I absolutely adored this book! There was so much growth both main characters went through - apart and together. I loved Sage's quirkiness from her love of animals and nature, to how she dealt with all the different people in her life. The mental health representation was amazing and such a central part of Fisher's story and growth. I laughed and cried at their story and was cheering them on the entire time.

Wow, this was my first Tarah Dewitt book and I am now mad at myself that I have not been reading her books sooner.

I devoured Savor It which is a bit of irony to the name and all, but listen it was too good not to get through. I wanted to see the HEA that they deserved.

Read this for:
- Fake dating
- Food related since he's a famous chef
- Found family
- Forced proximity
- Neighbors
- Single Dad (really a single Uncle guardian)
- Mental health rep
- Small town

Sage Byrd lives and breathes her small town life helping her neighbors and taking in all the stray animals who need a home. She has survived some immense trauma in her life, but through it the town she loves was there for her.

Fisher Lange was a start chef in NYC with a Michelin start until it all started to crumble and his career tanked. He has become the guardian to his beloved sister's daughter and has no clue how to navigate raising a teenage girl.

Fisher and his niece find themselves as Sage's neighbor in her small town of Spunes, Oregon in Fisher's attempt to redeem his career by helping to open one of his former boss's new restaurants there.

The two can offer one another help. Sage helping Fisher to navigate the workings of a small town and his niece, and Fisher to partner with Sage on the ultimate town competition.

These two just had the most swoon worthy dive into one another. The way Fisher blossomed and opened up to Sage and how she saw how wounded he was. How he accepted her and loved all the things she thought were too much. I just want to go to Spunes now and have myself a stay on the farm with Sage and all of her animals and get a meal cooked by Fisher.

Adored the mental health rep with Fisher in therapy and him trying to do better and improved. I am obsessed with all the animals Sage has. I cannot wait for more books in this universe because this small town and family already have my heart.

Thank you to SMP and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Savor It
Tarah DeWitt
Romance (some spice)
2024-35 ❤️❤️❤️❤️4.3
TBR May 21 PreOrder today!
📚📚 📚Sage has lived in her small Oregon town her whole life. She loves her job teaching at the high school, loves her gardens and home of needy animals. She’s even used to being shown some pity, after losing both her parents at a young age. But she’s grown tired of it, particularly after her boyfriend dumped her for her friend and everyone in town feels sorry for her. So when a Michelin star ranked chef comes to stay the summer at the house next door to her, she’s happy to meet someone without her whole history. Fisher brings his own history with him from NYC. He’s just been fired from a job he worked hard for, has lost his creativity, and is the new guardian for his teenaged, angry, grieving niece following his sister’s death. Small towns are not his thing and he has no interest in a hallmark movie moment. Yet he cannot deny his interest in the kind, beautiful and utterly chaotic woman next door. Will a summer be enough?
📖📖📖 Absolutely superbly sweet and funny. Fisher and Sage (despite the harlequin-ish names) are down to earth characters with relatable backstories. While you have the fun tropes of meet cute, friends to lovers, pretend to real romance, there is some real sweetness and substance to the romance. The ending is appropriately predictable as it should be for its genre, but how they get there will make you smile and root for love. Fans of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez, rejoice for another funny, sweet friend.
❤️❤️❤️JJ’s last words. Perfectly sweet.
📚📚Thanks to St Martin’s Press (with NetGalley) publishing gave me access to this advanced readers copy on NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. @authortarahdewitt

Tarah has a way of writing characters who feel so tangible and real. Like I could just reach into the book and pull them out and we would be best friends in real life.

A wonderful book by an author I love! I had a great time reading this and will definitely continue to recommend it!

Savor It

4.25 ⭐️

Tarah DeWitt is such an amazing writer and I was so excited when I got Savor It on @netgalley! If you haven’t tried her romance books out, run!

Try if you like:
Small town romance
Dual perspectives
Single Uncle (Dad) romance
Heartfelt stories with grief

This book and its characters were beautiful. I loved the quirky town in Oregon full of meddling characters but also big loss that they work through as real people.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

This book was just what I needed when I picked it up! There is a part of me that has always dreamed about living on a farm with rows upon rows of flowers. A life of reading on a wrap-around porch, swinging idly on the porch swing. Of finishing out the day watching the sunset with a glass of wine. *heavy sigh* That would be the life!

Savor It paints a picture of that life and reading about it made my heart so happy.

I am a BIG FAN of the small town romance and this story gave us the quirky side characters and all that country charm. The romance that blooms between Sage and Fisher also made me smile from ear to ear. I really loved to watch their relationship grow, as well as Fisher’s relationship with his niece. There was a lot of heaviness that accompanied this story, with both Sage and Fisher dealing with their own grief over losing loved ones. This piece really tugged on my heartstrings.

