After reading and enjoying Savor It earlier this year, I was looking forward to the Co-op by Tarah DeWitt, but it ended up just being okay for me. I didn’t feel the flashbacks were balanced which caused pacing issues, and I didn’t feel a connection to the characters. I loved the setting of Santa Cruz, it was described in a way that I could picture most of it perfectly.

This book had several themes I was sure I’d enjoy, but unfortunately, I only give it 2.5 stars and can't say I enjoyed reading it.

Why I was excited to read ‘The Co-Op’:
- DIY Reno Project
- Second Chance Romance
- Marriage of Convenience
- Enemies to Lovers
- Forced Proximity

‘The Co-Op’ is written in Dual POV with a Dual Timeline giving us scenes from when LaRynn and Deacon first fell in love as teenagers and present day. However, the chapters that flashback merely begin with “before” and have zero context into when before. It is very hard to follow and in addition, the characters sounded as immature and manipulative at 19 as they do in the present day – which got old.

I appreciate flawed characters who address their trauma and grow either independently or together. Instead, LaRynn and Deacon both floundered from their childhood wounds, neither of them maturing or growing to navigate a way forward. I was hopeful that in Chapter 5, Marriage of Convenience was introduced, and by Chapter 8, the flirty banter picked up, but it was short-lived.

Maybe this book was trying to do too much because through all the hate and game-playing the house renovation subplot completely fell away and stalled…

Thank you to NetGalley, Tarah DeWitt, and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars! I didn't love this book, but it was a pretty fun read. The FMC was a bit annoying at first, but she grew on me. Her and the MMC were cute together once they finally got together. The story dragged a bit after they got together, but I like Tarah Dewitt's writing style, and how she showed the history and chemistry the once had. The banter was good, but the constant miscommunication was so so frustrating.

Overall, it was a solid second chance romance, but nothing groundbreaking!

The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt is a freshly updated edition that includes expanded scenes and bonus content.

Tropes:
- Small coastal town
- Enemies to lovers
- Marriage of convenience
- Second chance
- Forced proximity

3 ⭐ | 2 🌶️

Initially, I found LaRynn and Deacon’s banter entertaining and genuinely funny. However, as the story unfolded, I became increasingly frustrated, particularly with LaRynn. Her parents were emotionally detached, opting to support her financially instead of being involved in her life, which left her feeling resentful and somewhat spoiled. Despite being dyslexic, her parents discouraged her from discussing it, perceiving it as a weakness. Her father had ambitions for her to become a lawyer, but when she chose a different path, she was left to navigate life on her own. The only place she truly felt accepted was with her grandmother in Santa Cruz, where she met Deacon one summer. He is the grandson of her grandmother’s wife. They weren’t close until just before she headed to college, when they had a fling that ended badly.

Now, a decade later, they find themselves working together after their grandmothers left them a shared building that is in desperate need of renovation. Unfortunately, they don’t have the funds for the repairs. LaRynn has a trust fund, but to access it, she needs to be married—so that’s exactly what they decide to do. Their relationship is fraught with arguments over everything. Miscommunication is a prominent trope in their story, which frustrated me as it overshadowed their interactions. LaRynn often got on my nerves, while Deacon was somewhat more tolerable, despite struggling with his own issues and carrying guilt that affects his behavior.

Overall, this was an okay read. I had difficulty connecting with the characters, which may just be a personal preference.

Thank you, NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press, for the advance copy. This review was left voluntarily.

The Co-Op is a second chance, enemies to lovers, and marriage of convenience romance with a very slow burn. I enjoyed LaRynn and Deacon working on the renovation of their grandmother’s house while they were living together, slowly getting used to being near each other again and learning to trust one another. I also love a book that can have tension with no breakup/makeup at the end.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

“It would take me under sixty minutes to suspect that, while she may have been the prettiest, LaRynn Lavigne may have also been the meanest.”

This was my first Tarah Dewitt book and I really enjoyed it!!! I’m now looking at Funny Feelings on my tbr cart real hard 👀

I love a story that allows for a grumpy and flawed fmc. LaRynn is guarded and cautious with her heart and extremely hard on herself and I just loved watching her grown and start to trust herself and allow herself to be vulnerable. She is DEEPLY loyal and protective of her people and seeing Deacon be that for her was so sweet 😭

Deacon was so fun and some of his lines had me laughing out loud. While he also had his share of issues from his childhood, his manifested as anxiety and wanting to be useful to the people around him to prove he was enough.

I just wanted to wrap them each in a blanket and tell them everything was going to be okay!!!!

The added layer of grief from the passing of their grandmothers made this just a really lovely and touching story. This was the perfect mix of silly, earnest, and a touch of spice (with no 3rd act break up!)

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I just couldn’t vibe with the story or the writing. I will still try out other books from this author!

Pleasantly angsty lovers-to-enemies-to lovers story.

Years ago, LaRynn and Deacon hooked up over a summer, each falling in love with the other while--to protect their own feelings--maintaining it was just a fling. LaRynn admits her love and is shut down by Deacon, after which she doesn't speak to him for the next seven years. Now, though, she can't avoid him: their grandmothers, who married late in life, have left them equal shares their beloved if poorly maintained home. They have to sell or rent out the property, but first they need to renovate and bring it up to code--but with what money? LaRynn has a trust fund, but to access it, she has to be married. Cue the rivals agreeing to a marriage of convenience that is decidedly inconvenient.

