4.5/5 ⭐️

When I read “Savor It” last year, I hoped that Tarah would give Wren and Ellis a chance and write a book about them. Side characters in a love story about someone else’s, and they already had me yearning for a story about their love. And I was right to be waiting for this one.

There is something about a second-chance romance that speaks to me more than any other trope can. I admire characters who take a chance to heal and are able to flip the sad part of their stories into the absolutely best one. A love so all-consuming, mate-like, and fearless – this is how I would describe Wren and Ellis’s story.

Ellis is the perfect MMC, a man so down bad for Wren that I cried every single time he opened his mouth. His love confessions could easily be some of the most beautiful words I have ever read.

With all that in mind, I kind of hoped Wren would be a bit more yearning for Ellis from the beginning. She just kind of hopped on this trip down memory lane, but I wasn’t 100% convinced that she was as in love with him as she claimed. This is just a tweak, but I have to cut 0.5 stars for that, as this thought wouldn’t leave my brain for the entirety of this book.

One last thing worth mentioning is the incredible found-not-found family trope that is done so excellently here. I am excited for the next books to come, already so in love with Silas and Micah. Spectacular – give me 14 of them right now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In the introduction to the story, the author writes that she never planned on writing a second book in Spunes, but Ellis and Wren just demanded her attention when they appeared in her earlier book, Savor It. And wow, am I glad they were so demanding to share their story with us all. I adored the characters. They were both so gone for each other, but had been so hurt and so lost in their marriage because of the challenges of life. There were a lot of assumptions between the two that had an impact on their relationship, but it never felt like the author was using miscommunication for the sake of a trope. It was heartbreaking, raw and honest, but so sweet and passionate.

And that's the reason I love reading books by Tarah DeWitt; every single one of them has been so realistic, you feel like you know the characters. They, and their stories, are fully realized. You can't help but get lost in the story. She's done this so well in other books, but it is masterfully executed in Left of Forever. This is, hands down, my favorite book by Tarah DeWitt so far.

Thank you to the author, Tarah DeWitt, and the publisher, St. Martin's Press/St, Martin's Griffin, for an advanced copy of this book.

I devoured this book. Heartbreak, to growth and healing. Never have I felt that two characters were so meant to be together and I rooted for them the whole way.

‘Left of Forever’ is a magical, heartwarming, funny and HOT(!!!) read.

This was my first read of Tarah’s, and wow was it ever PERFECT!!! Childhood friends-to-lovers, second chance, forced proximity, and found family galore.

I haven’t always been the biggest fan of a second chance romance, but this one was executed so perfectly. Wren and Ellis’ clumsy reconnections were constantly tugging at my heartstrings. The LONGING!!! The TENSION!!! The HOPE!!!

I am obsessed with their small town in Oregon, and the California roadtrip made for such a dreamy setting!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the review.

I’m a big fan of Tarah Dewitt and Left of Forever not only became my #1 book of hers but maybe my favorite romance of all time. It was sweet, tender, steamy, and REAL. I laughed. I cried. 5 stars.

Left of Forever is the ultimate second-chance romance (my favorite!). Ellis and Wren (or Byrd as he calls her) have been through it. Fell in love super young, had a kid when they were still basically kids, were parental figures to his siblings at the same time. They fell apart, divorced, and have been apart for five years but their lives and families are completely intertwined. Wren has tried to move in, dating people and no one ever makes her feel the way Ellis did and she wonders if she’ll ever get a second chance to be with someone. Ellis has realized he wants her back but has no idea if she feels the same way because she certainly doesn’t act it, keeping her distance and trying to keep things perfectly polite for the sake of their son, Sam, and mutual family/friends. When Sam gets in to his dream school in California, Ellis talks her into moving Sam down together and then taking a trip together afterwards to spend time together away from the pressures of their daily lives and figure out what went wrong between them and if they could ever be together again.

