I was granted an ARC via #Netgalley of the expanded -remodeled - updated version. However you wanna call it and it is amazing. The Timeline jumping is so much smoother. The TENSION. The back and forth. The banter that leads to the hottest 'taking the edge off' scene I have ever read. That addition to this new version is a masterpiece. I had the pleasure to read and listen to the original version to be able to compare. This new version needs to be rated 6 stars even if that isn't a thing.

I never thought I would think a man calling a woman 'Larry' hot? Who knew? Surely not me. Why is it so hot?!

The story follows LaRynn and Deacon as they navigate a marriage of convenience with renovating their grandmothers' beach home. With a teenage dream summer behind them they will have to sort through their unresolved feelings as they navigate fixing up the home to sell.



Comments for the first version:
This audio book was EVERYTHING. I truly mean that when I say this. Go listen the audio, whether you buy it or borrow it from the library like I did.
I know that Tarah is re-releasing this book with 27k worth of added materials but I was going through all her books that the library had and didn't want to wait until November for the release of the new book.. I will be purchasing this book myself on release date of the newly renovated version. This story is beautiful, and sweet. It's Tarah Dewitt usual funny bits with incredibly moving moments. Somehow she pokes at such sensitive wounds and doesn't drag the story down. Deacon is such mood. I can't wait to see what the update version has in store for them both.

“Back to the house that broke us down and apart before it brought us together again.”
Deacon Leeds and LaRynn Lavigne are a perfectly imperfect couple who have had so many highs and lows that eventually lead them to their happily ever after. I loved every moment of it!

Deacon and LaRynn met when they were teens, their grandmothers had gotten married so when the two visited them they shared a space. It was not love at first sight. Everything Deacon said rubbed LaRynn the wrong way and she made it known. Then one summer they became more than friends but it ended in disaster. Now a decade later the two are forced together while they fix up their grandmothers’ home.
“This whole thing with you two and the house? Sounds like kismet to me. I always thought you made a good team.”

Deacon and LaRynn had to work through their individual baggage and past in order to work together on the renovations. It was great to see how they managed to break down their walls and become something so much more.

Thank you @authortarahdewitt for the ARC!
Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥: “What if we didn’t touch?”

Oh, Tarah. Truly, I felt like you couldn’t get better after Savor It. Then I cracked open this gorgeous book and fell in love with Deacon and LaRynns story. Deacon is swoon worthy, my friends. Absolutely top notch book boyfriend material.

LaRynn and Deacon both grew up visiting Santa Clara, where their grandmothers married and own a duplex together. When their grandmothers (affectionately called ‘the grans’) pass away and leave the dilapidated duplex to both LaRynn and Deacon, a flame is reignited. The banter is excellent, the spice is spicy, and the heart was so happy reading their love story!

Thank you NetGalley, Tarah DeWitt, and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of this romance novel (out today!).

LaRynn and Deacon reluctantly have to gather to deal with the estate of their dearly departed grandmothers, who got together later in life... linking the two who grew up together and had a summer fling.

This had a lot of fun elements - construction, small town characters, drama - as they come up with an unorthodox plan to get the funds necessary to fix and sell the house... what could happen?

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

“They say love and construction don’t mix. By that logic, hate and construction may as well be condemned.”

Read if you like:
🛠 Second Chance
🛠 Marriage of Convenience
🛠 Roommates
🛠 Dislike to love
🛠 Pranks
🛠 It’s Always Been You

A romance about restoration, renovation, character building and partnership. The Co-op follows LaRynn and Deacon, two characters who have a contentious summer fling as teens. A decade later, their grandmothers leave them shared ownership of a dilapidated Santa Cruz building. Thrust back together, LaRynn and Deacon’s relationship is tested, emotions are exposed, and a romance blossoms.

“What a gift it is to trust someone, I realize. To know that through every up and down, every unexpected break, they want the same thing as you in the end. Just to be together.”

