5.0

♾️⭐

I first met Wren and Ellis is Savor It, and was very excited to read their story. I knew 30% in that this would be one of my top favorite romance books of all time.

Their story of growing up, growing apart and coming back together was done so beautifully.


"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." 😭😭

It was emotional and funny at the same time, I would alternate between laughing and crying. I loved how things got started with the letters, and how they both agreed to be open and communicate with each other on their road trip.

This is second chance romance DONE RIGHT. And I appreciated how the MCs were in their 30s and had gone through stuff.

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I will be immediately rereading as soon as I get my paperback copy upon release 💖

this book felt like sitting on the floor of an open room, window ajar, letting the delicate shine of the early morning glow merge itself to the gentle but firm summer breeze as it plants itself into my soul. truly supernatural sunshine in book form. i won't soon forget. Wren and ellis, thank you. tarah, you are a gift.
"I'II love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get."
thank you to netgalley for the arc🤍

Tarah writes it, I read it. I looooooved this. I’m usually not a huge fan of second chance romance or marriage in trouble tropes but Tarah has such a way with words and emotion. I think I say this in all my book reviews for her stories but this one’s got a lot of heart!

This was such a beautiful and emotional second chance romance.

This book contained Tarah DeWitt's signature fast-paced writing, and I absolutely flew through it. The way she creates characters who are flawed but honest, and who love each other despite, and because of, their messiness, never fails to make me swoon. Ellis and Wren were meant to be. It was heartbreaking to read about their reasons for breaking up, but seeing them try and put their love back together was a delight.

Ellis is a man who wants to be in control of his life. He wants to make everything ok for everyone else, and it hurts him when he can't. Seeing him work through things and get himself help was so heartwarming. Wren was a strong woman and mom, and it was hard to witness the grief she dealt with over the loss of her marriage and her hopes and dreams. (While there weren't flashback chapters, both characters did a lot of writing that detailed their past.) I also loved the glimpses we get of their childhood friendship and teenage love.

The road trip chapters were a lot of fun, and I was eagerly waiting to see how these two would find their way back to each other. There was a lot of humor, along with some of my favorite romance tropes. (I'm looking at you, one bed!)

If you love Tarah DeWitt's books, you will absolutely adore this one and I definitely recommend it. I'll be off to read Savor It soon because I want to spend more time with the characters of Spunes.

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and Netgalley for the e-arc of this book!

Tarah Dewitt, you’re amazing. We already knew that, but you continue to outdo yourself. Having met the characters in “Savor It”, I was nervous. Why? I have no idea because Ms. Dewitt ALWAYS comes through in a spectacular way. I want to say more, but don’t want to ruin this one for anyone reading the review because I can’t gush without spoilers at this point. This one is a 5 ⭐️ book for me & I can’t wait to have her sign a copy of it for me.

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

Tarah has done it again! How am I expected to move on from this book???? Like many of you, I was ready for an Ellis and Wren book from the moment I read the words, “She’s still a Byrd” in Savor It. This was such a beautiful story. I loved seeing Wren and Ellis find their way back to each other. I went from giggling like a dork at their flirting/tension to bawling my eyes out at the heavy conversations they needed to have.

I may be biased as someone who lives in California, but I loved the road trip aspect of the story! Wren and Ellis reconnecting while traveling the state was not only fun but important for the story. As much as I love Spunes, I loved seeing these two reconnecting outside of the town where they fell in love.

I can’t wait to return to Spunes with the Byrds! Thank you, NetGalley and SMP for this eARC!
Pick this baby up on May 20!

This ARC was my first (and currently only) five star read in 2025! Tarah writes romances the way that I wanna read romances and I just absolutely ate this one up. I giggled, I bawled and I fell in love with Wren and Ellis. There is such genuine and thorough character development that makes the story just so authentic and raw.

The pacing was truly so spot on. Tarah find a great balance of character and plot development. There is wonderful exploration of their faults in the relationship in the past, which makes their journey throughout the novel more genuine. I will be screaming about this book from the rooftops!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (NO NOTES!!)

Gahhhhhhhhhhh…this gosh darn book people! First of all, let’s just discuss the cover – it is screaming to have a step back, like the vibes it is giving off an old school historical romance cover – I cannot. Then Tarah DeWitt has the audacity to write a masterpiece second chance romance for Ellis and Wren in Left of Forever – how dare she! The pining that man does is just perfection, and THEN you’re going to throw in letters and emails and journal writings! I will eat it up every single time. I did a lot of squealing and maniacal laughing (think Pepé the King Prawn), reading this book. There might have been unhinged texts to my bestie including “Tell me why Ellis talking about his feelings is like one of the sexiest things ever?!?” and “he’s down sooo bad”.