Omg, Ellis, (cue sigh). He’s kind of a dream guy. He knows that he lost the best thing that ever happened to him, messed up by not appreciating her and is actively trying to be better for her. He plans a trip with various stops that seem random initially but ultimately come full circle because they parallel things she’s always wanted to do. Wren is cautious, not sure if they can get past all the things that broke them but ultimately she really really wants to be with Ellis and there’s a lot of love still between these two (as well as some meddling family members who don’t at all buy that this is really the “friend” trip that they’ve billed it as).

I absolutely loved Ellis and Wren plus Tarah DeWitt is a Northern California native so the places that appear in the book are so familiar to me and that made it extra fun. A definite preorder must!

Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin via Netgalley for this ARC.

I have been PINING for this book since Savor It came out (maybe as much as Ellis has been pining for Wren?) and Tarah DeWitt DID NOT DISAPPOINT. This was everything I love in a second chance romance:

-Flashbacks (but not written as a true dual timeline)
-TENDERNESS, gah the tenderness!
-Character growth, individually and in relationship
-Vulnerability
-The giddiness of old love that's new again when the brush of a fingertip feels like straight up sparks

There were so many beautiful lines in this one too:

"I'm dying to reach over and squeeze his hand, to thread my fingers with his so we might celebrate the best thing we ever did together." SOBBING (as a parent).

"I miss you too sounds glib. You have been missing from me is more accurate. There's a void where you lived in me." DYING.

"God, I would have died for this man, once. Now we're reduced to single syllables and stilted silences." CRUSHED!!

Add this to your TBR immediately folks!

consistent with the other books I’ve read by DeWitt: fun, sweet, and maybe even if briefly heartbreaking but not in the everything is ending way.

the only downside was it felt a smidge too rushed in the storytelling but that didn’t break the flow like it can with other books, I just enjoyed the characters a lot and wish I had more with them and their journey of coming back together.

would recommend to literally anyone who will listen though

What I liked: the longing, the uncertainty, the chemistry, the realness of how people change over five years apart. I loved seeing Sage and Fisher, not to mention LaRynn and Deacon (what an absolutely delightful surprise)!! I love Wren and Ellis individually, too; Tarah DeWitt is so good at writing women with a little bit more of an edge than we often see in contemporary romance. I feel like Wren and LaRynn could have been friends.

What I didn’t like: I didn’t love the letter-writing plot device. If I was Wren, I would feel deceived and creeped out by that. I also didn’t like that they decided to only do new things as their relationship got physical. It seemed odd to me that they would jump to stuff they hadn’t done before, when they're first reconnecting after so much time apart. It seemed less intimate, somehow.

Tarah DeWitt remains a strong auto-buy author for me!

I’m dead smitten & in love with the whole Byrd family & the fun, quirky lil community that is Spunes, (not to be confused with Forks). Seriously. I wanna be a Byrd now.

DeWitt outdid herself with the depth of her characters. She breathed life into the MC’s & the secondaries so effectively and then entwined them all together in such a seamless way, that it delivers this sort of panoptic visual for the reader. Or it certainly did for me. The cast was magnetic. I was living in the pages and hardcore rooting for Ellis & Wren and their second chance romance, 5-years post divorce. Ughh, they were both positively worthy & swoon-worthy.

Getting swept up & emotional in a good book is familiar terrain. But me, crying…? Eh eh. That’s as common as cowboys in chaps, herding a pack of feral cats. Takes a special kind of talent to get me there. & I’ll be damned if it didn’t happen here. Twice. Now this wasn’t some pop-a-cork-yowling-at-the-moon-while-flappin-like-a-fish-on-the-floor kinda meltdown. No. This was a silent affair.

~ Left of Forever simply moved me to tears.

