Savor It by Tarah DeWitt
SYNOPSIS
Summer won’t last forever. Sage Byrd has lived in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) her entire life. She’s learned to love her small world, with the misfit animals on her hobby farm, and her frienships with the town’s inhabitants. But when her 5-year relationship ends and her ex, town-golden-boy Ian, suddenly gets engaged, Sage needs a win - something that will convince everyone to stop pitying her all the time, and to put Ian in his place. The Festival of Spunes, the won’s annual summer competition, would be the perfect opportunity. She just needs a partner.
Fisher Lange was a hotshot chef in New York City until the loss of his sister left him numb, grieving, and responsible for his teenage niece Indy. When Fisher loses his Michelin star along with his love of cooking, his boss sends him and Indy to Spunes on a much-needed summer sabbatical to consult on a restaurant opening. But when clashes with the townspeople threaten his lat chance to redeem himself and a kiss with his new neighbour Sage leads to dating rumours, a strategic alliance might just be the best way to turn things around.
A deal is struck. Sage will improve Fisher’s image in the eyes of the town and remove the roadblocks he is facing with the restaurant, and Fisher will be Sage’s partner for the competition. But as their pact quickly turns into steamy rendevous, emotional wounds begin to heal, and the pair tries to savor every moment, they start to realize that summer is racing by much faster than they would like…
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DeWitt has a magical way of portraying girlhood/womanhood on page in the most relatable ways. Yes, Savor It is a love story, but the part I fell most in love with was our main character Sage’s journey to accepting herself. Sage is quirky and unapologetically kind. She lives her life her way despite what others say, however she does let the talk about her affect her emotional well being. Fisher is a jaded Chef with a former ego and is now trying to find his identity, and dare I say it, personality? I loved the plot and the town and the character growth, but I did find the male main character to be a little one dimensional. I gave this book 3.75 stars. I spent a good portion of it wondering if I should DNF because I just was not connecting with the romance but I’m glad I stuck with it because the hard hitting life lessons DeWitt is master of writing were extremely relatable and much needed at this time of my life.
We get dual points of view in this book. Sage has her farm and is spending the summer trying to show the town that she is NOT to be pitied in the light of her long time ex-boyfriends engagement. She’s one of those characters that has connections with everyone and is very much a people loving person. I loved the small moments with her on her farm where she could fully be herself and live the simple moments of enjoyment.
Fishers point of view was a little more complicated for me to connect to. A lot of it was very existential crisis, which makes sense for the journey he was on, but I was looking for more of a journey between him and his niece than what I got. Most of his focus was on getting his life back, his motive for cooking, his happiness with Sage, and “oh wouldn’t it also be nice maybe if his niece spoke to him.” It felt very “last priority” and it gave me a bad taste on the male main character. I also felt because I couldn’t connect to Fisher, I wasn’t as invested in the romance because after being in his head, I couldn’t see the appeal. I think I would have liked him better if I had only seen him through Sage’s eyes, and not his own.
The romance itself was my least favourite part of the book. I just found it to lack a slow-burn while also not being insta-love. It was like a dull build where suddenly you realize “OH were they flirting? I didn’t realize the feelings had grown that intense that quickly?” It felt very much like a cut and paste from past books without the unique and original dynamics between characters.
Overall, it was a good enough read for me to finish and look back on it in fondness, but not as a romance. This very much worked well for me as a litfic that had a side of romance. If you go into it expecting that, you might be blown away! I wish I’d left my expectations at the door as to have enjoyed it more, however, it was still a good read that had some great insightful and thought-provoking moments.