4.5⭐️ Wow. This was my first book by Tarah DeWitt so I didn’t know what to expect. And, somehow, this book still exceeded my expectations? The character development was spectacular. In the notes/acknowledgments DeWitt mentions this book is deeply personal, and I think that really shines through. She knows these characters, and helps her readers know them, too. I’m always a sucker for dual POV and it’s executed so well here. The side characters were fun and distinctive, and the whole family dynamic felt special. The atmosphere, while most definitely secondary to the characters, had some really beautiful moments. The pacing was even and there was never a moment I didn’t want to pick this up. Overall, really enjoyed this.

But, Spunes?! Really?! Spunes?!

Infinite thanks to the author, St. Martin’s press, and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book so much. The love story between Wren and Ellis was beautiful and gut wrenching. They fought so hard to be better for not only each other but themselves. I will never be over the epilogue.

"The alchemy of our bodies and the way my skin still remembers his is a part of that. He said it himself before: he's altered my very DNA."

What a beautiful story!! This one will sweep you off your feet, carry you away, and warm your heart for the entire journey! I knew I had to read this when I saw that it was second chance and that the main characters had known each other since childhood. As someone that also met their spouse very young, I truly connected with both the joys and the struggles of these two!

Wren and Ellis' story felt so familiar and I truly wanted to hug them and make everything ok for them, because you could just see how they were meant for each other but also how life got in the way of that and clouded their marriage until they could no longer see it themselves 😭 The road trip was amazing though (I was giddy when Ellis suggested it, because I knew it was going to be good!) and every moment so genuine. There were hard conversations and tense moments, but they needed to be had in order for them to move forward. I also must add that the spice here was perfection! Their chemistry had never dwindled, despite the 5 years apart, so those moments between them were just second nature and flowed easily after so many years spent together. I really liked the other characters too, specifically Ellis' siblings, so I need to go back and read the previous book!

I loved everything about Left of Forever and I've officially decided it's a new comfort read for me.

4.5⭐️

No it’s fine I’m just cryin in bed on Saturday night at midnight over this book !!!!!!

So freaking good!! Read over 75% in one day, truly haven’t read a book like that in a while.

But i absolutely loved Wren and Ellis’ story, second chance romances are a trope I willll neverrrr get sick of. And this one just became my top one to recommend!

Tarah always writes her characters so realistic and raw in my opinion, I love the banter, the flirting and the side characters!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the arc! Can’t wait to pick up my company when it releases!

This was a 5 star read for me. I loved the FMC and MMC equally. The Byrd family is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I laughed and blushed and cried and it was a fantastic experience.

Left of Forever was such a sweet story! Watching Wren and Ellis find love again warmed my heart. The second chance romance was done so well. I loved the road trip plot and seeing where all of their adventures took them throughout the story. I also loved getting to see the other characters from Spunes, it truly felt like a homecoming! I wished the plot line with the letters had been a bit more prominent, seeing as how it tied the plot together at the end, but overall, I felt that it didn’t add much. Still loved these characters so much and will be eagerly awaiting more from Tara Dewitt!

I feel like 2025 is the year of marriage in crisis romance books. This is the second one I've read within a span of a month and this book was an exceptional one. While more romance books focus on falling in love and that leads up to the happily ever after, I think it would harder to write a book about a divorced couple falling back in love again.

It was an emotional book and I particularly enjoyed it because it was told in dual POV. The story follows Wren and Ellis, who knew each other from the age of five and then fell in love as teenagers and had a baby at seventeen. We meet them at the present time as a divorced couple of five years with their son going off to college. We find out that a heart breaking moment in their life led to their separation. Through the flashbacks into their past, the journal entries and the letters show that their love for one another is still constant but sometimes a tragedy can tear two people apart who are consumed with their own grief. It is so easy to be drowning in your own grief that you can't see what is around you. Sometimes it takes time that heals all wounds. Certainly for Wren and Ellis it is putting in the time to work on themselves before giving each other another chance.

