I actually cannot begin to write out how much this book means to me. It was absolutely EVERYTHING!!! It immediately went to my top books, my infinity star rating. Wren and Ellis were just perfect. I was so excited for their book since reading Savor It so when I realized Tarah was writing it it shot up m TBR list to the very top.

Im so grateful that I was able to read this before it came out. Thank you so much for the opportunity!! gonna reread it probably 17x this year tbh

Loved it! There aren’t many books about divorced couples falling back in love, and Tarah hit this one out of the park! The character development was beautiful. The story itself had me emotional. Just amazing. Highly, highly recommend!

I loved this book so much!! Second chances pull at my heart, especially this one! I loved seeing Wren and Ellis navigate their relationship after their son goes off to college. I felt hope that maybe my own marriage can have fire again after kids grow up and move out!

The only issue I had was the beginning and it took me a while to get into it, but once the emails started happening, I was thoroughly enjoying myself!

4.5⭐

I loved Left or Forever so much! This is my third Tarah DeWitt book, and once again, this story was amazing! I was really looking forward to this one after reading Savor It and learning about Ellis and Wren in that story, I knew their story was going to be really interesting.

Left of Forever follows Ellis and Wren, who got married too young, had a kid at seventeen and now years later they have been divorced for five years and their son, Sam, is off to college. Ellis proposes they go on a weeklong road trip after dropping Sam off at school to reconnect and give their relationship another shot, and Wren reluctantly agrees. They start off and Wren struggles with how strong their connection still is, but it didn't work once, so how will she know if it works again?

Left of Forever was deep and beautiful and really well written. I loved getting the parts of Wren and Ellis's relationship from their past through Wren's journey and how you got to see both the good and the bad of their relationship. Their love story was so touching and realistic which I really appreciated. It was so nice to see how hard Ellis was trying to fix his mistakes and grow as a person and a partner. Wren was such a resilient and complex character who carried so much but was always so strong. The road trip vibes, along with the unique settings, added to the story. The family dynamics were perfect, and I loved their interactions.

Overall, Left or Forever was a strong and emotional romance that was unique, and I would highly recommend!

Oh this was FIRE! Tarah DeWitt, you know how to write a spicyyyyy book! Absolutely loved it! I was so drawn in from the first page, and could not put it down. Loved this story! Highly recommend.

After five years of being divorced, Wren and Ellis are brought back together again when they take a road trip to move their son to college. Can they figure out how to start fresh, or is it over for good?

This was such a beautifully crafted second-chance romance from Tarah Dewitt. The emotional moments Wren and Ellis had as they revisited their past and tried to figure out how to move forward got me in all the feels. I cried happy tears for these characters... twice!

I liked that this book featured two formerly married characters. The marriage in trouble trope has been popular in recent years, but we don't see a lot of second chance romances featuring formerly married characters. It was interesting to read about and to see their reconciliation on page.

The intense longing these two had for each other! In the first act of the book it brought to mind "I Remember Everything" by Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves. There was such beauty and pain in how Ellis and Wren couldn't quite let go of the good parts of their marriage. And when they finally got together you could tell they were meant to be.

And PS, I have to say that I loved that characters from The Co-Op made an appearance!

4.5 stars

This is the beautiful second chance story of Wren and Ellis, who were introduced in the book Savor it as Sage’s best friend/ex sister in law and brother. It can be read as a standalone book.

