Left of Forever" follows Wren and Ellis, who had a child together as teenagers and are currently reeling from their divorce five years ago. But their story is far from over. Ellis suggests they go on a road trip to try and rekindle their relationship after dropping their son off at college.

I loved everything about this romance. It starts with somewhat "secret" letters between Wren and Ellis (I always love a good espitolary moment). We get glimpses of the feelings they're still haboring for one another before a road trip full of banter, chemistry, STEAM, many vulnerable moments, tears, and love confessions.

If you've been shouting from the rooftops for authors to bring back yearning and pining, this is THE book for you. Ellis yearns for Wren unlike any other book boyfriend/husband I've seen.

Tarah's writing in this book is also stunning. I wrote down so many beautiful quotes and moments throughout the book that made me smile and cracked my heart open. You can see just a couple of my favorites in this post.

My husband walked in on me crying multiple times while reading about Wren and Ellis finding their way back to each other.

This is EASILY an ♾️ 🌟 read for me. If you haven't picked it up yet, RUN. And read Savor It, the first book in this interconnected standalone series, while you're at it, too.

Second chance romance✅
Characters that I fell in love with ✅
Perfect pacing✅
Spicy romance✅

I will be reading more from this author!!!

Tarah DeWitt really seems to shine with the second chance romance trope, which is not an easy one to master! The conflicts were believable, and it was so emotional and romantic when they rekindled their love.

Literally everything about this book was perfect. I knew before I was even 5% in that this book was going to wreck me, and wreck me it did (in the best way possible, of course). Wren and Ellis - both beautifully written and complex characters on their own, and even more so together. These characters were so well-developed that I was just 1000% IN and felt like I knew them & needed every bit of their story - no detail was too much!

Their banter - I cannot even begin. Each of them had me laughing out loud as I read - from start to finish (I’m still chucking to myself over Nosferatu - IYKYK). But even more than their banter - their love for each other. Sweet baby Jesus. I love their love so much - and the way that they both know and understand each other and then can so easily reflect on their struggles together and then recognize these things as they are happening - hello, growth!

I cried so many times while reading this book, and now that I’ve finished, I don’t know what to do with myself! I really hope we see more of Wren and Ellis at some point, I could do with about 10 epilogues, ma’am.

Rating: 5 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review after reading.

This book was utter perfection! It had everything that I love the most in a romance; small town vibes, forced proximity, slow burn, etc...

I simply couldn't put it down. Ellis and Wren's relationship journey is one for the books and it was so incredibly beautiful to witness. It was obvious that they were meant to be. Cannot wait to read this one again!

I don't think there are enough words in the english language to properly capture how this book made me feel. Tarah has once again given us a full-bodied romance with characters that feel real and a setting that feels like where I want to live. Savor It was our entry point to the small town of Spunes, OR (not to be confused with Forks, WA) and Left of Forever picks things up and expands on our favorite family, the Byrds. It's worth mentioning that Silas and Micah get a decent amount of page time here—perfectly teeing us up for future Spunes love stories.

If you read Savor It and the line "She's still a Byrd" gave you heart palpitations as it did for me, you're going to adore this book. Wren & Ellis have so much history expanded upon in this story, and that contextualized with their current situation(ship) gives their bond so much depth and love and pain. I just want these two to be happy, especially if that means they're together forever. And luckily for all of us, that's what Ellis wants too. 😈

This book made me laugh, cry, and kick my feet up and giggle. I can only say that I can't wait to see what Spunes magic Tarah creates next.

“Left of Forever” is one of those rare romances that doesn’t just tell a love story—it unearths it. Ellis and Wren’s relationship isn’t about falling in love for the first time; it’s about returning to something that never fully left, something that needed time, space, and honesty to be seen clearly again. Their connection doesn’t bloom softly like a spring flower—it crashes in like a tide that’s been held back for years, aching to reclaim the shore.

