New Tara Dewitt reader and I’m HOOKED!! Loved The Co-Op and will definitely be looking forward to her new releases! Ready to dive into her back list now! 😃

Oh man. I had such high hopes for this book, and it had some moments, but ultimately didn't work for me.

LaRynn (I can't) and Deacon have inherited a house together. They must fix it up to sell, but must first come to terms with their passionate past. Can they work together or are they doomed to repeat the past mistakes?

The miscommunication was high in this book. Not my favorite. I also had trouble connecting with the main characters. They were adversaries for no reason for way too long. By the time they got together, I just didn't care. I was annoyed with the characters for the majority of the book. The ending was cute enough. I wish there was more friend time and less drama over the house. I guess this book was a rework? Maybe I would have enjoyed the previous iteration more.

I know this author has potential because I loved Savor It. I will try new things from her but will hesitate to revisit older works.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the e-book in exchange for my honest review.

A suuuuuuuper slow burn, but worth it. I love a good second chance romance, and this one has so much chemistry!

Absolutely loved the banter and chaos of LaRynn and Deacon’s story!

I’m not a big fan of time jumping in books but I felt it was well written in this book where it didn’t bother me. You get just enough of the pair’s past to understand why they have a grudge and what their relationship was like.

Marriage of convenience is a favorite trope of mine, not only is Deacon possessive of LaRynn but she feels the same of him. Through their grievances with each other, they also deeply care for and support each other. They grow more in being comfortable with themselves through encouraging each other.

I fell in love with story! I was into these two for the entire ride, start to finish. The premise was promising on its own, so when I saw that it was available for an ARC, I was pumped. You have two exes of sort inheriting a broken down property with forced close proximity? You add in shenanigans, poking and prodding, and just flat-out tension in every interaction - you’ve got a romance that is going to keep your attention.

LaRynn is a rich girl who is now flat-broke after being disowned by her father. She is dealing with the fallout of that, along with grieving her grandmother, and decides it's time to return back to her favorite place and try to move forward. However, when I say that she decides it is time to return, I really mean she’s being forced to by Deacon. So, not only are they about to start out on the wrong foot, but that’s exactly where they had left it a decade ago, too.

Their past history is full of misunderstandings (such is young love) and it was so gratifying to watch as they unraveled those perceptions over the course of their cohabitation. I was into how the author used the two timeless, and interconnected their relationship 10 years ago into the present. It was not jarring like I have seen in other stories, you get flashbacks every couple of chapters but its not back and forth every minute (chefs kiss.)

What I do want to make abundantly clear is that I ADORED all the versions of Deacon and LaRynn! They were both just little sweetie pies who were scared of being hurt by the other. Both were let by others before, and they handled it in different ways, but at the bottom of it, they were just lovestruck scaredy cats who couldn’t help but fall in love with the other twice.

This was my first read from Tarah DeWitt, and I will be giving the others a try now.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.

I simply could not put this book down!! The relationship between Deacon and LaRynn was unlike anything I’ve read and was truly rooting for them the whole time. I loved everything about this book and will read anything Tarah writes!!!

this was such a sweet story 🥺 watching Ms LaRynn find her way back home and reconnect with Deacon was so so cute. I loved the chapters that gave a glimpse into their past and why they didn’t work out originally. I also adored getting tidbits of information about their grandmas and their love story. Deacon being a handy man and being able to do all these home renovations was so fun too! I looooved the aspect of them coming together for their common goal, to fix this house that meant to much to both of them.

The ending 🥺 I had a lump in my throat on the verge of tears because of how sweet the last few chapters were.

The Co-Op by Tarah DeWitt 🛠️

I am absolutely obsessed with this book and everything that Tarah DeWitt writes. This is one of those reviews where it’s kind of hard to write because I’m not sure how to really put into words how much I loved it. LaRynn and Deacon’s are both such real and flawed characters which had my eyes glued to the page wanting to know what would come next with them.

LaRynn would spend her summers growing up at her grandmas house. One of those summers she meets Deacon, the grandson of her grandmas new wife. The first time they met didn’t go well, but after a few summers they got close and ended up in a summer fling. That fling ended terribly and they’ve barely spoken since. But when both of their grandmas pass way, they equally inherit the house where their grandmas lived. That house is in desperate need of a renovation that neither LaRynn nor Deacon can afford. Until they agree to a marriage of convenience to access trust fund money of LaRynns. They agree to stay married long enough to fix the house and then they’ll go their separate ways, but all the close proximity causes memories and feelings to return.

I’m such a big fan of second chance romances where the characters needed the time apart to grow before coming back together. That’s the case with LaRynn and Deacon perfectly. Both of them have their flaws, they say mean things to each, edge each other on in hopes of getting them to snap. They’re very real characters and I was desperate to see them get back together for their happy ending.

The flashbacks added so much to the story. They came in at the perfect moments of the book to act in parallel to what was happening in the present timeline, building up to the moment when they went their separate ways.

