Thank you so much Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ALC!

Infinity stars!!

I have loved all of Tarah's books, but this one is on another level for me. This is an all time favorite book that I will be rereading endlessly. Left of Forever is not just a romance book. It's full of found family, heartbreak, tender moments, self discovery, healing, and hope. I found myself relating so much to these characters. This is a soul book for me. Each page made me ache in the best way. By the end, it had completely unraveled me and left me raw. I could seriously go on and on about the masterpiece that this is.

Left of Forever is a second chance romance between Wren and Ellis Byrd. They fell in love as kids, had their son, and then life happened. They end up getting divorced. They're both trying to figure out life without each other. The painful yearning that I felt from them both had me crying several times.

I loved every aspect of this audiobook. Connor Crais portrayed the perfect Ellis Byrd. His deep and gravelly voice fit Ellis's personality perfectly to my brain. Megan Wicks was phenomenal with Wren Byrd. Not only did she portray her attitude spot on, but she also her emotions so well that I couldn't help but be sucked in and sobbing for most of this book. I truly felt as if I was on facetime with them hearing their story. They took two fictional characters and made them REAL for me.

Left of Forever has:
- Second chance romance
- Small town
- They write notes to each other
- Found family
- Firefighter MMC
- Baker FMC
- Road trip
- One tent
- top tier YEARNING

I will be shouting and crying about this one into eternity!

This audiobook is actual perfection. Connor Crais & Megan Wicks were the most perfect narrators to portray Ellis & Wren and I was absolutely feral over the dual narration. 10/10! This is going to be a new comfort listen for me.

I don’t know how but this heightened my reading experience the second time reading this beautiful book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.

When I saw the cover for Left of Forever, I knew I needed to find out more. I haven’t had a chance to read the previous book (Savor It) yet, but I had no issues jumping right into this one.

Left of Forever was an emotional and angsty second chance romance. It’s about love, family, and friendship, but also how love can grow, shift, and sometimes break. For me, the second chance romance trope hinges on the reason for the separation and this one nailed it. It’s so rarely just one thing that breaks a relationship. It’s the culmination of unsaid words, resentments, and ultimately deciding to not to keep choosing the other person. I’ll admit that some of the moments in the book hit especially close to home and I could 100% relate to both Ellis and Wren and understand how everything fell apart. I do wish there would have been an even bigger focus on them communicating honestly with each other instead of physically, but I understand that closeness is a language in itself. I loved how united the Byrd family was (especially in their meddling) and it was beautiful to see everything come full circle in the end.

I read half of the book via ebook and the other half via audiobook. Both narrators did a great job, but I loved Connor Crais’s performance so much, I almost went back to relisten to the first half. lol It was a fun treat to have the audiobook feature duet style text messages and letters too (ie: Connor Crais narrates letters/messages from Ellis while Megan Wicks narrates those from Wren). This was a really wonderful listening experience.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4.5 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 4 stars

CW (from the author):
Ectopic pregnancy—occurs off page
Conversations referencing infertility in the past
Explicit language
Explicit sexual content
Death of an unknown character that occurs off page, caused by a fire

*I voluntarily read and listened to a review copy of this book*

Tarah did it again! I loved Savor It, but Left of Forever hit all the feels and left me swooning. This book was beautiful, moving, and oh so hot. The personal growth by both characters and their no nonsense communication made their connection even hotter once it finally boiled over (again). Connor Crais and Megan Wicks gave wonderful performances and I highly recommend listening to this one. 10/10- no notes.

“One day…when we’re very old and gray…one of us will open our eyes to a day that the other won’t…but we’ll smile knowing how full life has been…knowing how we spent forever…everything left of it…together.” - Wren (cue the tears).

Left of Forever is such a touching second chance romance. Sometimes couples go through things and they are not sure how to come back from it and this book was a perfect example of that. Although Wren and Ellis divorced the love they had for each other shined throughout this book. I thoroughly enjoyed their love and romantic connection and could see how it was possible for them to struggle within their marriage without the loss of love.

For the audiobook performance, my goodness. Connor and Megan did a superb job! I could not stop listening to this audiobook and finished it in one day. They did a great job at making me feel like I was just as invested as they were in the character’s lives. One of my favorites thus far.

🎧
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️
👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏽Second chance
🏡Small town
👧🏼👦🏽Childhood friends
🛏️Forced proximity/one bed
🚗Road trip
👩‍🍳 Baker
👨‍🚒 Firefighter

This book had it all from witty banter and all the emotions to steamy tension and spice!
Divorced couple Ellis & Wren head on a road trip home after taking their son to collage. Their journey home and back to each other will have you feeling all the feels. Ellis is swoon worthy as he pulls all the stops to show Wren that they should try again

This time they’ll get it right. 🙌🏻

Gah I LOVED this book so much.
The writing is so fantastic. Like 🤌🏻🤌🏻 ate it all up and left no crumbs!!