Pretty much the perfect specimen for how a second chance romance should be written – they were both so vulnerable and open with one another and it just made it feel all the more real to see what went wrong the first time, and how they would work to make sure it went right forever.

Ohhh and getting to catch up with Sage and Fisher, being back in Spunes, Oregon AND we get to see Deacon and LaRynn from the Co-Op. Sooooo good!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided to me through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Tarah DeWitt and St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

This second chance romance brought everything to the table. Love, loss, hope, heartache, and understanding.

Wren and Ellis are so unmatched, alone and as a couple. They loved hard, and in the end, they had to walk away from another….. But not forever. Their journey to find themselves for themselves and each other was raw, emotional, and honest. They wanted to be better for each other, their son, and their families.

The banter and tension between Wren and Ellis made this book so hard to put down. While some moments had me in tears, I also laughed. The story is really well written, I ended this book with no lingering thoughts or questions. I also felt that this story can be very relatable, married, or divorced. It made me look at my own marriage and what I appreciate about it. As someone who solely reads romance, I have never found myself thinking about my life and how it could relate to what I’m reading, and for me, that made me love this book more. I could not recommend this book enough.

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

There is something so captivating in Tarah’s books. The way she captures feelings, even the simplest sentences are so damn emotional. Admittedly I was not someone who held on to the “she’s still a Byrd” from Savor It but god was I wrong for that!!!! I have fallen so hard for these characters and their love and their determination to get it right this time around. Watching these two find their way back to each other ripped my heart out in the best way. I loved seeing the work that Ellis put in, he knew he needed to show Wren things would be different now and wasn’t shy to vulnerability and communication even when it didn’t come naturally. The history that Tarah manages to give us without dual timelines was magic, so easy to see who both Ellis and Wren were throughout the years of growth and change of their relationship. It’s so clear they never fell out of love but are also learning to love each other all over again. I was so emotional reading this and I’ll be thinking about “I’ll save you a seat” forever. (Also are we getting a Silas book because I fear I won’t be able to handle that)

I LOVED this book. LOVED this book. Tarah Dewitt must be some kind of writing goddess because she can do no wrong. The emotional depth, the scenery, the longing, the character depth, the character growth, THE MUSTACHE. Left of Forever had it all. I’m kinda obsessed with Spunes and would like to love there ASAP

After the divorce, Wren and Ellis are forced to live their lives separately after so many years together. Being together since they were 17 and 18 years old, they find it hard to imagine a life without each other. 5 years after the divorce, they come together to send their son, Sam, off to college. Ellis has more planned than just a send off trip, which leads to more than just saying their goodbyes to their boy.

This book was honestly so much better than Savor It. I'm not sure if it's because all the characters were already established. It just seemed so much more structured and less chaotic. I really loved the premise of it all and I loved Ellis! He was such a family man with a good heart. I loved how he so easily took care of everyone. It makes me wonder why they even got divorced in the first place.

Romance novels have a way of being unrealistic, and this one seemed to be that way. Sam was conveniently such a good kid and didn't have any teenage angst issues. Ellis conveniently loved Wren despite the divorce, it didn't seem like they were any qualms. It just didn't feel that believable as to why they even got divorced in the first place. I've read some second-chance romances in the past and this seems to be the most unrealistic of them all. But I guess that's the beauty of fiction novels?

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

Tarah just hits every dang time! I loved this one, just like I loved all the others. Great read with characters I cared about and a storyline I wanted to see to completion!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of Left of Forever by Tarah Dewitt.

I had a feeling this was going to be one of my top romance reads of the year, and it still managed to blow my expectations out of the water. Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt is, without question, the best second-chance romance I’ve ever read. And that’s saying something, because it’s not even my go-to trope. But DeWitt completely nailed it with Ellis and Wren.

She set things up so beautifully in Savor It (book one in the series), where you catch the spark between two people who clearly still have feelings but need time and space. In Left of Forever, she explores what happens when people take the time to grow, reflect, and then rediscover what’s been there all along. The emotional depth, the vulnerability, the slow rebuilding, it’s all just so well done.

