This book gave me everything I needed! If you love small town and single parent/guardian…then RUN and snag this! I absolutely ate it up! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this story!

"You just gotta row your own damn boat."

What a beautiful story about healing and learning to live by your own standards. While this book started a little slow for me, after a few chapters I was ready to be a resident of Spune.

There is something special about the way DeWitt writes her small town stories and I adore the relatability and "realness" of the characters in Savor It. Fisher is a burnt out Michelin star chef who lost or maybe never understood being present. But once Sage, a smiling, but unsure of her own capabilities and self worth school teacher and hobby farmer to misfit animals steps into his life, he learns how to breathe and learn what it means to build a home. While Fisher and Sage both feel a little broken due to their pasts, the two of them balance each other out and help the other see how those around them see them and understand that their feelings matter.

The side relationships that we get to see grow gave this book so much heart. Watching Sage and Indy establish a relationship due to Sage's own losses, and in turn seeing the anger and resentment between Indy and Fisher slowly dissolve added depth to this book we wouldn't have had otherwise. In addition, DeWitt did not disappoint with her puns sprinkled throughout and some absolutely adorable farm animals (Gary, need I say more?).

If you are looking for a heartwarming book that will have you smiling one minute and possibly tearing up the next, be sure to check this one out.

"'Courage is a muscle' You strengthen it with use."

I love the drama-free COASTAL small-town this book was giving. Fisher Lange was our burnt df out chef (recently fired too) who was tasked to move to Spunes, OR (not to be confused with Forkes) to assist with his boss' new restaurant - making menu, making sure the rest of the works are flowing well. He brings along with him his niece and goddaughter, Indy, who's now legally hers following her mom's (Fisher's sister) accident. Fisher's boss, Carlie, thought it'll do them good changing sceneries with that they're both going through.

Sage Byrd, our wonderful and the sweetest FMC, lives next door (or a meadow over) to where Fisher and Indy are staying and their initial interactions have always been during Fisher's worst moments - which often are reciprocated with Sage's as well. They get together after "returning other's favor" and before we know it - chef out here offering to kiss the soul out of sage in the library to make her ex jealous. Despite being the grumpiest in the morning, he still showed up to train with Sage for the festival's competition and will study with her, if there's a good reward on the table. Indy was also adjusting well with the small town feel, enjoying with helping Sage with her animals and garden and with setting up with her at the farmers market.

The healing after grieve is written well in this book. I love how Sage clicked with Indy right away based on their kind of similar experience. Fisher and Sage's relationship is one full of compassion, care, and understanding. Also, Fisher falling in love baby goats?! ughhh my heart. Literally all the characters are lovable in this book, there's no one villain and that's why I love this book even more. It's just the feel-good you need when you need a pick me up.

Thank you soo much Tarah DeWitt and NetGalley for the eARC.

4.25⭐️ | 📖
🌶️

I've devoured everything Tarah has written and I SAVORED this. Our queen of small-town quirkiness, puns, animal rescues and local competitions - Sage Byrd is such a sweet FMC. It took a minute for me to fully understand her, but the chemistry built between her and former Michelin-star chef, Fisher, was delicious. And once the layers of Sage and Fisher were peeled back, you couldn't help but fall for them.

I wished there was more dialogue between the FMC and MMC at certain parts, and the timing jumped a bit for me. It felt like certain parts were just thrown in there for plot movement, but I was still here for it all! We got a generous amount of backstory and sweet side characters built out as well for this small town story. Other than that though, I really enjoyed this and was sobbing at the end scenes. Indy and that damn goose scene got me (Fisher and Sage, too, of course). It was a PRIVILEGE, Fisher.

Here are some of my non-spoiler highlighted quotes that got me right in the feels.

"Life's short. Go to the library. Live a million different stories and see a million different places in one. You might not have control over some things, but you can always foster your imagination."

"Don't worry so much about the clouds that you miss the flowers at your feet."