Wren and Ellis quickly became one of my all time favorite couples and I think this book will live in my head rent free for a very long time.

Spicy 🌶️ second chance romance 💝 emotional 🥹
Witty 🙌🏻 so good you can’t put it down ‼️

Pre-order now!! You NEED this one.
Release date: 5/20/25

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much for allowing me to listen to the audiobook for Left of Forever. Tarah DeWitt is an instant buy for me and this book may be in line to be my new favorite. I already knew I would love Wren and Ellis, but wow. The yearning. The yearning from both of them! I love the pacing of the story and the peeks into their early years together. This book had me laughing, crying and squealing. She’s still a bird!!

The audiobook narrators were perfection! I’m obsessed.

P.S. I’m getting greedy, but I need books for Silas and Micah now. I love the Byrds and I need them to all have their HEAs.

THANK you so much to Netgalley and Macmillian Audio for this ALC. Seeing this approval come in on a Monday morning made this the BEST start to week and I’ve been in a giddy mood ever since.

—

There’s very few times where I find a book and just KNOW. I will take in the cover, the title, the description and just KNOW I will be in love. This book had everything I look for in my “perfect romance novel” and it did in fact, DELIVER.

--

The hook:
5 years after Ellis and Wren divorced, they’re sending their son off to college. With the passing of time and with a lot of growth, Ellis and Wren come to realize that maybe their love story isn’t over. They decide to road trip up the California coast on their way back from dropping their son off at college and learn whether they’ll get a chance of taking back what’s left of forever.

--

Here’s the short:

Second chance, friends to lovers
Pregnant and married young (age 17 and 18)
Firefighter x baker
Divorcee’s co-oparenting
Therapy, mental health, growth
Dual POV

--

My overall thoughts:

I think about 15% in, I could already tell this was going to be incredible. Everything just felt like it clicked- the pain and yearning, the frustration, the pride all come together and Tarah makes you FEEL it. I almost don’t know if there’s enough words to properly write this review, but I will try to be as concise as possible because I somehow want to INK this story into my skin.

THE WRITING - absolutely stunning. Powerful and relatable. Tarah has a unique style in which she uses a lot of analogies and connects what she’s explaining to a the most unique descriptors. I’m clearly not able to even express how her words feel. I very rarely feel the need to highlight or pick out a quote from a book. I felt absolutely compelled here and one that stuck out to me was “[the car] smells like him in a an overwhelming way. Something that kicks up an old full body response. I’m a Heinz 57 bottle of emotion, upside down and shaken, waiting for the inevitable plop.” Like are you kidding! I pictured in my head this so visibly, was already in tears at the scene happening and this just made my sob pour out of me like ketchup in a glass bottle. I had to rewind just to listen to it again, stunned that would bring out that emotion in me.

Another quote that made me gasp and again, rewind to immediately hear it once more was “all I know is if I found out that heaven was real and I got there first, I’d hang back in the waiting room and save you a seat”. This WRECKED ME. In the best possible way.

I also loved how Tarah brought in background / explained the meaningful moments in their life when doing “flashbacks”. They’re not flashbacks and that’s what elevated the writing for me. It’s expected that in second chances we have full chapter flashbacks (honestly, like Co-Op which I still loved). But here, she intertwines journaling and reflection to bring back bigger moments that are woven within each POV in current day. And she was able to do so without dragging along. I was glued to this story. I also love how some of the callbacks to their time together before the divorce wasn’t always a linear explanation. Tarah pops in pieces of their past into the current day story relevant to the current experience, rather than in a traditional linear sense of working back up to current day.

I could probably write forever (ha) about the writing, the character growth, the call backs to her other books, etc. But something unique to me and elevates this even more is how the title ties into the story. It’s like a lightbulb moment when you hear the title of the book woven into a story. And it’s easy for that to come across cheesy - this instead felt unique and made me go “OH!”. This made a perfect ending for me, as she once again talked about “taking whatever is left of forever” back. Couldn’t have asked for a better ending to this story.

I felt SO MUCH!!! Ruined me for good and I already can’t wait to listen to this again to experience it all another time.

