This book is incredible. The characters, the plot, the ambiance? One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Read it if you’d like your heart warmed, enlarged, broken, and sweetly made right again.

I've been a huge fan of Tarah DeWitt since reading Funny Feelings a couple years ago, and could not wait to get my hands on this book. It did not disappoint! Savor It is the story of washed up chef, Fisher, who is trying to figure out how to rebuild his career in the face of crushing grief all while learning how to be there for his 15-year-old niece, Indy. They move to the tiny town of Spunes, Oregon for the summer so Fisher can help with a restaurant opening there. Enter town golden-girl, rescuer-of-lost-animals (and people!), and all around sweetheart Sage, the eccentric school teacher who lives next door. After getting dumped by the mayor's son following a five-year relationship, Sage's confidence is a bit shaken and she, too, is struggling to figure out exactly what she wants for herself. Fisher and Sage spend a magical summer challenging, supporting, and loving one another before facing some difficult decisions about the future.

One thing I love about DeWitt's writing is that she is SO GOOD at writing flawed, broken characters in a way that feels realistic and relatable without becoming tragedy porn. She writes about people who have real problems, but find ways to communicate with one another, show up for themselves and those around them, and strive to be better. I love that her characters (especially her male characters) are always so willing to have difficult conversations. They aren't perfect and they aren't always able to articulate things completely, but DeWitt does NOT fall back on the miscommunication trope and I love her for it. So many of Sage and Fisher's conversations in the book were so raw and beautiful, especially near the end of the book. The pacing was a little slow at first, but once the relationship began to develop, I was completely hooked.

And let's talk about the swoon factor...Tarah, girl, you brought the heat! The yearning between Sage and Fisher was palpable; you really get swept up in the romance and desire as you read. (Several open door scenes, but tastefully done, imho.) And I am sorry, but a tall, sexy pirate-esque male lead who can cook an amazing omelette while I gaze adoringly at his flexing forearms??? Yes, please!

Overall, I give this book a 4.5/5 stars. I think Funny Feelings remains my very favorite of DeWitt's work, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and shed a tear or two at the ending. A must read for lovers of emotional, heartfelt romance!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tarah DeWitt for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An absolute masterpiece! This book captivates from the first page to the last. The characters are richly developed, the plot is engaging, and the writing style is simply superb. It's a literary journey that evokes a myriad of emotions, leaving you both thoughtful and fulfilled. A must-read for anyone seeking a truly remarkable and unforgettable experience. Five stars without hesitation!

I absolutely devoured this! I have adored Dewitt’s other books and this one was no exception!

The dual POV is lighthearted and tugs on your heart strings. I laughed and cried throughout the book.

The MCs are just so honest and irresistibly adorable. Their banter is delightful and I couldn’t get enough! Fisher and Sage are so wonderfully imperfect that together, they are exceptional! Both characters know that personal growth is necessary for the current situations they are in but they fall in love with each other through the process. It was refreshing to have both MCs able to appreciate each other’s progress.

This book is all about finding yourself, intertwining your old self with a new and improved version, and has many meaningful life lessons. The tension, humor and small-town charm make it so you never want this book to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book. It’s already one of my 2024 favorites!

Savor It
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
🌶️🌶️/5

Sage Byrd is living a comfortable but lonely life in her hometown of Spunes, Oregon. Her boyfriend of five years broke up with her one year ago only to become engaged months later. As she move on with her life she hopes to be able to fill a missing void.

Fisher Lange, the Michelin-starred chef, has a lot going for him until tragedy strikes and he becomes the guardian of his niece. After leaving New York City to assist in the opening of a restaurant in Spunes, Fisher and Sage meet and fall in love.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved all of the characters - including the animals (Gary!). Both Sage and Fisher are characters you cheer for throughout the book. I appreciated the quiet independence from Sage and the confidence of Fisher. This love story wasn’t a woman pining away for a man. Sage’s ability to live her life while respecting Fisher’s adjustment to a new life is really great.

There is swooning, flirting, some spice but no jealousy or possessiveness between the two. I loved that about the story! This was the first book I’ve read by Tarah DeWitt and I hope to read others.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

One of my favourite books is Funny Feelings so I jumped at the chance to read this one. The writing was well done and the story was interesting but I didn’t find this one memorable. The trope, small town, fake relationship, single parent was one that I found over done. I know this going in but I had hopes this would some how have a fresh take on it. Sadly, I was disappointed to find that this wasn’t that different from all the others with the same trope. That being said very well written and the characters were well developed but I just didn’t care that much about them.

I will say I loved the animals in this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

While I have spent a lot of time reading & loving previous titles from St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books, I must side with my BIPOC friends & family members in the current controversy surrounding your marketing team. One of your employees made a negative public statement about people in the BIPOC community. This is someone that regularly works with BIPOC creators on ARC and marketing campaigns. I sure hope this has been dealt with behind the scenes but the reading community is requesting you make a public statement about the situation and how you've moved forward or will be moving forward.

I will not be talking about this book or any others under the St. Martin's Press / Wednesday Books imprint until the BIPOC reading community hears a satisfiable response from your company.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

What can I say about Savor It? 🥵 The banter, the chemistry, the characters. I loved it all. Sage and Fisher were messy, beautiful characters. I didn’t want to put the book down. I was rooting for them the whole time.