"Courage is a muscle. You strengthen it with use."

Tropes/Elements:
- Small-town romance
- Hotshot chef and new teenage guardian (niece)
- Quirky neighbor
- Forced proximity
- Local competition
- Summer fling
- HE goes to therapy!

Note: Thank you to NetGalley and Tarah Dewitt for providing an eARC. The decision to read/review was my own, and represents my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC. All opinons are my own.
Savor It follows Fisher who, after a career low and finding himself unexpectedaly in charge of his niece, has to move to the town of Spunes, Oregon to survey the building of a new restaurant. That's until he meets his next door neighbor, Sage, who might just show him the charm of small town life.
I was really loving this book in the first half but then the second half really made me feel that it was an okay book. I think this woul be a great book to read ifyou are in a reading slump and need something to help you get out of it.
First off, I thought that the concept of this book was really interesting and I did enjoy the writing throughout this book. Tarah has a distinctive voice in her novel and I was glad that I was able to read this book.
The biggest thing I feel like this book struggled with was pacing. The beginning of this book was so slow paced as we got to know the characters and Spune's a bit more. However, when the main "plot" kicks in, it goes so quickly and has so many issues with pacing. There was a big "thing" that Sage was foucsed on in this book but it was literally only a chapter and a short chapter at that. A lot of the problems I had with the relationship and these two characters not really knowing each other well wasn't resolved in this and I didn't find myself fully believing the relationship. Also I found the more steamy scenes to be pretty confusing as it would have good lead up then a confusing conclusion to it.
Overall, I think this was a pretty okay book. I wish the pacing had been better but if you are interested in picking it up, I would highly recommend picking it up and reading it.

This was a good read! Loved the chemistry between the two leads, although it did not blow me away. I’m a sucker for happy endings!

I wanted to love this book, but I felt like not much happened in it for a good portion. I think many people will love it, it just didn’t work for me.

This book was light, wholesome, and full of so much heart. If you’re looking for a cozy romance set in a small town with loveable leads and fleshed-out secondary characters, look no further!

This book has:
•The found family trope
•Grumpy x sunshine ☀️ The heroine is a teacher who makes the best of everything, and the hero is a broody chef who is dealing with burnout
•Small town girl x big city boy 🏙️
•A third-act breakup: I dislike third-act breakups, but it was necessary for the character growth, so it didn’t bother me!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I was very excited to get an opportunity to read this book early from Net Galley (many thanks!). I am a Tarah Dewitt completionist and though I have loved them all, Rootbound is one of my absolute favorites. Tarah Dewitt does an amazing job of bringing to life the setting and the minor characters. Any story with "townies" is sure to be a favorite of mine and Savor It does not disappoint in this area. This is a cozy read with a lot of feeling. Tarah Dewitt is an automatic read for me at this point, and that streak continues with this great book.

4.5 stars rounded up

4.5 stars. Savor It is such a sweet and funny rom com. See author’s note at the beginning of the book for content warnings.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and honest.

Tarah DeWitt absolutely knocked it out of the park with this story! Sage and Fisher are just so damn cute. They have amazing chemistry and I could not get enough of them. I love romances where the protagonists help each other grow and this was such a great example of that.
I also can’t talk about this book without talking about the cover. It is absolutely GORGEOUS! I love this color combination and Sage and Fisher are exactly how I pictured them while reading. Definitely a strong candidate for my favorite book cover of the year.

This is such a beautiful story and if you are a romance reader, give this a try. You’ll definitely laugh (Gary the goose. That’s all you need to know), you might cry (I didn’t, but I never cry while reading), and you’ll have such a great time in Spunes, you’ll want to go back. I’m seriously hoping Tarah writes more books set in Spunes.

Savor It releases on May 21.

A story about finding home in its most unsuspecting places. Most of us don't try to give a place a chance because it's not what we imagined, or we have pre conceived notions. But if we just give it a chance it might just change our lives, like it did for Fisher and Indy. That's what this book taught me. It also has the town as the main character which I love when authors do this. Small towns can be so pleasant and entertaining or they can be terrifying.


Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review all words are my own.

“Love is this. Love is breathing. A sweet, deep, aching relief. And it's somehow even more disorienting.”

Pieces of this plot remind me of The Only Game in Town and Lovelight Farms; very quaint! Although this is the kind of small town that I can’t relate to at all, even being from a small town. The “everyone in each other’s business” that reminds me of Stars Hallow, and is a big part of the plot.

Sage and Fisher are fun, and the addition of Indy to their dynamic was interesting. It’s a good friends to lovers story, and Fisher and Indy’s temporary status in the town is a realistic roadblock. The whole families coming together to make a new life and heal from past experiences was sweet.

Honestly, it felt kind of unfinished. It was too slow paced for my taste, like not much happens? I wish the competition was a bigger part of the plot, as the synopsis suggests. It’s only a few pages at the end. I felt more compelled by Sage’s brother and his ex wife.

This is a heart-warming romance about a small town teacher and a big city chef finding each other when they are both experiencing difficult changes. Becoming partners in the annual festival competition, they soon realize that the feelings for one another cannot be suppressed. But what will happen when the hot chef, who is only here temporarily, has to go back to the city?

This book was such a fun, easy read that had heartfelt moments, spicy scenes, and a wonderful plot line. Once I started this novel, I could not put it down! It was an enjoyable book to read!

Oh man, this was good. A really slow burn, with flawed and wonderful characters. There’s definitely a lot of emotional trauma to spread around, but it’s not so heavy that it weighs down the story. So much light and fun.

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin’s Griffin.

This book made me swoon and was such a joy to read! Sage and Fisher are a bit of an opposites-attract situation gone right as they balanced each other out so nicely. I absolutely adored how hard the author leaned into the small town aspect in this book, as there were so many charming characters to root for. This storyline also did a beautiful job exploring concepts of grief, home, found family, and belonging. I highly recommend this sweet and spicy romance for all the other small town lovers out there!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

This was an okay read for me. The chemistry between the two leads was alright but did not blow me away. There some cute moments I don’t think I connected as much as I hoped I would based on the premise. 2.5 🌟

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a charming, sweet story about two people who come into each other's lives at just the right time.

Sage and Fisher are both unmoored by significant changes in their lives -- changes that cause them to doubt their self-worth and identities. Watching them help each other discover that they have value -- just for being fully themselves in the world -- was moving in a way I didn't expect. I love the idea that you don't have to be any more or less than you are, because you're the perfect amount for the right person.

On that note, the book had just the right amount of humor, angst and swoon, and a wonderful ensemble of quirky family and townsfolk. I was intrigued by the family connections in the story, and I hope that the author decides to tell their stories in the future!

Lastly, Tarah Dewitt's dedication in this book is stellar. Inspiring and referencing one of the funniest (and truest) moments from The Great British Bake Off? **chef's kiss**

Fisher is a chef who is sent to the small town of Spunes, Oregon, for the summer, to get a new restaurant started. Sage lives on the farm next door and can’t stop herself from helping Fisher and his niece get acclimated. Fisher and Sage form a connection even knowing it has to be temporary.

This story was low angst and tension, specifically between Sage and Fisher. They were both dealing with things in their personal lives but those situations were never delved into very deeply and didn’t effect them getting together. It made for a light read and a sweet (and hot) romance. I loved their flirty banter, intentional or not. I chuckled at several one liners and overall had a good time reading.

I would suggest this to readers who enjoy small town, forced proximity, open door romance (and if watching The Bear made you feel things).

Loved every part of this book, such a nice rom-com, Tarah has such a amazing way with words. This book was very emotional and fun to read at the same time. Definitely recommend

4.5⭐️

I love Sage with her group of animals 😂 and bright life outlook.

There was something missing though. I felt like the story wasn’t completed fully.