Overall, I waffled back and forth over my rating of this. While I really loved the story and the characters (Gary the goose, in particular!), there is a part of me that wanted a bit more Michelin-star cooking and more training for this big town competition. This aspect was hyped up SO MUCH, only to fall flat for me and be over and done in a few pages.

The ending, though, was perfect for me. Though there was a mutual third-act breakup, the realization that they had all made a mistake had me bursting with joy and renewed my love for this story! I was honestly almost full-on sobbing.

This was my first book by this author and I cannot wait to read more by her in the future!

Savor It will be published on May 21, 2024.

Thank you to Tarah DeWitt, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sage Byrd has lived in the small town of Spunes, Oregon her entire life. She loves it there, but it's been difficult since her boyfriend of five years left her and is now engaged to a former friend. Fisher Lange is a rising chef in New York City who just lost a Michelin star and his job along with it. He also recently took custody of his niece Indy after his sister Freya passed away. He comes to Spunes to help open a new restaurant and hopefully get his job back when he comes home. It’s supposed to be temporary, but things rarely turn out how they’re planned.

This book was adorable. Such a fun and easy read. Perfect for anyone looking for a small town romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins for the ARC!

Talk about the right book at the right time! I felt almost like I was going into a reading slump and starting to read slow this month . However , when I got this it had to be the perfect timing because I COULD NOT put it down! This book at me swooning one minute and the next chapter I am almost having tears! The banter and little grumpy sunshine was done so perfectly well. I absolutely loved Sage’s personality and character through out the entire book. Let me tell you though , Fisher Lange wow what a man. I absolutely loved his character growing through out this story. I clearly cannot put into words how much I absolutely adore this book! Oh and the Library scene ! 🤤 Thank you again NetGalley!

This is my first Tarah Dewitt novel, and she is now an auto-read author for me! She brought the reader into the heart of Spunes; I fell in love with the small town vibe and Sage’s many animals. The romance between Fisher & Sage was beautifully executed. I do wish Fisher & Indy had gotten to talk through more of Indy’s grief and her feelings of being unwanted, but I can understand that it wasn’t the main focus of the book.

Full review will be posted on Goodreads closer to publishing date!

Savor It is a small town romantic comedy between a quirky teacher and a big city chef who is struggling to raise his teenage niece. I found myself getting attached to Sage and Fisher very early on in the book, which doesn’t happen too often.
The first meeting between Fisher and Sage is one of the funniest meet cutes that I have ever read about. It is his first night at the new house, and Indy hears what she thinks is an intruder moving around downstairs. She wakes up Fisher, and he calls 911. Turns out, it was a vacuum set to clean the house at 4am. The cops, who happen to be Sage’s brothers, arrive and hilarity ensues. Sage is his neighbor, and she knows her brothers are on shift, so she comes over to “save” Fisher from her brothers.
Though they both know they are in love, they will not admit it out loud because their romance has a time limit on it. Fisher promised Indy that they would return to New York at the end of summer, and he feels like he can’t let her down anymore. He also doesn’t feel worthy of love. This leads to so many back and forths, from the dual POVs. Reading the progression of their feelings had me cheering them on.

Really sweet beautiful love story about healing and finding true happiness. Would definitely recommend to anyone who’s in love with small town romances!

Thank you St. Martins for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Yeah, this book was fantastic.

Couple of things that were my favorite;
1. 3 legged cat named Legolass
2. Gary
3. As a horse girl, Bud was a lovely addition to any book
(the theme here is the animals, I loved the animals)

Sage was a great FMC she was charming and sweet and lovable and it never felt forced for her to be the way she was.
The topics of healing and grief were added in and told really well imo. I also found it to be remarkably accurately on small town living both suffocating and amazing all at once while also being wholly misunderstood by anyone on the outside of it.

This romance was slow but stead, beautiful and sweet. Also v sexy.
I lost it when the journal was read at the end, and that sealed the deal for me on the final rating being 5 stars. I am hoping a Silas book mayhap be in our future? or MAYHAP A REUNION BETWEEN TWO PARTICULAR PARTIES???? HMMMM???

Definitely recommend this book, I did have to google some of the culinary terms but that's okay.

I would like to move to Spunes please. I loved this book so much. Sage and Fisher are everything. So much pining and longing throughout but ultimately trying to make the best of a situation and savor it while they can. P.S. the animals in this book should be considered main characters.

At time of review the St. Martin's Press boycott is still ongoing as SMP has chosen to still not address islamaphobic and racist remarks made by a member of their team.

