A heartwarming story of love and second chances is found in The Co-op. The powerful and restorative power of love is beautifully shown in this love story. For those who appreciate a touching romance that makes an impression, it's a must-read because of its compelling characters and beautiful writing style. The misscommunication was a bit frustrating at times and it got a nit redunant. Yet this book was a solid read.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s always so fun to find a book like this one that includes multiple different tropes all intertwined into one lovely story, while also expressing the challenges of feeling like you have tons of emotional baggage but nobody to share it with, and nobody to help you through it either. I think Tarah DeWitt really captures that feeling throughout the story with both LaRynn and Deacon, which only makes them even more relatable. Even though they seem like complete opposites on the outside, grumpy and sunshine, black cat and golden retriever, once you get to know them and the story goes along I think both the reader and the characters can see how, in many ways, they’re actually a lot alike, and maybe that’s all they needed to realize in order to work through their history and move along together. I think the story really articulates the chaos that comes with reconciling with someone from your past, and getting to know them again, seeing where your judgment might change about who they really are. I would highly recommend this book to all romance readers who love some good banter, but can also cry it out with the characters when things get heavy. Overall amazing story.

A wonderful second chance romance.
Forced proximity, spice and marriage of convenience. What more could you want from a contemporary romance?
Just an overall delightful read, that is enjoyable from start to finish.
The perfect summer read, that feels like a movie.
Highly recommend.

It’s official, Tarah Dewitt is the master of writing rom-coms that are so much more than just a romance. She has the amazing ability to write about characters with familial hardships that cut through the characters like a sharp knife. I always empathize with the struggles of our main characters, but I also always find myself feeling for the characters that are causing the MCs pain. There are two sides to every story and there’s never a clear cut answer to solve each problem.

There’s healing in these pages, trust given to people who have once hurt each other, and forgiveness for things we just can’t control. The attraction between LaRynn and Deacon is instant, but the trust between them is slow and built from love and respect.

LaRynn is a headstrong, take no crap kind of girl that I always seem to fall in love with. She’s made to feel like just because she had a privileged life she isn’t allowed to feel neglected. She’s tired and lost and I can’t help but relate to her. And Deacon with his wit and just a bit too long hair can do no wrong in my books. The guilt he feels for thinking badly of his father and his history with LaRynn slowly eats away at him. I just want to hug them both and tell them to breathe.

To me, music was a side character throughout the novel. I could hear Redbone, Elvis, and of course “Good Vibrations” playing in my head while I read each chapter. Also, the epilogue is PERFECT

✨ the co-op by @authortarahdewitt ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

i was lucky enough to read this ARC, and i loved it! I loved the idea of a house renovation romance and the grief represented was so real and raw. I fell in love with the characters (especially Sal) and the romance made me heart burst. It was an honor being able to read this!
i highly recommend this book - releasing 11/12 🫶🏼

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

I cannot begin to describe how much the complexity between characters moved me. I was in love with this first version of this book and fell in love all over again this time. The writing was the literary equivalent of magic and you could feel the angst so hard in this one. Both main characters come from different backgrounds which brought their own particular traumas and watching them overcome those together just left my heart so full. This is one of the best books I have ever read and I cannot recommend it enough.

Okay so Everywhere, Everything (Noah Kahan obvi) is Deacon and LaRynn’s song. In my personal, correct opinion.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I read this originally many a moon ago, so reading it again with the additional content and updates felt like coming home but also making new friends, and I can’t stress enough how much I loved every moment.

The way that each of them lash out at the other when they feel vulnerable, and recognize that not only in each other but in themselves. The fact that they do so because at the heart of it all they still care for each other. The pining. The YEARNING.

Their grief and their hesitancy and their underlying bitterness is so gutwrenching and raw. I flinched with them and I ugly cried with them and I cheered with them. I was invested in both of them from the very start; because despite all their bluster and bravado and how entirely oblivious to it they each can be, they are both so incredibly transparent with their feelings (at least when it comes to each other).

Can Tarah do no wrong??? She actually cannot 😌 I have still not mentally processed falling in love with a goose and now here we are, falling in love with the nostalgia itself.

4.5 ⭐️
thank you net galley for this arc!

hgtv meets rom com by the beach- this book was so fun while still holding space for heavy feelings like grief and anxiety. navigating the dynamics of learning to love someone in a way that is different from what your parents modeled during your adolescence.. so reminiscent of real challenges that we have to work through in our adulthood

the only thing keeping this from a 5 star- i needed more from the past timeline. every entry we got left me wanting to know more but we never got many of the details and instead had to infer.