As usual, Tarah DeWitt blesses us with a charming romance. With possessive ‘My Wife’ moments, hilarious references to Friends, ‘PIVOT!’, and a dialogue full of emotional quotes, the highlight feature on my kindle was working overdrive. This was cozy, steamy, and just an overall entertaining read. The characters were real and flawed, and I enjoyed reading their character growth from beginning to end.

“My home, my girl, my pain in the a**, my world. That force of nature. I want her on my side, that formidable, fierce woman.”

Although I enjoyed this romance, I didn’t quite feel the same connection to these characters as I did in Funny Feelings and Savor It. I can’t quite put my finger on what was keeping me from this connection, whether it was the female MC or the challenges with communication, I just can’t say.

Regardless, I will absolutely read anything Tarah writes. She’s written two five-star favorites of mine, and I can’t wait to see what she releases next.

Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 Stars.

4.5 Stars. I loved the combo of second chance romance and marriage of convenience. There is great angst in this, which is a must for me in second chance romance and was paced very well. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I do think the last quarter of the book and the epilogue were my favorite parts. Such a solid romance! Due to receiving this arc, I read all of Tarah Dewitt’s books this month, and she is now an auto-buy author for me!

This was my first time reading a book by Tarah DeWitt and I will definitely go back to read her backlist! I really enjoyed it and I love tall, angry FMCs. <3

The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt I was provided an ARC copy of The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. LaRynn and Deacon, previous lovers, current married enemies, become co-owners of a house left to them by their grandmothers. The two bond over their time spent renovating and cooperating to realize they belong together after all. And the house is just a bonus! #arcreview #tarahdewitt #thecoop #bookreview #romancereader

Love a marriage of convenience and Tarah Dewitt served us a good one! LaRynn and Deacon are forced back together in order to save their Grandmothers’ home. With a heartbreak and more between them, the restoration of the home served to be a bit more complicated. I loved the chemistry between LaRynn and Deacon however I didn’t love the way they handled their past (lack of communication). I also felt certain parts of the story were exaggerated and didn’t feel very realistic. LaRynn’s relationship with her parents was also a bit odd and the spontaneous reemergence of her mother just added to it. Overall I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Tarah!

First thank you to st martins press and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.75 stars

Synopsis: Larynn and Deacon both have rough childhoods but enjoyed summers with their grandmothers. When one of their inheritance depends on marriage, they agree to get married. After parting for 7 years, they have to come together again to remodel their grandmothers condo.

What I liked: this was my first Tara Dewitt’s romance and I was excited to read it. I do understand that this is a rerelease of an earlier work. I liked it and thought it show a lot of promise. Larynn was very strong willed but did have a heart. Deacon was a solid guy who fit Larynn to trust him and share more than she usually would. There were some spots that seem to move slower but I was interested enough to want to read more.

LaRynn and Deacon had a fling when they were teenagers which resulted in them breaking each other’s hearts. They became enemies soon after that and LaRynn avoided Deacon’s hometown, which was also were her grandmother lived.

Years later after both of their grandmothers died, they inherited their home, which requires substantial repairs before they could make a profit of the property. LaRynn could gain access to her trust and provide the fund if she gets married, so these two who haven’t interacted with one another in years decide to get married until they can complete the renovations and sell the house.

This book is a second chance romance and it’s beautifully written with so much tension between LaRynn and Deacon. We get an insight to why their relationship didn’t work the first time and character development is well played. I fell in love with Deacon very early on because he was so unapologetically himself and he portrayed the confidence LaRynn needed in a relationship. The book was very easy to read and I really enjoyed them as a couple.

Tropes
* Second chance romance
* Marriage of convenience
* Close proximity
* Dual POV

3.75/5 ✨

This is *true* rivals to lovers in every sense of the phrase. They are complete menaces to one another, and the resentment towards each other ran deep. The first little bit of the book really had me questioning how everything would come together because it felt like the animosity was irreversible??

But man was the journey worth it! I loved how everything tied together. I feel like Tarah did a good job pacing their story. It would have been really easy to try and rush the messiness of their relationship, but this book really takes everything in stride. As LaRynn and Deacon work together, you can see their emotional walls start coming down. You sit in the uncomfortable moments. You sit in the misunderstandings and miscommunication. And you realize that these are just two perfectly imperfect trying to do their best 🥲

This is the book for you if you’re looking for a messy and real rivals to lovers romance with a marriage of convenience 🫶🏻

Thank you to Tarah and St Martins Press for this advanced reader copy of The Co-op!

