I have yet to read a Tarah DeWitt book that doesn't completely make me fall in love.

Savor It is a delicious story about a small town girl and a big city chef, full of hilarious banter and dialogue, lovable pets and teenagers, and a big, meddlesome family.

I loved the dynamic between Fisher and Sage, I loved all the little puns he made and how he opened up to her, how they loved and built each other up over the course of one summer.

"He didn't fix me, and I didn't heal him, but we loved each other wholly."

Sage was such a strong and fierce FMC, and even with her past experiences and insecurities, she still managed to be the strongest person in her family, always being there for her brothers and friends. Her relationship with Indy was so special to read about, and it just warmed my heart.

"Any time I set out to tantalize her, she naturally ends up wrecking me."

There's nothing better than a man who tries. Fisher was perfectly described with this one quote: "Fuck, he's perfect. No, it's worse because he's imperfect and honest about it and he's deserving of so much love." He constantly tried to be his best version of himself, not just because of Sage, but because he wanted to be a great parental figure for Indy. I loved how unapologetically emotional and open he was about his grief.

Their love story is one that will stay with me for a long time.

"You're all the shapes made perfectly to hold me, and you're all my favorite colors."

🍲 Small town
🍲 Single guardian
🍲 Chef x teacher
🍲 Summer relationship
🍲 He wears earrings
🍲 Lovable pets
🍲 He calls her "sweetheart"
🍲 Friends to lovers

"Nothing's for certain, except I certainly fucking love you."

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh this was absolutely adorable! I fell for both of the characters and I was rooting for them to find a way to each other. A book about treasuring the present and appreciating the small things hit hard because I'm currently in the middle of some major transitions. As a result this book made me emotional in the best way. It was sweet and steamy in perfect balance and the emotional development had me swooning. If you're looking for small town romance with a summer fling that quickly gets serious this is the book for you!

Tarah DeWitt quickly cemented herself as one of my favorite authors. I love everything she writes. Savor It is some of her best work yet.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and netgalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review!

I love a small town romance!! This was my first Tarah Dewitt book and I was not disappointed! I really enjoyed the small town atmosphere that was created in this book. From the towns people to Sage and all her animals, the tight knit community, I really enjoyed it! I would LOOOVE to read a book about the side characters in this book - Wren and Ellis?!? PLEEEASEE I NEED DETAILS!!!! Although I thoroughly enjoyed Sage and Fisher's story, I also have a huge soft spot for Fisher and Indy 🥺🥺 watching their uncle/niece relationship grow was so sweet!

If youre looking for a feel good, small town romance, I would highly recommend checking this book out!!

Pub date: May 21, 2024 - preorder now!!

Savour It: ★★★☆☆ (3)

I found this book to be emotionally sweet. You get all the small town vibes in Spoons. I really liked getting to know about some of the realties that go on in small towns like ostracizing, everyone knows everyone, etc.

I absolutely adored Sage. She's authentically herself but after a rough break up you can see she has some self doubt. Through out though you really find her embrace herself and isn't apologetic about it. The fact that she saves animals 😍 I was obsessed with the three legged cat Legoless.

Fisher at first I was iffy on but he grew on me the longer I listened/read. He's recovering from the loss of his job, passion of cooking, and losing his sister. Then he has to move to a small town during the summer while stepping into being a guardian for his niece. Which their relationship growth had me tearing up. Indy had my heart in this book and I couldn't help but root for her!

The only thing stopping this from a full 5 stars is I was hoping we'd have more of the festival and competition. I felt they were briefly mentioned but I needed more. Also, some parts felt kind of slow. Otherwise an incredibly emotional read.

Savor It is a small town, opposites attract (city boy, small town girl), forced proximity (neighbors), slow burn, friends with benefits romance!

Sage has lived in a coastal, small town in Oregon her entire life. She’s always loved her life, her misfit animals on her hobby farm, her friendships. But when her 5-year relationship ends and her ex gets quickly engaged, she needs a win of her own and has her sights set on winning the town’s annual summer competition. Fisher was a hotshot chef in NYC but he lost his life for cooking and his Michelin star. He recently lost his sister and is now responsible for his teenage niece, Indy too. With everything going on, his boss sends him on a summer vacation of sorts and he ends up in Sage’s small town.

