Left of Forever is Tarah Dewitt's best novel so far. Ellis and Wren's journey will have you laughing and crying at the same time. Love seeing an older couple in a romance book, especially one that has to put in work to come together. Tarah's storytelling is realistic yet still swoony and hopeful like a good romance should be. LOF is fast paced and plot driven but also has great character development between the leads. Can't wait for the next trip to Spunes.

A MUST READ!

I ended up loving this book way more than I expected! I’m usually pretty picky about second chance romances because I need to feel like the characters have truly grown and that this time around, things will be different. Tarah absolutely nailed that. Ellis and Wren are perfect for each other. Both of them have grown so much, and Ellis is determined to get things right this time, showing Wren just how much he’s changed. I really enjoyed how bits and pieces of their love story were revealed throughout the book.

Second chance romance ✅
Childhood friends to lovers to strangers back to lovers ✅
Found family ✅
Heartwarming ✅
Perfect ending ✅
Fast pace ✅

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

Ellis—stubborn, hard-headed, but an unlikely teddy bear. Wren—hard on herself, underappreciated, yet a hopeless romantic.

These two characters navigate so much life together, only to part ways… and wonder if love might still find its way back to them. They had to navigate the loss of their relationship while still maintaining friendships with each other’s families, a delicate balance of moving forward while remaining deeply intertwined. Through it all, they co-parented for the sake of their son, trying to keep their distance, yet constantly pulled back into each other’s orbit.

But love is unpredictable. No matter how hard they tried to move on, old feelings lingered, memories refused to fade, and the invisible thread connecting them never quite snapped. Their families—determined, meddlesome, and full of love—weren’t willing to let them give up so easily. And with a little Parent Trap-level scheming, hearts began to soften, walls began to crumble, and the possibility of a second chance didn’t seem so far-fetched after all.

This story is filled with sweet, raw, and deeply realistic moments. You can truly feel the push and pull of learning to trust again after loss, of rebuilding something that once felt shattered. And in the end, love, in all its messy, complicated, and beautiful ways, finds a way.

EMOTIONAL, beautiful, second chance, tear jerker, funny, heartfelt, did I say emotional?!?! I don’t think I’ve cried this hard during a book in a long time, happy and sad tears! Tarah Dewitt has become an auto-buy/auto-read author for me and she can absolutely do no wrong! This was another easy 5 star book!

I knew I would rate this a 5⭐️ after reading the author's letter/intro. The way Tarah talked about marriage,life, and choices hit so hard, I knew this would be a great read. 20% into it and I knew it would be one of my favorites this year and all time. I had no doubt because Tarah Dewitt is one of my auto buy authors. She writes the most beautiful and heartwarming love stories and Left of Forever was not an exception.

This book is about Wren and Ellis. We met them previously on Savor It. They had a baby and then got married when they were really young. They eventually divorced and the story starts about 5 years since then. I so love how the past was incorporated in the story. It didnt feel clunky. It was gracefully weaved into the current timeline and what's happening at the moment. I love the journal entries and how it kickstarted what should have been Wren's closure but ended up opening up her heart as she look back at the good and bad times between her and Ellis. I love the aspect of the pen pal and letters as well. This book is about second chances and using that chance well. In the book, on Ellis POV, he would always say, he wants to do it right. And right he did! Their roadtrip and adventures are some of the best moments in the book. This book is also about family you're born into and found family. Love the Bryd siblings. I just love their relationship and their banter. The spice in the book were also spicin' 🔥 but it didnt take away from the story. It was an accessory that made it more fun.

Definitely one of my favorite reads of all time. The amount of highlights I did on this book is just crazy. So many great lines and moments. I preordered the paperback version and will definitely reread it once its here. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this early. Amazing book! 🙌

♾️⭐️

I was late to the game when it came to finding Tarah’s books, but man does she not miss. I immediately fell in love with her writing and she quickly became an auto-buy author for me. Savor It was *chef’s kiss* but I think I speak for us all when I say that she had me at “she’s still a Byrd.”
I am an absolute sucker for a second chance romance, so I have been waiting, very impatiently, for Left of Forever. I’m happy to say that it not only lived up to my expectations, but it far surpassed them. Ellis and Wren were perfect. And their love story broke my heart and put it back together all at once.

