4.5 stars from me! I loved the first e-ARC I was granted by this author and this new one is no exception. I am a sucker for childhood friends to adult lovers tropes so this book immediately reeled me in. I loved the switching between past and present and all of the heartfelt connections in this book. As always, Tarah DeWitt painted a dreamy scenery that I could picture the whole time. I did find myself feeling frustrated with the main characters at times, which is why I’m giving it 4.5 stars. I look forward to reading more from this author!

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is another absolutely delightful story!
The main characters were easy to fall in love with.
Deacon and LaRynn were just so perfect together!
This is the best romance I’ve read in such a long time.
The writing was engaging and sucked me in immediately. I finished it in one sitting.
A steamy second chance romance that I absolutely loved!
My second novel written by DeWitt and I’m officially obsessed with her!

I didn’t know what to expect getting into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised! The banter, the tension and the story were incredible, so much that I couldn’t stop reading (I literally devoured it in a day).
The second-chance plot was so well executed and I loved how the relationship between LaRynn and Deacon evolved from lovers to enemies to friends to lovers again. They were so funny and reading this book was just pure delight!

this book was so beautiful! amazing tension, banter, and romance. the slow burn was so satisfying. I loved the dual timeline and dual POV. I experienced so many different emotions while I read this. I laughed and I cried and the epilogue nearly killed me it was so sweet. I love the author’s writing style and humor, but I did notice a few typos.

I read the OG Co-op and I remember enjoying but.....not THIS much! I don't know what it was but the changes DeWitt made were obviously great because I LOVED it this time around!
The timelines were a bit more jumpy this time but I liked having that background. It gave the MCs' relationship more depth and just helped me understand them more, especially Deacon.
I remember thinking he was as ass the first time around but I honestly felt for him in this second read. He and LaRynn had some misunderstandings and once they started hashing it out things got better.
They worked well together, their marriage of convenience provided a good excuse to spend time together and it was beautiful and sexy and fun and deep.
Not only do we get more love scenes but we also get more of them simply talking and falling in love again with the people they were in the present. It was honestly beautiful and love version of the story SO much!
If you haven't read it yet, be sure to GO READ IT as soon as this updated version is out! 10/10 recommend 🤩

4⭐️
3🌶️

Well damn, I want me a Deacon 😍. This book was super cute! Loved seeing them work through the renovations while working through their relationship. Their banter is awesome and the chemistry?? Off the charts! Which is super necessary in a major slow burn like this one. This story was heartfelt and serious, but also silly and cute. Definitely recommend this one!

LaRynn and Deacon were brought together when their grandmother's fell in love. They purchased a house together that both grandkids spent many a summer visiting. What LaRynn and Deacon didn't plan on was their grandmothers leaving the house to them in their will. The house needs a great deal of work and the two have fallen out of touch following an emotional summer.

They soon find themselves tearing down more than just physical walls during this renovation.

This book is basically the exact opposite of miscommunication tropes and there is no third act breakup! I found myself smiling along with the story. A quick read!

Once I started this one I couldn't stop. Watching these characters come together in such a beautiful and well written story felt like watching a slow build of a my favorite comfort movie.

When I requested this book, I didn’t realize that it was a re-release. When I discovered that it was I became a little hesitant, but I’m so glad that I read it as it really was a delightful book. I’m giving it a solid four stars because it was enjoyable I liked the characters, as they had some realness to them which I really enjoyed even though it was very predictable. However, I really didn’t mind that it was.

I really enjoyed watching the relationship and romance evolve throughout the book. In the sense, it had a traumatic starting point when they were teenagers and then the forced proximity was a great tool to get them to evaluate and allow the relationship to unfold in a way that it wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. I also liked that the subplots had layers to them that all centered back on the main plot point. They didn’t just seem like random things just to flush out the book a little bit more they all were intentional and had a point serving the greater plot.

I am thankful to have gotten an eARC for free from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.
The book re-releases on November 12 so grab your copy today and if you read it in the past, give it another try because there is some new revised content in the book,
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

LaRynn and Deacon had summer fling when they were teens. Their grandmothers CeCe and Helena were married and they would visit in the summers. CeCe and Helena left their home to LaRynn and Deacon in their wills. The home is now in poor condition. To sell the house there must be major improvements. Deacon is a contractor but lacks the money to invest in the repairs. LaRynn has the money in a trust but is unable to access it until she gets married. They enter into a marriage of convenience but soon find old feeling coming to the surface.

I have read other Tarah DeWitt books that really knocked it out of the park. Unfortunately this one didn't quite get there for me. Neither of the main characters stood out or resonated with me. There was too much miscommunication going on. There were some really good elements. I was so happy that there was no third act breakup after they finally started to come together as a couple. I have really come to enjoy a slow burn romance so that was nice here. I loved the memories of the grandmothers. Their relationship sounded lovely, give me a prequel of their romance please!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My sincere thanks to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read The CO-OP by Tarah DeWitt. I give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

LaRynn and Deacon have inherited a home in Santa Cruz from their grandmothers. They need to work together to renovate it in order to sell. They also need to navigate some serious feelings stemming from a pretty serious relationship that they had seven years earlier where they broke each other's heart. In order to have the funds to do the renovation, they enter into a marriage of convenience to access LaRynn's trust fund. Circumstances also require that they live together in the home while they work on it. Their chemistry is intense, and they don't always handle it well. They know how to jab each other in their vulnerable places. They agree to be friends, but can either one of them be satisfied with that?

