I have been a fan of Tarah Dewitt since I read Funny Feelings, so it doesn’t surprise me that I loved this book. Forced proximity years after a previous fling? Tarah Dewitt created a book with some of the best tropes, and she did it SO well.

Enjoyed! I'm generally a Terah DeWitt fan and this book was no different. I actually enjoyed the slower pacing and the true enemiiiess to lovers play out. I was interested in the characters and invested in their story arcs. Perhaps some of the conflict and trauma was overdone considering the context, but overall I think it explored difficult themes decently well. I'm not sure this is a book will really stick in my mind now that I'm done with it, but it was a perfect little escape. I recommend.

A lovely story of two messy characters that reno their relationship and selves as they reno the home they both inherited. If Tarah writes it, you know it’s gonna be magical✨

Sweet, tender, raw and vulnerable. I loved how real the characters felt and the struggles they worked through to grow both personally and in their relationship. I loved their story! Second chance romance done right! Another incredible book by one of my absolute favorite authors!

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is a steamy second chance romance featuring LaRynn and Deacon. LaRynn and Deacon had an intense summer fling when they were teens, with LaRynn about to go to college she wanted a summer of firsts. This fling ended poorly though and for the next ten years they barely spoke. They were forced to reunite when their late grandmothers left them shared ownership of a multi-unit home that desperately needed repair and to be sold. Along with the problem of them not getting along, they have no money to repair the home...unless they legally marry to LaRynn can access her trust fund.

This was a cute read with some small town vibes! It's dual POV and has two timelines, which I appreciated, as it helped you to understand what happened when the characters were teens. Both characters had some baggage to work through and the process of them building trust in themselves and each other was touching. Both characters were flawed and realistically written and I felt connected to their journey. There were some hilarious moments throughout the story, especially when LaRynn was feeling stubborn or frustrated at Deacon, and there were also some swoon-worthy sweet moments as well. This book also has some spicy scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for granting me an advanced copy of the eBook to read and review. This did not influence my review in any way. The Co-op is expected to be published on November 12, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I had an okay time reading this. Unfortunately, I was going through a bit of a reading slump, which is probably why I was having such a hard time getting through it.
I will say that I think it was a bit of a pointless marriage of convenience/forced proximity considering the situation that the MCs' are in. I just felt no chemistry between them really. Also, the FMC was no my favorite, she's a selfish brat.
The book just fell flat at times, which makes me sad because it did have a lot of potential.

I'm not going to lie, as an OG reader who loved the original book, I was quite thrown off by the changes. It took me awhile to sort out my brain and get into the revamped story- I'm still not sure how I feel about the changes with Elyse and Jensen's characters. I'll definitely need to read it again. That said, it was still really great. LaRynn Is a well written as a very complicated character, but I still have a hard time accepting that she essentially ghosted her grandmothers over a boy.
I still prefer the original and don't think it needed the re-write at all. I love the author though and look forward to her new book.

Love this one! I love seeing each character’s perspective of relationships and shared memories. Deacon and Larry :) were such strong characters and I’m so glad to have met them. Would immediately read more from this author.

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

I don’t even know where to start. I tried to wait a day to reel in my emotions on this one but thinking about it makes me tear up. I loved Sal & the grans love story! I love a second chance romance & seeing the glimpses of them as teens/young adults. I loved that they pulled their boot straps up & put in their own blood sweat & tears to make it happen. Deacon had me wanting to just wrap my arms around him I loved his love for Larry! Thank you for this story Tarah DeWitt

Wow wow wow!

I really enjoyed Deacon and LaRynn in the first version of the Co-Op, but this new version is somehow even better! Getting to see more of them really just made the story even more real for me. I cannot remember exact differences between the two, but I do know that I felt that I had more insight to LaRynn's character specifically in this version. A tall, tough and at times viscous heroine is not typical in a romance, but I LIVED FOR IT! Also, the reasons behind her being the way she is are heartbreaking, but the way she finds herself and grows with Deacon is beautiful. Deacon is a wonderful character with his own demons and I just love the way that Tarah wrote them growing together while also growing individually side by side.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC!

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: Second chance romance/marriage of convenience
Spice: 🔥🔥.5

Synopsis: LaRynn and Deacon haven't spoken since their teenage summer fling ended poorly. They are brought back together when their grandmothers, who were married to each other, pass away, leaving them a run-down house. With no funds to renovate it, they decide to marry so they can access LaRynn's trust fund and use the money on the house. As they live together and work on the property, they're forced to face their past and navigate their complicated feelings.

Thoughts: This book had a lot of angst and tension between the two main character and I was waiting for it to finally overflow. This one was a slow burn that paid off in the end. Deacon was the sweetest. I loved how they became friends again and how it healed old wounds. This is my first book by this author and I can’t wait to go read another!

I wanted to love this book. A lot of the pieces would have gone together I feel like in a different book but I did love their romance at the end coming together but lord. Fake marriage and house renovations and on top of that second chance. I would definitely recommend it to others it just wasn't for me completely. I will try more from this author though.

this book was cute and i’m so thankful to have received the arc!! i really liked the mmc, the fmc bugged me a little but by the end i really did understand her more and she grew on me!! i enjoyed them both together and their dynamic as well!! this was my first book by tarah dewitt but i plan on picking up more by her soon!!

3.75 Stars.

This is an (almost) enemies to lovers-marriage of convenience-second chance romance between LaRynn and Deacon where they were given duel ownership of a duplex. One thing I loved was the development between the two main characters as they navigate home renovations while getting to know each other again. I just had trouble with different pieces of plot that popped in throughout the story that, to me, took away from the main focus on the relationship between LaRynn and Deacon. I just felt there was so much going on and once the romance aspect hit, it went full force (and seem to be a lot at once). I did like the little snips of romance moments throughout the book but once they got to finally getting together, it seemed that for a couple chapters, that's all it focused on. Overall, I did enjoy this story and will definitely be reading more from Tarah Dewitt.

Wow I loved this. Not gonna lie, there was A LOT of animosity between these two at the beginning. So much miscommunication. It made my chest ache (in a good way) how much they wanted each other, i loved watching them fall in love. thank you, tara’s dewitt, i was a fan before, but this one GOT ME.

This was a fun and easy quick read, I read it in one sitting.! Once the story picked up, I enjoyed watching the relationship grow from the downfall of their previous fling. Watching the MCs grow and learn to love and open up for the first time was magical. I thought the plot was cute, and the humor was genuine. I recommend this book for someone looking for a palate cleanser.

I absolutely love when books have epilogues, and this one did not disappoint!


Read If You Love
Second Chance Romance
Enemies To Lovers
Small Town Romance
Funny Banter
No Third Act Breakup

I wanted to like this book more but I just couldn’t. I almost didn’t finish it a few times.
I really liked the hero of the story but the female main character I just didn’t like her. Didn’t understand her. I also felt like there was a lot of miscommunication over the past and things could have come together sooner.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Griffin for access to this re-release via NetGalley, and thank you to Tarah DeWitt for LaRynn and Deacon!

Guys. Marriage of convenience, construction zone wars, bitterness about the end of their relationship the first time, and some grandma's who are meddling for the grave... it's all amazing.

This book has all the complex emotions we've come to expect from DeWitt, with fun, self-discovery, healing, and spice all mixed in.

I particularly enjoyed Deacon's pursuit of LaRynn. He knows he messed up when they were in high school, and she never came back. He carries his own bitterness towards her at the beginning, but once he finally saw through her cracks, his understanding of LaRynn transformed into the most beautiful love for her.

I also loved that this book made me laugh. There were heavy topics here, but Tarah always seems to find a way to make them real and important and impactful, and she's done that again here.

Five stars! Out in November!

Okay this book has SO many of my favorite tropes- second chance romance, marriage of convenience, forced proximity- all within the context of a home renovation, which I’ve been loving lately. The plot, will not the most unique, was hilarious, entertaining (lots of pranks/banter) and filled with so much love. I LOVED THIS ONE!

A Tarah DeWitt book has been on my to-read list for a long time, so when I got the opportunity to read Co-Op I was really excited. The description of the book largely summarizes what it's about - two people who had a previous relationship are forced to live together under not so pleasant circumstances. I enjoyed that the book didn't shy away from the impact neglect had on children in different forms, and how it can alter the way we behave as adults. And sometimes that made the main characters a little mean to each other, but as readers we are supposed to understand why. It actually took me out of the book - I've never read a book before where the two main characters actively dislike each other for so long. The length of time it took them to be even neutral with each other took the majority of the book, and the piece of the story where they actively work to get along with each other and then build feelings felt minimal in comparison. Because of this, I would rate the story a 2.5.