Love love love Tarah’s writing and will continue to read any and everything she writes.

This is by far my favourite Tarah book, add this to your tbr immediately!!!

I honestly don’t even know how to start this review because I was sucked in from the very beginning. Ellis and Wren’s second chance begins in the most unique and refreshing way. He wants her back and becomes her anonymous pen pal. Wren confesses she’s still in love with her ex husband and BOOM the Spunes and the Byrds plan this road trip to rekindle their love.

Left of Forever was so perfectly romantic, funny and raw. Wren and Ellis are such funny, loving and dynamic characters. They have you rooting for them from the beginning. Their live story was so beautiful, I don’t even have the words.

Although there were heavier topics discussed, Tarah handled them with the utmost care. There was a great balance between the heavier themes and the romance. Tarah’s writing in Left of Forever is seamless and truly keeps her readers engaged. The back and forth between the past and present was beautiful executed, whether that be between the letters to in person conversation or the inner monologues of both Ellis and Wren to their dialogue.

Please go pick this one up on May 20th, it’s the most beautiful love story. You will not regret it!

I want to thank St. Martin’s Press, once again, for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 ⭐️ this started off so cute and sweet and more emotional with it being a second chance romance but then… idk it took a turn for me in the second half. The ice cream scene? Completely unnecessary and kinda ruined the rest of the book for me lol. I’m all for spice but this was… a lot.. I wanted more of a slow burn with lots more tension and this just wasn’t that.

Not my favorite Tarah Dewitt book but it was fun to see all the characters from savor it! And fun to see the characters from the co-op pop in for a second too!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

“I grew up with my great love, so I think maybe my heart took shape around his.” this book. this freaking book. It one speaks not to the rush of finally finding someone you love, but the constant comfort in loving someone who is your home. As someone who has been with my now husband for nearly 20 years, this book shook me to my core. i can confidently tell you this book changed me and wholly put a lot of things into perspective. i devoured this one and it devoured me right back. Wren is the most relatable woman I have ever found within the pages of a book; her insecurities, vulnerabilities, failures and successes were all mine, too. and Ellis. ELLIS freaking BYRD. are you kidding me, Tarah?! the man had me eating out of the palm of his hands. also, the yearning in thin book deserves some recognition... so utterly palpable and undeniable. i wanted to leap into the pages and shove these two perfectly flawed humans back together. i cried more than once and anguished when the book finished. I want to live inside of this book and you can bet your ass that when this is released on audio my earholes will be rejoicing. put this one at the top of your tbr- it is the most skillfully crafted second chance romance i have ever read. (plus we get a fun cameo of preggers LaRynn and i cheesed so hard into my kindle) you need this book. its just a fact.

I absolutely loved this steamy, emotional, second chance romance featuring childhood sweethearts, turned young parents, and currently divorced, Wren and Ellis Byrd. Sometimes I have a hard time with the 2nd chance trope, but this was so well done. I couldn't read it fast enough.

This is my 5th Tarah DeWitt book and easily my favorite.

Why I loved it:
Epistolary "You've Got Mail" element
Road Trip
Sweet and steamy serotonin boost.
Tender and honest.
Small town
Big/Found Family

"We're programmed to remember the bad so that we know what to stay away from and how to keep going. That's why the shit that hurts stands out in our minds. That's why holding onto the happy takes work."

OMG wow. I wasn't expecting this book to hit me like it did but knowing how The co-op had me feeling, I should have known better lol. We know I love a good second-chance romance but what I really liked about this one is that we truly see both characters think about what needs to change within themselves before attempting to try again at love. This book was filled with so much emotion and I love that we got to see Ellis truly put in his all to save himself from burnout and also save his relationship I love that man so much and I love our girl Wren for standing on business and knowing her worth! Ugh, let me go read funny feelings now so I can get my Tarah fix.

Wren and Ellis fell in love when they were just kids, got married young and had a baby young. they were happy until things started to fall apart. Now they are in their 30s and divorced living as separate lives as they can in this town. When their son gets accepted into college, Ellis convinces wren to extend their trip back from dropping him off. Giving them time to finally talk about all the good things and all the things that went wrong and by then end they will finally get the closure they have been lacking or maybe they will get back together.

