LaRynn and Deacon have such great enemies to lovers vibes. They’re also so refreshing in that they actually speak to each other about how they’re feeling and work through the immature end to their long ago summer fling. LaRynn is a strong, independent FMC who is so misunderstood by all the men she’s dated before, but Deacon sees her for the loving, protective woman that she is and never attempts to dull her shine. Deacon also is an MMC who gives so very much of himself to those around him and expects nothing back. LaRynn appreciates him for everything that he is and truly wants to give back to him so he can fell the love and joy he gives others.They had a fling the one summer that ended badly and they have avoided each other since. But their grandmothers were married to each other and left them their house after their passings. In order to access her trust fund to get the money needed to restore the grands’ house, the two have to get married. But with all that closeness, LaRynn and Deacon remember why it was so easy to fall for the other all those years ago.

A super cute, fluffy read!

The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt follows LaRynn and Deacon -- former summer flings when they were teens (LOVE a second chance summer romance) -- as they are forced back together to fix up a (extremely dilapidated) house their grandmothers left to them. Deacon is a construction whiz but lacks the money. Thankfully (!) LaRynn has money! … But she needs to be married to access her trust. Naturally, the two end up getting married so they can get the work done, make some money, then go their separate ways.

I liked the dynamic between the two main characters, although I wish we saw more of their relationship when they were younger. I'm not usually a fan of the marriage-of-convenience trope (especially in contemporary romance novels), so I think that's why this book isn't rated higher for me. I wish there was a better reason for doing it besides accessing trust money, especially because it made the rest of the novel's plot so predictable. Of course, with it being a contemporary romance novel, we could already infer the main characters end up together, but forced proximity is simply not my personal favorite. Nonetheless, the author did a pretty good job of writing this trope and it didn't make me want to stop reading. LaRynn and Deacon's banter was so fun to read too - very much reminiscent of You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle and I'm not at all mad about it! The love confession at the end is what really did it for me… SO good.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Tarah DeWitt is the mastermind behind some of my favorite books. That being said, this isn't one of them. I want to stress that this was well written, but I could not find it in me to like the characters. Something that is a very hard no for me is when characters intentionally do or say things that they know will hurt their counterpart. That was basically 95% of this book. There will be people who enjoy and relate to LaRynn, but honestly she is the type of person I would avoid in real life. There was too much immaturity and both characters could do with therapy.

I read The Co-op nearly two years ago when it was independently published and originally rated it 2 stars (I had the same issues with it that I do now). I am adding a star to that after this reread, though I am not sure if it was the rewrite or if it was my later-developed enjoyment of Tarah's writing style that made me tolerate it a bit more.

3 stars- the concept was alright but the characters were not for me.

3.75/5 Stars

LaRynn Lavinge has returned to her grandmother's Santa Cruz home a year and four months after the passing of her beloved grandmother. Only to be smacked in the face of her co-trustee of her grandmothers home, Deacon Leeds. Deacon's grandmother was married to LaRynn's grandmother. She died only four months after. Deacon and LaRynn have a past that causes them to struggle in the beginning to work together to fix the home to sell. A marriage pack helps them come into some money to fix the renovations on the home. But a history filled with longing leads them to more than just a renovated family home.

The book starts off a little jumbled and was hard to get started one it picked up, you were sad for it to end. Seeing LaRynn deal with the trauma of her parents constantly leaving her when she was younger and feeling unwanted by someone she loved leads to a beautiful story about loving ones self to be strong. Deacon has a similar growth but not to the same as LaRynn's. If you love a good contemporary romance mixed with some good tropes along the way (Fake Marriage, One Bed, Enemies to Lovers, and Second Chance), this book might be right up your alley. This is my first Tarah DeWitt book and I would be very interested in reading her others from this one.

The Co-Op follows LaRynn and Deacon who had a summer fling after they graduated high school about 8 years ago. Their brought together again when their grandmothers leave them a breaking down house and they're forced to work together to renovate it back to its former glory.

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!!!

“And I don’t think there’s a version of you I couldn’t love.”

one of the main reasons i love a second chance romance is because of the angst and the history between the characters. the angst and the hurt was good here, and one of my favorite parts of the book. i also loved the setting of santa clara, and the character journeys were really sweet. also maybe it's because i am obsessed with home reno tiktok but that element of the book was nice, and i think there could have been even more conflict over the construction.

I was so engaged in this book. I read it on a plane and was so into I missed the drink service. The way the time switches are incorporated is done so smoothly it really adds to the experience. I wished that the letter they wrote to the buyer had a bit more substance to it.

