This book is a solid 3.5 star read! I love a good marriage for convenience and it only gets better when both characters have flaws- but they are SO loveable. I got hooked on Tarah DeWitt after reading Funny Feelings, and this book is the perfect continuation of her writings. This book read so smooth and I couldn't put it down.

The one thing that would normally turn me away from this book is the lack of good communication through the beginning and middle of the book. It wasn't enough for me to DNF- but it was there. I enjoyed the way the two of them found each other again by the end...HOME.... oh my gosh that line was IT. I love a good moment when a character realizes home isn't a place but a person. It had some large Emily Henry vibes which I enjoyed.

There were good parts of this book and there were some not great parts, but I think it was well balanced. It was a solid 3.5!

ps...i love the name Dot...how cute!

I loved this! The way the characters tripped, struggled, and eventually have to be so open and vulnerable it hurt. I read this at the perfect time because I swear I felt everything they were going through. From the FMC not wanting to be a burden on anyone in her life so she kept her problems and emotions to herself. To the MMC who wears his heart on his sleeve and just want the FMC to be her true self, even at the risk of it not being with him. Ugh it was beautiful. And I'll take 14 more please!

Love it! Tarah DeWitt has become one of my favourite authors. Can’t wait to read the next one. Enjoyed the past and present. The build up was annoying frustrating but in a good way. Love the banter!

Tarah DeWitt cannot write a bad book. I’ve fallen in love with everything that she’s written and this was no exception. The feelings she pulls out with her characters and their situations. I loved the dual POV and timeline but I also thought the “before” wasn’t pulled out too long and had perfect timing. Deacon and LaRynn were truly meant to be and I loved their grandmothers love story too. The place was such an important part of both the love stories. I can’t wait to read more Tarah DeWitt in the future!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was wonderful!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The book follows LaRynn and Deacon. Their grandmothers leave a property in their name. They have to work together in fixing this property. Deacon and LaRynn had a brief summer fling when they were teens, that did not end in the best terms. So A LOT of tension between them. In order to access her trust fund to fix the property, she has to marry Deacon.

I was drawn in immediately by the banter and tension between Deacon and LaRynn. I was laughing out loud at times. The writing style captured my attention right away. The going back in timelines gave great insight into their relationship.

I did find LaRynn unlikeable at times. She came off as entitled. Where the book fell short for me, was the second half. I LOVE a slow burn but this was a bit too slow for me. Deacon and LaRynn do not officially get together until at 85% to 90% mark. I felt the story wasn’t progressing at times. It felt a bit repetitive.

The co-op is a second chance romance meets forced proximity when Deacon and LaRynn reconnect after almost a decade apart.

“For the ones still working on it, whatever it is. Whether finding your way, or finding yourself. Don't give up. You're worth the investment.” 🤍🥲

Like with all of Tarah Dewitt’s books, I couldn’t put it down. There is truly something special about her writing that is really just top tier comfort, her words just hit different. She is also the queen of bickering 🤝🏻 banter !!!

I loved both LaRynn and Deacon as individuals, they had such well written personalities and they were both so charming I was smitten with them right away. Their relationship is funny and fierce but also wholesome and tender and it’s clear even with all their flaws and their growth that these two are always a great match!

The co-op will be out November 12th!

**Thank you to St Martins Press for the ARC and the chance to read and review. All opinions are my own**

I really enjoyed the witty banter. This book was a lot funnier than I was expecting it to be. I almost died of second hand embarrassment in THAT one scene. The ending was super sweet. Having done house renovations with my husband I was thoroughly entertained by this book. I can say that renovating is one of the least sexy activities to do with a loved one, so to have this be the thing that makes people fall in love is the utmost in irony. This was my first book by this author and it won’t be my last.

Not my favorite. The communication issues between the MMC and FMC were just too much for me. It didn't contribute to the romantic tension, it was just bad conversation with no fruit at the end of it. That being said, I did like the premise, and the epilogue was lovely.

What's not to love? Marriage of convenience, forced proximity....this was really great. I'm ready for more!

This was such a good read! I enjoyed the second chance romance aspect and of course a marriage of convenience. Loved the renovation aspect as well because I think that makes this book unique. I will definitely read more books by this author!! thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press & Tarah DeWitt for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This second chance romance is so full of angst. And how could it not with marriage of convenience and forced proximity adding fuel to the fire? I really enjoy Tarah's writing and this story did not let me down.

Now that I've had this taste of her Second Chance romance writing it has added to my anticipation for Left Of Forever!

