I couldn't believe they were childhood sweethearts. You can't tell me (which this book does...almost every chapter) that he knows your body 10 ways to Sunday, but you can't figure out what he is thinking or if he wants you. And you don't know your Wife's handwriting...sure... unfortunately this was a DNF for me @70%

I have read that although it is a standalone you should read Savor it first. Since this was the first I read, maybe I am missing something from the first book

Thank you netgalley for a chance to read this ARC

infinity/5 stars
1.5/5 peppers

second chance, road trip, slow burn, small town romance

You know how there are some books that just have your heart? You know you'll carry them with you forever? Left of Forever is that book for me. I cannot even begin to express how much I adore this story. Watching Wren and Ellis felt like falling in love. I felt like I was with them every step of the way. This book is truly one for the ages. It's "pure magic", not a loud story but boy does it pack an emotional punch. Let's dive in.

Wren and Ellis fell in love as kids. They had their son Sam at 17 and 18 and built a whole beautiful life together, until things fell apart. Neither can explain why it happened but they couldn't seem to save their marriage. Now divorced Wren runs a bakery and Ellis works as a firefighter. They live as separate as they can (between their son and her being close with his entire family) but neither can seem to "move on" from the other. There is always something holding them back. When Sam gets accepted into college Ellis convinces Wren to go on a road trip with him and give their relationship one last chance. No pressure, just beautiful scenery and a chance to see if what they have is still there. Suffice to say these two had me all up in my feelings as they found each other again. It truly was beautiful.

This book has 500 of my new favorite quotes and passages but I don't want to spoil anything yet so I will keep them to myself for now, but know that Tarah really brought the most beautiful words to paper. Here's one she shared on her instagram to give you a taste:

"All I know if that if heaven was real and I got there first? I'd hang back in the waiting room and save you a seat."

Releasing May 20,2025

Thank you Tarah and Net Galley for an ARC of this beautiful story.

This surprised me so much! It was so sweet and heartwarming I adored the characters love and devotion to each other so much and the way they were soft with each other was so so good!!

The epilogue was a bit long for my taste I felt like end could have been wrapped up quicker, however there was a part that warmed my heart so so much!!

This second chance was seriously so well done!!

Tarah DeWitt is the author every romance lover should be reading. Left of Forever dove right into the story and was beautiful from beginning to end. Wren, Ellis, and their relationship were all so relatable and I appreciate that DeWitt didn’t shy away from writing about the difficult parts and harsh realities of the relationship. I loved Savor It, and this book continues the series strong. Perfect if you enjoy childhood sweethearts to lovers, second chance romance, and a small town setting.

***Remember to check the content warnings before reading***

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

This book was just absolutely amazing. I was hooked from the very beginning and I could not put it down. I loved the characters. It was wonderful to get to know Wren and Ellis and I love them so much. I really enjoyed Ellis's growth from beginning to end. He really owned up to his behavior and did his best to make up for it, but I also think that Wren evolved and grew too. I love how this was a second chance where both characters grew and evolved, it wasn't just one character needed to grow up while the other didn't. Overall, I just loved this book so much!!

LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEE 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

WOW!! This was the first book I read from this author and I am hooked! I laughed and cried so much throughout this book, Wren and Ellis have a place in my heart forever.

I'm not usually a second chance romance girly, but Tarah made me love them with her beautiful writing. She makes you feel every emotion throughout the book. I felt so much of a connection to Wren and the struggles that she goes through in the book. Some of the things touched on in this book are not talked about enough!

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt: there are not enough stars in the galaxy, I fear!!! 💫The moment I saw Exile and How Did It End on the playlist, I knew this book would devastate me - and sure enough - it did. But it also had me laughing my ass off from the sparklingly humor and candid wit, sobbing tears of joy from their big big love, melting my face off from the intimacy (as Jessica Joyce would say), and also feeling hope! Ellis and Wren had their son as teenagers, built a beautiful life together, and then watched it fall apart. Now, divorced in their 30s, they’re dropping their son off at college, and Ellis asks Wren to take one last chance on them.

Ellis Byrd is not a book boyfriend, but a book HUSBAND. He doesn’t just whisper sweet nothings & hope for the best. He is a man of action. He takes notes, studies the game tape, and puts in the work!! & Wren? My queen. Her chaotic stream of consciousness, rapid fire humor, vulnerability, and resilience?? I’ve been SAYING Tarah writes the absolute best fmcs.

