I LOVE THIS BOOK AND I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS. i was so nervous about reading this edition/version because the original book was one of my all time favorite reads - why mess with something already perfect? but this new version is just a fine tuned version of what it already ones, and original fans of the book are in for a treat. thanks so much for the ARC!

Tarah DeWitt is an instant read for me. She is a master of weaving banter and tension and this is no exception. This is a romance between the equivalent of a cactus and a brick wall, which makes it all the more satisfying when the characters get vulnerable with each other and start to come together. There were definitely frustrating moments, but they were all building to a very sweet payoff.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

I have now read a few of Tarah DeWitt's books and really enjoy her writing! I thought that this book was extremely real in the way she portrayed the pain of our two main characters LaRynn and Deacon. I will say that I never read the original version of this book before her books were bought by a traditional publisher, but this was a good read despite whatever differences there may be between this version and the original version.

I think that the concept of two people who hurt each other in their teen years being made to work together on renovating a whole house (and their friendship) was such a breath of fresh air. While I love the stereotypical fluffy 'rom-com' vibes that books have been giving me lately, I really needed something with a touch more depth - which this book provided perfectly.

I thought that the marriage of convenience trope wasn't overdone here and viscerally swooned everytime the phrase "my wife/my husband" was said in a conversation. The growth we get to see between our characters did take the majority of the book to be fully fleshed out, but I think that made the story move along at a genuinely 'real life pace' if you will. A small nod to all of the volleyball references in the story, it made me want to throw myself on a court and just enjoy sports again!

Overall, if you're looking for a new romance read where you aren't ever sure of what is going to come out of either characters mouth, then this is definitely one you should pick up!

If you don't like to read spicy scenes in books (like myself) then I recommend you skip/skim the following chapters:
🌶️ Closed Door Modifications: Chapters 11, 19, 27, 31, 39, 41 & 42

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Griffin for this advanced copy on NetGalley! 🤍

This was delightful and angsty — Deacon and LaRynn both share these feelings of mutual pining and regret over their relationship all those years ago. I loved their love for the grands and the house. I loved watching these ideas and changes bloom in Rynn with the café and everything coming together.

I wish we would’ve gotten more of the love either a little earlier OR through a few more flashbacks. But, once we got there it was SO good. There was a lot of good tension along the way and I do love a good slow burn, this one was just a hint too slow for me. The epilogue was great, and I loved how realistic these characters felt.

But, Tarah writes gorgeous characters with depth, heart, and a great backstory. I’m looking forward to reading more of her work in the future!

4 ⭐ 2 🌶 3 🎧

This was super cute. I loved the whole idea, and while they were a little too mean to each other (without the offset of intense chemistry and spice) at times, I loved watching their relationship progess. And the ending was so perfect it made up for any pitfalls found in the beginning.

These characters were beautifully flawed and mirrored each other in ways that they didn't even realized, which made my heart ache at times. I love bully romances, so I'm not shy with that kinda theme, but it hurt bad seeing these two treat each other the way they did sometimes, knowing how the other was feeling... Thankfully the moment where they broke down their walls was wonderful and out my heart back together.

The audio was a tough one for me... As a western states dweller, I am not used to that much Boston accent packed into a tiny space and it was a little much for me. However, both narrators were great and I enjoyed this listen outside of that aspect.

She’s done it again. Another fantastic, humorous, contemporary romance with the perfect amount of banter and pining. Tarah DeWiit is an instant-read, let-me-bow-down-to-you writer for me. Just truly a well rounded romance story.

I found LaRynn’s personality to be very unique and often underrepresented in fiction. We so often see grumpy men in romance (ayyy in fact we love to see it!) and while she’s not an absolutely grump, she’s not smiling when some man told her it would make her look prettier. She felt real and relatable. Deacon is a gem too.

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!