There’s so much I loved about this so I’m just going to list a bunch of things with no context… home renovations, sexual tension, jealousy, music that fits the mood, fighting as flirting, a tall and feisty woman, acts of service, slow dancing, plus more.

🩷 second chance
👥 close proximity
💍 marriage of convenience
💭 flashbacks
🤭 “my wife”
🛠️ home renovations
👏🏻 no third act breakup

dual POV
5/5 stars ⭐️
2.5/5 spice level 🌶️

Thoroughly enjoyed re-reading the Co-op! I freaking love all of Tarah’ Dewitt’s books and that’s no different with co-op. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Publishing Group for this ARC!

LaRynn and Deacon are perfect! I absolutely love them and definitely grew attached to them throughout the story. The epilogue is my favorite and just 👩🏻‍🍳😘.

I will continue to read any and all of Tarah’s book.

I’ll admit to liking the first Tara DeWitt novel I read, Savor It, a bit more than this one. But she’s such a strong writer who creates characters who feel real and are interesting, so I really enjoyed this one too.

Both LaRynn and Deacon can be abrasive at times, particularly Rynn, but the story is so well crafted that the reader totally understands why. They’re flawed and funny and moving and interesting, characters you’ll end up rooting for. I don’t usually love second chance romance but this was a great version of it. Modern marriage of convenience is such a fun trope because it’s so much harder to hit out of the park than its historical counterpart, and this book does it. A really engaging story.

This has been one of the most fun, endearing second chance romances that I have ever had the privilege to read. The dual POV/ dual timeline was used so effectively here and getting to LaRynns cinnamon roll center was truly a delight. This story was about healing from trauma as much as it was about falling in love and Tarah DeWitt did such a fantastic job of capturing both. The plot in the first half of the book definitely moved faster than it did in the second half, but I couldn't get these two out of my head regardless. I loved the way that LaRynns and Deacons personalities bounded off the page and the banter was truly top notch. The attraction between them was palpable and the tension waiting for them to act on the chemistry between them had me on the edge of my seat. Thank you so much Tarah and Netgalley for allowing me to read this beautiful book early. This is one of those books that I see myself revisiting time and time again.

This book is a hilarious, spicy romance book. This is a second chance romance, with close proximity, tons of banter and an absolutely beautiful setting. It also had a ton of miscommunication, secrets and lots of back and forth. It's not my favourite Tarah DeWitt book, but I did enjoy it.

I felt a little lost in this romance novel. Miscommunication and marriage of convenience, forced proximity. I felt like I was playing book trope bingo - without a necessary reason which was a bummer. Some of the dialogue was beautiful, but it couldn’t make up for the FMC characterization, writing style. Just average.

It took me a long time to get through this book, but I’m glad that I did. Second chance, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers, in a small town. LaRynn and Deacon once had something a very long time ago, only to now find themselves owners of a property both their grandmothers owned. This book takes us along the bumpy roads as they try to figure out their next steps!

Tarah Dewitt is like a breath of fresh air

The characters are realistic and easily relatable.
I always fall in love with the way she writes such human characters and stories.
It feels truly like these could be real people

This author NEVER lets me down

This book was fantastic.
It has so much more than a second chance relationship, it's also about them growing up and their families.
The grans play a big part in this book even though they are no longer with us.

LaRynn and Deacon wow their feelings for each other are so strong, but they are trying so hard to stay apart. They bicker so much and it's so funny, how they end up flirting at the same time as being mean.
LaRynn was very rude in the beginning but she had a lot going on in life and also her past had a lot to do with it. She was not very likeable in the beginning, thankful things changed in that area.
Some parts of this back-and-forth relationship was tiring and annoying but just stay with this couple bc it gets better.
These 2 not only have a past but now they don't just have to work together to fix up their grandma's house (kinda a long story there, how they both have the same grandparents) but they also have to live together while doing the repairs.

I really enjoyed this book and am so glad I got the opportunity to have read it.

This book just missed the mark for me. I felt that there could have been a lot more drama or tension, when instead the couple was basically already in love and just avoiding it. It was not really a true enemies to lovers romance, rather, a lovers to a “mad at each other” situation, back to lovers story. It was decently written and I did enjoy the side characters.

Another amazing story from Tarah that I couldn’t put down. So happy to have been able to read this one!

Small town
Enemies to lovers
Second chance romance
Black cat x golden retriever
Slow burn
Dual POV
No third act breakup

Lighthearted but full of depth - add to your TBR today!

This book was seriously so good! I was giggling and kicking my feet for so much of it. I love a right person, wrong time/second chance romance. The journey of LaRynn and Deacon rebuilding trust between them over the course of the story was so heartwarming.

If you love:
Second chance love stories
Banter
Grumpy x sunshine
Soo much pining
Marriage of convenience
"It's always been you"
Then you should absolutely check out this book. I truly loved the characters in this one! This story made me feel so many emotions and I loved every second of it. This was my first books by this author, but it certainly won't be the last.