The boycott of St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and other related imprints is a direct response to the publisher’s lack of accountability regarding statements made by an employee in their marketing department and their failure to respond to concerns about possible systemic issues within the department.

See https://r4acollective.org/ for more information on the boycott and see how you can help not break the boycott.

Small town romances never miss! I had so much fun reading this book!! I really enjoyed reading Sage and Fisher falling in love with each other. They were so PERFECT. The writing was great and some of the quotes had me blushing and giggling. The side characters were so loveable and I’m really hoping we get books for Sage’s brothers (please I need them)!! Also special shoutout to Sage’s animals! I want a little farm too!

The beginning of the book was a little slow and I wish Indy’s character would’ve been more developed but other than that it was so good! This book is worth the read and I would definitely recommend it if you like small town/grumpy x sunshine romance!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will not be posting a public review until St. Martin's press addresses the publicity boycott demands that can be found here: https://r4a.carrd.co/

I may be in the minority with this book, but I didn't really enjoy it. It had all the makings of a great concept - a woman from a small town with Hallmark-ish vibes and a chef from the big city coming to town with his niece that he's caring for. There was a slow start to the book, and then the plot never really picked up. The author focused more on providing background information and setting the scene, but didn't provide a ton of dialogue or interaction between the characters. I wanted more talking and less description.

“it’s been a privilege to fall in love with you”

THIS BOOK!!!! I’ll keep shouting about it from the rooftops because I love it so much! 😭

May I recommend….he’s a hot chef. I don’t feel like that needs any more convincing.🧑🏼‍🍳

Sage and Fisher have such a patient and slow love which is, in my opinion, the best kind. I absoluetly loved the small town setting of Spunes, Oregon and how quirky and fun everyone was! I felt so immersed in the town and the characters and Tarah has some of the best descriptions!

This book also focuses on some heavier topics such as grief, career burnout, and finding what it means to be alive. I found this to be one of the best aspects of the book, because it was done with such care and felt so real. I really was rooting for them both together and separately!

I just don’t have enough good things to say about this book honestly and I now need everyone to read it!! UGH! I get so giddy just thinking about it!

🛶🌅read if you enjoy:
- grumpy x sunshine
- hot chefs
- small coastal town setting
- dual POV
- all the summer feels
- characters who go to therapy
- friends to benefits to lovers

SAGE AND FISHER ARE EVERYTHING TO ME! Okay that’s all!

I have been irrevocably changed by Spunes. I know this story will be one I continually go back to when I need a little reminder of all the sage advice tucked into its pages. Reminders to be present in all things, make the most out of life wherever you’re at, and that a simple life doesn’t mean a small life if it brings you happiness.

I cried through the last 50 or so pages and I feel I need to find my Spunes (which hopefully there’s also a hot chef waiting for me). Savor It not only brought tears, but also laughs and butterflies - I truly never wanted it to end and I tried my best to savor every last word. I read the entirety of Savor It for the first time in May 2023 (reading bits and pieces of it previously), but it doesn’t matter how many times I’ve read it I still find myself getting lost in the story. I swear Tarah gets better with each and every story.

Tarah has this innate ability to put your deepest, darkest feelings into words in a way you never thought possible. The multi-faceted characters she develops allows every reader to see a piece of themselves in each of her stories. I related equally to both Sage and Fisher throughout - so much so it was like Tarah’s words revealed a portion of myself I didn’t know was there.

The stories Tarah creates are highly relatable, deep, and soul touching while also giving levity throughout. Something I find truly masterful and rare in the literary space today. You’ll find yourself swooning, melting, laughing, and even shedding a few tears here and there (or a lot). Each novel is a well rounded, masterpiece that every reader should pick up.

But don’t let the deeply moving stories fool you, you will still find exquisite spice throughout each. Spice that has the ability to make you blush, but also tear up in a way you didn’t think possible. I’ll be shocked if she doesn’t surpass the likes of Emily Henry within the contemporary romance space.

Savor It broke my heart and put it back together in such a way I didn’t think was possible. It was a privilege getting to read this story since its inception, and it was a privilege getting to fall in love with Sage, Fisher, Indy, Spunes, and the menagerie of animals and local townspeople.

This one comes out May 21 and you really don’t want to miss it!

Fun things you’ll find in Spunes:
💜 strangers to friends to lovers
👨🏻‍🍳 yes, chef
🏡 small town (full of puns)
🪿 Gary the goose
🛶 canoe canoodling
📚 stolen kisses between the library stacks
✨ a mutually beneficial arrangement
🩷 only for the summer
✌🏻 dual pov