This book is thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly relatable, even if you’ve never been in a similar situation. It’s a story about love, identity, and choosing each other again after life has happened in between. I can’t recommend it enough.

While Left of Forever can technically be read on its own, I highly recommend starting with Savor It to get a better sense of the characters, the town of Spunes, and the beautiful dynamic of the Byrd family. It makes the experience that much richer.

I’ve never highlighted so much in a book. So many lines felt like they were written just for me, and I think a lot of readers will feel the same. I sincerely hope Tarah DeWitt continues this series. I am not ready to leave this world behind and can’t wait to revisit Spunes again.

The romance was ROMANCING with this book and I absolutely am here for it. I love a second chance romance any day but I don’t usually like marriage in distress because I often find them depressing. I think because Wren and Ellis have been separated for 5 years this gave off more second chance romance vibes, and because there was very little resentment or anger between the couple it worked so much better for me. I loved Ellis and was eating up every single thing he said and did. I loved the way Tarah wove letters that gave flashbacks to their previous relationship throughout so we could understand more but not have to have an actual time hop. I also loved their trip and the funny little things that happened along the way. Ellis’ siblings are so fun and gave the story a lighthearted feel. I sincerely hope we get Silas and Micah’s stories next. This book just really was so romantic, and I don’t usually feel that way about romance books (ironically enough). The way the characters felt about each other and expressed that had me swooning left and right. A 5 star read for me all around!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really really enjoyed this one!! Perhaps even loved...with some minor bones to pick, ha.

Given that this is a story about a divorced couple finding their way back to each other, I kind of expected more discussion around their divorce, how to make amends, and just MORE in that category. I felt like they went from not speaking for FIVE YEARS to flirting and hooking up. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed those bits but I'd like to think there was more emotional trauma associated with a LONG relationship ending in DIVORCE. It seemed like they just needed a couple deep discussions to make amends and it made me wonder why they couldn't do that 5 years ago. I realize they changed as people and worked on themselves, but.... not that much. It doesn't seem like either of them changed all that much, they were already good people with minor flaws. Alas, this is fiction and it was cute and I flew through it! The road trip aspect was fun as cute as well.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC!

Even if I had everything left of forever, it wouldn’t be enough time to gush about this book. Tarah set the stage for the Bryds’ stories in Savor It, and Left of Forever took over and dug into the very nuanced relationship between Ellis and Wren. Sometimes getting back together with your ex is a terrible idea, but other times it’s not about getting back together - it’s about starting over after life has changed you. Tarah did a wonderful, soul altering-worthy job of picking this all apart and putting it together in something better than it was before. It was a joy seeing the other Bryds and diving into Ellis’ head, and I wish there would be more to come.

cute and sweet. nothing special but enjoyable and all the characters are fun. Curious to see who Micah and Silas will end up with

Second Chance is one of my favourite romance tropes. It's insta-love without the cringe, with deep respect and love and admiration; it's slow burn and yearning but with fantasies fueled by memories instead of infatuation. And this, THIS my friends....is the perfect second chance romance.

Ellis and Wren are childhood sweethearts who married young after Wren got pregnant at 17. They drifted apart and divorced about five years ago, but now their son is off to college and they're young empty nesters...who have never been able to forget each other. After an epistolary twist of fate, Ellis convinces Wren to take a road trip with him after they drop Sam off - one last chance to see if they can patch their love back together.

This is a story full of love, growth, vulnerability, and oh my god, the emotion. And the spice. And the love. These two have been goners for one another from the start—it never stopped; life just got in the way, as it does. And now they're adults and finally able to try and get past the heartbreak and the changes to truly see one another and figure out if they can give one another what's left of forever.

I'm still crying while I think about it now, over 24 hours after I finished it. This is a special one. Thank you, thank you, thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this one in advance and spread the word - please add this to your summer road trip romance pile. It'll make you believe in love and second chances.

I am obsessed with how this book turned out! I don’t normally gravitate toward older main characters as I often find it so hard to identify with how they are written, but Ellis & Wren are two of the most interesting individuals that it almost felt as though I knew them & was being told the long story on a nightly recap with my best friend! We have a second chance between two parents while they actively attempt another go at their relationship while on a beautiful road trip through California after dropping of their son at college. The story is absolutely beautiful and refreshing 💕 I could read about Wren & Ellis every single day for the rest of my life & still want to know more