Getting to experience these two people who clearly belong together flirt and fall back together was a whirlwind of emotions. (I will never look at Ken Dolls, Flip-Flops, peppers, origami, or horses the same way again) One minute I was giddy with full-body laughter and the next I’m ugly crying!

You know how people will say “I will be sending you my therapy bills” to authors about books… I honestly feel like I owe Tarah DeWitt a copay for the therapy session I JUST RECEIVED from this book!

& one last thing… I am EXACTLY like every other girl…. Obsessed with Silas Byrd 👀

OBSESSED. Let me start this review out with a little mathematical equation.

second chance romance + only one bed + roadtrip = me, obsessed

This was my first of Tarah's books and I'm ordering her backlog immediately- she's definitely made a fan of me. Wren and Ellis broke me apart and put me back together all within the span on 270 pages.

In a nutshell-- Wren and Ellis Byrd divorced 5 years ago. Their son graduates high school and decides to go to college in California. After dropping him off to his new apartment, they decide to roadtrip back to decide if they should give their marriage one more shot.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"You have been missing from me is more accurate. There's a void where you lived in me."

"I proudly own the space I take up, and maybe that's because of the perspective I've gained. Earned. The love I have for myself physically and the scars I bear have all been earned."

"And no one teaches you what to do when the person hurting you is still good to you."(happiness by t swift, anyone??)

Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same.
I want to live in her brain and maybe die there, too.

Tarah does not miss with her books. I think I felt every emotion while reading this?? She somehow makes me laugh and cry within a 2 paragraph time frame, and I still thank her for it. wren and Ellis have a beautiful story, and it healed the part of me that walked in Sam's shoes.

This was a beautifully written book filled with all of the emotions. I enjoyed Savor It a lot, so I was especially excited to read about Wren and Ellis and their journey. I’m a fan of second chance romance and this one didn’t disappoint. From the get go it kept me engaged with all of the angst and tension. The yearning between Wren and Ellis was perfectly executed. I loved how realistic the story with the problems Wren and Ellis had in their relationship. It was genuine and raw, which was refreshing to read. I get so many emotions reading this one. Their story is one I will remember!! I loved the characters so much. I can’t wait to read Tarah’s next work.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Tarah DeWitt for the opportunity to read this early on Netgalley.

“I’ll love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get.”

This is the book that everyone who read Savor It IMMEDIATELY knew we needed the moment we met Wren and Ellis. We all read “She’s still a Byrd” in Savor It and collectively sighed. They loved each other as teenagers and new parents, but found themselves growing apart in adulthood. Now, years later and divorced, new circumstances force them both to look at their relationship and decide to take steps to finally put all the questions to rest. Will they find each other again or finally let go?

Left of Forever was exactly the book I was hoping for. I’m usually nervous about second chance tropes, but I knew Tarah DeWitt would tell Ellis and Wren’s story perfectly. I was not disappointed. Tarah’s characters are always witty, dynamic, and lovable. The characters and their story felt so real and relatable, I just wanted to jump into this book and become friends with all the Byrds. The story is heartfelt, funny, angsty, emotional, and just the right amount of spicy. I still think about this book at least once a day. It’s one that’s going to stay with me.

Also, you know a book is going to be fantastic when it gives the New Moon soundtrack the praise it has always deserved.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC and giving me the opportunity to read and review this beautiful story.

This was my first book by Tarah DeWitt and immediately after finishing Left of Forever, I added all of her other books to my TBR!
This book was beautiful, raw and real. As an interconnected standalone, you're introduced to the Byrd Family very briefly and although I didn't read her previous book, I was quickly able to catch on and organize a mental family tree for myself.
I loved Wren and Ellis so much; the addition of their notes to each other and the journal entries were such a unique touch to the story. I also loved Sam, he was definitely in the background for most of the story, but his happiness for his parents was so heartwarming and this is what had me crying at the end of the book. As someone who is married myself, DeWitt did a beautiful job of portraying the monotonous nature of a relationship when you've been together for so long, especially after going through tragedy and loss like they did. But at the same time, she really excelled with how intimate marriage is and how your partner becomes an extension of yourself. Wren and Ellis' second-chance romance was perfection and I felt all of their emotions with them. The spice in this book was also beautiful, almost lyrical in nature and it flowed so well in the story. The ice cream scene was also unexpected but it showed how they were able to break down all of their final walls and reservations. If you can't tell, I love this story so much and highly recommend it to everyone! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for my honest review!

