Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review
What a fantastic follow-up to Savor It. They are interconnected standalones, but if you’ve been following me for a while you know I like to read these in order. And I’m glad I did with this series as well.

Ellis and Wren are introduced in Savor It and Tarah includes an author’s note about how Ellis and Wren immediately spoke to her and basically forced themselves to have their own story and space. I think it is so amazing when characters demand to be made.

I was so invested from the jump. Wren and Ellis have never really known life without each other—childhood friends to high school sweethearts, to young parents, and the transition into adulthood; being responsible for so many others, making sacrifices, going through big life events and heartbreaks (TW: labor complications, infertility, miscarriage, parent death). Life can really be a b—.

This journey was full of raw and tender moments, intimacy, vulnerability, spice and lots of really funny bits as well.

I just gobbled this right up and want more Tarah please!

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

Wren and Ellis' story is one to pick up if your looking for something raw and real that makes you feel every emotion possible in a span of 336 pages.

Wren and Ellis are childhood soulmates pulled apart by nothing more then the circumstances of life. Five years after their divorce they embark on a roadtrip to drop their son off at college and examine what went wrong in their relationship and evaluate if its possible that they still belong together.

“I think you and I are worth seeing about. Even if all that comes from it is a … a happier ending. Closure.”

It was funny and sad and romantic and everything under the sun. The relationship felt very raw and honest.

Unfortunately, I did find that the first half of the book was a little dragged out for me but the second half had me in alllllll my feels!! This was my first Tarah DeWitt book and most certainly will not be my last! Thank you SMP for the eARC!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Griffin for the ARC! The anticipation I had for Wren and Ellis’s story did not disappoint in the slightest. I was so interested in their back story in Savor It, and when I saw this sequel involved their characters I couldn’t get my hands on it fast enough. Their childhood sweetheart romance and pregnancy pushed them together at a formative time of their lives. When their lives lead them to divorce, they make it work coparenting for their son up until his high school graduation. With unresolved feelings and a necessary road trip to drop their son at college, they decide to give themselves one more chance to see if they really are soulmates. Capital S Swooning for their love.

*Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Tarah DeWitt never fails to write captivating stories, full stop.

But this one was certainly something. High school sweethearts turned divorcées suddenly getting their second chance at love? Yes please. And then adding in all of my favorite tropes like a small town atmosphere, epistolary elements, and road tripping? Sold. It certainly didn't hurt that the plot and writing were great though.

The dual narration was impeccable, especially with Connor Crais's deep timbre. It really felt like he was Ellis with his gruff mannerisms and ooey gooey center. And the way that everyone was pulling for Wren and Ellis to get back together? My heart. I hope that every brother gets a book because I am dying to see Silas and Micah get their happily every afters.

I'm speechless and can't stop crying 😭 There is absolutely nothing I could write that would capture how much I loved this book... but I'll try.

Tarah DeWitt is now THE queen of heartbreakingly beautiful second chance romances. I didn't want Wren and Ellis' story to end. The message of hope penned in these pages stirred the dormant hope in my own heart and I'm absolutely undone. Like, can you love a book so hard that it makes you ill? That's how I feel right now. Wren and Ellis' story is one I will never forget and one I plan to revisit time and again.

It was fun to see a cameo of LaRynn and Deacon from The Co-Op and then of course, Sage and Fisher and Indie from Savor It, as well 🥰 I eagerly await to be reunited with the Byrd family in Spunes, Oregon for at least two more books, right? We need books for Silas and Micah now! Again, I feel like a changed person after reading this book... how on earth does Tarah do it?!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️

“She’s kissing me.
Her lips are on mine after five long years.
Five hundred years.
She's kissing me.
I'm home.” 🥹

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I was blushing and kicking my feet as I read this whole book. 🤭 I LOVE a second chance romance. 🥹🥹🥹

“She’s still a Byrd.” @authortarahdewitt Ellis and Wren are everything. 🥰

#bookstagram #romancebookstagrammer #romancebooks #romancebookrecs #tarahdewitt

The moment I read Savor It last year I hoped we would get the story of Wren and Ellis. I was immediately drawn to them and let me tell ya Tarrah Dewitt delivered with this one. She did not disappoint in giving us this stunning second chance romance.