Starting off, we were introduced to a lot of characters (including animals) pretty quickly, and I had to check to see if this was the 2nd or 3rd book in a series. The brothers names (Silas and Ellis) were so similar, I kept confusing the 2. I felt like I needed less characters or more reminders of who they are throughout the book. I loved the banter and dialogue between the 2 main characters. But I felt like once they got together, I didn’t feel I got to see their relationship bloom as much to warrant when they said “I love you”. I also felt like in order to be together, one of the characters had to change who they were and what they loved in order to be together. I also felt like Indy was a bit of an afterthought partway through. They don’t build the dynamic, and she’s off at sleepovers for half the book. Overall, I didn’t love the book as much as I had hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars!!

Fisher is a big-time chef from NY. He recently got custody of his niece Indy. Their life has been rocky the last couple years, so a summer away at Spunes, Oregon sounds like the perfect plan to get his life back on track. When they arrive, a hysterical situation leads him to finding out that his neighbor is Sage. Sage has lived in Spunes her entire life. She loves the small-town charm and has her own animal farm. The last year for her was also a little rocky because she ended a serious relationship with the towns golden-boy Ian. She wants everyone to forget it ever happened. She plans on competing in the town's festival to have a win in something. The only thing is she doesn't have a partner. However, she did just get a new neighbor who could use a good image to win some of the townspeople over. They create a pact to help one another by competing in the festival for sage, and fake dating to hopefully get the townspeople to like Fisher more. The more time they spend together, the harder it gets to tell if they're truly faking or if something is beginning between the two of them.

I loved this read! I truly wanted to savor each part of it. The relationship between Fisher and Indy pulled at my heart throughout the entire story. This story had a beautiful way of showing how grief can come in waves. Also, I truly adored Fisher and Sage. They got to know each other when they were both broken, and still loved one another fully.

I highly recommend this book!

This book had a slow start for me, but once we started getting to know Sage and Fisher I could not put it down. I read the last probably 75% of it in a day and was fully crying by the end. Watching them fall in love was beautiful and heartbreaking. The way that Sage and Fisher communicate in this book is absolutely *chef’s kiss! (No pun intended) So good! Fisher is about to be your new favorite book boyfriend.
I’m not usually one for small town romances but this one was perfect. In a town where everyone knows everyone else’s business, what could have felt intrusive felt like their own pocket of the world.
This is one of my favorite romances I’ve read in a while. My immediate thought after I finished it was, I want to read that again.
I really love the way this book was written and hope to read more from Tarah Dewitt!
Thank you to NetGally for the ARC!!

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0

This was beautiful and moving. The most gentle and tender love story. I loved the characters, the town, the organic nature of the relationship — I even didn’t mind the third act break up because it felt so REAL. These characters were so true to themselves and that’s why it was so rewarding when they were together. No pun intended but this was literally chef’s kiss. Was it perfect? No but the feels were so good it’s 5 stars anyway. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review!

Thank you netgalley for this arc.

I really like Tarah DeWitt and the stories she tells. They are always sweet and low angst. Which I like sometimes. I always feel like I need a little bit more suspense and high angst.

This book offers a cute couple Fisher and Sage and their lives in a small town. Which is mundane and run of the mill but sometimes that's all you need

Such a fun, sweet and cozy read! absolutely loved this book!!! if you are looking for a cozy romance novel, this is for you!!! you will love all the characters and the journey

I read Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt and loved it so I was so excited to read her new release!!

This is set in a small town which I always love and you get glimpses of all kinds of animals that Sage has which is so fun!

I also loved the friends to lovers aspect between Sage and Fisher — it was so sweet 🥹 and I loved how honest Fisher was with Sage about how he felt. I also loved the relationship between Fisher and Indy.

Dewitt’s writing is so good! There were so many quotes I highlighted!

This was a bit slow at the beginning, but the last 100 pages I really enjoyed and overall it was a really sweet romance!

Just finished this one and omg! So good!

One thing I really liked about the characters was that both Sage and Fisher were extremely mature and knew their boundaries and what they would be up to, relationship wise.

Sage knew that she didn't do casual sex and one night stands (even if she tried to have a summer fling with Fisher). And I loved how she communicated that from the beginning and was up front about that. And I really liked that she understood that she didn't need to change anything about herself and that it was okay for her to be the "nice girl" who loved helping everyone, especially Fisher, by helping his niece Indy.

Now, about Fisher, he had the most growth, if you want to call it that. The fact that he was able to enjoy cooking and that it wasn't a chore to him was interesting to see play out. But I loved how he was able to get past everything and be himself again and be close to his niece was the best.

Overall, this book was amazing and I can't wait to see what is next for Tarah :)

My first Tarah read and certainly not my last!

Small town romance, adorable farm animals, chef MMC, and lovable side characters what more could you want? Fisher and Sage had undeniable chemistry and their love for each other was so tender. I will say the plot got away from me a little in the middle, but this had a beautiful ending and I loved reading about this romance.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy.

dnf at 32%. I really thought I was gonna like this. Usually, single parent -type book are my kryptonite. But I unfortunately became bored with the story. I felt unconnected to the characters. I wanted something to root for and after reading as much as I did. Nothing made me want to continue. The male character felt like he has potential. But the female lead felt lacking.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first Tarah DeWitt read and I was not disappointed. What's not to love about a small town, just-for-the-summer romance- that began with a "let's make your ex jealous" fake dating situation- filled with found family and a sprinkle of "Yes, Chef" on top? It's a lovely recipe.

This story did leave me craving more about our supporting cast. But that could be satisfied with follow up books. A YA story from Indy would be rad. A second chance romance with Ellis & Wren? PLEASE!

Small Town Romance
Friends with Benefits (a favorite of mine)!
Neighbors
Dual POV
Sassy and Sexy banter

If these are some of your fave tropes, this book will be for you! A warm summer setting, and lovable and believable characters <3