The Co-op was one of my favorite Tarah Dewitt books and I was interested to see the differences in the new, revised one coming out. I enjoyed it (second chance, dual timeline, first love, marriage of convenience), but the author claimed it was a different book. I know there were changes (her friend was from college in the original and a childhood friend in this one, the grandmothers were partners in the original and were married in this one, etc), but overall I felt like I was reading the same book. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like those tropes and haven't read it. For people who have already read it, I would only recommend it if you really loved the original.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the access of this book!

I will absolutely be an outlier here but I sadly didn’t enjoy this one…
The FMC wasn’t likeable and I don’t know how the MC put up with her behaviours. The reason as to why the house was left to both of them was a bit far fetched or not well explained…

The marriage of convenience didn’t have any valid reasons to be.

A lot of people have enjoyed this so definitely give it a try but it wasn’t for me!

This can’t have been penned by the same author whose previous books made me laugh with delight. It absolutely didn’t work for me, and that’s essentially due to the ever self-pitying of the female MC and the want-you-can’t-have-you loop both MCs us readers have to waddle through.

LaRynn and Deacons second chance love story is so cute. Their grandmas were married and when both passed left them their house that needed updating. They had a brief romance during a summer in the past, leaving them with difficult feelings. Overall cute and I loved the supporting characters!

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

Told from alternating 1st p/POV’s as well as alternating timelines, The Co-Op was dysfunctional as much it was enjoyable.

From teenage drama, falling in love which inevitably leads to heartache, Deacon & LaRynn come back together as adults when renovations on a family home beckon.

FMC is all over the place & tends to come off a little on the “poor-me” side. MMC is dreamy & hunkalicious of course.

They butt heads like a couple of rams. But when things start to slide into place (& you know they will), shiznat really heats up. I mean, they talk to each other like dirty little freaks🙌🏼😂 But alas, we get our HEA!

DeWitt’s always fun & I will always be a fan!

Big thanks to SMP & NetGalley for this complimentary e-book!

4.5 - Tarah's writing is cozy and a warm hug.

After having her heartbroken by Deacon one summer - LaRynn decides to leave town and never return. But, when her grandma leaves her a her house, LaRynn finds her self back home. With the stubborn intention to sell the home - LaRynn didn't realize that her grandma also left the home to Deacon. In effort to making the sell easier - the two get married and fix the home together.

This book has everything I love and more. Tattooed MMC (Hello an octopus, obsessed), forced proximity, marriage of convenience, second chance?

The growth and development between these two was so good and felt so natural. I loved seeing them get closer as the renovations were happening. There was tension and angst, but also banter and memories that made me laugh. I think of LaRynn and Deacon constantly, I love them so much.


Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, The Co-op was not at all what I expected. I went in thinking it would be fluffy, but there is so much substance to this book. It was very emotional and the love story between Deacon and LaRynn was almost bittersweet. Ive never simultaneously wanted two people to get together, but also want them to stay far apart, as much as I did with this book. LaRynn was quite possibly one of the worst FMCs I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. She was spoiled, bratty, manipulative, and just plain mean. I get that she had a terrible-ish childhood, but she doesn’t really redeem herself. We also don’t have much closure with her parents, so things felt unresolved. I thought Deacon was generally amazing, but basically a doormat.

I struggled a bit with the writing style at first, and almost DNF’ed the book because of it, but I ended up getting used to it. It felt a bit too flowy and lyrical for what the book was. I also had the hardest time with pronouncing LaRynn. Like, it messed with my reading flow the entire book. I couldn’t figure it out and it really bothered me. I think that if an author has a character with an odd or weirdly spelled or pronounced name, they should have to tell you how to pronounce it. Maybe that’s a quirk of mine, but it honestly affects my enjoyment of a story. Lastly, the epilogue felt forced and out of place to me. There was so much depth to our MCs that I think there could’ve been an entirely separate book after they get together. You can’t go from a closed-off, emotionally stunted person who has barely started to work on herself to the sunshine in her family’s life. I almost thought that that storyline should’ve been the bulk of the book, not the will-they, won’t-they.

I received a copy of The Co-op from NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Tarah DeWitt does a masterful job writing characters that are as flawed as all of us but good enough, deep down, that you can't help but root for them. If you enjoyed her other books, particularly Savor It, you'll love The Co-Op!

