A review by agrippinaes
The Co-op by Tarah DeWitt

4.0

I really enjoyed reading this. Tara Dewitt’s writing is very good; it’s smooth, flows easily, with some clever and evocative bits of description. I also thought the characterisation was good; LaRynn and Deacon were both complex characters and their relationship was genuinely quite messy. Their respective backstories worked well and made a lot of sense for how they behaved over the course of the book. They were both a little annoying and hard to like at times, but ultimately I really rooted for them both. They felt real and fleshed out.

The chemistry between them was good, too; their bickering and banter was entertaining, and so were the parts where the pining came into play. I also really liked that the renovation subplot was just as messy as their relationship; in a lot of books the renovation aspect can go very smoothly and I liked this wasn’t the case here.

I do wish though there had been a bit more to their relationship - just a bit more drama. It was a cosy, comforting read, and I can’t deny that I liked that, but as the book went on and the drama petered out it got a little bit bland. But I really enjoyed this author’s writing - it was very skilful and I’m looking forward to reading other books from Tara Dewitt.

Content Notes: Hate-to-love, second chance, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, construction/renovations.

Warnings:
SpoilerDeath of a grandparent, vomiting, references to a serious house fire (in past), controlling behaviour from a parent, emotional child abuse, grief, cancer, death of a parent (in past).


Other:
SpoilerOn-page sex, infidelity / cheating (side character, in-past).
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