If Tarah Dewitt has no fans, I’ve left the Earth. Wren and Ellis are absolutely perfect and so is this book. I knew from the moment I highlighted “She’s still a Byrd.” in Savor It that Wren and Ellis’ story was going to ruin my life, and I was correct.

This is my favorite type of second chance romance, and it was written in such a clever way. I loved that our leads clearly communicated their intentions from the very beginning of the book, making the stakes even higher because they were actively trying to fix things, not accidentally falling back in love.

Tarah’s writing style is so beautiful. Some of the quotes in this book will stick with me forever, and she has such a unique way of stringing sentences together that are so impactful.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for this ARC via NetGalley.

❤️‍🩹 Thank you to St Martin's Press, Netgalley, and the incomparable Tarah Dewitt for this ARC.

I fell in love with Wren & Ellis back in Savor It, and getting to read their story felt like a gift. I mean "she's still a Byrd" is iconic at this point.

I've now read five of Tarah DeWitt’s books, and this is her best yet. Her writing is raw, poetic, and deeply human.
Romance novels often focus on falling in love, but what happens after The End?

Wren and Ellis fell in love as teens, got pregnant young, and life slowly pulled them apart and they eventually divorced. Now, with their son Sam moving away for school, they take a trip together - one last chance to reconnect.
This story is about showing up. From the start, both Wren and Ellis wanted this. They didn’t shy away from the hard conversations, and that emotional honesty made this book hit even harder.
And Ellis? This man has done👏the👏work👏
The letters? I have no words. Just tears.

As expected, this book tore me apart and put me back together. 2025 is clearly the year of second chance romances, and by now, you all know how much this trope means to me. I’m already counting down the days for more stories from Spunes (not Forks 😉) Silas? Micah? 👀

One million freaking stars. Will probably be my favorite book of 2025, I truly don’t see how anything can top this book. The book is the blue print for all second chance romances.

Very heartfelt book, I enjoyed it and will read more by this author! I’m also semi in love with this cover.

Summertime means lots of vacation-y related books. You know, books about beaches or road trips.

Left of Forever involves a road trip…by former spouses.

Wren and Ellis Byrd have cordially co-existed in their small town of Spunes, Oregon. When their son Sam is accepted into a Californian college, Ellis convinces Wren to take a road trip on the way back from dropping him off. But is the gorgeous scenery, the time together, and the thought of maybe giving things a second shot enough to change things between the couple?

If you want a sweet, second-chance romance story with incredibly well developed characters—read this! Even if you normally aren’t a fan of second chance romance—read this! Along with well developed characters, DeWitt skillfully shows character growth as the two main characters journey towards each other again. I enjoyed this sweet story and am excited to delve into more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tarah Dewitt, and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this one more than I did. It was a really well written second chance but it felt hard to believe and I would’ve loved to have had more outer/outward interaction/narration.

This is second chance romance done right. Two people who had life get in the way of a real love. I loved their romance and I loved their friendship. Dewitt is one of my favorite romance authors of all time!

Okay, Tarah. You have become the Queen of second chance romance.

As we follow Wren and Ellis as Sam graduates and goes to college, they go on a week long trip to different places and are able to watch the two divorced co-parents fall back in love with each other. Their relationship is insane, and I firmly believe they needed to divorce to get back to where they belong: with each other.

The spice was spicing and I cannot handle the lust I have for Ellis. All men should be like him, between him being a firefighter and also the lover he is.

I adored this book. I loved Tarah’s first book but this was even better. I loved the concept of a second chance romance. Wren and Ellis were both amazing characters and strong in their own ways. You could see their love from early on and i loved seeing how they worked through their issues and started to communicate. I definitely teared up a few times and this cemented Tarah as a new favorite romance author.

4/5 ⭐️

I liked this but I didn't love it. I loved the second chance, friends to lovers, road trip vibes. Wren and Ellis had chemistry oozing off the pages. There was almost too much going on though, it felt like throwing everything on the page and seeing what stuck. There were letters between them, flashbacks to the past, road trip, his origami birds he would make (that never really mattered). The letters in the beginning sort of set up some of the "tension" between them but it was never a problem. The road trip also didn't start until almost half way through the book which was when it really got started. The structure was just a bit of a mess for me and made it difficult to really get into the book.

Overall a great book, Tarah really is a master in her character writing, but not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tarah DeWitt, and St. Martin's Press for my early access to this.

Damn it, Tarah. This was beautiful. From the moment they started exchanging letters, I knew I was done for. Such a wonderful story of how people grow and change - and how we can grow back together. I also love a MMC that goes after what he wants in a soft way, even when it's difficult. Second chance romances are my freaking favorite.

𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚 🎭: romance
𝙎𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙚: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
𝙋𝙖𝙘𝙚 🏃🏼‍♀️: fast
𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 🖤: low stakes second chances
⚠️: mention of infertility

The Playlist at beginning is a banger. Don't skip that.

I loved the (one-way) anonymous letters back and forth between the two main characters - would have loved to see that continue for more of the book.