Since the book is told in dual first-person perspectives, I liked them both from the beginning. That said, it really picked up steam for me as a romance once they started talking to each other and not just needlessly agitating the other. The whole story was engrossing, even if I wanted to tell them to stop acting like the hurt kids they once were and talk to each other like adults. They figure that out on their own, though, and from there the angst takes on a new dimension--will they stay married once the renovation is done and they have nothing left to force proximity?

Overall, another good read from an author to watch.

👵🏻🪚🏖️🩷🪴

Thank you St Martin's Press & netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was cute!!! I love a second chance romance! I really enjoyed that this book had a nice mix of plot and romance. It deals with heavier themes of grief, loss, neglect and heartbreak, while also having a balance of romance, angst and love. I enjoyed reading about Deacon and LaRynn reconnecting and falling in love all over again. I know that their grands would be so proud of them 🥺🥺🥺

I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a feel good read!!

Tropes:
- slow burn
- second chance romance
- forced proximity
- "it's always been you"

Pub date: November 12 - get your copy with this gorgeous new cover now!

I found it really hard to get into this, it just felt slow. I usually read a good chunk of a book when I pick it up, but this took me a few days to get into.

I thought this had a lot of potential, but I found myself bored. LaRynn was just mean to everyone. Both her and Deacon had serious communication issues. I get they both had a few reasons to act a certain way but most of the time I felt like they were whining.

Overall, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book, but am interested in reading other books by the author!

I received an ARC from Summer Stars Publishing through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I don't normally like second chance, but I really enjoyed this. I love a marriage of convenience. Tension was fantastic

Great for fans of “Beach Read” by Emily Henry.

Includes:
🛠️ FWB to Enemies to Lovers
🛠️ Marriage of Convenience
🛠️ Summertime Setting
🛠️ Forced Proximity
🛠️ Complex family dynamics
🛠️ Spice was a slow burn with lots of sexual tension, but very open door toward the end.
🛠️ “My Wife” trope 😏

While this book had a consistent plot surrounding the renovation of the home, it definitely was a more character-focused story surrounding their growth as individuals and familial impacts. There were time jumps to their past relationship throughout the book. It was building to a catalyst event which ended up dividing them. My main complaint would be that the readers were not given much of that catalyst scene in the end. It felt a little anticlimactic in that way.

However, I felt like the author did an excellent job of making these two main characters genuinely hate/love each other for a majority of the book. Their development together wasn’t rushed and their complex personalities were well drawn out.

I enjoyed so much about this book! A marriage of convenience, forced proximity and a summer fling when they were 18 until miscommunication happens, hearts get broken and then they reconnect close to a decade later. I think it’s safe to say it’s also a second chance romance.
I absolutely loved the setting of this book. I grew up going to Santa Cruz, Capitola and Aptos every summer. It made reading this book so fun for me. Deacon & LaRynn start off not being able to stand each other and have to build the trust between them (again). A lot of miscommunication to start but along the way, things just start to click for them. I love that there was no third act break up. My only drawback is that the build up was so incredibly long (even though you knew what was coming) and then once it there, it finished at warped speed. The epilogue was so so so good!

**huge thank you to netgalley + St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book🫶🏼**

The beginning was a bit slow and deacon gave me the ick at first but then it just seamlessly transitioned into this fast paced - easy read I don’t remember when I stopped hating on deacon and fell in love but that’s besides the point LOL

It was honestly such a cute and fluffy book the characters felt realistic and their story easy to follow. I feel like even though we didn’t personally see their past together, it felt like I had read all about it and knew these characters from the very start.

The development in their relationship throughout the story just felt so real. I loved it.

————

"I love you and I know I don't always…I've been trying to show you. I thought it was more important to show you, first, and I promise I'm going to keep doing that. But I also wanted to say it first."

Overall I loved everything about this book and would absolutely recommend to anyone


Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6958505766

4.25⭐️ 2🌶️ When I tell you I binged this book, I mean I freaking devoured it in less than 12 hours!

This book has some of my favorite rom-dram tropes: second chance; marriage of convenience; forced proximity; black cat FMC/golden retriever MMC; and all with a non-linear timeline that keeps you on edge! Loved the beach side setting, and how complex and well-developed both the main and side characters were. I appreciated the major subplots on learning how to deal with grief and family dynamics in a healthy way, and how this impacted the main characters relationship. The Co-Op was a major, tortuous slow burn but SO worth it in the end.

The Co-Op is how we meet our two MCs, Deacon and LaRynn. Their grandmothers became spouses and moved into together when Deacon and LaRynn were teenagers. There is first loves finding each other again, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and mutual friends tropes for these two. We have flashbacks that form the present. I root for their love story and like them. It’s about letting someone you love down because of youth, family born hang ups and redemption. It about becoming a stronger and braver version of yourself as you grow with your person. There is tension, respect, resistance, heat and passion. This is an enjoyable read I highly recommend. Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin, Tarah Dewitt and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

This was sexy and cute! Love the cover and tension! Thanks for the copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book is my favorite from Tarah DeWitt yet!! I have loved her other books, Savor It and Funny Feelings, but this one holds a special place in my heart. A story of losing one’s you love, yet finding ones worth the wait, our main characters go through life with a lot of family baggage only to find peace in each other. With a lot of banter and soul searching moments, I laughed and cried and had such a full heart at the end of this read.

This was such a cute read. I wasn’t entirely sure about it at the beginning but I really warmed up to the characters as the book went on! I wish we could’ve gotten more of their story rather than a time jump at the end but overall a very good light read.

I really enjoyed this second chance romance! A bit of a slow burn but this allowed for proper character development and no whiplash from the romance. This is my first from Tarah DeWitt and The Co-Op has me interested in reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced copy. The Co-Op publishes on November 12, 2024.