"Do you even remember when you gave me that nickname?"

"Of course I do," he says. "I remember everything."

—

"I'd find you," I tell him, firmly.
"And I don't think there's a version of you I couldn't love."

—

-forced proximity, fake marriage, second chance 🔨🏠👩‍🔧🧑‍🔧💍
-Deacon and LaRynn’s story made my heart so happy! This story wove together seamlessly 💕
-some of the best written flashback scenes I’ve read and they flowed so well with the rest of the read
-thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

5.0⭐️

My first book from this author and it was a nice read.

At first I couldn't deal with the FMC LaRynn, she came off as not so nice and it was good to see that she kinda grew up and stopped being mean to the MMC Deacon. I get that she trying to navigate this new phase in her life but again it came out mean-ish.

I am always a fan of Dual POV because you get to be in both characters head. There is a lot of history between LaRynn and Deacon with the tension that builds from the time that see each other again until that moment where it boils over. They both have a childhood that is less than perfect that has them be against anything that could possibly make them happy. Deacon is an all around good guy, who fell hard the first time and harder the second time around with LaRynn.

It was cute second chance romance with a HGTV style home project that brings the MC's together and I can see myself picking up another book by Tarah Dewitt in the future.

this was good, but it wasn't great. I found it a little hard to connect to the characters and there wasn't really anything special for me.

Tarah DeWitt never fails to make me wish I lived in the small towns she sets her stories in. The Co-op is fun, funny, and palpable. Forever obsessed with Deacon he is A+ book boyfriend material. I wish the back and forth between past and present gripped me more than it did. I don't think I needed the chapters in the past as frequently to understand Deacon and LaRynn's relationship, but still thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I love anything written by Tarah and this one was read in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. I love a story with banter. I enjoyed this one. It was a fun read for me.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down! Here’s a taste of what to expect:

🏖️ Sun-kissed beach vibes
💍 Fake marriage
💕 Second chance romance
🔥 Smoldering romantic tension
😂 Hilarious moments and witty banter

This is my first time diving into a Tarah DeWitt novel, and it’s a fantastic introduction. The Co-Op blends humor with romance and deeper themes, making for an entertaining and heartfelt read. You might even find yourself craving beignets as you enjoy this delightful story. 😂

Though it's a standalone gem, I’m eager to explore Tarah’s other books.

Big thanks to Tarah and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. 🤍

Tarah’s writing is flawless! I loved this book the first time I read it and I loved it even more now! These characters are so lovable!

The was fun, easy to read and SPICY!! Not a ton of explicit scenes, but the ones she had were HOT. I thought the premise was a little hard to believe, so it did take me a minute to fully get into the book.

I had read the author's last book, and had requested this one as an arc. I enjoy the author's writing style overall, but I did find that the pull I had from the other book was not in this one. I felt like the two characters needed more flirtation sooner or at least angst. I really did not feel a connection with either one of them. I liked getting their story when they were kids, but perhaps that took away from telling more of their story as adults. There were a couple laughs that I appreciated, and a little bit of spice. This was just ok for me.

If you love banter, enemies-to-lovers, marriage of convenience, and forced proximity, "The Co-op" by Tarah Dewitt is your next obsession. This book is packed with sharp dialogue and a slow-burn romance that’s super satisfying.

The tension between the characters is electric from the start, and their journey from rivals to lovers is both entertaining and heartwarming. The marriage of convenience setup feels fresh and adds a fun twist to the story. I was obsessed with the bantering from the very start and knew that this book would end up being one of my favorite books for this year, dare I say one of my top books of all time.

The author nails the humor and chemistry, making "The Co-op" a delightful read that keeps you hooked. If you’re into these tropes, you’ll definitely want to check this one out!

This is a delightful fall read that is a perfect blend of marriage of convenience with a little bit of second chance thrown in! Loved both of the main characters and their banter throughout. Definitely a new fan of Tarah DeWitt and she's quickly become a must read author!

I saw some people calling this Beach Read meets You Deserve Each Other and was intrigued so I had to give it a try for myself. While I really enjoyed Beach Read, I DNF'd You Deserve Each Other a while ago, and sadly The Co-op fell more in line with my feelings on that end of the spectrum.

To start with things I enjoyed: first of all, the cover is gorgeous. The setting/forced proximity of renovating a house together was a really fun idea. There were also a few moments set up in the story that I absolutely loved that were so unique and romantic, as well as some quotes in here that were genuinely stunning. There were also a few parallels to Beach Read for sure, and as a big Emily Henry fan, I enjoyed that. Also: there was no third act breakup!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately the positives end about here for me.

