I really loved this. It took me a while to get into the story because of the dual timeline, but I really did start enjoying it once things got going. Having only read this new version that is being re-released, I can't compare the two, but I can say I found this to be emotionally poignant with palpable yearning and significant character growth. I like that Tarah writes characters who want to be good to one another, even if they also like to torture each other a bit like LaRynn and Deacon did. I also find her quippy banter so enjoyable to read. I love a quick witted MMC, and Deacon fit the bill and was seductively charming. Delightful. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins for the advanced copy. 4.5/5

This was a cute story! It was fun, it was easy, it was sweet.

This was my first read by Tarah and I can definitely see how she has captivated her readers!

Although the premise was cute, and the first half left me wanting more…the second half lost me. I found the relationship between Deacon and LaRynn to be obnoxious.They just didn’t make a ton of sense to me. But that’s okay. Some people may fall in love with their love!! I just felt more exhausted by their relationship than intrigued!

It was cute…but not super memorable for me!

I will continue to read anything Tarah writes, but this didn’t wow me.
What to expect:
✅second chance romance
✅marriage of convenience
✅ forced proximity
✅dual pov and flashbacks
✅slow burn, but 🌶️🌶️
This was fun and I’m glad I read it, but there’s no way that these two idiots are end game.🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review date: 10/19/24
Publication date: 11/12/24

I wanted to like this one more than I ultimately did. It’s a second chance marriage of convenience romance between two people who inherit a house together and have to rehab it in order to get it on the market.

LaRynn and Deacon were great characters, they’re both big people with big personalities. They’re kind of mean to each other (LaRynn especially, but Deacon likes that) which I really enjoyed, and it felt realistic especially with their history. I loved the setting and the construction details though I really could have used more of those to be honest.

It was just a very character driven story, these two are orbiting around each other with a lot of hurt feelings from the past and it felt like nothing happened. It was a slog to get through without a lot of payoff. We get hints that things went really wrong for them when they were teens but the big reveal is not a big deal, it was a bit of a let down.

Overall though if you like a story about two exes trying to cohabitate while rehabbing a house without a lot of other plot to distract you, maybe this will be a real winner for you!

This is unfortunately the first book of Tarah's I've ever not liked. I just couldn't get into it, and these two bickered like the teenagers they once were. It's like their relationship never made it out of their 19 and 20 year old selves, and if they'd taken one moment to stop and communicate like the 29 and 30 year olds they were, this book would've been a hell of a lot shorter. I also don't tend to think that if two people are screaming at each other the way they did before they were even together, that they should be together at all. They would definitely break up after the book ends.

I thought this book was perfect! I just finished and when I started I didn’t know the journey I was going to take with these characters. There was tension and slow burn that when it finally got spicy it felt right and well worth the wait. I can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next J will for sure be reading it ASAP

This has the most wonderful beach/ HGTV vibes. I really enjoyed LaRynn and Deacon. Their characters were both full of emotion and love. Their banter and chemistry was written so well. I loved their character development together and as individuals.

Thank you to St. Martins and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh boy, my second ARC of the year. I know what you’re thinking—it's a good one, right?

I read the original publication of Co-Op at the beginning of the year and really liked it but it felt like it was missing something. These new editions are everything. This is exactly what I wanted.

I am deeply in love with the new flashbacks. They are incredibly placed throughout, adding so much history to the story without taking away or slowing down the present timeline.

Also as a dyslexic girly myself it was so cool to see that represented through LaRynn.

By now everyone knows I am the world's biggest sucker for a second-chance romance. And this one honesty is perfect.
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I really just wanted more real time romance from this book. Although we did get the past romance that didn’t really feel like much romance to me. We didn’t get to to true romance part until 80% in and just wanted MORE! Because that romance was sooo good and cute! Overall a good read though!

They say love and construction don't mix.
By that logic, hate and construction may as well be condemned.
LaRynn and Deacon had one short and contentious summer fling when they were teens.Certainly nothing to build a foundation on.
But a decade later, when their grandmothers have left them with shared ownership of their dilapidated Santa Cruz building, they're thrust back together and have to figure out how to brace up the pieces.
This story had a slow start for me, at times LaRynn felt too mean for me but as soon as I picked up on it being a giant defense mechanism and we learned more of the back story, I just wanted to give her a giant hug! I love a second chance romance, and these two beautifully flawed characters deserved it! This marriage of convenience and forced proximity gave them the chance to finally be honest with one another and process the hurt they've been harboring for nearly a decade. I do wish we had a touch more of the friendship with Elyse shown - for her being such an important part of LaRynn's life and the cafe being a major reason for things down the line, I wanted to feel more about why and how it was such a factor in the decision makings. 
This book made me laugh and cry and cherish DeWitt's storytelling. I can't wait for her future books!

Thank you Tarah, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you St. Martin’s Griffith for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The late summer/early fall vibes. The HGTV feeling. The beach. The coffeehouse coziness. I loved every second. The messy teenage relationship that turned into something more tender, I just couldn’t put it down. I loved the complicated marriages on both sides of the character’s lives that added to their situationship. The giddiness I felt reading this book! I highly recommend!

Right off the bat, if there is a Tarah DeWitt book, I will be reading it. Her banter and storylines are always top notch, and this book was certainly no different. She always seems to be able to take a typical trope and add that little extra pizzazz.

