This book was a wonderful surprise! My first by Tarah DeWitt and I can't wait to read more.

I loved Sage. She was uniquely herself, loves fiercely and I could really relate to her. Fisher was a harder nut to crack for me. His emotions were often all over the place and it took him the entire book to come back to himself.

Some things I loved:
- gopher hunting
- the library kiss
- when fisher takes care of sage and vice versa
- therapy rep
- all of the animals

It took me a minute to get into this one but when I did it was well worth it. Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader! All thoughts are my own.

It was like Abby Jimenez + The Bear for me and I just really needed that in my life.

Sage lives a small, quite but happy life in her hometown of Spunes and when Fisher rolls into town to work on a new restaurant he's just what she needs in a summer fling. Fisher is in Spunes to get a break from the fine dining world of NYC where he is a chef at a Michelin star restaurant and to connect with his niece, who lives with him after her mom died several years earlier. Sage and Fisher team up to compete in Spune's summer competition but they also help each other learn more about themselves.

I cried the last 20 minutes but in the best way possible. My qualms were a weird amount of unnecessary f bombs and some very unique names from allll the characters that made it just a slightly unbelievable world but I started to look past that once I started enjoying the story more. Now I'll be going back and reading all of DeWitt's other books!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Summer won’t last forever”

Fisher is a hot shot chef and guardian of his niece, who has lost his spark.  In hopes of getting it back, he ventures to small town Oregon to help his boss with a new opening.  Here, he meets Sage, his neighbor for the summer, whose sunshine personality helps lead him back to his love of cooking.

This was the quintessential romance.  I enjoyed how both characters were on their own journeys of finding themselves and that they found each other as someone they could lean on.  I loved all the small gestures the two did for each other, affirming their feelings and showing them to each other.  I really loved how Sage helped Fisher find his place with his niece Indy, and with a similar background story, was able to help Indy as well.  I thought it was an interesting plot idea to it being a summer romance, so having them know their time together had an end date, as this only added to the tension between them.  I was nervous for a bit that it wouldn’t have the typical romance ending, but luckily, I was wrong and got exactly what I wanted.  And of course, typical of any small town, there were a ton of fun side characters (and fun animals) whom I loved as well that added in loads of charm.

Recommended for anyone who loves small-town romance full of summer love.

Savor It is out May 21, 2024

Thanks so Tarah Dewitt, SMP Romance, St Martins Press, and NetGalley for this ARC!

Savor It is a warm hug of a romance novel that I didn’t know I wanted or needed. If a book could smell, it would smell like summer—warm grass, sea salt, and the smoke of someone grilling. The characters are well-rounded and felt mostly true-to-life, and Fisher and Sage’s relationship also felt mostly the same.

I’m not quite sure what’s holding this back from being a 5-star read, but nevertheless, I heartily recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

“…you learn quickly, then no other person has that kind of power anyway. The kind to make you happy. So you figure out what you want and where you wanted it and you go after it. Like you did… And maybe anyone that fits into that is who your people are meant to be”

Small town girl meets city guy with a grumpy vs. Sunshine vibe. Oh and then add imperfectly perfect characters who hold pain in their heart but love as their hope.

Sage was the sweet, small town girl who lost her parents and was raised by brothers. She’s always felt like she’s just “not” enough… (thank you to her ex!) . Something about her was so relatable and so endearing that it felt a little like a coming-of-age but instead of that: a coming-of-voice.

Fisher has his own pain as he tries to navigate raising his teenage niece and muddle through small-town politics to open up a new restaurant.

So refreshing to read about the male MC getting therapy. Or a couple who don’t have miscommunication.. it’s just two imperfectly perfect humans who find out what (or who) makes them happy.

Ps. A quick read! Total beach book of romance 💘

I love Tara and her writing! Loved this little read so much! And that cover?! Obsessed! Binged this in one day, no chance to savor it I was hooked!

