From the beautiful cover to the emotional ending, this story just pulled me right in. Fisher Lange is visiting small town Spunes, Oregon for the summer to open a new restaurant for his boss in New York. Sage Byrd is his quirky neighbor determined to find joy in the small things in life. She agrees to help him with the disapproving townsfolk if he'll help her win the festival contest at the end of summer. Her sunny attitude helps bring him back from the numbness that has taken over his life and he can't help but to fall for her even just for the summer.
I love this author's writing style. The descriptions of small town life were fun and engaging, and I love the funny banter between characters. The issues they were dealing with made the characters seem more realistic. I'm hoping that Sage's brothers get their own stories!
Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for the advance copy of this book. The opinions in this review are my own and given voluntarily.

Cozy, sweet, and purely delicious (pun intended). Savor It by Tarah Dewitt was the warm hug I was looking for on a cold day. At its core, it's about two people finding themselves and healing through the love that develops between them.

ʜɪɢʜ-ʟᴇᴠᴇʟ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴠɪᴇᴡ: ᴀ ꜱᴍᴀʟʟ ᴛᴏᴡɴ, ᴀ ɢɪʀʟ ᴡʜᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅꜱ ᴀ ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡɴ'ꜱ ꜰᴇꜱᴛɪᴠᴀʟ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ꜱʜɪᴇʟᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜᴇʀ ɴᴇᴡʟʏ ᴇɴɢᴀɢᴇᴅ ᴇx, ᴀ ɢʀɪᴇᴠɪɴɢ ᴄʜᴇꜰ ᴡʜᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅꜱ ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴡɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴡɴ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ꜱᴏ ʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ᴏᴘᴇɴ ᴀ ʀᴇꜱᴛᴀᴜʀᴀɴᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ɢᴇᴛ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ʜɪꜱ ʟɪꜰᴇ ɪɴ ɴʏᴄ. ᴀ ᴅᴇᴀʟ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴏʀᴀʀʏ ɴᴇɪɢʜʙᴏʀꜱ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴇᴀᴄʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛᴜʀɴꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴀ ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱʜɪᴘ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴍᴏʀᴇ...

Sage, the small town FMC, is pure sunshine. She understands how to enjoy the small moments and says what is on her mind. But she is still struggling with some insecurities, some of which is from her former five-year relationship that ended a year ago with the town's "golden boy".

Much of the story and depth comes from our MMC, Fisher, a chef who is burnt out and struggling with grief while adapting to his new role as guardian to his teenage niece, Indy. His goals to find his love for cooking and build a relationship with Indy are written in such a realistic way. His struggles, his guilt, his openness about therapy were really refreshing and captivating.

Fisher and Sage build a friendship around open communication. There is little hesitation for them to say and act how they feel. It is very emotional and their love story is palpable. This is very much a slow burn but has the best scenes that held my attention with each page.

And it is spicy in such a unique way. The only term I can come up with for the spicy scenes is delicate. It's not overtly detailed but it's sweet, sexy, very much open door but in a way that had me both blushing and filled with pure joy.

I am both hungry for the food that is described in this book, as well as for the love story written.

Tropes & Elements:
🏡 Small Town Romance
🔥 Slow Burn
🐐 Farm Life
🧑‍🍳 Chef x Teacher
❤️ Fake Dating-to-Friends with Benefits-to Lovers
☀️ Temporary Summer Romance
🌸 Communication at its finest

My rating: 4.25 out of 5 ⭐️

I really struggled with this one. Ive heard amazing things about Tarah Dewitt and her writing but I just did not feel connected to this one. I found the characters fell flat and I was uninterested in them. She has a lot of great premises going here with the MMC having a niece, close proximity to the FMC, small town romance, but they were just missing the mark for me. I found the writing in the beginning to be confusing as well. I will still read her other books as I have heard really good things about them but I think this one just missed the mark for me.

Tarah Dewitt always knows how to write emotional love stories with humor twined in. Loved this small town romance about Sage, who’s trying to prove herself and Fisher, a chef that is trying to get back on his feet. Sage and Fisher both have been through a lot but are still resilient. I loved watching their journey that has fake-dating, chemistry and laughable moments.

Out May 21st.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for this ARC.
Thank you @authortarahdewitt. Now do Ellis and Wren get a story? ;)

This book was beautiful and moving but also hilarious. It has such a good balance of humor throughout while also helping overcome through grief. Sage has easily become one of my favorite FMC's ever written. She is witty and funny but also so caring and giving. I cannot recommend this enough
Also really hoping Wren and Ellis get a book!