Andddd then there was that heat!🥵 DeWitt slapped up the spice knob on this one! The Ellis & Wren *Doin'-The-Laundry* 👁️👁️ (winks) scenes... yea, those... They had me a clittle weak in the knees🥴 My legs didn’t wanna leg anymore. Hell, even that 1 pack of feral cats was feelin’ feelings, purring all up & down the street!🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Ooh & “seeing” Fisher & Sage again made my heart frolic & chirp happily about..🥰

I wonder if we’ll see Lennon Kirby again….?🧐 No matter, I’m so eager for brothers, Silas & Micah, to catch their own screen time & HEA. I can’t wait to see that magic.

4.5⭐️ & easily my favorite from TD so far!

Big thanks to NetGalley, Tarah DeWitt & St. Martin's Press for this arc in exchange for review!

Pub: 5.20.2025.

How wonderful it is to be back in Spunes! The story of these two had me intrigued since the Savor It, and I love getting to read more about the Byrd family. Wren and Ellis went from childhood friends to high school sweethearts, to teenage parents, to strangers looking for a second chance at love. I live for the second chance trope, and this book served it on a golden platter.

After five years apart, they embark on a road trip to rekindle their relationship. I enjoyed watching their evolution—from the initial awkward moments to returning to old habits and openly discussing both the highs and lows of their relationship. It was amazing to read how they reconnected and fell in love with each other again; even though they still had strong feelings for one another, both had to put in the work to make it work.

I really liked that communication was key in this book, and I think everything fell into place perfectly. My ebook is filled with underlined quotes, and I hope to return to Spunes and learn more about the rest of the Byrd siblings!!

(+) I loved reading about certain characters I adore— currently living on crumbs .

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review 💗 I love you, Tarah DeWitt, you did it again!

There’s nothing anyone could offer me to make me react normally about this book. This was the most beautiful and actually heart aching book. Tarah Dewitt you are absolutely nuts (In such a good way.)

I have so many thoughts surrounding this book but need time to put it all together. Infinity stars though.

I didn’t want this book to end. This will probably be one of my favorite books of the year. I don’t know if it’s because I resonated with a lot of the story (my husband and I went to high school together), but my goodness, it was such a beautiful story. Spicy but heart warming, lots hard conversations had. I just loved Ellis & Wren so much. 5 star read for me!

this was one of my most anticipated 2025 books and it didn’t disappoint

thank you netgalley and st. martin’s press for the arc in exchange for an honest review

I just have to give a huge shoutout to Tara DeWitt and everyone involved for letting me read this ARC—what an absolutely fantastic book! I loved every moment of it! I haven’t had the chance to read any of the author’s other books yet, but I’m definitely going to dive into her other works after enjoying this lovely gem! Getting to know Wren and Ellis was such a delightful experience! Wow, what a ride this story was! It took me on an emotional rollercoaster, making me laugh one minute and wiping away tears the next. It was such a breath of fresh air to see a mature couple and dive into their family dynamics. I was completely invested in Wren and Ellis’s journey, watching their childhood love evolve and grow over the years. The mix of lighthearted moments with the tension of them wanting each other made it even more enjoyable—I found myself cheering them on! By the end, I had goosebumps; it really pulled at my heartstrings. I can’t wait to recommend this incredible book to everyone and explore more from this amazing author! I absolutely loved this book, I couldn’t put it down! I finished it in a day, and if I could give it 10 stars, I totally would! I can't wait to dive into more from this amazing author!

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt was such a joy to read. This book tells the story of Wren and Ellis, who were childhood sweethearts, who got pregnant and married when they were young. At the start of this, they've been divorced for close to five years and Ellis wants to get back together with Wren. It's a heartbreakingly beautifully written book and thought that the character development was done so well. I love to see an emotionally stable man. This was more than just a goofy, silly romance. It had depth and I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to read it. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone looking for a top tier second chance romance.

This book emotionally wrecked me in the best way. I'm already a big fan of second chance romance, but Tarah has a way of elevating a book way beyond given tropes.

