The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt is a second chance, marriage of convenience romance that brings the laughs, tears, and all the delicious angsty yearning.

LaRynn and Deacon are old fleeting flames who reunite to team up to renovate a building their grandmothers left them for them in joint ownership. They meet again after close to a decade with seemingly insurmountable miscommunication, riddled with spiteful words, that have them instantly at odds. But to solve their problems they need to come together— in holy matrimony.

What follows is a heartfelt tale of healing, reconciliation, and second chances. It doesn’t come easy for either protagonist, but wow, is it a worthwhile venture to take. I am so glad I followed this one through to the end!

Of the two leads, LaRynn held my heart the fullest.
I felt immense sympathy for LaRynn, some may consider her apathetic but that’s not at all how I viewed her. She feels too much, if anything, but she also feels the need to fiercely protect herself. So she banishes all vulnerable feelings to do just that. I saw through her previous perceived meanness into fragile vulnerability. A vulnerability birthed in her childhood and adolescence. She was a young girl who was hurt very much and kept feelings so tightly wound to her chest. As an adolescent she finally loosens that cord thanks to Deacon, only for him to break her heart in turn. She grows up into a woman who is more openly kind-hearted— but all the more guarded. I instantly liked her, I wholeheartedly rooted for her, and I so very much admired her personal growth throughout this journey.

Deacon took me longer to warm up to, but once I did I got it. I got him. And suddenly where I admittedly had trouble engaging with the love story I felt all in. All thanks to peeling back the layers of Deacon and seeing his past and present self for who he is: good, kind, loyal, resolute, and loving.

What started as a slow climb for me in this narrative, became an exhilarating rush. I wanted to instantly consume every page thoroughly once I came to see both protagonists clearly. Once I came to cheer their romance on.

There is so much hurt between the two, but they don’t see, at first, how mutual it is. Nor the reasoning behind it all. At times the sheer vitriol exchanged between LaRynn and Deacon frustrated me to the point I had to walk away, it was initially difficult to keep my attention going, but there came a moment where that suddenly changed. And suddenly— nothing was stopping me from turning every page, one after the other. I was addicted to seeing how these two would work things out. Because behind the bickering, the assumptions, all that messy miscommunication, reside two souls so clearly meant for one another. Their unfolding love story is absolutely worth the early frustration.

My favorite part was the final act, including the epilogue. I teared up, which I did not expect to do, but there was no avoiding it. The love for family and partner came through exquisitely in that final act. I loved it immensely. I left this one with a heart full of love.

If you enjoy hate to love, second chances, and bickering rivals whose hearts slowly but surely soften and sizzle in chemistry, be sure to pick up The Co-op!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.