I'm partial because I live for a second chance romance and Deacon and LaRynn's story embodied the best of the trope-- nostalgia, with the searing pain that only first heartbreak can bring, and hope, with the enduring comfort that comes from someone knowing you (and loving you, even if unexpressed) through so many years. It's a true rivals-to-lovers journey of two people who are scared to get hurt again but can't stop themselves. If "It was always you," was a book, it would be this one.

Rounded out with lovely side characters, including Sal (my favorite, a sweet and salty older woman who shares the home the two MCs are renovating), DeWitt captures the type of friendships and relationships that we all aspire to have.

In summary? This story is a sweet and spicy journey as two people fix up a house, and themselves, to create a home for each other.

ARC Review. 3.5 stars! I really enjoy The Co-op. Tarah DeWitt's writing is immersive and the Santa Cruz setting made this read incredibly atmospheric. I could pretty much smell the sea salt! I really liked to the sex scenes; I felt like they were well done. I do think the plot felt formulaic and didn't do anything new for the genre, which is totally okay!

This was a great romantic comedy with those touches of deeper storylines in it. I really enjoyed both LaRynn and Deacon as characters. They felt real in the sense that they had flaws and you didn't always like them but you were always rooting for them. The concept of the story was interesting too. I do love a fake marriage turned real trope and add in the enemies to lovers, forced proximity and second chance tropes. Boy howdy do you have a great story. Stylistically there were certain phrases and word choices that I didn't really enjoy and would take me out of the story, like "pawed at the air" instead of just waving a hand in the air to change the subject, along with topics that seemed to never come up again really like Deacon's issue's with blood and LaRynn's motion sickness, but overall I read this book in a matter of two days and was invested in the ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I usually stick to murder/thriller books but throw in a palate cleanser once in awhile to restart my frozen heart.

This one definitely did the trick and I'm on my way to find more Tarah DeWitt books

The opening started off in just the right direction with a playlist and some horrifying moments in LaRynn's life. Starting a book off with the absolutely mortifying dress tucked in a thong at a dance, or dad catching you post coital. I was hooked. Deacon is a perfectly imperfect male lead to yearn for. I found there was the perfect amount of spice and hidden feelings. Satisfying ending.

This was a masterpiece. I loved it from the first page and could not wait to unravel how this second chance romance, forced proximity, not so fake marriage, home renovation romance was going to work out. The jumping timeline is well done and drives the plot forward as well as the character development. The dual POV also makes the pining and attraction between LaRynn and Deacon very believable. There is a slight miscommunication theme but it's not so overdone that I wanted to beat my head against a wall so I call that a win! The spice is well written & I love the sex-positive nature on which Dewitt writes her character interactions.

If you're a Northern Californian or Santa Cruz lover, this will be an especially fun literary trip. I loved the references to everything from Hwy 17 to the cliffs to the marine layer rolling in. All of the shops and beach town vibes are so well done, I felt completely transported and was picturing all of the places I've been in the area.

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced egalley in exchange for my honest feedback. The Co-Op has been updated by author Tarah Dewitt and is set for re-release on November 12th!

I will be circling back to post on Instagram as pub day gets closer.

4.5 stars - Another Dewitt romance that crawls its way into my heart. It's snuggled up right next to Funny Feelings and being held in a big bear hug by Savor it!

Where do I even begin with Deacon and LaRynn!? The absolute LOVE I developed for these characters is wild to me.
Deacon & LaRynn -or 'Larry' as Deacon calls her- spend an incredible summer of first's together when they are 18. As the summer filled with sneaking away to rip each other's clothes off was coming to an end, their last night together couldn't have ended in a more heartbreaking way. "It was just sex." he said.

8 years later after the death of her grans, LaRynn is reluctantly back to do what she can to help Deacon with the house they both inherited from them. They find themselves in a marriage of convenience situation in order for LaRynn to get her hands on her inheritance to fund their home renovation.

The absolute hate and tension between our MCs after their reunion is absolute GOLD! With a lack of better words, they are complete and utter dicks to each other, and I ate up every little bit. Tarah Dewitt is the absolute QUEEN of tension and banter writing between characters- and the slowwww burrrnnn. oh man. It was one of the best slow burns I've experienced in a long time. I screamed out "OMMMMGGG YOU CHICKEN SHIT- DO IT ALREADY" at least twice. It was tortuous!

Both our MCs have a lot to work through- an unresolved past that needed healing. And somehow, against all odds, they find themselves opening up to each other as the walls around them come down.
This laugh out loud, rom com will bring you so much joy. The character development and emotional depth throughout the whole story will keep you engaged from beginning to end.