I loved the side characters in the book, including Sam, their teenage son and Ellis's siblings. I loved how close they remained to Wren too during their divorce. Reading about Sage and Fisher is making me go back want to read Savor It. The character that stood out the most to me was Silas. I mean who doesn't want to root for the wounded firefighter who gets his chance for his own HEA.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Tarah doesn’t again! The writing in this book is impeccable for me taste. I binged this and wished it was longer. Normally this trope would not be my preference to read about, but this was done so well and I ate it up. I love the setting, the ambience, the characters. No complaints outside of I would have liked it to be longer and to have had more of Wren and Ellis’s backstory. Highly recommend. I really hope we get Silas or Micah’s stories next!

I freaking LOVED this book so much. I was kicking my feet up and screaming at multiple parts - it has fabulous banter, angst, rawness, beautiful relationship development, and a man *owning his shit*. The pacing is perfect and there was not one part I would have changed. Ellis and Wren have my heart forever ❤️

Fav quotes:
-“Staying together and staying happy together does not come without its share of struggles. And you know what? So often the villain is simply Life. Life doles out circumstances that make relationships hard. Healthy communication and conflict resolution are so much more difficult than anyone talks about.”
-“The bravest thing I ever did was leave something that was fine, but not making either of us happy anymore.”
-“Time does that, I suppose. When you spend so much of it looking forward to the next thing, it can easily slip out from under you.”
-“I’ll cut out my own liver and cook it for you myself,” he speaks into my lips. “I’ll fucking forage an onion.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tarah DeWitt for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

My gut reaction is this my favorite book of the year so far. I’m literally in tears, runny nose righting this. To say I loved this book is an understatement. It was so beautiful. The tension and chemistry between Ellis and Wren were off the charts. I am nervous for this book to be out in the public as I feel some may be so hypercritical of the plot. And where I can understand it to some extent, my reaction is very emotional. Tarah wrote this book exquisitely with so much heart. And the fact we got to see Sage and Fisher again?! Perfection! I did a review post on Bookstagram and have it linked down below.

Tarah DeWitt is absolutely killing it with this series set in Sprunes!! I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this one and I absolutely adored everything about this book and how it incorporated all the characters from the first one but really let Wren and Ellis sine so bright. Something about their story felt so relatable to me and really hit home. Wren and Ellis have been divorced for five years after their marriage fell apart. Now both feel that same old pull toward each other and that their ending is unfinished as their son Sam goes off to college. I love a second chance romance trope and this one sure delivered. Needless to say I cannot wait to see if she writes more about this group of characters and am crossing all my fingers and toes that she does!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.
I have read all of Tarah’s books and appreciate the romance and care she gives when creating characters. I could feel how much she loved writing Ellis and Wren throughout this.
This is a fantastic second chance story so if you enjoy that trope this book will make you happy. I loved how it began with the letters between Wren and Ellis and how she slowly had us learn about Ellis through his POV. I actually believed in his love for her and that he actually cared about winning her back for the right reasons.
I am a sucker for a road trip story also so that was a great addition.
Tarah is also a master of super swoony quotes. This book has some AMAZING romantic quotes. Here are some of my faves:
-“I grew up with my great love, so I think maybe my heart took shape around his.”
-“Ellis is the kind of handsome that you absorb in pieces before you notice something new and get the thrill of starting all over again.”
-“He sat on the bed and skimmed his thumb along my cheek until I woke up to his soft smile. “Marry me,” he whispered, his eyes bright with unshed tears.”
-“All I know is that if I found out heaven was real and got there first? I’d hang back in the waiting room and save you a seat.”
-“If you won’t have me back anymore, then I’ll find you in the next life. You are the only thing that makes me believe in that. In something bigger than myself.”
-“If you’re lost, I’ll find you. I’ll give you my body, my heart, and my soul. I’ll cherish every bit of yours in return. I’ll fight with you. I’ll fight for you. I’ll love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get.”
-“We’ll make plans and we’ll tease. We’ll flirt and we’ll fight. One day, when we’re very old and gray, one of us will open our eyes to a day that the other won’t, but we’ll smile knowing how full life has been, knowing how we spent forever. Everything left of it, together.”

Great story and I hope to read more about the other siblings!

Oh. My. LAWDDDD.