Really cute and super hot!! Definitely give this one a try if you’re into spicy romances!! I also really connected with the characters!!

I loved this. Loved the Pacific Northwest small town setting. Great communication between the main characters. And a perfect ending.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC.

4⭐️
"I've finally figured out the whole heart skips a beat expression. It doesn't miss a beat, it actually starts skipping like Dorothy down the yellow brick road, possible on Red Bull. Mine is still thrashing around in my chest and trying to reset its rhythm the morning after kissing Fisher, and I am desperate to find purchase again."

This one is just so soft and gentle. Sage and Fisher quietly fall for each other, like it was inevitable. There isn't any huge conflict here, but a solid enough plot to keep me interested the whole way through. The descriptions of Sage's home and hobby farm were so vivid, I loved all the animals and how Fischer and Indy slowly start to feel at home here. I really enjoyed this one, but I wasn't over the top about it? Something kept me form really connecting with the story and it's characters and I can't really place my finger on why

I wish we saw more of the town contest and canoe race- we spent the entire book hearing about it and having our characters train for it, and it was such a mad dash once we finally got there
"Love is this. Love is breathing. A sweet, deep aching relief. And it's somehow even more disorienting."

Thank you to Netgalley and publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

my first tarah dewitt book! everyone cheered

this was a cutesy small town romance with your typical everything. EVERYTHING. it was quick to get me out of a reading slump but she brought nothing new to the table. so, i mean, loved that i knew what to expect but?

also the WRITING. something about it just did not jive with me. there were paragraphs upon paragraphs of things that were so irrelevant. sometimes during dialogue, characters were speaking just to speak. it was really boring and pulled me out A LOT so i started skimming those long ass monologues and it helped

"Savor It" by Tarah Dewitt is set in a quaint small town, and focuses on the growing romance of Sage, the hometown girl, and Fischer, a chef who moves to the town with his niece. Unfortunately it took me a long time to get into the book, and by the time I finally did, I wasn’t terribly invested in these characters or the story. It just didn’t quite do it for me. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

“I thought being with Fisher would be like cut flowers in a vase. Something lovely I let in, even knowing it couldn't last forever. The problem is, I messed up and planted him here in all my places.” *swoon* There were winks at Twilight and Colleen Hoover’s Hopeless throughout. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. Slow and a little spicy. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. Publication date May 21, 2024.

Thank you to St Martins Press & NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This was an enjoyable romance read featuring two of my favorite tropes: Grumpy x Sunshine and Small town Romance! I found myself laughing out loud while reading and savoring this love story!

Fisher was a chef from NYC until a string of tradegies left him as the guardian of his niece, Indy, and without a job. To reset for the summer, they take a break to Oregan, where they meet Sage. Fisher and Sage hit it off, but know their romance is only temporary since he and Indy are headed back to New York after the summer is over.

The first half of this book is painfully slow. Nothing really happens, and the main couple has potential chemistry that's never really capitalized on. The second half made up for this, though. I loved how cute Fisher and Sage were together! Their chemistry lept off the page, and their story was beautiful. I just wish this translated to the first half of the book. Too much time was spent setting the mood of the small town, which wasn't as important (or fun). Overall, this was a quick light read if you can handle a slow burn romance.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a small-town romance between a down-on-his-luck chef who is taking care of his niece after his sister passed away three years ago, and a quirky teacher who adopts an assortment of animals and loves gardening.

The descriptions of the small town of Spunes created a cozy, rustic vibe and learning about the eclectic group of characters reminded me a lot of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls. I love small towns, so this aspect was enjoyable.

The book relies mostly on detailed descriptions and inner thoughts from the main characters (more tell vs do) so this may or may not work for everyone. It also suffered a bit with pacing where two-thirds of the book was quite slow with not a lot happening and the remaining third being rushed.

The book also touched on grief and how the two characters navigate it. There were a couple memorable quotes from Sage that I enjoyed.

At first, it was difficult for me to connect with Sage. I found her to be all over the place. And too many small town characters to keep straight. But, I did eventually come to love and root for Sage and Fisher and all of their animals.

