I adored this book and it literally gave me ALL the feels. The MC’s were complex and relatable and perfect for each other.

I recently lost my mom to a long illness, so I identified with Sage quite a bit on trying to gleam wisdom from her journal and searching for any morsel of advice she could get from her.

CW/TW: death of parents, death of loved one, teen pregnancy, divorce, abandonment, burnout, grief, fire injury

Yes, Chef!

“Savor It” is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It is the perfect blend of romantic, quirky and emotional. Tarah DeWitt does a wonderful job of exploring some heavy topics while conveying a sense of hopefulness throughout the entire story.

Sage Byrd is the hometown girl dealing with the end of a long relationship in the small town of Spunes, Oregon. Fisher Lange is in town for the summer to save his career as the chef of a three-star Michelin restaurant. These two have a hilarious meet cute after he arrives at his rental next door. They develop a friendship that eventually blossoms into something more after a few hilarious and heartwarming encounters. And the food scenes… SWOON!

This is the part of the review where I stopped and started more times than I can count. I do not have the words to accurately describe what these two characters mean to each other. Their love still feels profound to me days later. Sage & Fisher will live in my heart forever. They are beautiful, complex, real and relatable. I am tearing up as I type… This will be a book that I reread.

I could not end this review without mentioning that Spunes is the perfect backdrop for this story. It, along with the cast of side characters, elevates this story to another level. Indy & Gary FOREVER!

Listen to my “sage advice” and pre-order now so you can start reading as soon as it releases on May 21st.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me early access to this title. It was my first Tarah DeWitt book, but it will not be my last.

DNF. I'm in the minority here, so it must be a me issue. Just couldn't get into this one. The writing and the pacing felt like it dragged down the story to a snail pace and I couldn't get into it. This author just may not be for me.

I've come to LOVE Tarah DeWitt, but this one didn't quite land. The plot felt too slow for the first 75%, and then incredibly rushed in the last quarter! It was cute to follow Sage and Fischer, but the pacing prevented me from staying truly invested. But the small town setting was charming and the side characters well done!

Savor It a perfect summer romance book in a sweet setting. The main characters are full of life even while sorting through old grief. The slow burn between Sage and Fisher allowed them to become wonderful friends before developing a relationship further. The town itself is a character in the story to root for too. I hope this book becomes a series with Sage's brothers. The only thing that slightly got to me was the amount of times the title was used for emphasis. Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for the ARC to review.

Savor It is the ultimate romance read that delivers a perfect blend of sizzle, spice, and heartwarming charm.
Set in the quaint coastal town of Spunes, Oregon, this romcom serves up a delectable mix of small-town shenanigans and steamy summer romance. Sage Byrd, our spirited protagonist, teams up with Fisher Lange, a once-hotshot chef turned reluctant summer consultant, in a strategic alliance to conquer the town's annual Festival of Spunes and win back their mojo.
With witty banter, sizzling chemistry, and a dash of emotional depth, the author crafts a story that will have you laughing, swooning, and rooting for love against all odds. From misfit animals on Sage's hobby farm to the mouthwatering culinary delights of Fisher's kitchen, every page is infused with irresistible charm.
Savor It is a must-read for anyone craving a taste of sunshine, laughter, and love.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This one was just ok for me. I liked the small town setting and the little farm full of misfit animals. However, I had a hard time connecting with the characters, and something was just missing for me. I also thought the author was kind of all over the place and a bit noncommittal with the tropes (for example, for about a chapter it seemed like fake dating was going to be a trope but then it just kinda got dropped.) Nonetheless, I enjoyed the book but unfortunately it didn’t wow me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in consideration for my honest review.

ARC REVIEW

Savor It
By Tarah DeWitt

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/ 5 (3.5 rounded up to 4/5)

Publishing Date: 5/21/2024

Sage has lived in Spunes, Oregon, her entire life. She loves her small town, animals and local townspeople, but she can't help feeling hurt when her ex becomes engaged to someone else...

Fisher, a chef from NYC, is raising his teenage niece after the death of his sister.  After losing his Michelin star, his boss sends him to Spunes to help launch a new restaurant.

Sage and Fisher decide they can help each other....Sage needs a partner for the annual summer competition, and Fisher needs help being welcomed by the locals.

They didn't intend to catch feelings...BUT Fisher will be leaving at the end of summer. Can Sage and Fisher find the strength to walk away?

REVIEW:
I enjoyed this!

I unfortunately didn't love it as much as the high good read ratings. The first half was slow for me. I felt like it took too long to get into the story, which caused me to give a lower rating.

Once I hit 60% in, I LOVED it. I loved Sage and Fishers chemistry. Fisher? Ohh.  *CHEFS KISS* I wish we had an entire book about these two being in love. The romance was SO good, but I wanted MORE!!

It would have been a 5 star read if it wasn't for the slow start. But I still recommend this one!

As always, thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley ! Also appreciative of the ARCS!

This book was okay. While I really loved the characters themselves, it felt like at 60% through the book nothing had even happened yet.

I think the tension/fake dating aspect could have been introduced earlier in the book and it would have made it more enjoyable.

Savor It was literal perfection, and the book to best this summer. Full of small town hi-jinx, DeWitt’s signature charm, emotional depth, and heaps of steam, this is easily Tarah’s best work yet. I loved Sage and Fisher’s meet cute, their friendship, and eventually their burgeoning love that helped heal all sorts of emotional wounds. Highly recommend a visit to Spunes! You won’t be disappointed.