Ever since reading Savor it, I knew I would devour a Wren & Ellis Story. While you could feel the love, heartbreak, and yearning between the two characters, I never felt like there was unnecessary angst or miscommunication to add drama. Just a very sweet story about two people who had a lot of adversity while they were young, but found a way back to each other. 10/10 the tension and banter in this book was chef's kiss.

I am such a huge Tarah DeWitt fan and have been anticipating Ellis and Wren’s story since reading Savor It last year. Let me tell you, the wait was worth it! This book gave me everything I could possibly ask for: yearning, steamy moments, and laugh-out-loud banter.

When this book starts, Wren and Ellis have been divorced for several years. However, after Ellis receives not-so-anonymous letters from Wren during a firefighting job, he makes it his personal mission to get her back. The two agree to go on a week-long trip after dropping their son, Sam, off at college and work through what went wrong between them the first time around.

Wren and Ellis are 100% my favorite book couple after reading. They communicate well and tell each other what they need for their relationship to work. Of course, there are hurt feelings on both sides that need to be overcome, and they both put in the effort and listen to each other’s needs. Also, the flirting!!! This is Tarah’s hottest book yet, and I devoured it every moment! I will be rereading it ASAP.

Ellis is officially the king of pining! He is down bad for Wren the entire time and works on himself in therapy to be a better man for her. Both have so much emotional development throughout the story, but Ellis blew me away!
The entire Byrd family (including Wren, because she has ALWAYS been a Byrd!!) had me in my feels so much with how they love and support each other. I loved Silas’ friendship with Wren especially, and how he always had her back. Tarah, if you read this, please, please, please give us more Byrd books!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have so, so, so many things to say about this book. It is pure magic—just as Elsie Silver says on the cover—and I’m here to gush.

That said, I have to admit the actual cover didn’t quite work for me. I love the color scheme, but the couple on the cover feels like a romance throwback gone a little too far (sorry!)—think vintage paperback with a dramatic embrace and an overenthusiastic mustache.

Now, a quick confession: I tried reading Savor It a couple of times but never quite vibed with it. The writing drew me in, but there just wasn’t enough angst for me (again, sorry!). So why mention it? Because while Left of Forever is an interconnected standalone, I highly recommend reading Savor It first for extra background and richness. And trust me—you’ll want that depth with these characters.

I’m a sucker for a second-chance romance, but they can be so tricky to pull off. Tarah DeWitt, however, does it with a bang. The way she structures the past and present timelines makes the couple’s journey feel completely natural—there’s no sudden, out-of-nowhere decision to get back together. Everything is set up so well that when the main part of the story unfolds, it feels earned.

What truly amazed me was how thoroughly she covered every emotional base. From the motivation to try again, to the yearning, to the very real fear of repeating past mistakes, and most importantly—the work it takes to make a relationship last. So many books gloss over this, skipping the gut-wrenching conversations and solitary introspection in favor of a quick “we’re back together!” moment. Not here. This story earns its HEA. Every inch of it is fought for, suffered through, and ultimately won.

I loved the epistolary parts. They were the perfect way to provide backstory without feeling like a forced info dump or making characters deliver long, unnatural monologues. And honestly? I wish there had been more. I never thought of myself as a fan of journal entries or letter exchanges in books, but these were so raw, so alive with emotion, that I couldn’t help but want extra scenes of the characters reading, writing, and discussing them.

The secondary characters are fantastic—vibrant, well-developed, and never two-dimensional, no matter how much page time they get. So much so that I am now officially campaigning for a Byrd family series (pretty please, Tarah?).

In the meantime, I’ll be diving into all of Tarah DeWitt’s other books—and maybe catching more glimpses of this couple in The Co-Op Cafe? Who knows? What I do know is that I need more of her magic in my life.

Big thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thanks for the advanced copy of this novel. The romance was written well and is incredibly true to the heart of these characters. Second chance romance tales are not for everyone but these two made for a great story and I loved how it ended. This is for anyone who believes in love! Would read from this author again.