Ellis is a man who YEARNS let me tell ya. Ugh my heart just went out to him because it was so obvious how much he still loved his wife and desired to be with her. These two made me laugh and cry and broke my heart and put it back together. And I LOVED the communication in this one. I felt like they were very honest and open and didn’t sugarcoat things but rather spoke truth and gave voice to their hurts and concerns because they knew that was the only way they could be better and restore what was broken. Their journey felt realistic and I really enjoyed watching them find their way back to one another. I also felt like the more sensitive issues of this book were handled realistically and with so much care. Their story was completely worth the wait and I enjoyed it all so much.

Thank you to SMP and the author for the ARC!

👍🏻Read If You Like:
•second chance romance
•healthy communication
•childhood sweethearts
•road trips

🛑Content Warnings
•divorce
•infertility
•ectopic pregnancy
(All in the past)

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Open Door Romance
Closed Door Mods: End of chapter 4, End of ch. 23, End of ch. 27, End of ch. 29-Ch. 30, Last half of ch. 33-start of ch. 34, End of ch. 36

I am normally not a fan of second chance romance, but Tarah DeWitt continues to change my mind about tropes! I loved the way the second chance element was handled, and she continues to do a wonderful job creating imperfect but lovable characters. A fun, heartfelt read.

So good to be back in Spunes! I absolutely love Tarah’s style and this little world she’s created. Wren and Ellis’ story is raw, real, and emotional. This is a character driven story, and they were easy to relate to and root for. Tarah takes us up the California coastline with her descriptive and vivid writing, and I loved every second of it.


𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 ⇣
Small town
Second chance
Divorced
Parents to a teen
Firefighter MMC
Roadtrip
Only one bed
Found family
Dual POV
Spice

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

I love a Tarah DeWitt Contemporary Romance, and this series is so comforting to me. I was a bit nervous going in because second chance is not a favorite trope and some of the triggers listed at the start can be a bit tricky for me to navigate. All this being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. DeWitt navigates some very heavy and real situations with care and finesse. I highly recommend this book and series for beginner romance readers and those of us who have been reading the genre for awhile.

Tarah has written the ultimate second chance with Wren and Ellis Byrd. Their story is a beautiful yet emotional ride that shows the ups and downs that come with marriage. The history between these two is decades long moving from childhood friends to lovers who find themselves pregnant in high school and later divorced— in between it all it seems they lost touch with themselves and one another. After almost 5 years they both realize they never were really ready to let go of the idea of forever with one another. When events align, Ellis suggests a road trip together with the hopes of seeing if something is left between them.

Wren and Ellis are wonderfully written and relatable characters. You see them find themselves, together and separately, while also finding a way to open up to one another about some of the hardest moments in their marriage. It is clear that the love these two share is real and raw, made to make the long haul. Their love story simultaneously set my soul on fire and destroyed my heart. I found myself crying for easily 70% of the book, seeing so much of myself in Wren. Wren and Ellis’ journey lifted the veil on marriages and what can happen to the best of them when life happens and we forget to take care of or don’t always get it quite right with those we love the most!

Left of Forever is an absolute must read between the story line, character development and overall power it has to show two people finding their way back to one another.

Thank you Tarah and NetGalley for this eARC for review. This was an honor and joy to read!

Thank you @stmartinspress and @NetGalley for my copy!

