Super enjoyable, well-written story that evolves over time to a believable happy ending. Despite having many of the elements that usually annoy me in romance novels - lack of communication, childish reactions rather than trying to understand each other, history and drama built on misunderstandings - there was something so HUMAN and relatable in the way DeWitt wrote LaRynn and Deacon and their lives that it didn't feel melodramatic or overdone. We cringe along with them, and feel their heartbreaks along with them, and ultimately root for them both together and as individuals to get the lives they want and deserve.

When I die please bury me with all second chance romances. If I want to feel something, I’ll forever read them. ESPECIALLY ones written by Tarah DeWitt. She is the queen of writing characters that are perfectly imperfect. The way she can show character flaws but also show their growth in a realistic way. CHEFS KISS. 😚

LaRynn & Deacon had great banter and made their slow burn love that much better.

This book like many of Tarah’s other books have a lot of depth but are also low stakes. Personally I feel like it makes her books the perfect summer reads.

I’m also a SUCKER for the fact that Tarah always does these small little crossovers in all her books. I love seeing characters I already fell in love with again. Even if it’s just a blip. 🥹 I’m looking at you, Funny Feelings.

“Be my wife. Stay my wife. Forever, LaRynn. I don’t care where we end up or what we do as long as I have you.”

What to expect:
- second chance
- enemies to lovers
- marriage of convenience
- home renovations
- slow burn
- dual pov

This was a really fun set up! I enjoyed seeing LaRynn and Deacon work together on the reno and the marriage of convenience aspect was fun. I loved the story about their Grandmothers!

I struggled at times with finding LaRynn likable but I was deeply sympathetic to her struggles with depression and struggling to find the right job while depressed. I would have liked to get a bit more exploration of whether she was grieving or struggling with clinical depression.

If you like a renovation romance, second chance or a marriage of convenience this one is for you!

Due to medical reasons, I was unable to fully read this book before it expired. I throughly enjoyed what I did read, however I cannot write a proper review due to this. I apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

“I don’t know if we’ll always get what we wish for. I know that life is going to come with its battles. I know that love will, too. But I’m starting to think that’s the whole point—finding the person, or people, who’ll fight and dream with you.”

When it was announced that The Co-op was being re-released and DeWitt announced that she was renovating the book ahead of its trad publication, I remember reading her author’s note and just knowing I was going to fall in love with this story and these characters. So naturally, I put off reading it for months; scared it wouldn’t live up to my expectations but my goodness did it exceed my hopes for it.

Tarah writes the kind of romances you want to wrap yourself in. They’re rich in character development, funny, hot, and unassuming in their emotional depth, until you come across a sentence that feels like it punched you in the throat and all of a sudden, your eyes are welling up.

Rynn, my resident mean girl, trying so hard to make herself impenetrable to hurt and pain, that she built a fortress around her heart. And Deacon, who mirrors her pain but instead remains open in the hopes that someone proves him wrong about his assumption of other people. They are uniquely capable of being able to understand and love one another because they see past the other one’s defenses. And I love them for it.

Also, talk about a happy ever after that felt 100% earned. Reading their epilogue felt like getting a letter from an old friend and being caught up on all the new and improved updates of their life, and feeling overjoyed by their joy.

This is in my top 5 romances so far this year. And I can’t wait to continue chipping at DeWitt’s backlist soon.