HUGE THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHERS AT ST. MARTIN’S PRESS FOR THE ARC OF SAVOR IT BY TARAH DEWITT!!

I genuinely feel in my heart that this is my favorite Tarah Dewitt book that I have read thus far! It is easily a 4.25⭐️ for me. The only reason I didn’t rate this one a 5 star is because it took me a little bit to feel invested in the story but once I got there it was a chefs kiss! Sage and Fisher were absolutely magnetic. I adored their chemistry. I loved how this novel made me feel a rush of emotions. I was sad. I was happy. I was sad/happy/sappy at the same time. Beautifully written! I would definitely recommend!

When I tell you, I CRIED. This was so good, and the writing was so beautiful. Also, who doesn’t love a good cooking romance?! Definitely buy this book ASAP because it’s that good.

I enjoyed this book! It kept my attention and had me hooked. Although I liked it, the story didn’t stick with me after.

I DNF’d this book at 40%. Unfortunately I just don’t think it was for me. The writing wasn’t grabbing me and to get to 40% and have nothing have really happened just didn’t work for me.

This book was such a delight! I loved the small town, close-knit community vibes, the menagerie of animals, and Sage and Fisher's relationship. They were soft, and sweet, and everything I didn't know I needed!

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

THIS BOOK!

dare I call it a masterpiece? yes, I think I shall.

wow wow wow. I expected to enjoy it, but I was NOT prepared for the way Savor It latched onto my heart, burrowed its way in, and embedded itself there permanently. it’s such a beautifully rich story that had me literally laughing and sobbing at all the right moments. I think it may have hollowed me out a bit and filled me back up with pure joy. a book hasn’t made me feel this deeply in a good while now, and I’m so thankful for it.

Savor It is filled with the radiating delight of mundane moments, the step-stumbling happiness of falling in love, and the zinging buzz of heartbreak. it’s mouthwatering (in more ways than one) with its ability to make you crave, desire, and just long for all the good things. it feels like a sunshiny day in the middle of a meadow, and while the clouds pop up every now and then, they make you even more grateful for the sun. it’s summer in a bottle.

the characters are *chef’s kiss (no pun intended, although as the pun queen, Sage would approve):
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ Sage is such a relatable woman. she’s not trying to be the cool girl, she’s just her effervescent, caring self. I’m obsessed with the way her character solidifies that it’s okay to be the nice girl. nice girls get bad raps, but they are so vital and vibrant and filled with more depth than they get credit for.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ Fisher is just doing the best he can with what he’s got, and we love him for it. he’s so unsuspecting of his summer surroundings, and it’s such a joy to watch him come back to himself and grow even more into who he wants to be.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ⇢ the secondary characters are so three-dimensional! every single one of them comes to life so potently. I’m not ready to say goodbye, and if I don’t get at least one more book from Spunes, I’ll be devastated. I’m looking at your second chance, Wren and Ellis!!

all-in-all, Savor It just made me so happy, and I really couldn’t ask for more!
•

this and that:
♡ all the animals
♡ butterflies in your stomach
♡ canoe lessons
♡ competitions
♡ cooking
♡ chef / farmer
♡ fake dating
♡ farmers markets
♡ festivals
♡ getting caught in the rain
♡ green thumbs
♡ he paints her nails
♡ hurt / comfort
♡ library trysts
♡ love with a countdown
♡ no strings
♡ only for the summer
♡ open door
♡ Pacific Northwest
♡ pun puns puns
♡ single uncle
♡ slow burn
♡ small towns
♡ sooo much good food (and he cooks!)
♡ summer in a bottle
♡ the magic of getting to know someone without expectations
♡ the wall lean
♡ twilight references
•

triggers:
☞ bullying (mentioned)
☞ burnout
☞ car accident (off page)
☞ death of a loved one
☞ grief
☞ physical injury / severe burns (off page)
☞ regret
☞ xenophobia
•
notable quotes:
・She’s so cute it’s downright offensive.

