Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for a honest review :)

Truly a perfect small-town romance. Fisher & Sage are ENDGAME. God I love them so much. And the fact that her name is SAGE and he’s a chef?! Brilliant.

Yes, there was a third act breakup, but you saw it coming so it wasn’t a surprise.

I may have found my new comfort book

This is my first book by Tarah Dewitt and the EMOTIONS.

"𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 - 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 - 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞."

Sage is a small town girl that enjoys her simple life. Her little hobby farm, her garden, her students, and her friends and family. But she's no stranger to grief, and no stranger to the pitying looks of the other people in this small town because life didn't go her way. She's such an endearing and kind character and I instantly loved her.

When down on his luck chef Fisher comes to the town Spunes for the summer to stand up a restaurant and hopefully get his life on track, he doesn't expect to fall for his sweet and charming and quirky neighbor. He's raising his niece, and dealing with his own grief from the loss of his sister, and the grief of said niece, and trying to get back to a life he recognizes. Extra props for a man in THERAPY.

I loved that the town has it's own little personality. I loved the side characters, the best friend, the over protective brothers, the goose that falls in love with a girl from the city that doesn't want to fall in love with a small town.

Fisher and Sage live next door and he decides to help her win a town race, and she helps him get in with the locals so they'll accept the new restaurant.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 before Fisher leaves and goes back to NYC, and they can't hold back this attraction for each other so they enter into a summer only, friends with benefits situation.

Obviously, feelings get caught. And boy, do they ever ignite in the most beautiful and spicy and delicious and heart wrenching way.

Guys, this book is swoony and sweet but I was not prepared for my heart to be RIPPED OUT by the end. I was bawling. With no spoilers, let's just say there is a happy ending and it's hard won, but my heart may never recover. This is what a love story should feel like. And I absolutely loved it.

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫." 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬. "𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐬."

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. I may never recover!

Pub Date for this book is May 21st.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was SUCH a breath of fresh air. I am not normally a huge fan of the small-town romance, but Dewitt managed to capture the beauty and comfort of a small town alongside the big dreams and major life changes of two absolutely lovable characters. The book dealt with real life stress with honesty and charm - while love helped salve the difficult times, the main characters themselves grew immensely (especially the MMC) in a way that made them more relatable. The romance itself was sweet, with lovey, enjoyable moments of spice. This makes me want to read the rest of Dewitt's books!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a sweet read! It had substance without being so heavy i had to take breaks.

GOING TO HAVE TO REREAD HER IN THE SUMMER ARE YOU KIDDDING!!!!???!?!??! It literally feels like you're in Oregon in their small town with Sage and Fisher. Also? Thank god for the not "normal" rom-com names, unique and made me want to read it. The connections 5/5, the small spicy amount 5/5. Thank you thank you for letting me read this early <333

Things I loved about the book were before the story even started. I loved that trigger warnings are given before the story starts (I’m not a fan of when they’re at the end like what’s the point of that??) And I loved the playlist at the beginning too (mostly because it features Bleachers).
At first I was happy I picked up this book. It’s my first by the author. It was cute, seemingly nicely paced and atmospheric. However, that happiness was lost within the first maybe 30% of the book. If I hadn’t received an ARC of this, I would have DNFed it. The pacing ended up being terrible. First 50% of the book for 2 weeks then 2 months pass within 20 pages?
Then I don’t know if it was just me but Sage’s and Fischer’s perspectives were so similar it was hard to remember who’s turn it was.
Sage’s character did not make sense. SO she is a social studies teacher but showed no interest in history outside of the town’s? Pretty sure the author made her a teacher to have an excuse for Sage being free 24/7.
Overall, the biggest thing that absolutely bothered me was the author trying to fit 5 different conflicts in one book yet none being fully developed. Between jealousy of the ex, the town trying to stop the construction of the restaurant, training for the canoe race, her migraine, the brother’s accident, and the character’s insecurities. All these conflicts and yet not even one was fully explained or developed. NOTHING made sense. This book needs a better editor or just an editor to begin with.

