I wanted to love this so much, but was left a bit underwhelmed.

It felt like I was reading the script for a grumpy sunshine, save the small town Hallmark movie. That could do it for many people, but wasn’t riveting or original enough for me.

I liked but did not love either of the main characters, but did enjoy the tension between them and found them endearing. There were quite a few declarations that had my heart palpitating, but I didn’t really buy into their chemistry or longevity as a couple.

That being said, I did love the supporting cast (including all of the animals), laughed out loud in a few places, and finished the book with warmth in my heart and love for Tarah’s open door scenes 🌶️🤣🤷🏼‍♀️.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Give Silas his own book!!

I am so hopeful that this book will be developed into a small town romance series. This story is exactly what you want from a romance and had so much good steam. This was my first Tarah DeWitt and I'm already dying to go back and read her other stories!

A cozy small town romance, perfect for your TBRs when the mood strikes you for this exact vibe. This is the book for you!

Lovable, smart, reasonable characters. A relationship that feels organic and believable. I would definitely recommend this read!! I’m keeping this review simple because this is simply a great romance to recommend.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted (free) ARC

Before I get too into my review I would like to add (on my kindle it says LOC 2163 chapter 16 Fischer - there is a line where it says hand in mind. I’m unsure if it’s supposed to say hand in mine.

My review

I absolutely loved it. I loved the character development, the plot, the characters and the small town vibes. The way that grief is heavily portrayed in this novel is exceptionally done. I appreciate the way the epilogue was written, with an homage to the past year instead of jumping right into a new space of their relationship. I cried very heavily for about 1/4 of the book.

This book is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me.

All my best,
Emma

This was a wonderful read! A great balance of sweet and spicy.....great characters and an ending I had hoped for!

This book did what recent Hallmark-esque movies have failed to do -- make me want to move to a small town with quirky traditions. Sure, it was technically predictable, but it was still cute. This book did what recent Hallmar-esque movies have failed to do -- make me want to move to a small town with quirky traditions. Sure, it was technically predictable, but it was still cute.

This book was amazing! I was hooked simply by reading the description and it did not disappoint! I really enjoyed the characters in this book and how connected the residents of Spunes are to one another. The setting in this book is so well developed and described it made me want to crawl into this book and live in this relaxing small town and take life slowly. The banter back and fourth between Sage and Fisher was fun and made these two characters super loveable. They communicate so well with eachother and they have lots of fun togerher. It was great to see how well they overcame different obstacles in their personal lives and how they helped eachother through those challenges. I love how carefree Sage is and how she choses to live her life, we could all benefit from taking some of her sage advice about life!

This was my first book by Tarah DeWitt and it definitely won’t be my last! Savor It is exactly what I want from my romance novels. There are corny jokes and absolutely heartrending moments. There are the insights into human nature that I love and universal lessons on loss, grief, and love that are easily accessible. And it’s spice and fluff and puns galore. I absolutely get why this book is on all the romance books of 2024 lists I’ve been seeing.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

I thought that the introduction for both of the leads was really stellar. We get an insight into their struggles and past, without everything immediately delineated. The whole book does a good job of not bulldozing the narrative with exposition. Sage’s character is fun and quirky, without being stereotypical quirky. She wears funny clothes and loves to take care of people and animals, but she is self-aware and well-intentioned. This book has angst, but there are respites. It does not feel weighty with it or overdone, rather it is appropriately placed in terms of the narrative and character development. Both leads are honest about what they want or not knowing and they really just try to communicate and work through their issues.

Sage and Fisher really try to get to know each other authenticately. Yes, this is a romance and on a faster timeline than I myself would pursue in real life, but it’s sweet and they care. They work on communication and make mistakes that they struggle with, but they apologize and try to do better. I want my romances to be realistic and imperfect, but loving and kind, and Sage and Fisher definitely fit the bill. And the jokes in the book are so cute, it definitely mixs funny and serious well. And the hot moments are hot. They fit into the story and the timeline of the relationship and feature tension and simmer and partnership. The book is clearly in touch with trends and modern stuff (fanfic and charcuterie = adult lunchable) and touches like that make the book sing.

Ok, there were a few things that didn’t absolutely wow me. I think the timeline of the book was a little unclear at points. I didn’t always feel that days had passed in the narrative and then it would say that four days or so had passed. But it wasn’t terribly distracting. The side characters got a little lost in the pursuit of passing on lessons to the main characters through their comments and actions. For Sage herself, who has been placed into a specific reputation within her hometown that she struggles to accept or see the truth in parts of it, I felt that she, at times, was moving into making her choices out of spite. But I understand where she comes from with that attitude and I don’t think it leads her towards anything she wouldn’t actually want.

I appreciate the frank discussions of emotions, grief, and mental health, and mental health work. The characters feel like people. Fisher and Sage are not separate from the real world, though their story is a perfect escape for me. And the stresses throughout the book on the importance of small joys are so special to me. The last quarter of the book just flew by for me. I loved how fluffy and sweet this book is, while also handling some real, sad emotions and complex situations. I really enjoyed this book.