I really liked this book. There are a lot of feelings to unpack and watching the characters come to terms with them little by little was so interesting to read. It is definitely not smooth sailing. We are given both LaRynn and Deacon's points of view from the past when they first became involved and the present. It is easy to see their connection and wonder how the author is going to bring them together in the end. I appreciated the slow burn. They had far too much to deal with and having them succumb to their attraction too early would not have been realistic to me. I loved how everything played out.

This is my second Tarah Dewitt book this year. While I enjoyed Savor It just a little more, I am excited to keep up with what Tarah comes up with next.

The Co-Op is a second chance romance, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, and frenemies to lovers novel. First, this book was extremely well written. I loved the grandmas so much. Dewitt knows how to build up background and character backstory. LaRynn showed me that I need a female main character that is a little bit softer and empathetic straight off the bat. Deacon being head over heels for LaRynn physically was endearing, but because LaRynn was so harsh at first it seemed to leave little room for emotional attraction which in turn made it a little difficult to fall for their relationship. LaRynn’s deeply tragic childhood of being isolated from anything outside of pride for her accomplishments truly allows for the reader to remain sympathetic to her struggles in life and in love. Deacon always being there to hold space and push back when necessary allows for the love and trust to blossom once again, 10 years later.

If you’re looking for a romance that is digs into deeper into the familial wounds that hurt us and how to learn to love and be loved in return, this one is for you!

I did not love this one. I DNF’d at about 50% because I just couldn’t stand the FMC LaRynn. Deacon was ok, but once I decided I didn’t like the FMC I wasn’t rotting for their enemies to lovers, forced proximity relationship to take a turn. I wanted to tell Deacon to run, far far away!

There is some good banter and if you like forced proximity, save the family ____ “insert cliche here” and enemies to lovers, you may like this one.

Eep!! I have to say, Tarah writes a mean romance novel and “The Co-Op” is no exception. Deacon and LaRynn had a history that literally could not be ignored and watching them attempt to was hilarious (like those sweet summer children ever stood a chance). It was the perfect mix of their home renovation, angsty tension, and pure repressed pining. The love they had for one another was, seriously, palpable and had me feeling like I was in the room with them like this:🧍‍♀️in the corner, just w a i t i n g for someone to snap. Then once they did..it was so worth all the cups he'd leave on the nightstand and the hair she'd leave on the shower wall. The pacing was smooth until the last 12% or thereabouts - it gets rushed from there, I felt like, but the epilogue then was precious. I did also feel like those “team-building exercises” were practically nonexistent and long-forgotten. And with that all established, I’m en route to read the rest of her oeuvre in preparation for the beautiful and emotional mack truck LOF will inevitably be. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Tarah DeWitt for providing this eARC!

I was going to say I wish I read this sooner but there was a rewrite (hence the new release date). And I’m happy I waited because damn, Tara Dewit does it again. There is something about her characters that I absolutely love.

To be honest second chance romance isn’t one of the tropes I generally read but this was so good. The story goes back and forth between then and now so you can see what happened between LaRynn and Deacon. You also get duel POV, which I absolutely love.

Tarah Dewitt is a magician. I loved this when I read it as an indie and I love it even more now! The tension, banter, and chemistry is unmatched!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffith for this advanced copy! You can pick up The Co-op on November 12, 2024.

This was such a fantastic marriage of convenience and forced proximity story! Seeing LaRynn and Deacon's relationship evolve from passionate, heartbroken teenagers to slow-to-trust, healing adults was so, so good. Plus, I love a good "my wife" moment.

There's no better feeling than picking up the right book at the right time, and I fear Tarah DeWitt's steamy, angsty romance was exactly what I needed.

Cute, fun, read. After their grandmothers leave them their house that is in desperate need of repair…. LaRynn and Deacon have not seen or spoken to each other in seven years.
It seems like it takes forever for these two to actually have a conversation, but when they do… it’s explosive. The banter was great and overall I really enjoyed this book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved Deacon. He was super sweet and hardworking. Overall, I liked LaRynn as well. She annoyed me slightly at the beginning of the book and presented a little too needy for me. I felt the book's first half was a little slow and drawn out. I loved the second half of the book and the HEA. I loved how they both opened up to each other and were honest about their fears and feelings. This would make for an EXCELLENT audiobook with their banter throughout the book!

Thank you for this ARC in exchange for honest feedback!

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is being rereleased on November 12th and I want to thank #netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my advance reader copy. I enjoyed this romance. It features LaRynn and Deacon - they were together the summer they were 18, it ended badly scarring both of them. LaRynn never returned to her grandmother's home - the home she shared with her partner, Deacon's grandmother. Now both the women have passed away and left their home to LaRynn and Deacon. In addition, LaRynn has 100K in trust, but she can't access the money until she marries. LaRynn and Deacon want to fix up the house and sell it for a nice profit but need the cash so they skip right over the fake dating. There is great banter, good pacing, medium spice, and overall a good story. Both characters really struggled with their upbringing and have issues with their fathers that they need to move past as individuals and they need to forgive themselves and each other for everything that's happened. Again, I really enjoyed this read, and I love a good love story that does not feel compelled to make it unnecessarily long. 4 stars.