*I received a free ARC from Netgalley. In no way does this shape my opinion of the book.

This story was amazing! Characters had depth, the storyline was compelling me to keep reading, and the gut wrenching moments were spectacular! This is the first book that I have read by this author, but will not be the last! I SAVORED every word! (See what I did there?!) 💗

Until the following items are met by the SMP team, I will be withholding any promotion or review of any St. Martin's Press titles (including SMP Romance and Wednesday Book titles):

1. Address and denounce the Islamophobia/racism from your employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how you're going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how moving forward, you will support and protect your Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to your BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

omg!!!! i loved this!!! i really liked this book, it was very interesting and the romance was top tier!!!!

I really enjoyed this book!! I was excited to read it because I had loved Funny Feelings, and it definitely lived up to my expectations.

I am a total sucker for a few tropes - found family, fake dating, and grumpy x sunshine especially have me in a chokehold. And in this book? Oh, Tarah DeWitt popped off with these tropes. And it's amazing.

Sage and Fisher are great characters and their relationships both with each other and with the other characters around them were well fleshed out and fun to read. They had what I look for most in a romance, which is when there is both individual character development and growth together as a couple. They're not perfect, which I think is really important and enjoyable to read, but they're doing their best and helping each other and that's something that I really enjoy.

I think I really just love Tarah DeWitt's writing style. It's witty, it's funny, but it's also emotional and complex. Overall, I highly recommend both this book and Funny Feelings - I haven't read anything else by her but now I definitely want to!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Small town summer love in the PNW. Does it get any better than that?!

I enjoyed this latest release by Tarah Dewitt. She’s been a TBR author for me for a while now.

It has dual POV and the girl next door trope. It also deals with grief and loss. I love Sage’s character and the life she’s built for herself. Plus cooking! Because Fisher is a chef. So many fun things.

I would definitely read more Storie’s about this fun town and its residents. Check this out in May when it releases.

Thanks to @netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this digital ARC. #netgalley

It seems that Tarah Dewitt's writing doesn't gel with me. While this book is good, a lot of her humor and wit doesn't land with me like I know it can, and will, with many other readers.

The appeal of a small town romance is often the great setting and side characters that we get as the main characters fall for each other. I find that some authors struggle to balance the main couple and these fun side aspects of the story, and sadly this book did that. I felt that there was a lot of filler plot that wasn't super relevant to Sage and Fisher, keeping me from feeling like I truly knew them and wanted to root for them. Their chemistry also took a hit because of this.

From the small amount I learned about these characters, they were extremely lovable and kept me reading. I think a lot of my opinion on this book is rooted in Dewitt's writing not being for me, and that's okay - its still a good read that I will recommend to others if I think their taste aligns with it.

Super cute small town/hallmark-like book. Loved the main characters and their chemistry. Side characters and animals were a lot of fun too!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!

I am struck once again by how much I enjoyed Dewitt's writing and how much I really need to go back and read everything else she's written. Specifically the beginning of this story is just so fresh and fun and genuine. Loved it! Gotta pack my bags and move into this small town.

There's a lot to love here, honestly. Obviously the main plot is the romance, which I found to be adorable. I made a note while reading that this writing feels like youre falling in love with the characters. The first meeting of these characters was hilarious. The fmc is *not like the other girls* but not in an annoying, pick me way. She's just an outsider and I felt I could connect to her more as the story continued. The mmc is a grumpy, pirate looking chef. So take that information and do what you will. Personally, I'm a fan. Additionally, there's a subplot here involving a teenager or two that was adorable and turned into some wholesome moments. A very cute addition to the story. And a whole herd of farm animal sidekicks? Perfect. A painful main conflict though!