・“According to the holy trinity otherwise known as the Chicks, wide-open spaces give one room to make some big mistakes, too.”

・The sight of Fisher with his back to me in my kitchen stretches that fluttery feeling into something foreign and loopy—something equal parts excited and self-conscious in an illogical way.

・“Grief changes you”

・“I don’t think we can base our success entirely on someone else’s opinions”

・“I decided a long time ago that life being too short and too beyond my control meant that I’d let the small stuff feel big.”

・“even I can tell that you’re vast.”

・“There you are”

・it’s also that same quality about Sage that makes it impossible to be anything but fully present when she’s around. Like when your sock slips down the inside of your shoe and it feels like your entire nervous system becomes focused there. I doubt I could let my consciousness go blurry around her if I tried.

・“Fisher, I’ll be happy to listen to your origin story later, but right now, we’re discussing canoes.”

・“What if I don’t like it quick, Sage?” I ask, rapt on her reaction. “What if I prefer to savor things. Want it good and slow and drawn out?”

・Even disheveled and dirty with a ladle in his hand, he makes me want to twirl my hair and giggle like a moron.

・“Sagebyrd,” he says, like bluebird or blackbird or like I’m some exotic, rare species he’s just discovered and named. Just like that, it’s officially the only nickname I’ve ever loved.

・Someone’s laugh has never caused such a visceral reaction in me before.

・I feel adrift and confused.

・We both can’t seem to stop finding one another.

・I just want. All I am is want.

・Somehow I know that from now on, the tang of him and salt water will be what I think of when I imagine summer’s taste.

・“you make it hard to be anywhere else.”

・“I’ve always said that nothing screams romance like being submerged in the icy Pacific before 7:00 A.M.”

・“No, Sage. I think you’d respond better to being very intentionally worked up,” he tells me. “Should I tell you how?”

・I feel myself being irrevocably changed

・Because not all hearts break, or heal, the same.

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

・I want to be the one to make her favorite meal.

・“I think your laugh could maybe defibrillate me.”

・“Once you accept the impermanence of it, you give yourself permission to enjoy it now.”

・I just know I’ll never be the same

・“I just don’t want it to end,” he says. “It’s too good. I just want to put off the end.”

・I thought that getting physical might ease this feeling in me, but I feel myself tripping precariously into that addiction.

・“Courage is a muscle.” You strengthen it with use.

・just like that, some of the sand gets carried away, taking a piece of me with it.

・I feel like I’m a fizzy drink of emotion about to uncork.

・I’ve spent so much of my life observing others, trying to learn the things I was missing, trying to make myself significant to them, but this man who has known me a month has made himself feel crucial to me.

・I am deliriously enamored.

・“I’m in too deep, Sage,” he rasps, voice thick.

・“I know we were supposed to accept the impermanence of this thing with you and me, and enjoy it in the meantime, but I just keep digging in, and now I’m drowning in you, Sage.”

・“Just love me until then, anyway”

・Love is this. Love is breathing. A sweet, deep, aching relief. And it’s somehow even more disorienting.

・life is not a meritocracy. Just because you do everything right, even if you know you deserve it, doesn’t mean that it will all be perfect in the end.

・“It’s all worth it, anyway.”

・It’s like the cruelest tease of the life we might’ve had, if our paths had found a way to converge. Instead, I know this loop is coming to an end, and have to find a way to appreciate it for the beautiful maze it’s been.

・My fantasy and the reality I’ll likely always dream of wrapped up in one. I feel like the life she breathed into me is leaving already.

・“Thank you for loving me, as is.”

・will I ever not find her in everything?

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

・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.

・“Time’s the only thing that increases your pain tolerance.”

・he said it had been a privilege. Because it was, wasn’t it? Even feeling how I do now, I would do it all again for the privilege of loving him, of being loved by him. He didn’t fix me, and I didn’t heal him, but we loved each other wholly.

・It’s October when everything changes.

・I miss her so much I think it could swallow me whole.

・“Nothing’s for certain, except that I certainly fucking love you.”

