If I want to sob, laugh, swoon, blush all while reading the greatest romance novel, I go to Tarah DeWitt's books. I admit I found her fairly late to the game but I haven't looked back since. She started this delightful and steamy series with Savor It but Left of Forever is another level of incredible. A divorced couple that have been in love with each other since they were kids take a road trip to see if they can and if it's worth finding their way back to each other. I will forever tell you how much I love Tarah's writing and the way she weaves love, romance and all kinds of things we go through in life that are not always easy all together and making her characters real and raw. I loved getting to know Wren and Ellis better. I knew from the moment I met them in Savor It I would die for their story–and I did. They were perfect for each other and seeing them yearn for each other to slowly-but-surely finding their way back to one another was such a joy. I loved being back in Spunes and when I tell you I can't wait to get my hands on the next book, I mean it!

“The way I have felt about you has been the only thing that’s felt like—like it can’t be contained in one body or lifetime."
•
SHE’S STILL A BYRD, Y’ALL!!!!!

honestly, I could wax poetic about Left of Forever endlessly, but I’d never do it justice. so, I’ll keep it as simple, short, and sweet as possible.

this book is absolute perfection. it’s equal parts hilarious, heartbreaking, and hopeful. it’s achingly beautiful…a hug of emotions filled with depth and soul.

witnessing two people find their way back to each other with years of hurt and hope between them is its own kind of medicine. Wren and Ellis are on a top tier unreached by all others. and if anyone will make you believe in love, it’s them.

with Tarah’s lyrically magical writing, you'll laugh and cry in abundance, oftentimes simultaneously. it’s truly all I could have hoped for and so much more. Tarah does no wrong when it comes to her writing, but this is another level of artistry. a magnus opus type of work.

Left of Forever is the kind of love story dreams are made of.
•

this and that:
♡ anonymous penpals
♡ baked goods
♡ cable cars
♡ chaotic cooking classes
♡ childhood friends-to-lovers
♡ cow eyes (you’ll understand later)
♡ divorced co-parenting
♡ dual pov
♡ finding your way back to each other
♡ firefighter x baker
♡ flashbacks
♡ forced proximity
♡ glamping
♡ healing
♡ heat heat heat 🥵
♡ he’s obsessed
♡ hope on hope on hope
♡ hurt x comfort
♡ liver and onions
♡ mature characters making safe spaces for the other person to genuinely communicate
♡ new beginnings
♡ one bed
♡ open door spice
♡ origami birds
♡ picnics
♡ pining
♡ roadtrips
♡ sad girl music
♡ second chances
♡ slow burn
♡ small town
♡ therapy
♡ twilight soundtracks appreciation (anyone who loves the twilight soundtracks as much as I do is destined to be a best friend)
♡ unfortunate, albeit comical, encounters with capsaicin
•

triggers:
☞ divorce
☞ infertility x miscarriage
☞ grief
☞ loneliness

Left of Forever


This was at the top of my list for 2025 releases, and I cannot emphasize enough how much it did not disappoint.

As a (very) happily divorced person, I sometimes find marriage-in-crisis / second chance stories hard to read, but wow, did Tarah deliver something special with LoF.

The believable and earned character growth was one of my favorite parts of LoF. It’s such a balancing act to have there be believable conflict that doesn’t make the reader hate the characters, but Wren and Ellis are both believable and sympathetic at every turn.

They both grow so much during this story, in measurable and reasonable ways. It often frustrates me when MCs just magically stop doing the “bad” things that drove the characters apart because “love healed them” or some nonsense. Nope, not here. Ellis doesn’t just magically change - he listens to his siblings and takes their observations of him to heart, he spends time sitting with his emotional reality and realizes he wants something different, AND he goes to therapy.

And Wren - the path back to trusting Ellis is realistic. She doesn’t sugar coat how much she wants him back and how scared she is of that, and she actively decides to stop catastrophizing and trust Ellis. She knows it’s a leap of faith, and that’s part of what made it so powerful to me. She’s terrified, and she chooses it anyway because she’s seen that there’s still a chance for something great.

Aside from the beautiful arc of two wounded, tender people finding each other again, there’s the humor - only Tarah DeWitt can make me guffaw out loud multiple times during a very hot, very spicy scene (all puns intended, IYKYK).