I had not read this one the first time around, so this was a new to me story. I recently read one other book by this author so I was excited to read this one as well.

I always love a marriage of convenience and this one had the added second chance vibes with the time jumps showing us LaRynn and Deacon the first time they were together as young adults. Neither one had the best example of a good relationship growing up until their grandmothers fell in love so it was easy to understand how they were both affected by their parents and struggled to find their footing in a relationship.

Things did not end well between LaRynn and Deacon the first time because they didn't communicate properly and I was definitely interested to see how they would manage being around each other while dealing with the stress of the restoration project. Even though they both struggled to open up more to each other, the fact that they finally came clean about how they hurt each other when they were younger and were able to find their way back to loving each other the way they both deserved made me so happy. There were so many tender moments and also hilarious banter between these two, I loved it!

Thank you to SMP Romance, Tarah and NetGalley for the ARC!

The co-op
4.5⭐️3.25🌶️

Contemporary Romance
1st person
Dual POV
Second chance romance
marriage of convenience
Property Reno
Flashbacks

Tw: parental abandonment, emotional abuse, cursing, family death, parental infidelity

I adored Funny Feelings, so I was excited to read an ARC of The Co-Op.

Two kids who fell in love a decade ago meet again after loosing their grandmas. They are tossed together when they have a common goal of fixing up the duplex their grandma’s owned.

I found the story to be very charming. I loved the pacing and steadiness of the plot. The characters were solid and had great emotional arcs. The side characters were very cute.

I especially adored the epilogue.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was such a good read. LaRynn and Deacon story is a beautifully vulnerable read. This book had me laughing, tearing up and kicking in frustration it had me in a roller coaster of emotions I just couldn't put this book down. This is my first read by Tarah DeWitt and I highly recommend.

This one was unfortunately not for me. A lot of the characters were really rude & the story just fell flat. DNF :(

This was my first Tarah Dewitt book and it was really fun! A cute and easy romance read with lots of banter. I will definitely be checking out some of her other books in the future! Thanks for the copy St. Martin’s Press & Netgalley.

I read this two years ago when it was released by Tarah. Now it’s been reworked a bit, and traditionally published. I really love Tarah’s writing and the way she tells a story, so I was excited to reread this! 

Deacon and LaRynn’s story was so much more emotional and angsty than I remember. It felt very real and raw. They were renovating a house that both their grandmothers left them. They had to get married to access LaRynn’s trust fund. The forced proximity and the sassy banter was so good and really added to the tension. 

I loved the flashback chapters where we got to see them fall in love for the first time, and how everything went wrong. They both had misconceptions about each other, so there were a lot of hate-to-want-you vibes.

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Second chance and marriage of convenience are two of my favorite tropes, so I was intrigued from the start. The characters are sweet and well developed. I was definitely rooting for them. While it was a cute, fun read, this one fell a little flat for me.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Tarah Dewitt does not miss, and this book was no exception. The book follows LaRynn and Deacon as they renovate the house that their grandmothers left them. Forced proximity, enemies to lovers, second chance romance, marriage of convenience? Sign. Me. Up.

This book was just such a joy to read. The chemistry? Amazing. The banter? Spectacular. The dual perspectives and alternating timelines? Give me more! I loved being in both their heads. I loved watching how they fell back in love. I loved watching them communicate and deal with their issues. I just loved everything about it.

LaRynn and Deacon were such a pleasure to read. Both of them just complimented each other in such a beautiful way. I loved that they actually dealt with why they broke up and actively tried to work on those issues to be better for the other person. I loved that they helped each other through their own issues. Everything about this was just perfection.

I honestly was surprised when the book ended because I was just having such a fun time that I didn’t even realize that I’d read the whole book. I love this book and these characters so much. They tugged on my heartstrings and made me cry and laugh and hope and it was all just so lovely.