‼️SPOILERS BELOW‼️
Often I see romance readers complain about the predictability of HEA’s in books— how 9 times out of 10, the book ends in marriage and children for the main characters, as if the author is unable to come up with something more creative, and while sometimes I agree (as do many others, see: the “do I think these couples stayed together past ‘The End’” videos that are popular on BookTok), this book is not one of those. A good romance author is one who prepares you for the happy ending long before you get to the final chapters and shows you why this specific scenario is the only one that makes sense for their characters. For LaRynn, whose childhood was characterized by constant moves and a lack of meaningful friendships which made her feel unmoored and without roots, a HEA that sees her firmly planted in a life of her (co)creation makes 100% sense. Bolstered even more by the scene on the cliffs when her and Deacon pick out their dream houses. She picks the home that is warm and full of love, and lived in. It’s further set up when Deacon says to Rynn, if I could give you that house, I’d give you that house. And when he said house, he wasn’t just talking about the physical structure, but everything it represented, and what the outside inferred about the inside. Also, I love how DeWitt points out through Rynn’s pov, the five bicycles on the lawn—two adult sized and three smaller ones, and how in the end, her and Deacon had three little ones. Offering Rynn a mirror into her future at a time when she started to become honest with herself about the things she desired out of life, even if she couldn’t see the path towards them. I love Tarah DeWitt so much.

This book is perfect! I love both the FMC and MMC so much and their personalities. I will totally be recommending this author and book to all my friends!

I wanted to love this, but it tried to juggle too much—two timelines, multiple tropes—and ended up falling short. I couldn’t connect with the romance in either timeline, and the characters felt immature and unlikable. Their relationship lacked emotional depth, making it hard to stay invested. It upsets me because I have loved some of her other books and had such high hopes for this one.

LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds had one short and contentious summer fling when they were teens—certainly nothing to build a foundation on. But a decade later, when their grandmothers have left them with shared ownership of their dilapidated Santa Cruz building, they're thrust back together and have to figure out how to brace up the pieces.

LaRynn has the money, but in order to access her trust, she has to be married. Deacon has the construction expertise, but lacks the funds. A deal is struck: Marry for however long it takes to fix up the property, collect a profit, and cut ties.


It was very heartwarming story of a second chance romance. LaRynn and Deacon getting together again in a different circumstance. A marriage of convenience is hard to pull off, but Terran did it beautifully, it may of started off slow but you could feel the angst between LaRynn and Deacon.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read to this book

I wanted to love this book but it just didn't work for me. If I wasn't reviewing it for NetGalley I would have DNFed by 20%.

I think part of my issue is that this book tried to do too many things and just wasn't able to solidly deliver for any of them. There's 2 love stories (past and present), marriage of convenience, second chance, and home remodel.

Unfortunately I didn't buy in to their romance in either the past or present timelines. I know they were telling me that they broke each other's hearts and that they love each other but I didn't see or feel it based on their actual actions.

I feel like they started hate screwing but in the context of this book with their history and personalities I didn't understand it. It felt like it was more about them being horny than it being the person they wanted to be having sex with.

Lastly, I don't think the characters need to likeable or without flaws but man I didn't enjoy either of these people and they felt very immature in the current timeline so I didn't have much to look forward to in this book.

This book wasn’t my favorite but it kept me pretty entertained and engaged throughout! At first, the FMC annoyed me but I liked her more at the end and the romance was cute!

Such a great romance! Adored the writing and the setting, and it was so easy to fall in love with the characters.

The Co-Op is a book about a marriage of convenience, second chance (ish) between two people who have poor examples of love and family learning to love and become family. This was such a fun quick read. The characters have so much depth, but it’s done in a lighthearted way. The beginning was a little slow but once it picked up.. it really picked up!

This was a cute, quick read! The forced proximity was perfect and I loved the house renovation content as well. There were a few spicy scenes, but nothing too crazy!

This was a cute read! I loved that the FMC had black cat vibes and I ate the forced proximity up!! I’m also a sucker for a marriage of convenience so this was right up my alley!

3.5 ⭐️

<i>"I don't mind your mess." 💕</i>

Ok hear me out I love Tarah DeWitt, but this one just didn't hit for me. I think I just have a hard time with the second chance romance trope and I really just didn't care about the characters. Mid for me, but I know a TON love it.

LaRynn & Deacon's relationship at first is complicated to say the least. They have an unfortunate reunion when their grandmothers leave them with their old home in desperate need of repairs. LaRynn's trust fund is on the line since she needs to marry before gaining access to the funds. Deacon is just trying to work through the grief while attempting to fix the house when there are so many memories attached.

