I originally read this book 2-3 years ago, I think, when it was independently published, and since I enjoyed it so much I wanted to re-read it anyway, I was curious to see if I enjoyed it as much the second time around... I did not. I don't know what changes, if any, the manuscript went through from its original publication to this one, but I found I didn't enjoy the characters as much. Where at first I found LaRynn complicated and prickly, this time she seemed immature and a little annoying. Before, I felt it was a cozy, quiet romance with characters I was rooting for, and this time it seemed to adhere to conventions I didn't love. I'll still read anything Tarah Dewitt writes, but this wasn't my favorite.

This book was okay, definitely not a favorite. A story about people who don't know how to communicate for a good 70% of the book.

loved this book!!! the forced proximity, marriage of convenience, & top tier banter make this book so bingeable. not to mention the second chance aspect! i loved seeing larynn & deacon grow closer and getting to understand more about both characters from the past pov’s. my fave thing was how deacon appreciates larynn for exactly who she is and loved getting to see them support each other.

LaRynn and Deacon have history…and neither of them want to revisit it. When they inherit a house, they’re forced back together. It’s badly in need of renovations, and LaRynn has the means to make it happen. But to get access to her trust, she needs to be married.

What angsty dreams are made of! I loved these characters and the journey (past and present) we got to dive into. I would highly recommend this read!! The chapters were paced perfectly and I LOVED the epilogue!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

Gah. It took me a long time to get through this one. I enjoyed the overall story, but I was so bored it just wasn’t a priority to pick this one up and finish reading it.
I just wanted it to end so I could move on to my next read.
I loved the previous book I read by this author; so this won’t be my last. The Co-Op just didn’t do it for me.

ARC for rewrite: I found myself growing just as attached to the house as they were!!!

I haven’t read the first version of this book, but the rewrite is amazing! If you like any of her other books, or even like Emily Henry, then I recommend this book.

Details: remodeling, forced proximity, grief, trauma from parents, second chance romance, one bed trope, volleyball, barista, campground, fake marriage

This is a dual POV with past and present time jumps. The author does a great job at appealing to the senses with food and music accompanying the entire book. This book had all of the best tropes and the renovations seemed realistic to me (as a former avid HGTV binge-watcher).

The dialogue was so good that I’m not sure if I followed what was happening in the background the entire time, if bits were left out, or things were meant to be assumed (ex: when did these other people come into the room?). The gentle bullying and banter had me kicking my feet and squealing.

**ALSO, if you’ve read Funny Feelings, there’s a freaking breadcrumb in this book at about 75%!!

I'll be the first one to say that I'm an easy reviewer. I give out 5 stars left and right. If I have a good time and a book makes me feel emotions, I'm going to give it 5 stars. But this one, if I could give it MORE than 5 stars I would. This story made me laugh, made me kick my feet and giggle, and in the end made me cry. (I'm talking like ball my eyes out-cry, can't actually see the words of the book anymore-cry... but I'm easily brought to tears, so don't get mad at me if you don't also turn into an emotional mess)

Deacon and LaRynn are perfect, they are messy, a little petty, sappy, romantic, and meant for each other, this story is a second chance romance, and I'm such a sucker for falling back in love with an old love.

All-in-all, read this book if you need a feel good sappy rom-com book. If you like Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood, or Hannah Grace, you'll like the writing style and premiss of this book. Just read it. Add it to your TBR, 11/10.

4/5 stars!

I'm surprised by how much I really liked this! I saw that someone had explained this as Beach Read meets You Deserve Each Other and that is the perfect way to describe this book!

It was so cute and so much fun! So much swoon, so much good content and character development :) I Thoroughly enjoyed in and I think many other readers will as well!

I was really pumped to read this one after loving Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt. It's a cute book at times, but honestly, the slow burn and flipping timelines kinda threw me off. I was sitting there eagerly waiting for the enemies-to-lovers moment, but just when things were heating up, the sexual tension vanished—talk about a tease! The slow burn ended up feeling more boring than romantic. There was this confusing moment where LaRynn had to be married to tap into the Trust, but she didn’t tell her parents she was married until way later, so how did she even access it? Also, that courthouse wedding scene just didn’t vibe with me; the FMC came off as such a grump. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I felt like one or two flashbacks would’ve been enough instead of dragging out how LaRynn and Deacon became friends. I was really hooked at the start, but my interest just dropped as the story went on, and finishing it felt like a chore. I totally get where other readers are coming from when they say the FMC wasn’t their favorite—I just couldn’t connect with her. This book had a ton of potential but, for me, it kinda fell flat.