This quirky, 'opposites attract' romance is a delightful, heartfelt and steamy story. Sage and Fisher's slow burn romance is filled with fun banter, hilarious awkward moments, and countless moving and romantic moments as well. Sage never met an animal, or human she didn't want to help. She lives on a farm in the small community of Spunes, and finds the joy in everything and everyone. Fisher is the guardian of his teenage niece, Indy, after the sudden loss of his sister. They are both heartbroken and don't know how to relate to each other. They had to move from New York to Spunes for the summer when Fisher was at a crossroads in his career as a renowned chef. They aren't happy in the smalltown with it's nosey, quirky residents, but their new neighbor, Sage, and her ardent animals eventually make them feel alive again. When Sage needs a partner to compete in a community competition, Fisher reluctantly agrees to help. As they spend time together, they both help each other learn to see life differently. They bring light into each other's lives, and their chemistry is off the charts. As Fisher and Indy's time in Spunes comes to an end, will they find the strength to stay or will they leave as planned, breaking all their hearts?
This is a wonderful journey of forgiveness, redemption, second chances and love. I was cheering hard for Sage and Fisher right until the very end, and I wasn't disappointed. I really loved them together and I also loved the evolution of Fisher and Indy's relationship as well. This is my first book by Tarah Dewitt and I really enjoyed her beautiful writing, rich characters, and this entertaining, moving story with lots of heart. I will definitely look for more of her work.

This was the author's first trad romance, and I can't wait for more to come in what I hope will be a series!

Sage has lived in Spunes her entire life. Her life changed when she and her brothers lost their parents at a young age. Sage views life as moments to cherish before they're taken away. Most of the town views Sage as the quirky teacher who owns too many pets and still lives in her childhood home. Meanwhile, Fisher's career is in jeopardy, so this summer break to help his boss with a new restaurant development may be what he needs to find his second wind when it comes to his passion for cooking. It doesn't help that he and his niece have a ways to go in setting aside past hurts before they can both be comfortable as a family.

Fisher and Sage, while different, were alike in the ways that mattered. Both were seeking acceptance and fresh perspective on not only life, but within themselves. Their chemistry is undeniable. Between a little fake dating (for reasons) and them being neighbors, it's not hard for them to gently push past each other's walls and fall into a love neither of them saw coming.

A trademark of this author's books is that they feel like home and her characters are so relatable. I saw bits of myself in Fisher and Sage, which helped me empathize with their journeys. The author set up a couple for (hopefully) the next book, so I can't wait to see where this series and the town of Spunes takes us!

This is one of those books where I fell for the bookstagram praise. I'd read one other by this author and while it was good, I didn't love it as much as social media did and I truly have the same sentiments about this one. It should have been good, really! A neighbors to friends to lovers summer romance, single dad, chef, a whole host of small town characters and animals (I mean gary really stole the show 🤣). But even amidst these things, it felt like the story was both lacking and moving too slowly. There wasn't a lot of depth to the characters or plot, there was one cooking scene regarding the restaurant the MC was helping with, which I was definitely hoping for more. We have too much involvement from side characters but not enough development on them so those plot lines felt very undefined, and an epilogue that wasn't really about the couple at all.

While this was a fine romance to kick off summer reading season I found it, ultimately to be a let down.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review!

Tarah Dewitt always delivers a unique plot with characters you’ll remember and adore, and Savor It was no exception.

Things I loved:
• Sage’s quirkiness - her kimonos and ever changing nail polish and the goofy things she says and does related to her pets and her garden.
• Fisher’s earrings. Idk why?!
• The flirting between Fisher and Sage! Fisher especially had some of those lines that just made my jaw drop.
• There were so many animals in this book. Literally. SO MANY. As an animal lover and someone who grew up with tons of pets, I adore when there are animal lovers in books!
• The way Fisher cared so deeply about healing himself and being a good caregiver for his niece.
• The one random Twilight reference that had me literally cackling out loud!
• The Happily Ever After at the end - for all parties!

Things That Didn’t Work for Me:
• The amount of times the word “savor” was used. It’s in the name of the book, and once or twice would have been fine, but it was constant!
• The canoe race, despite it kind of being integral to Sage and Fisher’s relationship, seemed hokey and just odd to me. I kept forgetting it was a thing, and I was not really invested in that part of the story line at all.
• The third act breakup felt kind of rushed in my opinion. I would say it wasn’t necessary, but one of my favorite scenes came because of it (no spoilers, though!).

I would also recommend checking the trigger warnings for this book (esp. death of a family member - off page and in the past).

My overall rating is 3.75 stars (rounded up to 4 for the sake of Goodreads).

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This follows Sage, a small town girl from Spunes, Oregon and Fisher a broken down chef chasing his passion that he lost when his sister passed away and left him with his niece Indy. Being seen together is mutually beneficial and so Sage and Fisher team up in this small town fake dating romance.