This was low angst and cute. It kinda played out like a charming, small town tv show or movie in my head with all the small town shenanigans and characters. We see Fisher learning the ropes of becoming guardian over his teenage niece, Sage telling him about side characters in town and the town’s traditions, and some locals coming after Fisher’s possible new job. While this was entertaining, I honestly didn’t see much of the romance between Fisher and Sage. It doesn’t really kick in until over halfway into the story and I just didn’t see their chemistry or believe in it personally. But the rest of the book was entertaining on its own if that makes sense! I’ve read a couple other books from this author and always leave wanting a bit more of something, the humor doesn’t really work for me, but the low angst vibes are nice when I’m in the mood for that.

I had an audio ALC from the publisher, all thoughts in this review are my own.

CW: death of a loved one (in the past, off page), career burnout, grief, bodily injury (off page)

Sage Byrd is a high school teacher and lifelong resident of the small, coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington). She takes in animals that no one wants, and grows flowers that she loves to give away. Content with her life, she’s unprepared for the sparks that fly when she meets Michelin star winner and recently unemployed Fisher Lange, who rents the neighboring farmhouse while consulting on the opening of a new restaurant. Sage knows she should keep Fisher in the friend zone as he’ll be heading back to Manhattan when the summer is over – until Fisher offers a kiss to help her save face in front of her ex.

I’m virtually throwing heaps of stars into the air, giving two thumbs up, jumping up and down, laughing, and crying right now. I loved every word of this book. It’s one of my favorite reads of the year. I loved it so much that as soon as I finished the e-ARC I received, I preordered a physical copy because I must have this book for my shelves of fame. I seriously want to make all the reels, and the mood boards, and shout about this book all over my Bookstagram until everyone I know reads this too.

Tarah DeWitt is now an auto-buy author. Her writing talent shines throughout this novel and can be felt on every page and in every character. Fisher is now and forever one of my official book boyfriends. He’s a chef and he cooks for her. His romantic appeal is a 15/10 based on this fact alone! When you pair that with his sincere efforts to parent his orphaned teenage niece, his mid-career crisis, his patience with animals, and small town antics? I want to marry you myself, Fisher.

There is so much to rave about here. Perfect pacing. Heartfelt emotion. Hilarious banter. Sexual tension. Steamy spice that never gets crude. This is one of those rare rom-coms that really has all that you’re looking for in the genre, but never once do you feel like it's trying too hard. The plot and the romance spin out so effortlessly I couldn't put it down. An absolute pleasure to read.

Tropes: small town, fake dating, single dad, friends to lovers, star-crossed, hurt/comfort

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel. All opinions are my own.

I think this will be one of the romances of the summer! It was sweet and I savored every bit of it. I loved the small town setting and the summer vibes. The romance was spicy and it would be a great beach read. I loved both of our main characters and their dynamic, plus the dynamic of the found family along with all the cute animals! I will say that the beginning was a bit slow, but once you get past that part, it's smooth sailing! Another great romance from DeWitt!

I will be honest, this book popped onto my radar due to a promotional reel from the author. It was cute! It teased a small coastal Oregon town and I live in Oregon and love the coast! A hot chef who is working through grief and I LOVE a man who can cook and a romance with some weight to it! Oh and MAYBE there was something in there about the MMC begging to go down on his girl again *whistles* who said that?! I immediately ran to look it up and then saw the most gorgeous cover that perhaps has ever covered? I was sold!

Unfortunately, my excitement quickly wore off and I am bummed to report that this book was not for me. I went in with expectations based on the aforementioned reel and the book’s blurb that ultimately were not met, at least for me personally. I am admittedly not a huge fan of small town romances, though with some notable exceptions that have caught me by surprise. My favorite ones write about their towns in ways that don’t feel gimmicky (for lack of a better word), that don’t continually mention that they are in a small town, and boy, was that not this book. The amount of times Spunes was repeatedly referred to as a small town and Sage referred to herself as a small town girl was extremely high, much to my dismay. I was also hoping for more coastal setting vibes vs generic small town vibes, and that was also not the case. I feel like Spunes and Sage’s many, many farm animals could be located anywhere. In fact the many farm animals felt very incongruent with a coastal setting to me. Both of these things are likely very specific personal preferences, and will not be bothersome to most readers, but for me, were the first things that took me out of the story.