I have enjoyed all of Tarah Dewitt’s books as they portray real struggles and relationships. Five years after their divorce, Wren and Ellis take a road trip home from dropping their son off at college. We get to see the past and the present in both perspectives as they travel on this journey back to one another. There is some tension, some humor, and some family meddling. I would love to get Silas and Micah’s stories next.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

I haven't read the first book in this series by Tara DeWitt, and I'm also not always a huge fan of second chance romances, but I really enjoyed this book. Ellis and Wren fell in love young and has their son Sam when they were only teenagers. Now, in their early thirties they have drifted apart and divorced. When they decide to take a road trip back to their hometown after dropping off their son at college, they rekindle their romance and find their way back to one another. The characters were well devloped and felt real and relatable. Sometimes in second chance romance books, I feel like the characters don't always have the character growth/emotional growth throughout the book that is needed to make the relationshop work a second time, but I think the author did a good job of doing that with Wren and Ellis (especially Ellis). Overall, this was such a cozy, romantic book that I flew through and made me want to go back and read the first in the series, while also made me excited for future installments. Highly recommed!

if you’re a sucker for a second chance romance like i am, look no further. this was everything i wanted in a second chance romance and more.

wren and ellis have known each other since the age of 5, became high school sweethearts, had a child when they were still teenagers, and somewhere along the way, they started to grow apart. now they’re in their 30s and have been divorced for 5 years. with their son on his way to college, they aren’t sure if they are ready to hang up the hat on their relationship just yet, so they decide to embark on a road trip to see if they can find their way back to each other.

wren and ellis’ relationship just seemed so REAL. many romance books always start with how the couple met and focus on the honeymoon period. i love these romances just as much as the next romance-obsessed gal, but relationships can be difficult over time, and miscommunication is so easy to fall victim to. both wren and ellis need time apart to reflect, and i was so proud of how far they both had come to show their vulnerability and be able to voice their struggles, insecurities, and love. also, this is a psa for more men to lean into therapy! it does wonders - ask ellis!

The wildest thing about Wren and Ellis's story is that, with only ONE SENTENCE in a previous book, "She's Still a Byrd," we were hooked and begging for their story.

Their story started when they were just kids, in love and accidentally pregnant at 17 and 18, but picks up five years after their divorce. Sam is graduating high school now, and an opportunity to spend time together presents itself. Ellis makes it clear he wants to try again, and this trip is their chance. Wren agrees, leary but hopeful.

This might be one of the most believable divorce/break-up stories I've read. The reality of the hard season they lost themselves in will be highly relatable to many. 

And the dialogue—both between them and especially their internal dialogue—is some of the sweetest I've ever read. In Ellis's itinerary, when he apologizes that they never ended up doing a road trip they'd talked about, cue immediate tears. All the I'm sorry's we have in long relationships—my heart. 

The way these two loved their son—gah. Sam was never a mistake or an underlying issue in their struggles. Not only did they love him, but they loved the active part of parenting. So. Good. 

I'm a huge fan of romances reminding us that fighting for relationships is worth it. It's impossible not to think back to Out of the Woods with the proximity to which I've read 2 marriage-in-crisis-ish stories. They remind us a significant amount of the happy is in the during and the after, not just the beginnings!

And if you sensed a but coming here, it is. (Really, it is a little but, but a but nevertheless)

But I wish the 5 years apart were fleshed out more on page. "I miss you, too sounds glib. You have been missing from me is more accurate. There's a void where you lived in me." With lines like this, I need to understand the in-between more. We get tiny bits of where Wren's head was during, but not quite enough for me to fully understand why this took 5 years to get here. The reasoning for the divorce is SO REAL; I wish we could have walked alongside more of the healing in those divorced years. It made the speed of reconciliation feel a bit off for me.

Review will be posted May 1

I was so excited for Wren and Ellis since “She’s still a Byrd” and they DID NOT dissapoint. I love a marriage in crisis or second chance romance trope and this book did it soooo right. It was clear from the beginning that Wren and Ellis were still in love and were meant to be together. I absolutely loved the letters that brought them back together and the trip that Ellis planned. The reason that he planned all of the destinations they went to had me CRYINGGGG.

My favorite part of Wren and Ellis’ dynamic was the fact that you could see them both pushing themselves to address the aspects of their past that made them uncomfortable. Specifically, Ellis’ journey to truly show up for Wren whether it was giving her meaningful compliments, not shying away from questions she asked, or taking the reins and planning their entire trip, he proved that he was willing to make changes where Wren had previously felt unsupported in their marriage.