The author was pretty right: since that scene of Ellis shouting out loud "She's still a Birds" I got very into Wren's and Ellis story.
What a journey this book took us through out.
Since the begin, all they went through together as friends, early lovers, young parents and as a whole family with Birds siblings.
The way they've connected and found their way back to each other was so beautifully written! 💖
One of the most beautiful romance that I've ever read!

ellis and wren single-handedly reviving my belief in soulmates. from friends-to-lovers-to-divorcees-to-sad exes-to-lovers. the epitome of "you are my person. if not you, then no one else. if this is life is not for us, then i'll wait until the next" energy.

my ship tag for them is "if you're a byrd, i'm a byrd." ellis, the awkward cinnamon roll mmc, burdened by the weight of growing up to soon but an Authentic wife-man through and through. wren, the funniest fmc, deserves the world really and her beau is gonna give it to her. i adored them and their journey of communicating and taking another chance on each other. they are each other's greatest love - the chemistry, the longing, the banter, and the comfort proved it so well.

thank you so much St.Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review an eARC!

An emotionally charged beautiful read. 5 stars!

I love a second chance divorce romance and it had the perfect amount of angst.

After being divorced for years, Ellis convinces Wren to road trip back after bringing their son to college to see if they can rekindle their romance.

Ellis calling Wren, “Byrd” her married name made me swoon.

“I miss you, too sounds glib. You have been missing from me is more accurate. There’s a void where you lived in me.”

A interconnected standalone to Savor It, Left of Forever is the story of Wren and Ellis. At the beginning of the book we have a letter from the author Tarah DeWitt. In it she states that these characters jumped out so viscerally to her that it was hard for her to not jump off track and write them immediately. I can see why. Now in the same authors letter there is content warnings. I highly suggest you take those to heart.
I absolutely loved Wren’s character. Tarah has a talent for writing loveable characters and I think Wren is one of my favorites so far. I seem to keep picking up marriage in crisis books a lot lately that are second chance romance becuase these are also turn out to be my jam. I really loved how the story played out. I really hope that we get to return to the Spunes again.

Second chance romance? Say less—I’m in.

Left of Forever is a heartfelt, emotional, and spicy story about Wren and Ellis, two people who fell in love young, built a life together, and then drifted apart. Now in their 30s, divorced, and co-parenting their son Sam, they’re given one last shot to figure out if what they had still has a future. Spoiler: it’s messy, emotional, and totally worth the ride.

I loved how real and grounded this book felt. The characters didn’t just fall back together overnight—they actually took the time to unpack their issues, own their mistakes, and grow. Wren and Ellis have amazing chemistry, and their interactions were full of history, tension, and warmth. The road trip element was such a perfect backdrop for their slow reconnection (and gave us some great romantic moments).

It’s a fairly straightforward contemporary romance, but it doesn’t need to be anything more than that—it hits all the right emotional beats and delivers a satisfying love story. The side characters were also a lovely touch, adding some charm and heart without stealing the spotlight.

If you love second chances, emotional growth, and swoony moments on the open road, this one’s for you.

⭐️: 5/5
🌶️: 1.5/5

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to read this book. I absolutely loved Savor It and knew I needed Ellis and Wren’s story.

I want to start by saying I am typically not for the reconciliation trope. I honestly haven’t ever read a novel where it was done in a way it captured me. I’ve never loved it but Left of Forever has done it.

I loved how we got to see both how strong and fierce Ellis and Wren’s love was when they first met as kids, how it changed after their baby, how it ended, and everything that happened in between. I needed all those details, I crave seeing a couple fall in love and I can say that Tarah did an incredible job at showing us this couple with a strong and tragic past fall in love all over again like it was for the first time.

Absolutely everything about this was just beautiful and I needed it more than I can explain since book one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, author Tarah DeWitt and St. Martin's Griffin for the eArc!

The most perfectly tender 2nd chance romance featuring bf a divorced couple! Tarah’s signature wit and charm comes through in her characters so brilliantly. I loved the letter writing aspect, it added such a personal touch.