in a sense. I KNOW THAT DOESN’T MEAN THERE IS ANY BLOOD RELATION BUT ITS STILL ODD TO ME I DONT KNOW WHY 😅🙈 I really liked how this wrapped up and a lot of the characters in this one I loved. 🥹

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of the CO-OP. I

Did not enjoy this one sadly :( It was a well written book and had a good plot, but it wasn’t for me sadly

I’m not a huge romance reader, but I am such a sucker for a good RomCom, and The Co-Op was such a fun read. The main characters were relatable, fun and kept the story fresh. There was some light spice but a whole lot of feel good moments and some silly bits too.

Old flames to enemies and back to lovers made for an interesting read.

A cute, fun, marriage of convenience! Took me a minute to get in invested in the characters. LaRynn’s character fell a tiny bit flat for me, but the second half of the book made up for it!

I feel exhausted by this book. I had such high hopes given I loved loved loved Funny Feelings and I love the way Tarah Dewitt writes. But I felt so disappointed by how disjointed these characters felt, which is ironic given I read the version that is supposed to have been rewritten and will be rereleased. The book reads like a book that’s gotten chopped up and put back together. So as a result, the characters and their stories felt disparate. And it just felt like absolutely nothing was happening for most of it.

Deacon and LaRynn’s story (both past and present) is largely one of miscommunication. But then they pine after each other for most of the book but honestly I’m not even sure why they liked each other.

It isn’t until their confrontation at 70%(!!!!) of the way through the book that things start to click. All of a sudden, their motivations are crystal clear and suddenly well explained? I’m not buying it.

And by 70%, I was so frustrated and so exhausted by these characters that the rest of their relationship felt inauthentic. Like I was too tired to care. Which is such a disappointment because the last 30% of the book is lovely. A wonderful treatise on a relationship that has been broken and been healed and a story of processing old grief. It’s this part that got me back to the rating that I gave it.

LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds were once summer crushes as teenagers, but now they’ve inherited an old, run-down building from their grandmothers. To fix it up and sell it, they agree to a fake marriage—LaRynn needs to be married to access her trust fund, and Deacon has the skills to renovate but not the money. As they work and live together, old feelings and past arguments start bubbling up. While rebuilding the house, they also begin to rebuild their relationship, realizing that maybe their fake marriage isn’t so fake after all.

This one was sweet, cute, and kept me engaged and hoping for a happily ever after!

The Co-Op is already available so I highly recommend checking it out!

Thank you NetGalley, Tarah DeWitt, and St.Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for honest feedback. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was good, but the slow burn was a little too slow. There was also the miscommunication trope and I didn't find the FMC very likeable.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love 👏🏻 love 👏🏻 love 👏🏻

@authortarahdewitt is quickly becoming an auto read for me! And I am slowly (but surely) making my way through her books! I was obsessed with this one as soon as I started reading!!!

LaRynn was amazing! I loved her passion once she got an idea, & her drive. She felt relatable in so many ways, & I really liked getting to know why she was the way she was. And Deacon was the peanut butter to her jelly! He was patient, gentle, & so so helpful. I loved their chemistry, & how their past & present was woven so beautifully together 💕

The writing, the characters, the town! Everything was exactly what it needed to be & I couldn’t get enough. And their grands 🥰 I absolutely loved all of their interactions with them. They gave the best advice, & Sal was there to add a laugh!

I definitely recommend this if you haven’t read it already 💕💕💕

What to expect:
✨home reno setting
✨forced proximity
✨second chance
✨marriage of convenience
✨grumpy/sunshine
✨great banter

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress for the early copy!

Forced Proximity
Summer fling
Marriage of convenience
Tiny bit of second chance romance
Dual POV

The Co-Op is peak marriage of convenience and sealed my love for all things Tarah DeWitt writes or will write in the future. I loved everything about this story. I found myself flipping pages faster and faster as the story progressed. Declan and LyRynn are romcom couple goals once they get their communication worked out.

Be my wife. Stay my wife. FOREVER. *swoooooooooon*

I really enjoyed this book but the only thing I didn't love was the amount of miscommunication! I really don't like this trope and unfortunately this book has a lot of it. But I did love the characters, the plot, and the setting! It was a nice pallet cleaner between fantasy books that are making me crazy!

I absolutely love Tarah Dewitt, but for whatever reason, this story fell short for me. I’m sad to say I was just a bit bored and it felt kind of bland for a romance… it has SO much potential though. The marriage of convenience trope and second chance trope would be so fun in theory, but again, just fell short and felt a little half-assed.