I also appreciated that Wren and Ellis’ story of the breakdown of their marriage felt very real to me. The small hurts and bigger issues that were left unsaid to protect each other in their marriage ended up causing its downfall. It also demonstrated how life can often cause the conditions in which a relationship crumbles. Despite this message, the book is truly so hopeful and it felt as if Wren and Ellis truly would find each other in every lifetime.

I’ve come to really love Tarah Dewitt’s writing and I cannot wait for more of this series!

thank you St Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC! I had a really fun time returning to Spunes and getting reacquainted with the Byrds! Overall I really enjoyed this book; I’m a sucker for a second chance romance and a mustached man. I also loved all the Twilight references (Rosyln is 100% the song of a generation).

The only reason this isn’t a 5 star book for me is I felt they resolved their issues far too easily and they didn’t really talk about their divorce until 80% through. I was hoping they’d have a full on argument about what happened and they sort of did, but they made up and moved on too fast.

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

If you have read Savor It, you have already met the Byrd family and now you get to know Ellis and Wren a bit more. They go on a road trip to drop their son, Sam, off at college and decide to hash out all their unresolved feelings about each other and what went wrong in their marriage. The emotional rollercoaster they take you on is both relatable and beautiful. They touch on how it's easier to remember the hard things because that is what your body does to survive, but how important it is remember the good and decide what you need and how you can grow and move forward.

▪️marriage in crisis
▪️second chance
▪️found family
▪️small town
▪️firefighters
▪️road trip

Thank you to NetGalley, and St Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is probably the best Tarah DeWitt book I've read and that's a big deal since I LOVE all of her books. Wren and Ellis were high school sweethearts and got pregnant at 17. They were solid for a while but then life happened. Now, in their 30's, Ellis decides he wants her back. They drop their son off at college and go on a road trip to get back what they once had. I love the heart that was in each of their characters. They deal with real life issues where sometimes love wasn't enough but now it is. This book had me tearing up with their characters' vulnerability, while also squealing and kicking my feet.

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

Read if you like:
- Dual POV
- Second chance romance
- Road trip

Content Warning: Ectopic pregnancy, infertility

Super enjoyed this next novel by Tarah DeWitt. Left of Forever has a way of charming you from the very start. It has this nostalgic touch to it that just works so well alongside the romance. I read it in one sitting and really wished I could spend more time with the characters. I continue to be impressed by her beautiful writing and the heartfelt connections and topics that come up in her novels, and this one is no exception.

Tarah DeWitt has a way of writing that pulls you in and fully immerses you in the story. Savor It was the first book I read by her and I was so in love with all of the characters and was left wanting more.

Left of Forever follows Wren and Ellis finding their way back to love after being divorced for a few years. With their son going to college, they plan a road trip to drop him off and also enjoy the California coast to reconnect. The story felt organic and flowed so well without feeling rushed. I laughed so much at the pepper hands incident and cried (like full on tears down the face crying) finishing the book at 2am. I’m so happy I was able to receive an advanced copy of this as it may be my new fav read of the year.

This was such a beautifully written second chance romance. I really enjoyed getting to see Ellis and Wren find their way back to each other after life lead them to a divorce. You could feel their love for eachother coming off of the page and it was lovely to read about.

Love the Byrd family! A beautiful second-chance romance. I enjoyed that the characters were a little older. The book was funny yet hopeful. Letter writing and origami something my boyfriend now husband did as well! Glad the ending didn't drag on. It's ok to write a book under 300 pages!!!

This was a beautiful second chance romance with all of the fixings necessary to make the culmination of their relationship worth it. I love the addition of therapy and how they overcame their issues head on.

First off thank you so much for the ARC. This book was so amazingly written and I loved the second chance romance. I started reading the second chance romances this is number 2 of the second chance romance books I’ve read and this makes me want to read more!!