This is book # 2 in the Spunes series, but it can be read as a stand-alone, and I loved getting to revisit this small town. This book is such a great second chance romance!! Ellis and Wren are dropping their son off at college, they go on a road trip together on the way back after Ellis suggests it as a way to see if they can reconnect. I loved Wren and Ellis together. I loved how vulnerable they were with each other, and also focused on what didn’t work for them in the past. There was so much emotion, mutual pining, and tons of sweet moments. Also, their chemistry was sizzling. If you are a fan of second chance romance, add this one to your TBR!

Read if you enjoy:
✔️Second chance
✔️Divorced couple
✔️Road trips
✔️Small town
✔️Dual POV

“It terrifies me to think I might’ve let this life go by without finding my way back to you. Never again, Wren. I promise.”

“We have whatever’s left of forever, you and me.”

Infinity stars. No notes. This was such a beautifully written second chance romance that I couldn't put down. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. Ellis is the new standard for book boyfriends and I'm not sure how he'll ever be topped.

📖 Review
5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2.5 🌶️ 🔥

Favorite quotes from book:
💗︀“ℐ 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓈 𝓎ℴ𝓊, 𝓉ℴℴ 𝓈ℴ𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝑔𝓁𝒾𝒷. 𝒴ℴ𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓋ℯ 𝒷ℯℯ𝓃 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓇ℴ𝓂 𝓂ℯ 𝒾𝓈 𝓂ℴ𝓇ℯ 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝓊𝓇𝒶𝓉ℯ.
𝒯𝒽ℯ𝓇ℯ'𝓈 𝒶 𝓋ℴ𝒾𝒹 𝓌𝒽ℯ𝓇ℯ 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓁𝒾𝓋ℯ𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓂ℯ“

💖"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."

❤️‍🔥 “If you're lost, I'll find you.
I'll give you my body, my heart.
and my soul.
I'll cherish every bit of yours in
return.
I'll fight with you. I'll fight for you.
I'll love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get”

Left of Forever follows Wren and Ellis on their journey back to each other 💜 we first met Wren and Ellis in “Savor it”.
It is not necessary to read Savor it first, in order to enjoy Left of Forever! Although, I did enjoy having the knowledge from a lot of the characters.
Wren and Ellis pulled at my heart strings 🥹
It was so refreshing reading a book, that outlined what comes after the HEA. Their love was so pure and it was such a pleasure reading them falling back into each other. I laughed, I cried and I definitely swooned over Ellis. Ellis was the perfect MMC, because he wasn’t perfect! He wasn’t super romantic and full of big gestures, but Ellis’ love was big and didn’t need to huge gestures.
This was truly a joy to read and I would 100% recommend this book and author!

Infinity stars. Tarah Dewitt will forever be an auto buy author for me.

Left of Forever was just one of those heart warming, brain chemistry altering books. Ellis and Wren were written with so much depth and character. It was refreshing to highlight full pages of quotes and inner monologues. I haven’t done that in a long time.

The story. My word. I am truly speechless. I knew I was going to be emotional from the start. There’s something about a second chance romance that I can’t even begin to describe it. Hopeless romantic in me maybe? But it goes to show that people can change and evolve, even when they’re still healing and finding themselves.

There’s beauty in the breakdown.

Dual POV, Spicy, Second Chance, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Care Taking, One Bed, Meddling Family, Hidden Identity, Journal Entries/Letters, Therapy Rep, Baker FMC x Fight Fighter MMC, Road Trip, Small Town

After reading the line 'She's still a Byrd.' in Savor It (Book 1 in series - which if you haven't read you really should 5stars!) I knew if we were given a story about Wren and Ellis it would be one of the most romantic and moving books to grace readers. And god, this book is reads like a love letter to hope and cherishing the small moments before they pass you by. There's something about two people deeply yearning for each other while recognizing things need to change in order for a relationship to work.
Left of Forever is deeply romantic, unflinchingly emotional, while still providing moments of levity and hopefulness. Which is why I'm optimistically hopefully this isn't the last us readers will be seeing of the chaotic but undeniably loveable Byrd family.

