I have been wanting to read something by this author for a while. After receiving the widget from the publisher, I thought this is my time. I just finished the book and I can’t believe I waited this long to read it. Deacon and ‘Larry’ are perfection. I loved their relationship. I loved all the side characters like Sally. I’m so so happy they got to keep the house they worked on. The tension and the banter was to die for. I am a sucker for a slow burn. Their little games they were playing in the beginning was hilarious. I’m so sad the book is over now. But I’m definitely going to check out other releases by this author!

A second chance with a slow burn, witty banter, and two now-adults who strive not to repeat the non-communication issues they had before, The Co-op brings a fresh twist on the marriage of convenience with its living in a renovation (no walls!) forced proximity situation.
Do you know those books you are almost fearful of reading because you have heard so much about them? This is one of them for me. And it mostly lived up to the hype

LaRynn Lavine is slow to open up and struggling to adapt to life without parental support. She is also nonconfrontational, avoiding dealing with her parents and her ex or tackling her grief and even hiding from her single best friend. Raised by emotionally unavailable parents, she found refuge in summering at her grandmother’s beach condo.

Then, the summer she is 19, she falls for Deacon Leeds, who is carrying his collection of baggage.

And it is magic until it isn’t.

Neither has the maturity (or bravery) to reach out until eight years later when they inherit a beloved yet disrepair mess of a home.

The conflict between Deacon and LaRynn was clear from the beginning; they had both broken each other. I loved that they recognized how they had previously used physical intimacy as a barrier to admitting to their growing (mutual) feelings. Their (now) reluctance to act on these desires as more mature adults added a new layer of depth and a lot of anticipation.

The payoff for their self-restraint was vibrating with tension and well worth the wait. I loved how they evolved emotionally from taunting to tenderness with each other's bodies and hearts.

Set in a smaller beach town, I felt the setting supported the characters. From their reno to the frequent beach volleyball matches, there was plenty of action to move the timeline, allowing their relationship time to heal slowly. I enjoyed the foil of their best friends' relationship and how it compares to Deacon and LaRynn. Lots to enjoy!

Ever the sucker for a second chance, I relished this one in the end and look forward to working through DeWitt’s backlist

thank you to netgalley for my e-arc. my one gripe is could she have named the characters anything else? in my head i had to keep readjusting to say "lauren" instead of whatever "larynn" was. the second chance romance was a nice part of the story, along with the very slow burn.

Two adults with poor communication skills both have grandmothers who were married to each other. When the grandmothers pass away within months of each other, they leave the two adults with a rundown co-op that they now co-own. To get rid of the property, they decide to live together and fix it up so they can sell it and finally be done with each other.

However, they don’t have enough money to do the repairs. The FMC is a trust fund baby, but she can’t access her funds unless she’s married. So, even though these two had a falling out years ago due to a miscommunication, they decide to enter a marriage of convenience and cohabitate to fix up the house and move on for good.

Aside from the bizarre setup of both having a grandmother married to the other’s, the entire plot revolves around miscommunication. The FMC comes across as selfish and “misunderstood,” but honestly, all she needed to do was, I don’t know, say something kind instead of being rude all the time. Maybe she wouldn’t feel so unloved and isolated if she wasn’t always on the offensive.

As for the MMC—he’s portrayed as perfect but apparently says something to her when they were younger that caused their fallout. This “miscommunication” was never fully explained and felt completely out of character, making it seem like drama for the sake of drama.

That’s the whole book: FMC is rude, MMC is intentionally clueless, there’s plenty of sexual tension, a few funny romcom moments, and lots of miscommunication that doesn’t feel logical or realistic. When they finally do talk, they decide to be “just friends.” Also, the alternating past and present chapters were confusing, and the plot felt so drawn out that finishing the book was a struggle.

I was having such a good time initially, but this is a case of “less is more.” By the 70% mark, once the characters finally talked, they should have started getting together instead of dragging out their declarations of love and adding more over-the-top drama. The story felt forced, way too long, and ultimately didn’t make sense.

Two stars, but I’ll give it credit for the FMC being a tall woman. As a fellow tall woman (I mean not 6 ft but tall enough to relate), I appreciated those moments where she mentions the struggles of dating due to her height. It’s refreshing to see representation in romance since most FMCs are usually so “tiny and cute”.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Definitely not what I was expecting but was a cute story with hate to love marriage of convenience and forced proximity. While I did enjoy the book I did felt it dragged at the beginning it took quite awhile for me to get into.

Rereading and being back with LaRynn and Deacon in this new version was everything! They are dear to me!!!

This is hands down one of my favorite books and rereading with the added depth to these characters and their story that I already loved so much🥹

The banter, chemistry, and tension (!!!) were all still so good and had me giggling and kicking my feet! This is my favorite Tarah Dewitt book and that is solidified for me every time I read it! I’ll be thinking about them forever I love them so much!! <333

Tarah is such a queen and I love this book so much. it really transported me to when I read it the first time. it was such good experience and I cried like the first time. tarah is a queen can't stop reading her books

First off—thank you NetGalley for this ARC! My review is my own thoughts!

This book is so genuine and it dives into the nitty gritty between two charecters who have came to despise each other over the years. Deacon (MMC) and Larynn (FMC) used to be former “secret” lovers but hid it because their grandmothers married each other. They both came from parents who weren’t the best examples of loving caretakers. They finally see each other again after so many years bc they were both left as co owners for their grandparents home after they both passed away. This is what brings them together finally and they end up doing a schemey thing where they marry each other so they can get access to Larynns inheritance so they can repair the home and sell it. Even though there is much fighting it becomes more for the both of them.


The characters in this book are flawed but so genuine. It truly felt like this could happen in real life and their love bleed through all of these pages. I adored them as a couple.