I absolutely loved Sage and Fisher. Their quirks and how they built their lives together with Indy made my heart squeeze. While the romance was good, I felt the background was dragged out. Still would recommend!

this kind of felt like tarah dewitt was trying to write the next great emily henry book, and it didn’t meet those standards for me. there were too many instances where the dialogue didn’t feel realistic because of the flowery language, and that really took me out of the book.

these characters were very lovable—probably her most entertaining characters to date. however, it almost felt like I was reading nothing. not much happened until the end, and those instances felt very rushed. fisher’s work in spunes was rarely talked about, and his niece was not in this book enough for me to be satisfied with the single guardian trope. everything just felt underdeveloped, which sucks because I was really looking forward to reading this.

the cover is gorgeous and the characters are lovable, but I personally wouldn’t expect much else if you have already been questioning if tarah dewitt is the author for you. she’s not for me, and that’s okay!

also, I wish I would’ve counted how many times “savor” is used in this book. I love a good title drop, but it felt soooooooo repetitive!

I absolutely loved this story! The chef getting back his mojo and the small town good girl showing everyone there is more to her than what everyone believes.

The writing style flowed nicely and I ended up loving the ending!

This book had major Hallmark movie vibes and not in the best way. Big city, big deal moves to small town to get his priorities in check and falls in love. From the beginning, you know how everything is going to play out. I just wish it was a more enjoyable journey.

The two main characters I hate to say were the characters I cared the least about. I found myself wishing I was actually reading Ellis and Wren's second chance or even Indy and Sam's first love stories. Sage and Fisher both had this manic pixie dreamgirl/boy energy while also not being very interesting at all.

There was a lot of this book that I loved. The puns, the characters, the potential series, and the backgrounds as well the beginning was a bit slow and there were times throughout that felt like too many words/too much explanation. Overall though a great read.

I really enjoyed this book and I loved both of the main characters so much. Both the Sage and Fisher felt like they had so much depth. I felt like we had a good understanding of their backgrounds and it made the book feel that much more authentic. I also really enjoyed the setting of Spunes and all of the side characters

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my second book by this author in the last few months and I can’t say I loved or hated either of them. I enjoyed the small town aspect of this, the healing relationship between Fisher and his niece/goddaughter, and the vulnerability demonstrated by both Sage and Fisher. I do think the pacing is off; it was very slow to start and even when some pieces started coming together, it wasn’t terribly interesting. There was a lot going on with side characters that I don’t think was necessary. Around the 60% mark, I just got really bored and started counting down the minutes until I could be done. So, it was ok but forgettable.

I think anything by Tarah DeWitt is a must read. She just does not disappoint!
I love love loved the characters in this book. Every detail that goes into making them feel real, making their love story feel beautiful, making the conflict feel believable… just brilliant. Loved it.

ARC Review: Savor It by: Tarah DeWitt
Releases on May 21, 2024 - available to preorder now!

This was my first Tarah DeWitt novel and I absolutely loved it. It sucked me in immediately. Her writing is so good. It was warm, fun, and flirty! The small town was charming and cozy! Sage and Fisher were perfect together! I loved how open they were and the way they communicated with each other! The banter, tension, and puns were top notch. The ending was exactly what I hoped for! I definitely felt all the feels and I gotta say this was the first time I have ever cried over a girl and her goose!

Thank you to Netgalley, Tarah DeWitt and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #SavorIt

DNF at 10%.

I am so sad!! This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, as I've really loved Tarah's other books. But unfortunately, the first chapters of this book didn't draw me or make me intrigued enough to continue. The stakes felt super, super low, especially from Sage's POV. The first chapters were pretty info-dumpy, there were so, so many characters introduced from the first pages, and the dialogue felt a little cringey. Will definitely read her next release and hope that it hits a better note for me!!

I went into this book a bit apprehensive, because I had seen all the good reviews and remembered how I didn’t like Funny Feelings. I thought I would still ''not get it'', but I was incredibly surprised at how different this was from Funny Feelings.

Savor It is a small town romance and it has absolutely everything to make you swoon. The characters are mature and interact like real adults. There’s found family. A FMC comfortable with the small town living and a MMC a bit lost that finds himself alongside her for a summer. I loved everything about this book. The writing was great, the characters were well-developed and the town wasn’t quirky in a cartoonish way. My only complaint is that the plot could’ve been a bit tighter. I felt like the story was dragging a little bit and the resolution happened all too quickly. But everything else was amazing! I definitely recommend!

OMG! This book was everything! Cheers to mature characters who communicate their feelings and work through problems together. Fisher and Sage were so good together, they both needed some change in their life and by meeting and being the opposite, they helped each other grow and reach a best version of themselves, as a couple and individually. I mean FISHER!! The man was good looking, a good godfather, a good friend, and he cooks? He goes to the top of the book boyfriends list. I also loved how he was always giving Sage encouraging words and helping her see how wonderful she was, helped her overcome her insecurities. The spicy scenes were so thoughtful. If you’re someone who doesn’t like a lot of description because sometimes it can just be too much or cringe, this book will be just right! Tarah was able to give us a clear idea of the setting, actions, and feeling without overdoing with the descriptions and language. Very tasteful.
The small town setting was really cute, we see a lot of quirky characters that help make the story fun without taking over or distracting us from the main plot. The pace of the story was perfect, the pull and push of the FMC and MMC romance was perfect to give the readers what we are craving and then find the right way to drag it out a bit and add conflict to peek out interest.

Thank you Tarah DeWitt for writing this! I was such in a reading funk, this book totally saved me.