There are character cameos from from Savor It, but it can be read independently without missing anything.

By nature of it being a second chance romance, there's some bad communication between the two. BUT there was never really any doubt they'd get back together so the second chance part ends pretty fast in my opinion. Sometimes they can be dragged out really long. This one felt more like they were rediscovering each other as people than fixing old wounds.

Audio was fun. Two narrators makes for a great romance listen. The MMCs voice was 🥵 and I listened right around 1.75x-2x and finished in two sittings.

I knew very early on this was going to be 5 stars, and it lived up the whole way through. There is so much yearning in this book, especially from Ellis, and I loved it. He might also be the first all work, no play Earth sign MMC I have ever loved, which is a testament to Tarah’s writing. There is a tiny bit of regret on every page of this book, which is the perfect mood for a second chance romance. I have no notes. The characters are great; the pacing is great; the serious and levity pieces are perfectly balanced. It’s SO good.

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I was really looking forward to those sequel story by this author however could not and did not want to read past chapter 6. It was very cringe to me in the writing style and feelings of main characters. It is a did not finish for me.

Looved going back to Spunes! I was curious whether Wren and Ellis are going to get their second-chance based on the tension from Savor It and this book did not disappoint. This was an emotional read and it did a beautiful telling of how good thing will come back to you if it's meant to be -Fate (as much as Ellis like to discredit it).

Wren and Ellis were childhood friends first who later fell in love and started a family very early on in their lives. Over time, they've grown comfortable over their lifestyle to the point where they thought they're falling out of love - but that's not the case. There's also the issue of infertility that played a huge part of their fallout.

I love reading about their path to self-healing - which ultimately helped guide to finding each other again and realizing the love they had for each other never died - it just needed some rekindling and good-ole CONVERSATION, lol.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this eARC.

Tarah DeWitt has done it again!

Left of Forever is a real and raw second chance romance full of emotion, love, and so much yearning. The journey of Ellis and Wren coming back to each other and realizing they want to work on their marriage after five years of separation was breathtakingly gentle and captivating. I loved that they didn't avoid hard conversations and knew they had to awork together to move forward. I loved their character growth and that we got to see them at their best and their worst. Their flaws made them feel very real and relatable. If you want a romance full of heart and emotion this is for you!

Left of Forever follows Wren and Ellis - high school sweethearts and now divorced - on a road trip after dropping their son off at college.

While I was reading this, Wren and Ellis's romance rekindling felt rushed, almost so that it didn't feel like it ever fizzled out in the first place. I do appreciate stories that show the importance of couples who got together when they were young needing to grow separately before they can continue growing together. However, something about the pacing felt off to me. I felt like Wren and Ellis never quite stopped being in love with each other, which makes sense given that they played such huge roles in each other's lives from a young age. But, given that, I expected their communication skills to be miles better.

I did love getting to know these characters more after reading about them in Savor It. I wish we had more glimpses into their lives as Sam's parents, but I enjoyed my reading experience nonetheless.

I really loved this story about a couple coming back to each other after being split up for 5 years. The dual POV was enjoyable to read, and I loved that these characters didn’t shy away from big emotions. Bonus points for communication!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
⭐3.5⭐
First off, the cover alone is worth five golden, shining stars! What do they put in the water in Spunes? These characters are just so beautiful to behold and yet so messy and raw. Oh to be Byrd!
I enjoyed reading Wren and Ellis Byrd’s story, but was hoping for more. When you marry young, start a family young, you quickly realize that your whole world has to shift beyond revolving around you. I appreciate that Ellis learns to get help and seek therapy after everything that went down in his marriage, but I would love to see and feel the hard work he daily has to do. I love that he communicates, but I would have really enjoyed seeing healthy conflict resolution play out. Instead we get a more heated/ spicy resolution, which is fine, but can’t always be the answer. You lost years apart from your wife and it feels like nothing is at stake here.
The narrators saved this book and brought Wren and Elis to life!

Thank you @authortarahdewitt, @stmartinpress and @youhadmeathea for the #gifted ebook arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt is an emotional gut-punch in the best way—equal parts raw, romantic, and real. It is one of my top reads of 2025 so far!!!!

Wren and Ellis were each other's first everything: young love, young parents, and, eventually, young exes. Now in their 30s, with their son heading off to college, they take one last road trip together—and it just might change everything.

This second-chance romance wrecked me. Wren and Ellis’s bond feels lived-in and magnetic—charged with all the history, heartbreak, and hope of two people who never really stopped loving each other. The way they faced their past—no sugarcoating, no excuses—felt so authentic. As someone who married young, this story hit especially hard. I felt every ache, every moment of hope, and yes, I sobbed on the beach with zero shame. Their story reminded me that love, especially long-term love, is a choice you make over and over again.

If you love stories about messy, real love, vulnerable conversations, a little steam, and a whole lot of longing—you need this book. I adored being back in Spunes, and I’m not above begging for Silas’s book next.