The Co Op is a cute read. I really enjoyed this one. LaRynn and Deacon have amazing chemistry and a past. This is a second chance and marriage of convenience romance. I love how Deacon and LaRynn fight their feelings and finally give in to work together and get their grandma's former home back to liveable conditions. There are so many sweet and cute moments between Deacon and LaRynn as they work together and become closer. I love the banter and chemistry between LaRynn and Deacon so much. I could not put this down. You need to meet them today.

I think this book likely lands at about 3.5 stars for me. There were moments throughout reading that it felt like a solid four, though there were also times when it wavered lower than a three, and those times stick out more to me than the former. By the end of the book I liked both of the main characters, though getting there was a slow slog and pretty hard won. I kept waiting to have a better understanding of why they were the way they were outside of being told that their parents were awful for one reason or another.
I can really appreciate how difficult it would be to write a book under this framework in a way that would be enjoyable and fun given that it takes place in the wake of family break ups, complicated grief, financial strain, and massive house renovations. The uncomfortable feelings I had while reading make complete sense given those factors, however, I didn't have much fun reading this book.
I've loved this author's books in the past, and would be eager to read more in the future, however, this one wasn't my favorite experience.

This is definitely deserving of 4 stars I absolutely loved the characters development from the start . Without spoiler I would describe this as a lovers scorned forced to work together but throw in a more complicated situation. Very cozy beach town vibe that I truly love. Had just the right amount of spice for my liking . Definitely would recommend to a someone

A lovely second chance romance. LaRynn (ugh) and Deacon had a hot and heavy past that blew up but now they're forced together to fix up and sell their grandmothers's beloved house. There's lots of banter (not exactly playful but still entertaining) and sexual tension. Loved the setting and their journey back to each other. Thank you to NetGalley for a digital copy

Such a really sweet second chance romance. I loved everything about this book! I loved the way that the author put their own spin on this trope. I really liked the switching from past to present because i felt like it helped the story along, and gave better context for some of the things they did as opposed to just talking about what happened in the past. I thought this was a really cute read and I would absolutely recommend this!

This was a very enjoyable cute read! This is my first Tarah DeWitt book and I would read her again in the future. I’m a sucker for a second chance romance, especially with close proximity. I did feel like the characters didn’t grab me as much as I thought, and some parts were slow with too much unnecessary dialogue. But overall very cute read!

Thank you Netgalley for the digital arc!

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was an interesting choice of having the couple be a second chance romance and also having the plot be that they have to restore a home together. I thought this was great because they are restoring the building along with restoring their romance! The characters definitely grew on me throughout the book and I loved seeing their romance rekindle.

This book was just so sweet! I enjoyed every second while reading it. I loved LaRynn's character arc - she started off so prickly and with her walls built high and strong, but over the course of the novel she grew so much. Deacon was just *chef's kiss*. I don't normally love past / present chapters but it worked really well here to show how the relationship started and why their feelings were the way that they were. The symbolism of the fixer-upper and LaRynn and Deacon rebuilding their relationship was perfect, not too heavy-handed. I was so excited to have the chance to read this book and can't wait to buy copies for my friends for the holidays!

I really loved Tarah DeWitt’s Savor It novel, so I expected something along the same lines. While the synopsis seemed catchy, this book just didn’t grab me. The characters were annoying and immature. I didn’t connect to the story like I had hoped and it was tedious to finish.

I think I need to stay away from contemporary romance books that are described as enemies to lovers or hate to love. Usually, as is the case here, it's only two people who treat each other extremely badly and are really rude to one another and sudenly they love each other and forget everything that transpired before. Sorry, but I don't find it romantic when they treat each other with so much contempt. And nothing happens to redeem them both; they sudenly just love the each other. And they are both so childish; they are on their late 20s and acting like teenagers.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

A fantastic 5 star read! Loved this second chance romance and the very unique personalities the two MC’s brought. Would re-read and recommend!