This is god tier to me. I will accept NO criticism of this book. Ever. I loved it so much, I can't even put into words how much I loved this book.

Second chance romances always hit me in the feels and this one is going to have a place in my heart forever.

Thank to you Tarah DeWitt, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an early copy.

I gave this book a 3.75 star rating on goodreads. It was such a beautiful story! The communication between the two characters was done very well. The conflict wasn’t out of pocket and all around it was enjoyable to read. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this early!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

This book wrecked me in the best way possible. This is peak second chance romance.

Second chance romances are so beautiful. Like you’ve had this thing and lost this thing and are willing to try again? That is so brave.

The man that Ellis Byrd is. The way he worked on himself and then devised the most perfect plan to win Wren back. But like in a respectful way that still gave her agency.

And Wren? I love her, your honor.

But more than that, I loved watching them fall back together and work through their issues in such a healthy way?! C’mon, I’m just a girl, how am I supposed to resist.

Also? The secret tattoo? 😭 And the spice? And the humor? I swear I’d read Tarah’s grocery lists at this point.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout my love for the other Byrds. Dare I hope for Silas and Micah books? 👀

Read if you like:
- Second Chance Romance
- Childhood Friends to Lovers
- Dual POV
- Roadtrip
- Only one bed

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the eARC.

we were all waiting for this book the second we read Ellis say “she’s still a Byrd.” so when the approval for this book came through i was ready!

i am a very happy child of divorce so i was a bit hesitant to read a book where the couple are already divorced. but i shouldn’t have doubted tarah.

the yearning!!!! bring back men who yearn 🙏🏻

i loved both our leads. hesitant Wren and down bad Ellis. i also loved the small you’ve got mail plot point. we live pen pals!

i loved the little cameos of Fisher and Sage and it honestly made me wanna reread Savor It. maybe next month? 🤔

I read the authors book before this one, "Savor it", and gave it 5 stars.
I don't know what happened here.
First of all, the book was both too long and too short.
Too long because of filler info/scenes and too short because of lack of actual plot/development?
I liked the characters themselves, but their journey back to each other felt so superficial and insincere. I was way more invested in the side characters.

Thank you St. martin's press/Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review

I freaking loved this book. Wren and Ellis’s story had me in my feelings the whole time—emotional, messy, and so beautifully real. Second-chance romance at its best. And the timing? Wild. The night before a wedding at a restaurant I’d never been to, I read *that exact* spot in the book. Meant to be. A million stars, no notes.

Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher for the arc!!

First off, thank you NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Tarah DeWitt for this book. I have been dying for Wren & Ellis’ story and this did not disappoint!

This book had me feeling all the feel from the very first chapter! I had an ache in my heart and a lump in my throat the whole time. I so desperately wanted these two characters to find a way back to each other that I think I was holding my breath the whole way through. There is something so beautiful about reading about second chance romance. We already had the meet cute, we know that love each other, they just need to remember why they fell in love and not let the hurt and mess get in the way.

I think Tarah did a beautiful job with this book. I know that this was a deeply personal story for her, and I know she puts her whole heart into her characters. We all fell in love with Wren & Ellis in Savor It, but this book really let us get to know them. If let us see inside their minds and souls and take the journey with them. That is the mark of a good author, and that was what Tarah did. She took all of us readers on that trip with the Byrds. This story was real and raw, and messy and so funny at the same time. I honestly loved every word!

Thank you again, to NetGalley and the publishers for this book. And thank you Tarah for this story. It really is wonderful.

Wren and Ellis fell in love in high school, had their son Sam as teenagers, and started their lives together. Flash forward, they've now been divorced for 5 years and are getting ready to send their son to college. As the prepare to move Sam into his new home, Ellis convinces Wren to extend their road trip back home and see if they can give their relationship one more shot.

This was my first Tarah DeWitt book and I will certainly be back for more. I don't always love second chance romances, but this was so well done. Wren and Ellis were very well written characters and it was so easy to root for them. I appreciated that there was still so much chemistry and tension between these two despite all they had been through together. The addition of a super supportive, somewhat meddling family was a good touch too.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!