-

🎧Audiobook specific notes🎧:
-This was dual narration and dual POV
-Although dual, the written communication (letters, emails, texts) are read in duet style (i.e a letter written by the MMC is read by the male narrator even if it’s the FMCs POV
-Connor Crais is an instant listen for me. He is one of my top 3 narrators so I already knew this was going to be great just with him alone.
-Although I recognize Megan Wick’s name, I couldn’t instantly recall her voice. But as soon as I hit play and heard her, I was so happy. She has such a soothing voice it felt like a cozy blanket
-Together their performances were phenomenal and I want more of this combo
-The production felt even more elevated having the letters/emails/texts be read in duet style. It helps so much in audiobooks to clearly define where the page would cut to a written communication. Huge fan of this when it’s not a full duet.
-As a ride-or-die duet narration fan, I would still give this a full 5 stars for audio specifically !

Dual POV
Second chance romance
Small town
Baker x firefighter
Divorced couple
Spicy

Dual Narration - Connor Crais & Megan Wicks
Always love Connor Crais and Megan Wicks was a new narrator to me she did fantastic loved her voice.

This is book 2 in The Spunes series

I found this to be heartwarming and sweet. The story follows Ellis and Wren high school sweethearts, friends all their lives and young parents who married young and lost connection after going through some tough times.

You follow them on the road back to each other. They learn to communicate and listen to each other. So sweet and I loved every minute of this book. Would definitely recommend to a friend!

Thank you Netgalley, MacMillan audio and st martins Press for the e-Arc and alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. What an absolute perfect book top to bottom. I loved the dual narration I loved the second chance I loved the connection after years I loved the whole thing. This is her best book and I will absolutely need a copy for my shelf.

5/5☆

Suggest giving it a try

4.5 Stars!

A heartfelt story of second chances!

Thank you Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for my #gifted ARC.

Wren and Ellis met in elementary school and loved each other for as long as they can remember. Wren got pregnant with Sam young and they married young. After years of infertility and family stress, they grew emotionally distant and divorced. Now they're dropping their son off at college and realize they've never gotten over their first loves.

Ellis proposes an opportunity to spend time together after they drop Sam off at school to unpack some of the difficult things they went through. He plans an adventure for them at different stops and Wren sets some guidelines for their time together.

This story just spoke to my heart!! Wren and Ellis are each working on themselves and the role they played in the ending of their relationship and they were willing to work through the hard things that got them where they are now. It was emotional and raw and filled with so much love between each other and the extended family.

"She's still a Byrd!"

"I started writing, thinking it would help me sort of reveal the ugly truth of things, and instead, I keep remembering a lot of good."

"(We) let life chip and file away at us until our edges were too dull to catch on each other and keep hold."

"I promise I'll fight with you more... I'll fight for you more too..."

April 2025: I had the opportunity to preview the Audiobook. Loved even more quotes from the story. They did a great job finding narrators that fit the vibe of the characters well. They brought out the emotion of story and I ended up crying during the epilogue at the end.

This story won't be for everyone as it's pretty spicy, but if you're looking for a heartfelt story with a second chance at making a marriage work, this is a gem!

Romance Content: Multiple open-door scenes and language

This book RUINED me! Ellis and wren are perfect. This book is perfect. I have NO NOTES. I take 10 more Tarah books!

Left of Forever: ★ ★ ★ ★ . 5

Tarah DeWitt

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

Wren and Ellis Byrd have been divorced for five years. But when they take a road trip to move their son into college, it's so hard for all of the emotions to not come flooding back.

Tropes:
— Second chance
— Forced proximity
— Road trip

Another Tarah DeWitt banger, I fear. This boooook wow. Anyone who knows me knows that I have been waiting for this book since the second that I read Savor It. I wanted “She’s still a Byrd” ingrained on my heart and that’s how I feel about this entire book. It was such a tender, sweet and loving story about two people who never really fell out of love with one another, but are still falling in love with each other all over again and realizing that that same love was what somehow drove them apart. I just adored the level of communication that the two of them had and how well they work together and wanted to be better for/to one another. There is literally no doubt that Wren & Ellis Byrd are cut from the same fibers of the universe.

Ellis. Wow. What an incredible character. I feel like he may come off as grumpy to some people, but honestly, he is the caretaker of his family and everybody around him and the way that he feels like he needs to internalize all of his feelings and keep everything to himself so that he can keep holding everybody else up is so relatable. He’s just… such an amazing man. He’s GOOD. That’s what he is. He’s a really good man.

And Wren, oh my goodness. She is such a real and raw embodiment of feminine love and the perfect complement to Ellis. While he is holding up everybody else around him, she is holding him up with a quiet, steadfast love from a heart that beats FOR HIM. She loves him SO much and it’s just so heartwarming to read how she feels about him!!