Secondly, I have recently realized that many of my favorite romance books feature heavier back stories of their leads, oftentimes focusing on grief, and the synopsis made me hopeful that Savor It might join their ranks. Though Fisher is grieving the loss of his sister, and now has taken on guardianship of his teenage niece, as well as the loss of both a Michelin star and his job–and Sage has had a rough go of things and is no stranger to grief either–the weight of these circumstances felt largely absent. As a result I felt bamboozled as I read. Instead, the book felt light and fluffy, and at many times silly. This again is likely a misplaced expectation that I went in with on my part, but the book turned out not to be what I was hoping for.

All in all, I was not the correct reader for this particular book. Despite this, I do firmly believe that it will find its intended audience! In fact, based on other early reviews from friends, it already appears to be doing just that. If you are looking for a light, fluffy, sometimes silly, small town romance, this might be the book for you.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I tried another book by this author last year and it wasn’t a fit for me. I kind of forgot about that until I started this one because the cover just really spoke to me. It is gorgeous! Unfortunately the same problems I had with her other book is why I didn’t love this one.

The book has a great setting and a character trying to find herself once again. I thought the chemistry between the main character and love interest was good. It did need a bit more development for me to fully be immersed by them. The forced proximity was definitely a delight.

My one problem with this author’s work is her writing style. Sometimes it feels jumbled together and disjointed. This could just be a me thing though as I have seen others really love her books so take whatever I say with a grain of salt!

Overall, this was good.

This book has been a delight to read.

It’s awkward, yet really sweet at same time, some great puns, a pocket "hamster", a possessive goose, fake dating and a small town. I’ve laughed a lot.

Sage and Fisher are everything.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Here’s some Sage Advice - read this book 🫶🏼
Thank you, St Martins Press, for the gifted copy of Savor It {partner}

Genre: Romance
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 5.21.2024
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

“I think sometimes some people make us different versions of ourselves, whether we mean to let them or not.”

Savor It is one of those books that I know my review won’t be able to capture how much I loved the story.

But just listen to me when I say that it’s a must-read because it was absolute perfection. I can’t tell you how many times I laughed and cried—sometimes both at the same time. I don’t know how Tarah Dewitt managed to do it, but she created the PERFECT romance. I usually save a few quotes while reading, but in Savor It, I saved entire paragraphs so I could go back and savor (yes) the words later.

I loved how fiercely Sage lived her life, and I recognized myself (and also the ways I hope to be) within her chapter. She’s literally living my dream—small town, big garden, flower patch, animal rescue. I just need to convince my husband to start fixing five-course meals, and I’ll be set. Oh! I also need a rescued Goose, a mini donkey, and two Nigerian Dwarf Goats. 

🥰 Fisher
🏘️ Small town
🤩 All the animals
🥹 The emotions 
💖 Sagebyrd

I highly recommend adding Savor It to your reading list; you won’t regret it.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! This book really lives up its name becoming a book that you really should savor. It’s slow and sweet and nice and angsty (in all the right ways). I really loved the message of finding your place in the world, and small towns might be the answer. I really don’t want to live on a farm but this book made me reconsider my ideas. I loved the animals, the farm, the town, and the side characters. The only reason that this book didn’t get 5 stars from me is that I have a lot going on in my life and this is a book with a lot going on in terms of trauma, so it was hard for me to get through it at times. Also the trope of “we can’t be together but we love each other” is sometimes hard for me. But saying these very minor complaints, this book was great, DeWitt has a great style and is the right amount of funny and beautifully romantic. I laughed and cried, which to me is always a sign of a great book. I recommend it for fans of Dewitt and small town contemporary romance.

Things I loved about this book: small town vibes, found family, THE ANIMALS, the cozy feelings. I do not love third-act breakups in general, so that was a bit of a miss for me, personally, but others will probably love it. A great summery, beachy read. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book!

DNFd 20% in. It just didnt capture my attention as I hoped it would. I found myself constantly putting it down because I couldn't get into it.

I absolutely devoured this book! A small-town romance about two people who have seemingly lost what they believed to be their future, Savor It was everything I hoped it would be. Can I be Sage Byrd already?

10/10, 5 Stars, I loved loved loved this one.

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book - it's a lovely small-town romance with really excellent character development.

Read this book if you enjoy:
> Small town romance
> Teacher FMC/Chef MMC
> Single Parent MMC (guardian of niece)
> Animals! (goats, geese, dogs, and more!)

This is, at its core, a feel-good romance that left me with the warm and fuzzy feelings that it was intended to. I found it interesting, that while there are a good number of supporting characters on the periphery, there wasn't much focus on those characters that would have distracted from the main characters and their story arc. This led to more mature and developed main characters - with their conversations, interactions and communication styles.

I loved the collection of pets that Sage had - she was such a free spirit in the ways that counted and having her menagerie of animals along with her flower garden really set the stage for a great character. I also really enjoyed the two MCs together - I thought they were very mature with each other and the relationship growth felt at pace with how the storyline developed. I will say that the third-act breakup was very obvious in it's execution and the resolution was exactly what I expected it to be - but it did provide the HEA that I was looking for, so it all worked out in the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!

DNF. Unfortunately, this book just didn't measure up compared to The Co-op. The biggest problem I had with this book was the transitions. I found them awkward and clunky. As soon as I got into a reading groove, my flow would be interrupted by a page break. I also felt like there was a lot of unnecessary information/plot points in the story. I didn't really care for the main and secondary characters. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC.

Sage Bryd loves her small town life in Spunes, Oregon. She is a high school teacher, cares for misfit animals on her hobby farm and is the town people pleaser. When Fisher Lange rents the cottage down the lane from her of course sparks are going to fly. But he is only here for a couple of months. Fisher is a Michelin star winning chef. He was a rising star in NYC but his career is faltering. He lost his zest for cooking and is trying to get his personal life back on track after the death of his sister. Her daughter, Indy comes with him when his boss sends him to Spunes to help set up a new restaurant that is being built.

Sage wants the town to stop feeling sorry for her after her boyfriend of five yers gets engaged to someone else. Fisher needs someone to help his deal with small town obstacles so they agree to work together to improve each others image. Sage naturally helps with Indy giving her part time work with her farm.

There is a lot to love in this book. It is hot and steamy when it needs to be. And it amazingly got my eyes misty while reading about a goose mating for life. I think that stopped it from being five stars for me was that almost too many other things got thrown in. I would have been satisfied with Indy dealing with the loss of her mother and feeling abandoned by Fisher. And for Fisher getting his love of cooking back.

I am new to the author and will look for future books from her. This is easy to recommend to people who like small town romances with heat.

Savor It is a small town romance following two people who have lost their way. Sage is rebuilding her life after her 5-year relationship ended and her ex quickly got engaged. Fisher is trying to fall back in love with cooking while also caring for his grieving niece. Even though Fisher is only in town for the summer, they strike up an easy friendship and mutual beneficial partnership to rehab their respective images and win The Festival of Spunes, the town’s annual summer competition. 

This book was emotional, funny, full of hope and love. It showcased the challenges of grief and career burnout. We loved Sage and her collection of animals. She had a huge heart and lots of love to give and we just loved that she knew exactly how to help Fisher and Indy. Fisher was a bit broken and was forced to face his past and actually grieve for his sister. They both had wounds that needed healing and they helped each other grow. But it wasn't all sad and emotional! The first time Sage and Fisher meet is romcom gold and all their steamy/spicy moments were just perfection.  

We loved this book so much and think it’s Tarah’s best book to date!

Read if you like:
▪️small town romance
▪️forced proximity
▪️"lets help each other"
▪️just for the summer romance
▪️single guardianship