The Co-op is a lovely second chance romance with fun tropes including forced proximity, marriage of convenience, and slow burn! The story follows LaRynn who after her grandma's recent passing, has coinherited a home with Deacon, the former fling who broke her heart. Set on selling the house, LaRynn is shocked to find the home is in complete shambles and in dire need of renovations after a recent fire. In order to accomplish that, Deacon and LaRynn agree to marry so she can access her trust fund and they can renovate the house together. When the two begin cohabitating together, they are forced to acknowledge what led to the end of their previous relationship.

I absolutely loved this book, and had so much fun reading it! Deacon and LaRynn were amazing together. I loved the character development and how the two admitted to the faults in their previous relationship and were able to move on from it. Once they did, the connection they were able to forge was so healthy and comforting. I also enjoyed the tumultuous relationship the two had in the beginning, the banter and the way they were at odds with each other was so entertaining. This is my first ever read from Tarah Dewitt and I'm blown away by her writing, I'm so excited to dive into her other books.

I have been seeing this author everywhere on on Bookstagram so of course I had to sign up for this one and I’m so glad I did I really loved LaRynn and Deacon they were gorgeous together.

I loved this book! It started a little slow but it was such an emotional and lovely story. I love Tarah Dewitt and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

The Co-Op is my favorite book of Tarah’s because as a mean woman, I love reading about fellow mean women getting their happily ever after. This revamped version added more background AND more angst. I didn’t think it was possible to love it more, and yet here I am.
I love the before chapters where we really get to dig in to Deacon and LaRynn’s relationship as young adults which gave me a better basis to root for them in the now chapters (I mean, I already was, BUT) Elyse being a bigger part of the story and Jensens better half was a great change that made it flow. All in all, I love everything about this

I feel like I should start this review by saying I’ve read previous Tarah Dewitt novels and I’ve enjoyed them. However, the Co-Op just didn’t do it for me. Which is wild because some of my favorite tropes where all in this book. We had Second chance romance with marriage of convenience you think nothing could go wrong.

Unfortunately, it can go wrong. I didn't love this one as much as her previous book. The miscommunication trope went on way to long, to the point where at times I felt myself skimming. This also led to me having a hard time connecting to the main characters. I didn’t really start enjoying our two main characters until the last 20% of the book.

Overall, it was an enjoyable enough read for me to finish it. And surprisingly I’d still recommend it. Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of this release. I’m still excited to continue to read books from Tarah.

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin's Griffin from providing me a review copy!

I loved this book and it was so sweet to see the connection between the main characters and I loved to follow their journey, I def recommend reading this when it comes out!

Unfortunately, this one didn't work with me.
But take my opinion with a grain of salt: I'm not a contemporary romance avid reader. Just from time to time I decided to venture myself in the romance genre. Most of the time it fails. And this one wasn't exception.
I didn't relate or even care for the 2 protagonists or their personalities. And the tropes within this story don't appeal to me.
I'd say Tarah DeWitt's writing is decent enough. I was never bothered or annoyed by her writing style, per say.
So, I'm sure romance readers who are used to her books will most likely enjoy this new one, too.

This is one of my favorite books and marriages of convenience. These two had all of the tension built up from their teenage trysts and I loved the banter/fighting. They were so funny. Tarah is one of my favorite authors and I will absolutely read anything that she writes.

I enjoyed the book, but not enough to rave about it or read it again. Easy, quick read, but I felt it lacked luster and I found myself not itching to pick it up to finish.

The Co-op is a second chance story about a couple who have known each other since high school. When a house they equally inherit needs immediate and desperate repair, they must carefully tread through their past and get the house into sellable shape without risking their hearts all over again.

For a romcom about house renovation this one hit the right spot, this execution of a second chance romance was perfect.

I really enjoyed “Larry’s” prickly personality, not being able to open up to people, coming across as cold but there is also that side of her that is genuine and loyal.

At around 60% the story was beginning to fall flat, there was not much working against them and it the charectors were not progressing. Once I made it past that slump the rest of the story went by fast.

The epilogue was perfect, their grandmother’s would definitely have been happy.

There was almost no spice until the very end and connection between the lead charecters was strong.

Overall I enjoyed this story.

Read This Book If…you enjoy HGTV and messy relationships!

Genre: romance
Spice Level: 3/5🌶, 2-3 open door scenes
Setting: Santa Cruz, CA
POV: dual, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: marriage of convenience, enemies to friends to lovers, second chance romance, forced proximity, roommates, one bed

What I Thought: I really liked this one! I thought the conversations had throughout were really heartfelt and I appreciated the messy parental relationships. There was a lot of history and hurt woven throughout this story, but a lot of lighter moments, too!

Memorable Quote: “I want it all, LaRynn. You’re a fine friend, but I can’t take having less than all of it with you.”

the scream i let out when i saw this was available. i had read one book of hers previously but didn’t enjoy it quite as much as i thought i would, so i was hesitant but this pleasantly surprised me! it had heart, humor, and a really steamy love story i couldn’t help but fall for.