The two butt heads at every step and the slow burn was good. With access to some money and fixing up the house to sell, the house brings them closer, they struggle to go their separate ways through the end. I thought the concept was cute, but honestly it wasn't extremely memorable for me.

✨ Second Chance Romance
✨ Marriage of Convenience
✨ Witty Banter
✨ Dislike to love

✨ And they were roommates✨

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Griffin for sending this book (eARC) for honest review.

It's been seven years since LaRynn and Deacon have seen each other. In that time, their grandmothers have passed, leaving their home to the two. Unfortunately, their inheritance is breaking apart and the last time they saw each other they broke up after a summer of love and firsts. Now, to afford to fix the beloved building, they marry for LaRynn's trust fund, begin living together and remodelling, and face the feelings, that despite their best efforts, never went away.

Sometimes modern marriage of convenience books feel silly, but DeWitt's style comes through, making the world have an edge of fantastical (I need to visit Santa Monica now), but the characters real and grounded.

I'm glad we got to see their past with chapters that flashed backed, even when I needed to know what would happen next in the modern day. It helped build their tension and you saw how their chemistry evolved, as you waited for the big explosion!

Overall, I really enjoyed this read! LaRynn and Deacon were understandable and their relationship was written so well. Their was no crazy drama , just the complexities of human relationships and the angst and passion love can bring.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc to read and review!

Read for: second chance romance, slow-burn, marriage of convenience, first love, dual POV, flashbacks, tension 🔥, yearning, rebuild a house=rebuild a relationship

4.75 ⭐️
2.5 🌶️

This gave me Beach Read vibes and that’s a high compliment. It was a little spicier than I like and I think that’s Tarah Dewitt’s style and I should’ve expected it.

I enjoyed it! The banter, the tiny gestures, the tension it was all so good. They worked together so well, it just made sense.

one of my comfort reads. the indie version was like a warm hug on a slightly chilly day by the ocean, and this new version is the same. this is the kind of petty romcom behavior turned surprisingly heartfelt hgtv hallmark collab i am here for

Rating: 3.5
Mode of Reading: NetGalley Digital ARC Courtesy of Tarah DeWitt & St. Martin's Press in exchange for my honest review...
It's an ARC... When does it Release? It's out now - Snag a copy for yourself! (Published October 20 2022 & Re-published in 2024)
How did I pick this up: When the publisher decided to make copies available on Read Now to celebrate the formal/ traditional publishing of the story (and with new cover art), I had to snag it up!
Short Yet Sweet Review: LaRynn and Deacon have a complicated past—one that resurfaces when their grandmothers leave them with an old, rundown home that desperately needs repairs. LaRynn has access to a family trust, but there's a catch: she has to be married to access the funds. Enter Deacon—good with his hands, both in construction and (maybe) in mending hearts. While this starts off as a marriage of convenience, it quickly becomes a story about teamwork, personal growth, and building something lasting—both literally and emotionally. Can they fix the house? Can they fix their relationship?

This one has all the tropes—marriage of convenience, forced proximity, second chance romance—and Tarah DeWitt brings them all to life with complex, relatable characters. I’ll definitely be picking up more from her in the future!

Just finished The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt, and I absolutely loved it! This book is a perfect mix of second-chance romance and home renovation chaos.

LaRynn and Deacon, once teenage sweethearts, are thrown back together when they inherit a rundown Santa Cruz building from their grandmothers. To access her trust fund, LaRynn needs to be married, and Deacon has the construction skills but not the funds. So, they strike a deal: marry, fix up the property, sell it, and go their separate ways.

Living in a house without walls brings them closer, and old feelings resurface. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and the slow-burn romance had me hooked from start to finish.

If you’re into witty banter, steamy tension, and a story about rebuilding both a house and a relationship, The Co-op is a must-read!