The thematic details that weave throughout in LoF are also a masterpiece. One of those is the idea of making a mess, what does it mean to be messy, in what senses can/should someone have needs and be messy?

I loved these two. I loved seeing them grow and decide to trust again. I loved that there wasn’t shame that either of them had tried to move on during their time apart, no possessive anger that they’d slept with others (real hurt, yes, but not over the top jealousy). I loved Wren’s piercing sadness and loneliness toward the beginning, and I adored Ellis’s absolutely beautiful pining down bad-ness throughout the entire book.

I could keep going, but suffice to say, Tarah DeWitt just keeps getting better. I think this is my favorite TDW book yet.

Oh, and of course, I can’t wait to go back to Spunes again for Silas’ and Micah’s stories someday.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

There's a special kind of feeling that comes after finishing a book like this. Where your heart is aching, your eyes are red from crying, your face hurts from laughing, and your soul just feels... full.

I'm not actually sure how to put into words what and how exactly this book makes me feel but I'll try.

This is a story about heartache and a love so deep there was nothing left to do but leave it. About growing pains and growing together and growing apart. About wanting and a yearning so deep you're desperate to start finding your way back as soon as possible. About happiness and the memories that feel robbed when they're shadowed by loss. This is a fucking story about hope.

Wren and Ellis have woven their lives together since they were 5 years old. It's sometimes incomprehensible to me that two people could know each other so well and so throughly like Wren and Ellis do. But damn. Tarah made it believable and painful and so fucking earnest my teeth ache with it.

They worked so hard at getting it right, at wanting to be better for each other, at listening to what the other needs and working at it, and it felt like a triumph every step of the way. That final match, when the bare bones and the ugly truth comes out? I'm not sure I've ever read a scene so viscerally heartbreaking but at the same time so god damn healing.

I don't know, yall. I have a million more things I want to say about this but I think you all should just experience it for yourself. You'll laugh, you'll cry, honestly it'll probably make you a little bit horny with how good the spice is, and frankly, it'll just make you fall even more in love with contemporary romance stories.

Thank you, Tarah and SMP, from the bottom of my heart, for the ARC. This is an honest(raw messy) review in exchange.

LEFT OF FOREVER
by @authortarahdewitt
🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿
I had the immense pleasure of beta reading this heartwarming, flawless, angsty book featuring our man determined, Ellis Byrd and our tender but strong woman, Wren. I was here for all of the letter writing, apron strings, glimpses of Deac & Rynn, GARY, chilli peppers, and so much more. Tarah writes with such heart, it sometimes makes mine feel like it’s going to burst out of my chest.
🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿🌿

I actually don't have the words to convey the vast amount of emotions I felt while reading this book.

I will have a much more detailed review come release day but WOW. This book is a masterpiece. I live for a book with a pair that have been through it all and really want to come out of the fighting fight stronger and better and that is exactly what we have here.

Two people with very real and complex issues working through an entire life they've spent together. You can feel every emotion on the page through your entire being, it's moving, it's honest, it's desperate in the best of ways. There is a lot of beauty in heartbreak, in growth, in love. People are constantly changing. Sometimes you need to grow apart to be able to grow some bigger roots together.

I think it's so apparent from the jump how much Wren and Ellis love each other. How much they care and desperately want to try. If this book doesn't have you rooting for them and crying and laughing and maybe needing to take a lap because some of those spicy scenes are... Spicy. Bless you, Tarah.

Sometimes being annoying and desperate pays off. I'm so grateful for the chance to read this very incredible piece of work. I cannot wait to share even more of my unhinged thoughts come May.

Thank you to Tarah, SMP, and NetGalley for the ARC <3

The fact that Tarah had me crushing haaaaard in a second chance romance is saying something. I don’t gravitate to second chance usually but this delivered EVERYTHING I love. Secret pining and tension and discovery and quippy banter. I can’t WAIT to reread this via audio once it’s released.

An absolute FAAAAAVE of the year.

perfect!! perfect!! perfect!!

tarah wrote an absolute masterpiece with this one!! achingly beautiful & so hot! you're going to LOVE wren & ellis's story!!!

I happen to think this book is just about perfect as perfect gets. :') :') :') :') :') :') :') :') :') :') :')

This was an incredible second chance romance.