Enter LaRynn and Deacon for their dual POV, second chance, small town, forced marriage love story. The characters were likable as well as dimensional, and had real life things going on. The setting was the perfect backdrop with the coffee shop, camp ground, beaches, music nights etc.

It was syrupy cute even from the start. Grandmothers in love? Come on, that is too good. From there I believe DeWitt did a great job of capturing the hormonal whirlwind that is being a teenager, right through to the tension of stubborn adults. Neither of the main characters had picture perfect home lives and it was done in a realistic way that added to the depth of the plot.

Top it all off with a steamy renovation, and that’s your cherry on top. Overall, this book just had so many things going for it that I could fawn over it all day.

I received this book as an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you Tarah DeWitt and St. Martin’s Press!

This book was so so sweet. I loved LaRynn and Deacon from the start, and absolutely ADORED the grands. While I do think at times the story felt a little clunky, the emotional beats and the dual timelines of their relationship as young adults vs. present day made up for it in the best ways. Bonus points for the “10 years later” chapter that brought the biggest smile to my face 💗

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this read!

Unfortunately the lack of communication... was lacking...

I hate that trope, but if pulled off well I can overlook it.

Unfortunately, with how quickly the past timeline ended, and the overall lack of communication between the main characters, this was just not my fave.

Tarah's writing is gorgeous. I have loved her other two books funny feelings and savour it. I think she writes emotional books brilliantly. I liked the plot of home renovations and both living in the house. Also the setting of small town was cute and believable.

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is a second chance, marriage of convenience romance that brings the laughs, tears, and all the delicious angsty yearning.

LaRynn and Deacon are old fleeting flames who reunite to team up to renovate a building their grandmothers left them for them in joint ownership. They meet again after close to a decade with seemingly insurmountable miscommunication, riddled with spiteful words, that have them instantly at odds. But to solve their problems they need to come together— in holy matrimony.

What follows is a heartfelt tale of healing, reconciliation, and second chances. It doesn’t come easy for either protagonist, but wow, is it a worthwhile venture to take. I am so glad I followed this one through to the end!

Of the two leads, LaRynn held my heart the fullest.
I felt immense sympathy for LaRynn, some may consider her apathetic but that’s not at all how I viewed her. She feels too much, if anything, but she also feels the need to fiercely protect herself. So she banishes all vulnerable feelings to do just that. I saw through her previous perceived meanness into fragile vulnerability. A vulnerability birthed in her childhood and adolescence. She was a young girl who was hurt very much and kept feelings so tightly wound to her chest. As an adolescent she finally loosens that cord thanks to Deacon, only for him to break her heart in turn. She grows up into a woman who is more openly kind-hearted— but all the more guarded. I instantly liked her, I wholeheartedly rooted for her, and I so very much admired her personal growth throughout this journey.

Deacon took me longer to warm up to, but once I did I got it. I got him. And suddenly where I admittedly had trouble engaging with the love story I felt all in. All thanks to peeling back the layers of Deacon and seeing his past and present self for who he is: good, kind, loyal, resolute, and loving.

What started as a slow climb for me in this narrative, became an exhilarating rush. I wanted to instantly consume every page thoroughly once I came to see both protagonists clearly. Once I came to cheer their romance on.

There is so much hurt between the two, but they don’t see, at first, how mutual it is. Nor the reasoning behind it all. At times the sheer vitriol exchanged between LaRynn and Deacon frustrated me to the point I had to walk away, it was initially difficult to keep my attention going, but there came a moment where that suddenly changed. And suddenly— nothing was stopping me from turning every page, one after the other. I was addicted to seeing how these two would work things out. Because behind the bickering, the assumptions, all that messy miscommunication, reside two souls so clearly meant for one another. Their unfolding love story is absolutely worth the early frustration.

My favorite part was the final act, including the epilogue. I teared up, which I did not expect to do, but there was no avoiding it. The love for family and partner came through exquisitely in that final act. I loved it immensely. I left this one with a heart full of love.

If you enjoy hate to love, second chances, and bickering rivals whose hearts slowly but surely soften and sizzle in chemistry, be sure to pick up The Co-op!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

The cover is gorgeous and I love the author but I didn’t love this book. I wasn't attached to the characters and I wasn't invested in their story at all. This book just fell flat for me. Overall I would say it was Meh. I started and stopped reading so many times - I'm normally a fast reader but I struggled and had to force myself to keep going....The timeline jumps from past to present so often kept throwing me off. I'm definitely a mood reader so maybe it's just me.

3.5 Stars

I did not love this one although it was still able to keep my attention.
The characters just did not grow on me. Their behaviors were so immature and childish, and the miscommunication was frustrating. Nothing about it was cute or fun. I did like the different plot.
LaRynn and Deacon have history as teens. They are pressured to marry one another in order to receive an inheritance and then proceed to renovate a property together. Living and working together proves to be difficult.

The inability to enjoy the characters I think overall ruined this for me. The story had great potential but unfortunately fell short. The alternate timeline also did not mesh well. I thought this was a slow burn but the buildup never happened.

I still love and adore Tarah DeWitt... This just wasn't the one for me.

I really enjoyed this book. It has great pacing and character development. It was a fun read!! I will definitely pick up other books by the author.

This book was pretty good. I’ve liked other works by this author better, but it was still solid. I feel like I just wanted more chemistry between the two main characters. More pining, more banter, more longing…just more. It seemed like the relationship relied too heavily on their past to support their present relationship. I will continue to read Tarah’s work moving forward but would recommend Savor It before recommending this.