I love a good second chance romance and this delivered! The main characters were so much fun and the banter and spice in this book was perfection. I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to read more from this author!

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is a cute second-chance romance with DIY home project vibes. The first part was a little slow, but I'm glad I stuck with it because it was an enjoyable read.

A truly summery spicy romance. This book was so fun to read. I loved the banter and character relationships.

Tarah Dewitt could teach a masterclass in how to write beautifully flawed, and veritably genuine characters. She has a way of making her leads feel like your real best friend, sister, or lover. In The Co-Op, the same is true as we meet Deacon, a boy next door “fixer,” and Larynn, a self proclaimed “stuck up girl” whose actually down to earth and just doesn’t know it yet.

Deacon and LaRynn’s chemistry absolutely jumps off the page in this. The banter was scrumptious, and left me hungry for more with every page turned. The way both characters cared for each other while also simultaneously trying to maintain their hatred was actually quite endearing and executed so well in this novel. And not to mention the sexual tension!!! I loved how we received little bite sized pieces of sexy scenes leading up to the final climax (pun intended).

<b> <i> “In need of a virile man, huh?” I bite my lip in a grin. “More specifically one that no one will miss.” I love the way her nose scrunches when she’s pissed. “Oh sugar, you and I both know I never miss.” </b> </i>

Tarah Dewitt’s writing is some of my favorite in the contemporary romance genre. She has such a way with words, both in true life contemplations, and her unserious, sexy character exchanges. She balances both so well in this novel.

<b> <i> “It feels like I can’t get enough of her, or like I’m asking for too much from her. Maybe it’s just me that’s not enough.” </b> </i>

All that being said, there are a couple reasons I can’t give this 5 stars.

For one, the arranged marriage trope felt like a plot movement device. I needed more internal confliction to really feel the “arranged” part in this arranged marriage. We also only really got glimpses of this trope throughout the novel, and I would’ve loved more.
While this was dual narration, the internal monologue had the same exact cadence making it difficult to distinguish the characters voices.
The flashbacks from when they were younger just randomly stop 50% into the novel and weren’t fully resolved. We needed at least one more scene to feel the hatred/tension leading them into the present day.

Overall, I’ll never not recommend a Tarah Dewitt novel. She has a special place on my bookshelf for a reason! 🫶

LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds were once summer flings, but when they become shared owners of the Santa Cruz building they have an opportunity to reconnect. The co-op is a light hearted marriage of convenience and forced proximity story. I will say the lack of communication skills between the two was infuriating, but it also built into the realism of the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Tarah DeWitt book, and it won't be my last.
Reading The Co-op was an enjoyable experience. The characters felt real and relatable. The story itself was well-written and pulled me in from the start.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a hit for me and I see why so many others loved it! Now I need to go back and read more of her books!! Thank you so much netgalley for this copy of Mercury!

This was so cute! My first book by this author and I’ll definitely be reading Savor it ASAP. Her writing was witty, and the story had me rooting for the main characters from start to finish.

Second chance romance and marriage of convenience, yes please! I really enjoy this fun read and their banter back and forth had me giggling!

“They’ve been playing house…while these walls are coming down” 🏠🤍

I’m a sucker for the marriage of convenience trope when done well and this one definitely was! I loved the HGTV vibes and fell in love with the characters growth. However I get deeply irritated with a miscommunication trope in any romance so that was the only part that deterred me from rating any higher. I don’t think I’ve read any home construction romance so the plot line alone had me intrigued from the start!

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced readers copy!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

I have enjoyed past writings of this author and was looking forward to this one. We have a past history of young love and broken hearts, a second chance love story with a marriage of convenience mixed in. We get flashes of the earlier timeline of Deacon and LaRynn's relationship but not a full explanation of the ending them. I was hoping for a little more of the past revealed. When the two reunite it is after they are given shared ownership of their grandmothers' apartment building. A plot emerges to access LaRynn's funds she will get when she marries. The they can renovate and eventually sell. I was disappointed that even though our couple was now grown you could still see times of immense immaturity. Add that blasted miscommunication trope and not voicing true feelings/opinions was frustrating, too. I enjoyed the spark and the cutesy/loving times when our couple made an effort. The push and pull especially from Larry and all her wide mood swings/issues got old, fast. I hoped for more character growth by the end. When we finally get to the honesty stage and willingness to open hearts and accept a real marriage was (almost) worth all the messiness to get there. I could do without the open-door scenes...the romance and not the "lust" is what sells it!

3.5 stars

Another knockout from Tarah DeWitt! To be fully transparent: if it's written by her, I'm going to read it and most likely love it. The Co-Op was so beautifully written and I love a marriage of convenience trope! Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

This was better without the flashbacks. (I’d give the 2022 version 4 stars)

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tarah DeWitt does it again! I love her books and getting to know the characters for it. This book was exactly what I needed with great characters, a great story line and just enough spice. I highly recommend.-

Overall, I enjoyed this story and thought that it creatively set a second chance romance against the backdrop of an exploration on grief and complicated family relationships. I do think that as much as the layers of the story: the co-op remodel, the characters' layered backgrounds, the loss of their grandmothers, as well as their own complicated relationship, do contribute to making the story more interesting it also made the book feel like a much heavier read than I as a reader anticipated. The chapters are very heavy in exposition, often leaving a desire for more dialogue between the characters and more of a focus on the actual love story. Still, it was enjoyable and I'd recommend.

I read the original version of The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt and her updated version adds a whole new layer into this already incredible story. Tarah is such a master in creating authentic characters with organic relationships and LaRynn and Deacon were no exception. This story is filled with so much heart and heat and I absolutely love it.

I was slightly hesitant to start this one after not loving her latest, but I really, really liked The Co-Op. The pacing was great, the characters were well developed, and the story line was fun. I think I will work through her backlist now!

Despite the premise of this story being a little bananas, this was such a fun book to read! The banter between LaRynn and Deacon is hilarious, and they played off each other really well. There wasn't a ton of spice, but those scenes packed quite a punch. This was my first read from Tarah DeWitt, and I will certainly seek her out in the future.

LaRynn and Deacon inherit a house from their grandmothers and have to decide whether they’d like to sell or keep it. The house is in shambles, which means that renovations are a must. Former childhood friends, LaRynn and Deacon have both grown apart with age, and a childhood mishap that left them contactless and definitely not friendly.

I loved the enemies to friends trope, as well as the banter. Definitely a bit spicy. One of my favorite books by Tarah DeWitt!

It took me a while to get into this one. The use of miscommunication trope was very strongly used which kinda made me not like the main characters as much. I get it their parents weren’t good role models for healthy communication in a relationship but they could have looked at other relationships like their grandmothers for that. Also I found the part where the buyer just let them out of the sale of the house very unbelievable. Seriously the housing market is crazy these days.