The main characters in this story were so frustrating. Our FMC LaRynn specifically drove me absolutely nuts--she felt so out of touch with reality and selfish, and threw fits like an actual spoiled child. It was beyond annoying to read about and made me unable to care at all about this love story because I disliked her so heavily.

I also did not understand at all why this was a marriage of convenience. The forced proximity due to their occupations made sense. I liked the second-chance aspect of their relationship as well. Why tf was this a marriage? It felt like the author was like "how can I squeeze in a few more trending tropes?" and decided to throw that in there for shits and giggles.

Most importantly: how have so many years gone by and these adults are still unable to communicate about something that happened when they were teenagers? They could not communicate to save their lives. I feel like, not only do I hope that people mature/learn to communicate better as they age, but also if something happened YEARS ago that bothered you as much as it clearly has bothered these 2, they'd have thought over the years of things they wish they had said or would say if they ever did find each other together again. I don't understand how they are still unable to work through this.

Sadly, this was more of a frustrating read than enjoyable for me, but I can definitely see why lots of people are liking it. I do think the You Deserve Each Other comparisons are pretty on par--I can see this book being polarizing in the same way that one was and an either you love it or you hate it sort of deal. I would still say if you have interest, give it a try and see on which side of things you fall. For me, this is a 2.5 rounded down.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m always a sucker for a marriage of convenience book! The chemistry and banter between the couple was amazing and drew me in from the beginning! It’s a perfect book to read in the fall!

I loved the original edition of this book and when I saw that Tarah DeWitt was writing an updated version I had to read it!! I loved that Tarah kept the storyline mostly the same, but added more past scenes from when L and D are teens. I think this really added more depth to their characters and relationship with each other. I also just love how much they love each other!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

The Co-Op is a forced-proximity, kinda second-chance romance set in a quiet little beach town in California. After blowing up her life and quitting law school, LaRynn is in the midst of figuring out where her life will go next, while fixing up her grandmothers' house, her one safe place in childhood. DeWitt does a great job altering between the past and present, and spends a good amount of time dissecting LaRynn and her history and traumas when it comes to relationships; similar attention is paid to our MMC, Deacon. We build up their past tension to some extent, though it sort of falls into trope of poor boy/rich girl and feelings of inadequacy, and the book feels like it's not trying to explain to us how the relationship was an issue and has changed, but rather that these are two very different people whose lives make sense together now.

Though I felt the book did drag towards the middle, feeling like nothing was really happening besides the two of them circling around each other while simultaneously being in love, I did feel like this was a well-written romance with a dash of exploration of our characters' psyches that felt somewhat reminiscent of an Emily Henry book. It didn't quite have the memorable factor of either fun! or deep yearning that would make me bump it up to a five stars - but I appreciate good writing when I see it! I haven't read Savor It, but that is definitely on my TBR.

LOVED LOVED LOVED!! I never wanted this one to end 😭😭 I'm so so obsessed with this book!! The tension was so swoon-worthy, and both of the main characters were complex and interesting. Tarah DeWitt might be one of my new fave romance writers.

Tarah DeWitt is the Queen of romance and I will literally buy any book she writes. The Co-Op is funny, endearing, and poignant and the romance sizzles off the page. Dewitt manages to write what feels like literary fiction, but reads like romance. In a word, The Co-op is an utter delight and I loved the updates she made from the originally version of the story. 5/5 would recommend every time

The Co-op was really fun. I did not read the original, but after reading this reworked version I went back and listened to some of the original audio, and I can tell that author made a lot of really great changes. I love that she included the flashbacks in this version, and I feel like the characters were much more fleshed out. I definitely would have rated the previous version lower, especially the audiobook. The male narrator’s bizarre accent is so distracting- no idea what he was going for. Anyway, I really loved this shined up version of The Co-Op. It was a fun, enemies to lovers rom com that’s perfect for beach reading. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc!

DeWitt wrote this so well. I don't usually like dual timelines in romance but this one was captivating. I loved how the characters grew and how real they seemed. This is a great romance read!

I want to say thank you to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

This book was phenomenal! It was so much more than a romance novel and I feel it deserves praise! This book was a tumultuous read with such raw emotions and real-life perspectives as well as struggles. On top of that I couldn’t have expected a happier, more satisfying ending if I tried.

Both our main female character and main male character go through a tremendous amount of growth—and we get a unique POV of both their past selves as well as present. It truly hit so close to home for me. Our main female character, LaRynn, is of a prickly sort and honestly not too likable in the beginning. Seeing her evolve and open up is truly a treat. Likewise with Deacon, our main male character, he comes off as a bit of a tool at first until you see more from his side of things.

Honestly I devoured this book and took so much more away from this story than just an enemies to lovers romance. It was relatable and profoundly comforting—especially as someone who had struggled with stuff in the past. Five stars all day, every day!