I loved this book!! There’s so much to say about how great this book is but I don’t even know how to put it into words. The MMC and FMC together are just everything. Their relationship, the banter, the marriage of convenience, little bit of second chance romance, I’m utterly obsessed.


Thank you to NetGalley for the access of this book!!

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Tarah DeWitt for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Tarah DeWitt and I enjoyed it! Look forward to reading some of her others.

The book was dual POV and switched between present day and about 8yrs ago.

The story starts and Deacon seems like he was a jerk when they were teens but as you learn more you realize he had some insecurities that led to a misunderstand after he had been really sweet and patient.

LaRynn is a lovable temperamental mess. She has had a rough family life, except for her summers with your grandma, that has left her with few people to trust and lean on.

Open door.
Enemy to lover to enemy to lover.
Second chance love.
Marriage of convenience.
Found family.
Complicated family dynamics.

Tarah DeWitt always manages to create a magical blend of small town charm and characters that are real in both their flaws and their love, and The Co-Op is no exception.

Deacon and LaRynn find themselves in a marriage of convenience in order to remodel and sell the house their married grandmothers left them, and we get the most intense enemies to lovers, second chance romcom out of it.
After falling in love as very young adults, which didn’t turn out well, both LaRynn and Deacon are harboring lingering hurt from the past, as well as the grief of losing their grandmas. Adding in the pressure of a total home renovation with a tight budget made for both fiesty banter and strong games of will, but also some very heartfelt moments of their relationship being rebuilt right along with their house.
As someone who can relate to the way LaRynn grew up feeling in certain aspects, it was so sweet to see her walls she spent her whole life fortifying coming down for Deacon not once, but twice. The way they both work to meet each other in the middle is so endearing.
The epilogue was absolutely adorable and I love knowing their story ends with so much love, on all sides of them.

Thank you so much Tarah DeWitt and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC via NetGalley.
Publication date 11/12/24

Gosh, I loved this book. Even though I'm not a superfan of dual timelines, the growth and self-awareness of both MC's is soooo good. I was a bit annoyed at LaRynn's constant attitude, but she eventually won me over. God Bless Deacon Leeds who has the patience of a saint and a heart of gold. He's top-tier for fictional men and inspires hope that in the real world, a woman might be lucky enough to scoop up a gem like him. The slow-burn build up and tension was *chef's kiss*. The anticipation kept me invested and the delivery did NOT disappoint!
"I want to reach for him so badly my palms ache, want to dig my fingertips into his broad back and feel his chest against mine, want to steal his warmth to stave off the cold, desperate grief clawing at my heels. I want him to reach for me, too, and bury his face in my neck."
My head was screaming, "just GRAB him!!!" or "just GRAB her!!!" for so much of this book and I loved every second. I also loved the sprinkles of grandparent wisdom throughout, “When you have a bad day, ma fille, think about it from beginning to end. Walk your way through it. Was it really a bad day, or was it a few bad moments? What part of your day would you like to hold on to before you close your eyes? Find that good bit, and let it be the thing you fall asleep to.” Sigh. So many goodies in this one. Would absolutely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

HGTV Rom Com!

I loved the premise of this book, two characters who knew each other a teenagers are thrown together once again after a close friend/relative of one of the characters passes away and they are tasked with fixing up the house in order to sell it. Oh, and in order to get her inheritance she has to marry him! Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes and I loved how this came together. They characters each have things they are working on (including dissecting their past actions towards each other) and it all comes together in the end.

This was a sweet and fun romcom! I really liked the first half of the book and found the pacing to be perfect. It slowed down a bit in the second half and I did start skimming just a bit because it felt boring. That being said, I don't love split timelines, or flashbacks in this case, so that may be part of what was making it feel like a drug a bit.

This second-chance romance follows LaRynn and Deacon. Both of the characters had pretty well rounded backstories and felt like whole people outside of this plot itself, which is always a good thing! The premise of the book was really interesting as they co-inherited a sentimental home and have to find a way to work together despite their rocky past. This a definitely a standoffish step-cousins-ish to lovers plot (it will all make sense if you read the book lol). I would not go as far as to say enemies but they definitely did not like each other.

Overall, I really liked the banter between the couple and the timeline. I appreciated that it wasn't instalove and that they had to work through many issues in order to find a way to be with each other. I just really didn't love when it felt like it was going very slowly for a section of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this arc!

🄱🄾🄾🄺 🅁🄴🅅🄸🄴🅆

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚘-𝙾𝚙
𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝑫𝒆𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒕
5⭐️

This was my first book by Tarah and I can honestly say it won’t be my last. I love a good second chance romance and this book gave me that with a side of forced proximity and marriage of convenience. I absolutely fell in love with Deacon and LaRynn.
This story gave me so many laugh out loud moments that I spent majority of the time kicking my feet with giddiness. It was truly a feel good romance. That epilogue…..oh my heart. I just could not get enough of them. Thank you Tarah and NetGalley for the eARC! This book will be in stores on November 12!!!
*edits are mine, photos are not*

#bookreview #readersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #bookaesthetic #romancereader

Great tension and banter. Second chance romance with a kind-of enemies to lovers (more like a miscommunication and being young than enemies but oof they hated each other). Characters deal with a lot of hardship in their past so check out content warning. Definitely worth a read. This author is an auto-buy for me.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher.