✅ disgraced NY-based Michelin starred chef moves to a small town in Oregon
✅ dual POV
✅ fake dating
✅ love the secondary characters
✅ sexy Hallmark that’s in on the stereotype 😉
🌶️: in the back half
Very sweet and charming and heartwarming!

personally i think this book was just not for me. It had so many aspects I loved and I know it will be a favorite for many other readers, but for some reason i just personally could not connect with the characters. Please read this book based on your own judgement, I really wanted to love it, and wish I could find the words for what exactly didn’t click for me. But in the end sometimes a book might just not vibe with you, and that’s ok.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I adored this! I devoured it in one sitting! This is a first book I'm reading by this author and I will now binge read all the books available! I loved it so, so much! the writing style, the characters... I love how it all felt so real and very relatable ! 10/10 would recommend!

Tarah DeWitt hits another one out of the park (out of the canoe?!) with Savor It. After Funny Feelings and The Co-Op, I was chomping at the bit for another story from her, and she continues to set the standard for world building with two completely unique main characters, a beautiful setting, and fun yet complex supporting characters. If you like anything about high-stress chef tropes (hello Carmy!) or small town teacher/book lover tropes, you will be kicking your feet with this one. I loved the small town hug feeling mixed with characters with such rich and diverse life experiences and journeys that all intersect in ways that left me wanting a sequel to learn more about every sibling and friend who appeared in Savor It. The dichotomy of getting stuck thinking about what could have been, that I think we all go through at some point, and pushing to live in the present and make the most of where and when you find your people, made me feel both seen and challenged the whole way. Tarah represents grief, growth, long-time friendship, and new relationships that feel like they’ve known one another a lifetime like no one else does. Not to mention the fun animal cameos! This book really has something for everyone.

I LOVED THIS BOOK with my whole heart! i am an absolute sucker for a charming small town where everyone knows you and your business but that’s okay because you’re all like family, and beautifully flawed and relatable main characters that feel written specifically for you. i could cry because this story was that and MORE.
fisher is the grumpy hot chef of my dreams and sage is just a small town girl living in a lonely world and i love them both so much!!!
i love how fisher is almost immediately undone by all that sage is! he wants to be mad at how sunshiney and sarcastic she is, but really he is so drawn to her he doesn’t know what to do with himself. he can’t stand how bad he wants her and it’s my fav thing! i love how sage is quick with her comebacks and ready to spar with him at any given moment all while never losing her smile and playfulness. it drives fisher crazy in the best way!
fisher is so hard on himself and has all these walls up that sage is tearing down one at a time just by being her bright self around him. he’s trying so hard to do the right thing by himself and his niece indy and reading all the effort he puts into it and the sincerity behind his character made me so emotional.

let’s talk about their first kiss!!! because it was everything!!! and from that moment on he was DONE FOR!! my man fell hard!! (and so did i) there was no going back for him!!!! (or me)
the spice in this book is some of my favorite ever written!!! i am not kidding— i’ve never felt more touch starved in my life!!

i love how sage is able to enjoy her life because she fills it with all the things she loves— taking care of her animals, gardening, participating in community events, supporting her family and friends— truly, i love her life! but my favorite thing about her and the thing that resonates most with me is how she is able to find the humor in everything despite what she’s been through and the things her life lacks. she is also so mature and self aware. i love how she was quickly able to connect with indy over what they have in common. their bond is effortless and lighthearted despite the grief they’ve both experienced.

i also loved seeing indy and fisher’s relationship evolve. when they finally became vulnerable with each other, opened up and talked about freya together— it brought me to tears! it was such a pivotal and meaningful moment!

i love tarah’s writing so much! the ways she describes a laugh or a gesture, a smile or a feeling— it all perfectly comes to life in my head. the way she wrote every single interaction between sage and fisher and indy with such emphasis on the details!!! she makes every mundane moment important and monumental.

i enjoyed every second of getting to know these characters and this town and i can’t wait to visit them again. this love story is beautiful and a true treat.

Lovely and satisfying. Beautifully written; relatable, likable characters who are self aware. Excited to read more from the Spunes universe!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the complimentary advanced reader copy in exchange for my unbiased review.