Big thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. EASY 5 stars. I think this might be my favorite romance book at the moment, honestly 😭 I just loved everything about it. It had emotional depth, it was hilarious, and it was super hot.

Wren was an amazing FMC. I really felt for her, and I was so proud of her as she worked on her communication skills throughout the story 🥹 Ellis was the perfect book boyfriend. He was so attentive and sweet with Wren, and I loved how much effort he put into winning her back. His growth was incredible! I was also so happy to see Sage and Fisher again, my babies 🫶🏻

I’m seriously so excited to re-read this and annotate it. I also can’t wait to dive into more books by Tarah DeWitt because I adore her writing style.

You should read this book if you love:
- Second chance romance 💕
- Road trip/vacation vibes ☀️
- Small-town settings 🏡
- Good food (because the food descriptions seriously made me hungry) 🍩
- Honestly, just read it. It’s amazing. 🫵🏻

I was lucky enough to read an early version of @authortarahdewitt ‘s masterpiece last year - I couldn’t put it down so I read late into the night while crying quietly into my pillow.

And then I had the same experience with probably even more emotions (the epilogue!) when @youhadmeathea kindly sent me an early copy.

This book is for the ones who have had life throw them curveballs time and again. Who have realized that, sometimes, love alone isn’t enough. Those who have been in a relationship so all-encompassing that you don’t know where you end and the other person begins, and yet you’ve found yourself growing apart while trying to heal your own self.

I’ve said to Tarah many times, but I think this is her magnum opus. This book is one of the most raw and gutwrenching books about marriage and second chances I’ve ever read. And yet there’s a hopefulness woven throughout, a belief that most meaningful things in life can be fought for.

Ellis and Wren are already divorced for years when we meet them and are at a crossroads where they’re navigating a new stage of their lives - their son going off to college. And that simple premise gets us a beautiful story about forgiveness, the power of communication, and what it means to want to try with another person.

I started crying around chapter 2 and pretty much continued for the whole book. There is something so potent about second chance romances and not getting flashbacks made this all the more powerful because you see Ellis and Wren deal with the here and now.

I love Ellis and Wren as individuals and together. They’re imperfect and flawed and doing their best with the emotional tools they were given. And even though it’s not exactly the same situation, their struggles in a long term relationship with children and infertility hit so close to home. Marriage, LIFE, is hard and this doesn’t shy away from that fact.

And yes I cried a lot but, because it’s Tarah this book is also so funny and horny, too. Silas, Ellis and Fisher? Comedy trio of my dreams. And Wren and Ellis together are HOT (and I’m not talking about the chili).

Tarah, you’ve created magic. Thank you for your words.

I have been waiting for these characters to have a book since reading Tara Dewitt’s first book in this series. This book was different due to the fact the two main characters were divorced. This is not common in romance books and I didn’t think I would like it. I’m glad that I gave it a chance because this book was one of my top books for this year. Wrenn and Ellis have so much chemistry from beginning to end. I was rooting for them from the very beginning. This book had humor, romance, and also characters going through divorce and finding there way back to each other.

ARC Review

Thank you Netgalley, Tarah, and St. Martin's Press for the free eArc!

IT HURT SO GOOD!!!!!!!!! The angst, the yearning, the pain, the personal growth, the wanting. It all just came together to create a book that had everything I could have wanted from this story. There was so much magic woven into this story. It is a beautiful reminder that some things in life are worth fighting for, worth fighting with!

I could not put this book down once I got into it. I physically felt the pain and angst from Wren and Ellis. These two were the embodiment of right person/wrong time. Childhood friends, turned accidental teenage pregnancy, turned married, turned divorced, turned second chance lovers. The road is a bumpy one, but trust the process because the way these two grow was SO good!!!

The way they both own up to their mistakes, and take accountability of their actions was so good. The way they both had so much personal growth after their divorce had me tearing up the entire time.

I loved every single moment of this book!