This book makes me want to hold people tight and not take anyone for granted. How beautiful life is, living it with one person you love more than anything. What a beautiful example of having a second chance at love and getting it right the second time

I obviously don’t have kids but the way Tarah wrote about parenthood, I could feel the emotion in the words. Like I could understand it without experiencing it if that makes sense. It makes me want to savor every moment w my children when I have them

Also how beautiful that Wren still stays apart of their family even in the divorce!

Also the yearning!!!!! Oh my gosh

I’m so glad Tarah is making this an interconnected standalone series and I’m so excited for the next books.

This book made me feel so many emotions and I felt them so strong and I felt so connected with both Ellis and Wren at different parts. I’ve never been in a long-term relationship (or any relationship! Love that for me!!!) but oh my god the desire and yearning to reconnect with someone you once knew like the back of your hand hit me so hard and I am crying rn as I type this out :-(

Not to get ~too weepy~ in my review but I honestly saw bits of my parents in Wren and Ellis bc I too am an only child (shoutout to Sam!) and before I went to college I could feel like, the vibes shifting in my home but after I moved out I genuinely think my parents reconnected and stuff bc now when I visit them they are so cute and happy and I love them a lot I loved this book a lot <3

getting to be with the Byrds (!!) during the rekindling of their relationship was such an honor and I will forever be changed by this book <3

Thank you to Tarah, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

First and foremost, this is Tarah’s best book yet. I don’t say that lightly since I’ve loved each of them and am personally shocked that Co-Op got bumped out of its perpetual top spot for me. Ellis and Wren’s story is just top-tier and you get to fall in love with them while they find their way back to each other.

Left of Forever is second chance done beautifully. It’s a love letter to longterm relationships and marriage and every iteration you meet your person in. Because that’s what it is…choosing to continue to pursue and meet your person with every version you become and how hard it can be when life just lifes and you forget to keep hold. Left of Forever captures that reality perfectly and then enriches it with humor (omg…peppers 🤣) and heat (Ellis…Sir 😮🤯🥵🥹😎) and the kind of sweetness that makes your heart want to explode and hug something.

Go preorder it. Save it. Light candles in its honor. Just do yourself a favor and don’t miss out on it because it’s just 👏🏻 the 👏🏻 best!!!

i have been eagerly (rabidly) anticipating left of forever since savor it and it did not disappoint. tarah dewitt is magic writer, i really believe that, and this book made my heart glow. i am super picky when it comes to second chance romance (can’t explain why, i just am) but i knew this was gonna be good from the crumbs we got in savor it. left of forever is a beautiful, emotional story of two people finding their way back to each other and the love they deserve. watching wren and ellis fall in love {even harder} for a second time filled me with so much joy. they had a lot of hard moments to work through but they learned to open up and be vulnerable, and that gave them the strength they needed to rebuild their foundations. their love is golden and it touches everyone in their path, as is evidenced by sam, sage, silas, and micah’s hope and excitement for them to give their love a second chance. i also love a good road trip and seriously enjoyed the scenery elements of this book as well. honestly everything about left of forever is perfect and will remain on my heart. BE GOOD, BYRD.

This was an incredible second chance romance.

This book makes me want to hold people tight and not take anyone for granted. How beautiful life is, living it with one person you love more than anything. What a beautiful example of having a second chance at love and getting it right the second time

I obviously don’t have kids but the way Tarah wrote about parenthood, I could feel the emotion in the words. Like I could understand it without experiencing it if that makes sense. It makes me want to savor every moment w my children when I have them

Also how beautiful that Wren still stays apart of their family even in the divorce!

Also the yearning!!!!! Oh my gosh

I’m so glad Tarah is making this an interconnected standalone series and I’m so excited for the next books.

🌶: 3 out of 5
⭐️: 4.5 out of 5
🍿*: 5 out of 5

“I grew up with my great love, so I think maybe my heart took shape around his.”

Are you freaking kidding me Tarah??? You had me crying on a weeknight with this book. They were tears of joy and grief. I hate how good your books are because I have a Byrd shaped hole in my heart.

*Popcorn scale is referring to how easily consumable the book is overall

I just knew this book would damage me I just KNEW. second chance romance SUPREMACY.