Loved Loved Loved this book. I’ve never read anything else by this author but the description sounded good so I gave it a shot and I’m SO glad I did. Sage’s fierce and warm personality mixed with Fisher’s honesty and natural charm makes for great chemistry that will have you swooning. Their banter will have you laughing out loud. There’s baby farm animals, lots of love and laughter but there is also some heartbreak. You’ll be feeling all the feels by the end of this book, but you won’t regret it.

I never knew there could be so many innuendos around canoes lol

Also Geese bond for life and can actually get depression #indyandgary4ever

“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. I gave him my dirt, my heart, my home, and now he's been uprooted again and I'm left with the upturned mess of it all.”

Thank you NetGalley, Tara Dewitt and St. Martin’s Publishing for Advanced Readers Copy of this book and the opportunity to share my honest and unbiased thoughts.

The sweetest book!!

The small town vibe, the farm animals & the loveeeeeee was just so pure!

I love everything Tarah writes and can't wait to read more <3

This was a pretty early DNF for me. I do enjoy romances, but I found I did not look forward to picking this up to keep reading. I have not read any other books by this author, but she clearly has a great following. If Hallmark movies are your thing, you would probably enjoy this book because very early on, those were the vibes. It felt like things could have been fleshed out more when they were glossed over.

I've been a fan of Tarah's writing for a long time, and it truly feels like she gets better with every book. Who knew that she could take a small town setting (one of my least favorite settings in romance) and make me cry? Make me think about the way that grief puts things into stark perspective and somehow simultaneously makes things in life feel unattainable and urgent.

Spunes was adorable and one of the most realistic small towns I've read in romance. The forced proximity, the bargain, the sexual tension, the gradual and then sudden slip into love -- beautiful. And, as always, it was done with the lushness of Dewitt's writing, from the scenery to the food (the FOOD!), I wanted to Savor this book.

I also want to give a shout out to the character of Indy. It's hard for me to like children in romance, and even harder when they're teenagers, but Indy was there enough to add perspective without taking over the plot, and her growth in the background of the story was beautiful (and fundamental to the ending).

There's enough substance in the town and Sage's family that an entire series could unfurl from this, but the hints at future plots don't feel heavy handed and overwhelming like some first books of the series. I'd gladly return to Spunes and find my own goose.

This book is such a sincere and heartfelt romance. I love the opposite worlds the characters come from: small town farm girl and a Michelin-star New York chef. Opposites really attract in this romance, and I love the constant use of open communication throughout their story.

There are so many motifs that make this romance unique (Sage's robes, for example—iykyk). I also like the themes of overcoming work burnout, figuring out how to parent teenagers, small town versus big city, savoring things while they last, and choosing to live a happy life no matter what that looks like to you. I really identified with that last one, and it made me love and appreciate the journeys the characters went on both together and separately.

My only critique is that the tension did drag a bit for me at some parts, making me want to skim. But overall, I think this romance is special and worth reading.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 5
Overall: 4

Thank you, St. Martin's Griffin, for the arc!
Releases May 21, 2024

Trigger/Content Warnings: death of loved ones (off page), injury, four-ish open door scenes

The pure, raw intensity and depth of the emotions it evoked were overpowering. I absolutely LOVED it.

Fall in love with the town of Spunes in this small town summer romance book. We’ve got Fisher, the former big city chef who has recently found himself primary caregiver of his teenage niece and in charge of creating a menu for Spunes’ new, controversial, restaurant. And Sage, the girl next door, who is the heart and soul of this small town. Sage is quirky, passionate, and ultimately exactly what Fisher and his niece didn’t know they needed in their lives.

Mental health representation and personal growth were also important components of this book. Fisher works through his grief and is impressively self aware, while Sage works on her confidence and letting go of what others think. Sage having her mom’s book of advice was something I found to be very special and I’m glad it was incorporated into the story as it was.

This was a quick read with realistic characters, a small town you will definitely want to visit, slow burn with good spice and a bit of humour. Oh and did I mention there are super cute farm animals??

This is my first ARC from NetGalley and my first 5-star read of the year!
I was in a book slump before picking this up but Ms.Tarah Dewitt knows how to write a book that just gets you out of it!
I loved everything about this story from the setting to the side characters and especially the animals. If you love the small-town and summer romance tropes, you will love this book.
Sage and Fisher’s relationship blossomed so beautifully, they had me laughing and crying. I love them so much.
I don’t think I’ve ever related to a character so much as I did with Sage. I love how deeply she feels and as someone who feels too much, I just felt seen.
I can’t wait until May 21 to get a physical copy!

dnf at 30%

while i like the premise of the book Tarah Dewitt writing is just not for me, i’m finding it really hard to get into the book & connect with the characters. i find myself forcing to pick the book up rather than being excited to pick it up.

Tarah DeWitt doesn't miss, and Savor It is no exception. Tarah's take on a small-town romance was fun, emotional, and (best of all) realistic. I loved that she never glosses over the downside of small-town living. The rumor mill, knowing everyone's business, etc. The pacing of this book was perfect, and Tarah builds the tension beautifully. When the main characters find their way to their happily ever after, it feels like all the heartache was worth it.

To me, this book exemplifies the old saying "life is what happens when you're busy making plans." Fisher moves himself and his niece to Spunes for the summer to clear his head and help a friend get their restaurant off the ground, planning the entire time to return to NYC. Enter Sage Byrd. I love how unapologetically she loves her town and the world she's carved out for herself. She's charming and funny and everything Fisher needs to find solid ground again.

This book left me wanting more stories from Spunes (and more cranky yet loveable geese!)