・“You’re all the shapes made perfectly to hold me, and you’re all my favorite colors.”
—
thank you SMP Romance for sending me and early copy of Savor It!

This was a super cute read! I absolutely loved the dynamic between Sage and Fisher. I only knocked off two stars because I wish we had learned a little bit more of the back story of both Sage and Fisher. Sometimes I felt like I missed something when I was reading parts of the book. Overall though, this was a delicious read. If you're looking for something sweet, playful, and (a little) spicy, add this to your list!

I’ve seen all the hype for this book and assumed that it couldn’t be that good. Of course, I was wrong. This book starts off a bit slow but pulls you as you begin to see more of the town and its intricacies. The MC, Sage, feels like a character we’ve seen before but as the story unfolds she gains a depth that allows you to see yourself in her. Fisher is a troubled chef trying to do the best for his niece and piece his life back together. The connection is slow and sweet. The side characters help to give a full perspective of the town, its people but also brings heat to the romance. The town grows on you to the point that you down want to leave it behind. As the story ended I realized I wanted more and that’s when I finally got what everyone loved so much about this book. Definitely check it out if you want a sweet romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

CW: parental death

Wow. I think i just found my new favorite book by Tarah Dewitt! It’s such a sweet, heartwarming romance that is so beautifully written. Sage and Fisher are freaking beautiful together and they deserve all the happiness in the world. Watching them fall in love was something I’ll never forget anytime soon!

I love the style of the two books I have read by this author - there is something distinct and lovely about the voice she brings to her romances. This had a perfect small town setting and cast of characters, and I loved how the stories all came together throughout. I’m also itching for some spinoff novels about the side characters!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Savor It by Tarah DeWitt
3.5*

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital copy of this ARC!

-small town romance
-opposites attract
-just for the summer

My thoughts:
When I saw this as a Read Now on Netgalley, I have never clicked faster! I thoroughly enjoyed ALL of Tarah DeWitt's other work, especially Funny Feelings.

Savor It took me a while to get into, but once I did, I enjoyed it. I thought the chemistry between Sage and Fisher was fantastically written, and loved many of the side characters. This book has some top-tier banter, and covers some heavier topics as well - grief, healing, and being happy with your own life. I didn't love the flow of this book - the timeline was a little off. Some days felt slow, while other time periods felt rushed and skipped.

Savor It publishes May 21, and I'd highly recommend it for fans of Abby Jimenez.

In this story we follow Sage who is a small town girl through and through. Just getting out of a serious relationship, she is focused on life at home. Which includes a small farm of misfit animals and a garden of flowers.
We then meet fisher who's life is turned upside down when he is fired from his job and gains guardianship of his teenage niece. When a second chance offer at getting his life back on track as a chef comes along, he takes it! Even if that means he has to be in a small town with his unenthusiastic niece.
Sage and Fisher become neighbors. They support each other and with time they come to need each other. Their time together isn't permanent. So they will have to make the most of the moments they have left.


I enjoyed this book for the most part. The romance quickly forced. Fisher felt more flushed out as a character because his family was part of the story line. We never dealt with Sage getting over her past. It was just too rushed through. We were left out of a lot of scenes that the writer had built us up for. I also was glad to have read this on kindle because there were words I needed to look up. I gave it 3 stars.

DeWitt's writing is warm and engaging, with a charming wit and heartfelt emotion that draws readers in from the very first page. She navigates the ups and downs of romance with sensitivity and grace, crafting a love story that is as sweet and satisfying as a perfectly crafted dessert.

At its core, "Savor It" is a story about the transformative power of food and love in our lives. It celebrates the joys of cooking, eating, and sharing meals with the people we care about most. Whether you're a foodie, a hopeless romantic, or simply looking for a heartwarming read, "Savor It" is sure to leave you hungry for more.

Savor it by Tara DeWitt was a cute read. It wasn't groundbreaking, super unique or something to write home about but it was cute.