I’ll scream it from the rooftops, I LOVE TARAH DEWITT. I’ve read everything by her so far & she has yet to disappoint me. I loved this book the most probably. The funny banter, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, huge confession. Also Deacon is so swoony. I devoured this one in less than 24 hours. Thank you to NetGalley, Tarah Dewitt, & St. Martin Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Co-op is a sweet and angsty second chance romance. God, this was charming. I loved the connection to their grandmothers to the house and the town. The setting is so well done.

It’s not exactly the miscommunication trope but it’s close. I enjoyed how the characters evolved. The MCs don’t explore romance until the last 1/3 of the book and this led to so much tension and anticipation that was fun to read.

If you love a second chance romance as much as I do (which is a lot) then this is the book for you.

LaRynn and Deacon meet because their grandmas got married. They have a summer fling but the feelings get a little deeper than intended and they break up. Typical youths.

10 years later (ish) their grandmas have left them their home after they pass and they now need to work together to fix it up. Does them working together also involve a marriage of convenience? Sure! Who hasn’t gotten married in the middle of a construction project to someone you supposedly hate? Then comes the pining, the banter, the opening up. Honestly I ate this book up in one day. I laughed, I cried, I relayed to them. Honestly, highly recommend what a fantastic relatable story of falling in love even when the timing isn’t ideal.

This has been one of my all-time favorite books since I read the self-pubbed version two years ago! And the updates have just made it even better!

This is one of the best second chance romances to exist! LaRynn and Deacon are the definition of “made for each other.” They felt like they completed each other, especially in moments where they made it clear that no one could take care of their other half better than they could! This book is romantic and swoony! The scene where they finally get together lives rent-free in my mind as one of the best romance confessions to ever exist!

This was a relatively quick paced romantic comedy. I enjoyed the lightness of the storyline. Renovating a house is extremely stressful on anyone let alone two people who had a past flame. It's comical to imagine it.
I enjoyed the addition of the tenant as I felt she was my favourite part of this book.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to pallete cleanse after some intense reads. It's great for that. Or if you just THAT into romance. It's cute.

This was such a sweet romance. LaRynn and Deacon have a complicated history, and when they co-inherit a house it only increases the complexity of their relationship. The home improvement storyline definitely adds some humor while the beach-town setting added another level of romance. The story is told with dual PoV and includes glimpses of the past. There are quite a few fun tropes woven into this one including: slow-burn, second chance romance, forced proximity, and a marriage of convenience. This was my first read by this author and I will definitely read more.

The Co-Op by Tara DeWitt is a funny, heartfelt story that had me rooting for them!

Also— Tara immediately reeled me in with this marriage of convenience. LaRynn and Deacon agree to marry so they can access funds to renovate a property, hoping to sell it and split the profits they both desperately need. But their shared past complicates things: Deacon broke LaRynn’s heart in the past and now they both are under the same roof and forced to confront old wounds.

The banter between LaRynn and Deacon is so funny and silly.. Their growth together is woven beautifully throughout, making this a story that’s as deep as it is funny.

I liked this book when it was indie-published, and it's much better now in its reworked state.
There is nothing better than a black cat FMC and a sweet, kind MMC who make each other grow within their relationship. I love LaRynn and Deacon's angsty banter, and how it turns into a soft, tender love story. There's so much tension in this story, and it's so good when the burn starts burning.
It's not the same vibe as Tarah's other books, so be forewarned if you're expecting the softness of Funny Feelings or the quirkiness of Savor It. But it's a solid read, and I did enjoy it.
Thank You for St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the arc!

The Co-op is a story about finding someone that loves you, sharp edges and all, without the need to sand you down to make you more palatable. Loving you anyway and that love in turn makes you want to try to be a better version of yourself, for them and for yourself. Meeting each other in the trying and not expecting perfection. I could never put into words to explain how truly heartfelt this story is. This one is going to stay with me for a long time and I truly cannot wait to see what Tarah DeWitt comes up with next.

Absolutely loved this book, thank you for the opportunity to read it! I loved reading them fall in love again

This was already my favourite Tarah Dewitt novel before the rewrite and it’s only cemented its spot at number 1. I found myself rooting for Deacon and LaRynn to find their way back to each other. Though there were bumps along the way the truth of the matter is, that’s life. Sometimes you scare yourself out of the things you want. Sometimes circumstances stop you from pursuing what you dream about. I’m happy that this book has a happy ending and I’m happy that it covers heavier topics as well. 10/10, Tarah Dewitt is the best!

This was a good one, forced living and working together for a goal plot, the two MC had an involvement when 18ish, later thanks to their gmas they both inherited a building they must work together to fix it up and sell it will they won't they - im hoping for a sequel with laRynn friend cause I'm that way