This wasn't my favorite but was still pretty cute. I had a hard time getting into it because I found the FMC really unlikable at the beginning, but she grew on me. I did like their growth and communication development and really loved that there was no third-act break up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the copy of this book
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Read if you like: close proximity, second chance romance
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LaRynn and Deacon have a summer fling that didn't end well, and now years later they are both inheritors of their grandmother's house. But the house needs to be renovated. The two live together in the house as they work, which makes for a tense but interesting living situation.
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I loved this book so much. I appreciated the younger LaRynn and Deacon exploring their relationship but ending it messily due to immaturity and inability to communicate their feelings. Years later, they still struggle but they have a level of maturity to deal with their emotions. I loved how they worked through the conflict and it felt realistic and so lovely.

i’m normally not a marriage of convince trope kind of reader. so this book took me by surprise when i found myself absolutely loving this book.
the fmc did tend to annoy me a little, but then DeWitt did such a good job at explaining WHY she was the way she was, and helping readers understand.
I was touched by so many parts of this book. From Deacon and LaRynns relationship, to the struggles that they both endured with their family.
No third act breakup or surprises. Just an ultimately happy ending. The epilogue? *chefs kiss*
4 stars for me <3

I loved reading about LaRynn & Deacon's story in The Co-op! I love how their relationship changed as they started to renovate the home that their grandmother's left for them. They had a lot to work through, but honestly I felt like it was written perfectly for their story! I could not stop reading this one and it was just so sweet and I was swooning with that epilogue!

What to expect:
-Forced proximity
-Marriage of convenience
-Second chance
-Small town
-Enemies to friends to lovers

Thank you so much to Tarah DeWitt, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The perfection of this book lies in the characters’ flaws.

Deacon and LaRynn find their way back to each other in this second-chance romance after their grandmothers leave their house to them - only the house is falling apart at the seams.

From clarifying miscommunications to sharing in their vulnerabilities, past and current, they build a life together between the cracks of the foundation as they rebuild this house.

Tarah truly had me in tears in so many parts. Healing isn’t linear. Grief never goes away. Overcoming trauma doesn’t have a deadline. But isn’t it easier when you have someone to share it with? Someone who doesn’t see a vulnerability as a burden? That’s what the two MCs are for each other.

Thank you Tarah DeWitt for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another respectable ✨3✨. Fav quote: “You’ll be so happy you were brave” 💗

Tropes: enemies to lovers, close proximity, found family(?), second chance romance, marriage of convenience

Tarah DeWitt’s the Co-Op is written about 2 people, LaRynn and Deacon, who have known each other since they were teenagers as their grandmothers were in love with each other but these two despised each other instantly. Years later after LaRynn’s grandma’s death, she returns home and is stuck with an agreement with Deacon involving a fake marriage.

I adored this story. While the two hated each other, the love they had for their grandparents had me missing my own. I remember how hard it was when they passed so I understood it. I also liked the side characters, like Sally, who didn’t take shit from anyone and stood in for their loved ones who’ve passed.

Oof. I will have to say, this book had the makings of a 5 star but it fell flat. At first, you thought Deacon was just an asshole who judged LaRynn too much, but yeah, she was a brat. Her temper was literally a trigger hair. Not only that, but all of this animosity comes from one misunderstanding/side comment that kids say as a joke and she never let it go. Like dude, pls do.

Their chemistry? Forced. Like it seemed somewhat surface level and lust-y. We all like lust-y, but we were all waiting for it to turn into love. Allllll the way to end of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this ARC for my honest opinion!

This is tough because I adored Savor It. I thought it was so delightful and charming and by comparison I was unfortunately very disappointed on The Co-op. And fow what it's worth, I don't think that was the best title for this story.

If I had to pinpoint my issues with the book, I think it comes down to finding some of the plotting extremely far fetched and it taking a while for me to get to know the characters, and by the time I did I didn't necessarily like them all that much to be deeply invested in their relationship.

I love an enemy to lovers story along with old flames reunite, but something about the way the information about their past and present circumstances is revealed made me it hard to for me to get into. I don't know if it was a pacing issue or character development but by the time things are spelled out more I hadn't really connected with the characters, though I think Deacon was more flushed out than LaRynne, though her family issues were a good element of the story.

If this was the first book by the author I'd read I probably would have been ok with the book but she set the bar high with her last one.

If I had a nickel for every time I read a second chance romance with dual teenage and adult timelines that takes place in a beach town where the FMC has absent parents and a strong relationship with her grandma and music features heavily, I’d have two nickels… which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice (referring to The Co-op and The Backtrack by Erin La Rosa).

Pros:
- hot handyman dude as male main character
- decent explicit scenes

Cons:
- female main character is extremely unlikable and has giant chip on her shoulder
- hardly any actual construction featured in story???