This book was everything I needed it to be any more. Wren and Ellis have been divorced for five years, keeping things perfectly polite for the sake of their son, Sam (who they had at 17/18). Now that Sam is going to college in California, Ellis asks Wren to road trip with him back up to Spunes to see if they can revive what they had because let’s face it, they’ve never stopped loving each other, even if they’re too scared to admit it to each other. But love alone isn’t always enough, and Ellis and Wren have to tackle the reasons they fell apart before they can piece themselves back together. But even in the face of everything that could keep them apart, hope remains.

I am on a HOT streak of beautiful second chance romance recently and this one is no exception. Ellis and Wren were achingly relatable, you could genuinely feel their pain, their insecurities, their trauma. But you could also feel their joy, their happiness, and their LOVE. and also it is laugh out loud funny?? the familiarity between Ellis and Wren breeds such a fun banter, I was giggling and kicking my feet. NOT TO MENTION, HELLO??? SPICY??? Ellis Byrd had me CLUTCHING MY PEARLS.

The end of this book was truly an emotional kick to the gut, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. A culmination of almost 30 years of these characters lives, seeing how they’ve grown and changed both together and apart. I was inconsolable to say the least. An easy five star read and I implore all of you to pick this up when it’s out!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy to review!

Did not want to read this book bc it means that I don’t get to read another book by this author until 2026. Seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me!!!!!!!!!

Once I started reading I couldn’t stop - I had to force myself to put the book down when driving to pick up my glasses lol

The angst is so good!!! Ellis and Wren are so good!!!! I paid special attention to Bea scenes bc im a good reader like that. Is Serena lindhagen for micah???? Guess we’ll find out in 2027 🥲

Also I didn’t know I had a thing for those slutty mustaches until this cover was dropped 💦

Also this book gets 5 stars automatically for cameoing my all time fave book couple LaRynn&Deacon

I am in AWE of Tarah DeWitt, I have been since the second I first read her books. I have loved every book she’s written. There is something so special about her stories and her characters. There is so much love and hurt and finding yourself and where you belong woven into her stories, it just feels like coming home. AND THE BYRDS. They are such a beautiful family. Savor It was life changing. But I knew this one was going to be it for me.

There is honestly nothing I love more than a second chance. From the second I read that Wren and Ellis were divorced, to when he said “she’s still a Byrd”. I KNEW their story would change me. AND IT DID. The pain, the hurt, the mutual pining and the YEARNING. Watching them fight to find themselves, to work so hard to become the people they wanted to be without each other…only to realize they could do it with the other…heartbreaking beautiful.

Thanks to SMP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This time, they'll get it right. Wren and Ellis Byrd fell in love as kids, had their son Sam when they were only teenagers, and built a life together in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon. They were made for one another...until they fell apart. Now divorced and in their 30s, Wren runs the bakery in town, while Ellis works as a firefighter. They live separate lives, though they are hardly off each other's minds. When Sam gets accepted into college and the pair help him move in together, Ellis convinces Wren to take an extended road trip back to Spunes with him to see if they can give their relationship one last chance. Amid the gorgeous scenery of the California coastline, dreamy destinations, and a great deal of long-yearned-for proximity, Wren starts to think it just might be possible. But the two still have to contend with their tumultuous past in order to move forward. And when spoken words fail, sometimes the written word must bridge the gap. Will they make the most of what's left of forever? Or will they let each other go for good? Brimming with big feelings and packed with steam, Left of Forever is bestseller Tarah DeWitt at the top of her game.

Thoughts
I absolutely loved this story. You were rooting for both of them the whole time. They had their battles and there trust issues but there was never a time that I disliked either character. They both cared so much they just needed to figure it out together.

Wren and Ellis are everything to me. I would’ve waited five years for them.

The catalyst for change in the post-divorce relationship is masterfully done. The past is woven in seamlessly. The separate lives of both Wren and Ellis are seen and felt and understood. The way they’ve grown and changed — and not changed — in their time apart is clear. And THEN we get the actual reconnection process and, again, it’s everything. The communication, the openness, the tension, the steam, the ever present love. There are so many things I want to talk about but don’t want to take away the experience of reading some of the special moments and truths and reveals for anyone.

This will absolutely be a top read of the year and I am a Tarah DeWitt fangirl for life. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.