The audio is SINFULLY good. Megan Wicks and Connor Crais are masters at their craft and bring Ellis, Wren and their story to life PERFECTLY. I absolutely loved listening to this one.

Left of Forever made me wanna find a husband, marry him, divorce him and then five years later, fall back in love with him. It really has me yearning for heartache just so I can heal.

I love love love the Byrds and love stories by Tarah DeWitt!

A divorced couple take an empty nest road trip - not such a unique story, but adding super-spice to the mix made this an unexpected read.

Wren and Ellis Byrd drop their son off at college and explore the unlikely idea of reconciliation. Their teenage romance led to a pregnancy they were unprepared for and readers get to examine the mistakes they made along the way as they reflect on their past relationship. Will spoken words, written words and physical attraction clarify how the future might play out? Will they have the courage to listen to the voice that really matters?

On their way back to their small town in Oregon the most pressing question seems to be, “Will they find their way home?”

Narrators Megan Wicks and Connor Crais provide an excellent performance and their vocal talents are incredibly compatible in the main character roles.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Net Galley for the early audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Quick Summary: A finding our way back romance

My Review: Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt is a 2025 release.

About the Book: "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.

Will they make the most of what’s left of forever? Or will they let each other go for good?"

In My Own Words: An emotionally charged explosion of love, forgiveness, grace, and growth

About the Characters:

Wren - > Two words that come to mind in relation to Wren are hurting and healing. This character was strong, but she was also in a tender season of life. So much of what she was dealing with stemmed from a place of brokenness. It was the what comes after the brokenness phase that I truly saw her heart for those she cared for. With that said, I was able to see glimpses of the woman underneath during the flashbacks of what was.

Ellis - > This man broke my heart with his love for Wren. He also put it back together again, as he boldly engaged in a campaign to win her over. His life had not been easy, but he was determined to make the most of it. His words...whew! I melted.

Sam - > It was nice to see the pre and post view of his life, regarding his parents. Further, I loved that he was able to express his honest feelings about what was happening with them.

The Byrds - > Loved them all!!! (Might I have more?)

About the Audiobook: This book was narrated by Connor Crais and Megan Wicks. They did an exemplary job. From start to finish, I was locked in. The way they were able to express the raw emotions and feelings of Wren and Ellis was truly outstanding. I listened to them in one sitting. They made this romance incredibly entertaining and quite memorable.

My One Word Reaction Post Reading/Listening: Passionate

My Final Say: This story... A standing ovation is totally deserved.

This novel was a full circle love story. It was perfectly imperfect and oh so real. I devoured it, and I would do it again easily. What can I say that would properly communicate just how good this book is? I don't have the words. All I know is that this little treasure gets my highest gemstone rating.

Other: Readers who enjoy second chance romances, parent trap scenarios, and family rich love stories will fall in love with this book.

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Favorites Shelf: Yes
Besties Shelf: Yes
Read on Repeat Shelf: Yes
Status/Level: 💖💖💖💖💖 + 💎
Audiobook: Yes
Narration: +

Heartfelt appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Macmillan Audio), and to NetGalley. Thank you so very much for granting access to a digital ARC of this wonderful title in exchange for an honest critique. It was my absolute pleasure to review this work. Every word that I have shared is my own and has been submitted voluntarily. I am grateful for the opportunity. I look forward to reading more from this writer.

This story offers a refreshing and realistic take on second-chance love, especially when a child is part of the picture. It captures the emotional complexity of rebuilding a relationship with authenticity, showing that love isn’t always neat or easy.

Rather than leaning on a perfect “happily ever after,” it explores the kind of love that grows through real-life challenges. It reflects what many modern families face—uncertainty, healing, and the hard work of choosing each other again. A grounded and honest portrayal that stands out in the genre.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this gem!

Narration 5 ⭐️

When @authortarahdewitt announced this book I was screaming and packing my literary bags for a return trip to Spunes (not to be confused with Forks- IYKYK)

Anywho.. Wren & Ellis’ story is nothing short of beautiful. Heartbreaking, hopeful, healing, humorous, and just plain beautiful.

I think any “old married couple” can see a bit of themselves in this story and really resonate. AND YES, coming up on our 10 year wedding anniversary I’m including myself in that description

this book was good! I read the epub version and was lucky enough to also receive the audio. the narrators were great and kept me engrossed in the story. overall, I really do love a second chance romance and this was one was at it at its best. I enjoyed seeing some glimpses of the past and how it mostly stayed in the present. I also loved seeing characters from book 1... I sense this will be turning into a small town series and I cant wait for the next book! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc.