THE ROMANCE. THE RENO. THE RECORDS. 😍😍😍

Look, I'm a Tarah DeWitt stan for life. It's decided. This was SO good and so much fun. I really loved the story, the idea, and the whole arc of our main characters here. LaRynn and Deacon are hilarious, natural, and down to earth characters (even with a slightly wild background for LaRynn). Their story together is moving and just lovely.

Truly another delight by a talented author - and good reminder to hug those people who fight and dream by your side a little bit tighter.

I like Deacon and LaRynn individually, but maybe not so much as a couple. I know they aren't technically related, but their grandmothers married each other, making them... stepcousins(?). That felt a little icky. Especially when that's a huge bond for them and they talk over and again about how much their grands loved each other and are the reason Deacon and LaRynn ever met in the first place. The spicy scenes were excellent and brought this book to a 3.5 out of 5, but the egregious lack of communication between the couple was too grating on me to round up, so we sit at a 3.

Im gonna be honest, i wasnt crazy about the characters names in the book but the story itself was great. I loved the open communication the MC’s had and I also liked the banter and storyline.

Thanks so much net galley for the ARC!

LaRynn and Deacon are left shared property by their families that is in...less than ideal shape. However, with funds being tight, the solution to get money is...a marriage of convenience for LaRynn's trust fund! As the story goes on, we learn more about these two and their past relationship, and how they grow together in the challenges of (fake) marriage, home ownership, and the joys that come along with those challenges.

I didn't care much for the characters' names: LaRynn and Deacon—BUT I really loved these characters! I think DeWitt does a great job with having characters who openly communicate and express themselves well, which is a relief in this genre. With that said, there is a large portion of this novel where LaRynn and Deacon have things unsaid between them, but that is by no means dragged out throughout their arc of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers.

I think I didn't care much for the scenes that were written in the past. It just flashed back at moments where I would've rather stayed in the present, and I didn't think they added much overall to the plot because a lot of the growth they do takes place in the present. It was just odd pacing wise! Overall I had fun with this!

3.75 ⭐️s
2 🌶️

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

I enjoyed this book! I love love a second chance romance and marriage of convenience!!

i loved Deacons mom, and their neighbour! she was an interesting character.

this book was also hilarious! I was laughing every few pages and this was honestly just what I needed!

LaRynn and Deacon hadn't seen each other since that fateful summer when they were 18, but when both their grandmothers pass away, they find out they both co-own their old place. When the opportunity of an inheritance comes up, the decide to get married to access it and use the money to renovate and then eventually sell the house, but things don't go quite as planned.

The relationship development between them was so much fun, they had great banter and so many laugh out loud moments as they navigated being married and renovating a house! The slow burn was so satisfying and filled with great tension and chemistry. They were both flawed in the best way that you couldn't help but love them.

Overall this was a really enjoyable read!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
💜 marriage of convenience
💜 hate to love
💜 second chance
💜 forced proximity

The Co-Op is a dual POV forced proximity marriage of convenience romance. LaRynn and Deacon were brought together as teens by their grandmothers. After a disastrous summer romance as young adults, they went their separate ways, only coming back together because of the house they jointly inherited. Needing LaRynn’s trust fund to finish fixing the place up to rent out, they reluctantly agree to a temporary marriage to make ends meet.

This was my first book by this author but I enjoyed it very much! It had a mix of funny moments and angsty moments, as they found their way to each other and through their baggage. Very moving and captivating story!


Read dates: 10/15/2024 - 10/16/2024
Goodreads review: 10/16/2024
Instagram review: 10/17/2024
Blog review: 11/12/2024

I love stories that start out when the couple was young and it doesn't work out and the meet up later... 2nd Chances give me hope.

This was so much fun and ended with a depth I wasn’t expecting. Fun banter and a way to cute ending and epilogue. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is an absolute must-read for fans of second-chance romance! LaRynn and Deacon’s journey is full of chemistry, heart, and just the right amount of tension. Their forced proximity as they navigate both home renovations and old feelings creates an irresistible story that pulls you in from the start. The way the author intertwines personal growth and romantic tension makes this a truly satisfying read. With steamy moments, humor, and emotional depth, this book is pure romance magic. If you love characters you can root for and a plot that keeps you hooked, this one’s for you!

This second chance romance was overall, an enjoyable read. Several aspects of the novel certainly drew me in, including: Deacon and LaRynn’s chemistry and banter; the flashbacks to their young adulthood and how their relationship progressed to where it is today; the mature themes represented throughout the novel; and the setting of the novel, i.e., how Deacon and LaRynn are tasked with restoring an old house. However, I found that certain aspects of the novel fell flat for me that ultimately prevented me from being fully engrossed in the novel. For one, Deacon and LaRynn have extremely poor communication skills that led their main conflict to draw out to the point of boredom and frustration. In my opinion, the novel could have been much shorter and more effective if the characters’ issues with one another did not span 95% of the book and instead their positive interactions were displayed more frequently throughout the novel. For instance, I would have appreciated more interactions of them restoring the old house together. Relatedly, I disliked the main conflict, namely, the reason why the two characters ended their relationship when they were younger. I understand that trauma influences the way we interact and communicate with one another, but the characters' relationship ended due to poor communication and I found that this did not reflect well on their characters. Consequently, it was not fully believable and it was hard for me to root for them to end up together. In addition, I was excited about the characters' fake marriage that took place at the beginning of the novel, however, I found that the trope was not fully fleshed out. It's very infrequently mentioned and simply has no implications on their relationship or causes them to suffer any consequences. I love a good fake marriage trope, but I felt that it was unnecessary here and ultimately prevented me from being fully immersed in the novel. Nevertheless, I did enjoy this novel and I will try another one of Tarah DeWitt's novels in the future.

Thank you NetGallery for the Arc!

💜I loved this so much!! 💜

✨tropes✨
-close proximity
-marriage of convenience
-summer fling
-enemies to friends to lovers
-second chance romance

The perfect summer/beach read. Fun, cute, enough spice and super swoon worthy epilogue!

This is a really sweet story and I was rooting for the LaRynn and Deacon the whole time. Is it some big surprise book?! Of course not. It's exactly what you want, what you expect, what you came to the book for. But the plot is so much fun and so unexpected! A summer fling gone off the rails, so much left unsaid, lesbian grandmothers leaving the two of them their house, a renovation of epic proportions...and a restoration of a lot more. It's sweet, it's painful, it's heartbreaking, it's sexy as hell...just read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book. Opinions are my own.

This was my first Tarah Dewitt book and I had no idea what to expect going into it. I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed the sassy banter between LaRynn and Deacon and I loved the small town vibes. I also loved learning about the grands and I really enjoyed the dual POV and timeline. Having said all of that, I found their relationship to be incredibly frustrating. In my opinion, it took them too long to figure their stuff out and I would have really enjoyed reading more about their relationship once they finally came together. It was a little too much of a slow burn for me and I feel like we skipped the good part. Despite my few comments, this book kept me engaged and I found myself wanting a happy ending for LaRynn and Deacon — the flash forward at the end had me kicking my feet!

Read if you like: second chance romance, enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, dual POV, & dual timelines

Thank you to St. Martin’s & NetGalley for the ARC!

Second chance, marriage of convenience, home renovation, set in a beach town, some of my all time favorite tropes. Tarah Dewitt knows how to pull on every single one of my heart strings and simultaneously make me laugh out loud. I loved this book the first time I read it 2 years ago, and I loved this updated and revised version as well! It’s a rollercoaster of emotions that you won’t want to get off of! Both Deacon and LaRynn have so much character growth from the beginning of the book to the end, and I really felt like I could feel all their internal struggles and loved seeing them get their happy ending!!

Second chance romance, lovers-enemies-lovers, marriage of convenience. I mean what move could you want from a trope trifecta!

Loved loved loved

"They say love and construction don't mix."

This book was the perfect mix of swoon, second chances, and marriage of convenience. Tarah nailed it with this one. I adored LaRynn and Deacon the entire time I was devouring this book.

IT'S A MUST READ WHEN IT COMES OUT NEXT MONTH!!

This book was a good time overall! Friends to lovers - second chance romance - small town etc. It’s the perfect blend of romance and coziness. I enjoy how the characters aren’t super out of touch with reality. They have flaws and characteristics that’s aren’t always the best. It makes it feel far more realistic! I did want or need a bit more of the romantic relationship evolution and some tender moments that helped bloom their love into the happy ending. I enjoyed it overall I had fun!

Thank you for allowing me an advanced copy of this book. This one fell flat for me personally. I love a marriage of convenience but the miscommunication for a lot of this book really turned me off. I felt like a lot of the issues weren’t really issues but they made it out to be such a big deal. The pacing was a little strange as well. Also I had a hard time connecting with LaRynn.

I know a lot of people liked this one but it really just was not for me! I will give her books another go though.