I loved this second chance romance. Lately I have been really into romances that feature slightly older characters who have already established their lives and have to find out how each other fits. I really enjoyed that they didn't focus on only the good things and you got to really see how their communication grows which strengthens their relationship.

This book was breathtakingly beautiful. I was unprepared for this amazing book. The emotions the characters were feeling was so raw and real i couldn’t help but feel for them! THIS is a heart wrenching, emotional, and pull on your heart strings love story. A second chance for two people, wren and ellis, who are truly ment to be together. Their determination for each other and those around them was everything to me! This book pulled on you heartstrings to tear them apart just put them back together.. This book gave me all the feels!!

I’m so sad to say this as I have enjoyed her other books and really loved Savor It but I did not enjoy this book. Specifically the spicy parts were incredibly cringy and I had a hard time connecting with the main characters. It started heavy and just didn’t feel like it found its stride.

I want to start by saying most of my favorite books are my favorite because they’re unrealistic… but this book is so beautiful because it IS realistic. The mountains and valleys of life, the traumas, the heartbreak, resentment, losing yourself. It’s so relatable. But so is love, and making it back together, and finding what’s left of forever. A beautiful representation of life and love 🥹❤️

this book completely wrecked me (in the best way). I was not prepared. I completely sobbed at the entire last 30% of this book because the emotions the characters were feeling were so raw!!! THIS is a heart wrenching, emotional, and vulnerable love story. a second chance for two people, wren and ellis, who are truly destined to be together. their love and dedication and determination for each other and those around them was truly so beautiful to read about. a beautiful slow burn that’ll tug at your heart and piece it back together but oh it was so worth it. the writing was so beautiful it actually blew me away. this was an absolute masterpiece. 🩷

when I say that the yearning in this book is literally insane it’s absolutely PERFECTION and tarah DELIVERED. yearning, longing, pining, and tension so palpable 🥹 I’ll never get over it!!! I love spunes and I love the byrds!!! 🥹🥹🥹

I truly want to thank tarah, the publishers, and netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc and find my new favorite book. I’m forever grateful!!! 💌

This was my first Tarah DeWitt book, but it certainly will not be my last!!!

I absolutely love this book. Left of Forever follows a divorced couple as they take a mini road trip together to possibly rekindle their romance. The way DeWitt showed their growth and love was simply incredible. Throughout the story, the main characters revisit their marriage to figure out where they went wrong and work together to fix those mistakes. I was cackling and smiling and tearing up on numerous occasions. And I can't forget to mention the incredible spice!

I highly recommend this book to anyone that reads romance because it's just so beautiful. For non-romance readers, you should pick this book up anyway because of the phenomenal storytelling and character development.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What to say about near perfection? I mean, look, this book took some of my least favorite tropes and made me a fan. This book had me up at 2:30am, sobbing and cheering for fictional people like they belong to me. This book made me ache for those feelings of being 16 and in love and commiserate with the feelings of being (literally) 33 and still with your person. The timing of this story hit me like a ton of bricks.

I love them.

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

From the moment in Savor It that Ellis Byrd yells “she’s still a Byrd”, when someone tries to call his ex-wife by her maiden name, I knew I was going to love their second chance romance.

As always with second chance romances, there needs to be a plausible reason for breaking up and then an actual change/growth and plausible reason for getting back together. I definitely felt both of those criteria were met well in this book.
Without giving too much away, the trauma that Ellis and Wren experienced towards the end of their marriage has caused many marriages to fail. And once they’d been divorced and removed from that trauma and both grew in their own way, they could find their way back to each other and it was believable.

I loved seeing pieces of their practically lifelong friendship/relationship through Wren’s journal. And I loved the secret penpal moment they had together briefly before they ever decided to try again.
It was all beautiful and heartbreaking and what every child of divorce (cough cough me) dreams of for their parents.

I thought this was even better than Savor It, absolutely adored their story of reconnecting 😍

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

I love Wren and Ellis with my entire heart. They were such well-written character’s, and it was impossible not to root for them. Finding their way back to love each other after drifting apart, this is my new favourite second chance romance!! I am so honoured to be able to read and review this book. Thank you for the ARC Tarah and NetGalley!