I went back and forth with this one, but it really started to pick up and pull me in as it went on. The banter and smart wit had me!! I really liked the history that LaRynn and Deacon had and how things turned out. I thought the epilogue worked out nicely and I was left feeling like all the boxes had been checked off!

I enjoyed this sweet second chance romance, but also felt like it went in circles. Nothing really happened throughout the book. But I did appreciate the self-development of both characters and the relationship growth.

Over the last few weeks, between adjusting from jet lag, moving, unpacking, going back to work full time, learning to live both on my own and with my fiancé, and attempting not to set my kitchen on fire to feed myself, I have unfortunately had very little time to read! I feel the edges of a book funk on its’ way but the only thing keeping me from a full on reading funk has been the arc of The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt. Unfortunately, because of all the previously listed life things, I haven’t had time to finish it yet but can say I am really enjoying it and keep coming back to the book with excitement (which is always an even more difficult fear during a time in which I feel susceptible to a reading funk)! This second chance romance is different parts friends to lovers to enemies and hopefully enemies BACK to lovers which are portrayed between the alternating past and present timelines! The constant banter, family history, and grumpy sunshine demeanor’s of LaRynn and Deacon makes this book all the more fun to read! It is an enjoyable, well written story that has all the good things a story needs and keeps you coming back for more! Now… I’m counting down to my next day so I can spend it continuing to read this entertaining new release which is a perfect addition to any book- lover’s romance shelves! I’m excited to keep reading this book and highly recommend it… this is my first book by Tarah DeWitt and even having not finished this book yet, I know it definitely won’t be my last!

This one was on my radar a couple years ago when it was self published, and I never got to it. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this story as it was just republished traditionally last week! I loved this story. Though I never read the original version, I think Tarah Dewitt must have done these characters justice, because they fit perfectly imperfect together. The character growth and the level of communication shown by these two main characters was just *chef’s kiss*!

This was an easy contemporary romance read, BUT it felt at times that it missed the mark for me. I can't exactly pin point if it was the pacing or plot itself that i didn't fully connect with as I did enjoy Deacon & Larynns witty banter, but felt it was more Deacon who kept the story going then Larynn.

I wish we head more from the Grandma's and I did also love the epilogue at the end, wonderful close up!

This was a true Rom Com that had me laughing out loud. I mean when you start with a girls top three embarrassing moments, you know it's going to be hilarious. But DeWitt also tackled themes of grief, toxic parents, and healing, that made it more than just your average romcom.

This story had lovable, relatable characters that were easy to empathize with. Deacon is everything you want from a book boyfriend with an amazingly sweet soul and I never got annoyed with LaRynn (which happens to me a lot in romcoms). I think DeWitt did an amazing job of explaining both MC's histories together and separately. The banter was on point too. I found myself giggling so many times and I might have thought about playing some pranks on my husband using LaRynn's techniques once or twice.

Dual POV
Marriage of convenience
Forced Proximity
Enemies (ish) to Lovers
Second Chance romance

I'm giving this one 4.5 stars/5. I enjoyed it so much more than Savor It (the last DeWitt book I read). Do yourself a favor and add it to your TBR. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this early in exchange of an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads and it didn’t disappoint! LaRynn and Deacon both hilarious and heartwarming! Read on for the synopsis.

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

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 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.
Thrust into a home without walls, they quickly learn that it’s easy to hide behind emotional ones, even in a marriage. But, with all the exposure and pitfalls that come with living with the opposite sex (and none of the perks) they’ll also have to learn what it means to truly co-operate as a team.

The Co-op is a steamy story about restoration and renovation, and uncovering all the things that build character within ourselves. It’s about the never-ending construction project that partnership is, and finding enjoyment at every stage.

*The Co-op* by Tarah DeWitt is a charming forced proximity romance that hits all the right notes. The story revolves around two lively characters who find themselves working side-by-side, and their playful chemistry is off the charts. The banter is sharp, the attraction is undeniable, and the way they grow together feels authentic and engaging. A special thank you to DeWitt for skipping the cliché third-act breakup—it's refreshing to see a romance that keeps the tension high without resorting to unnecessary drama. I absolutely loved this book!

Larry - LARRY - what a nickname.

So we have second chance romance, plus marriage of convenience. So we're already on the up and up. We have some unresolved trauma of one person saying I love you, and it not being said back, which... you were teenagers, but sure. Hold a grudge. I also love a house flip, so that was fun. So all in all, there were many things working in our favour.

I never doubted The Co-op was going to be anything less than a 4 star read! If Tarah writes it I will be reading it. Marriage of Convenience is my top 5 tropes and DeWitt does it perfectly!

Overall, such a delight to read. I totally recommend this as a book to read when you are in a reading slump!

Although it took me a while to get through the book, it was still cute and a good version of forced proxy, enemies to lovers, and marriage of convenience. For me, it was just slow paced and the FMC was repetitive about a few things. Overall, I enjoyed the story line and it was a book I would recommend to someone who wants to start reading romance.

I absolutely loved this book.
Have you ever taken on a home project with your spouse or significant other? Then you know the amount of frustration and laughter that may cause. So, I loved that this book centered around these two people who had so much animosity in the beginning both striving to fix up this house they loved so much.
Deacon and LaRynn were two of the realest characters l've read. Their pasts make it so hard to love and trust, but they jumped in together anyway. The way the story was told in real time but also flashbacks when they were younger, and this gave such insight to how they behaved and felt. I really liked the second chance romance as well as being told in dual point of views.
This is such a great story about how two people from broken families can come together not perfect, but learning to love and figure it out each day.
"I'd begun to believe that trying was its own love language.
Trying to understand a person, trying to make them happy, trying to make yourself happy, too. My relationship with him is what made me believe that."