What makes this story so unforgettable is the way the author blended longing, humor, heat, and healing. & what moved me most was how deeply the story let them unravel—not just together, but individually. Tarah DeWitt doesn’t shy away from showing Ellis and Wren’s flaws, their fears, or the ways they failed themselves and each other in the past. Instead of sweeping their history under the rug, she has them examine it—carefully, painfully, truthfully. Watching Ellis and Wren rediscover each other while also confronting who they’ve become was powerful and deeply emotional.

Favorite moments:
The road trip felt like both a map and a mirror—forcing them to confront what they’ve avoided while also giving them space to fall into old rhythms, the kind only true familiarity can create.

Their use of journaling to communicate wasn’t just a cute gimmick—it felt necessary. There was so much they couldn’t say out loud, so much history and hurt, and the journal/emails gave them a space to be brutally honest without the fear of immediate reaction. Every entry felt like a quiet, aching confession—like they were slowly peeling back the layers they’d built around themselves. It made their reconnection feel even more real and their love more authentic.

The spicy pepper scene was the perfect mix of chaotic, tender—showing how attraction and affection still simmered beneath everything unsaid but how true love requires us to be vulnerable even when it’s not our initial reaction.

Then there’s the gondola ride and post dinner scene—not soft, not sweet, but all heat and urgency. It was the moment their restraint truly cracked open (in my opinion), and every unspoken feeling came through in touches instead of words. And it didn’t feel out of place—it felt earned. Like a release long overdue.

Their families added even more warmth and texture, reminding us that love isn’t just shaped by two people, but by the memories, grief, and ties they carry. And through all those complexities, the motif of home lingered. Because “home” in this book isn’t just a physical place—it’s Ellis in Wren’s soft smiles and kind eyes, Wren in Ellis’s steadiness and rare moments of laughter, it’s their shared love for Sam, and their differences in music taste. It’s the way they come back to each other, again and again, even when it means confronting mistakes and fears.

Overall, Ellis and Wren’s love never stopped existing—it just dimmed in the shadows of loss and exhaustion. Their story is about what happens when two people finally stop burying their feelings and start choosing hope again. Not because it’s easy, but because the love they share is still alive—and this time, they’re prepared to tend to it to keep it burning bright.

By the end, I didn’t just want them to find their way back—I believed in it. I highly recommend this book especially for second chance romance fans. Just be prepared to be fully immersed in all the emotions that come with falling in love too young, falling apart, and the hard work it takes to put jagged pieces back together again.


Thank you to the author, St. Martins Press Griffin, and YouHadMeAtHEA for the e-ARC via NetGalley! This review is my honest opinion.

Left of Forever is one of those books that sneaks up on you emotionally. On the surface, it’s a second-chance romance, but what it really delivers is a masterclass in character growth—especially for two people who thought their story was over.

Wren and Ellis got married young, raised a son, and built a life together in their small hometown. But over time, real-life pressures—like infertility, unspoken grief, and emotional distance—slowly chipped away at their connection until all that was left was the paperwork: divorce. When the book opens, they’re co-parenting amicably, a little awkwardly, and still clearly nursing wounds that haven’t fully healed.

Then comes the road trip. Their son’s off to college, and Wren and Ellis are left in the car together, with hours of highway and years of unresolved tension between them. What follows isn’t just a rekindling of romance; it’s two people being forced to finally say the things they never did the first time around. Through conversations, silences, letters, and some truly tender moments, you get to watch them peel back the layers and confront the versions of themselves they had to become—sometimes for survival, sometimes out of fear.

Wren’s growth is especially striking. She’s spent so long defining herself by motherhood and emotional self-preservation that she almost forgets who she is outside of those roles. Watching her rediscover her voice, her desires, and her softness is incredibly rewarding. Ellis, meanwhile, has to reckon with his tendency to protect by withdrawing. His growth comes in learning to be present, to truly see Wren again—and to let himself be seen, too.

There’s no magical fix here—just vulnerability, communication, and a slow, believable rebuild of trust. Tarah DeWitt handles their emotional arc with so much care and realism, you honestly forget you’re reading fiction. It’s bittersweet, hopeful, and refreshingly mature.

If you’re looking for a second-chance romance that’s less about grand gestures and more about quiet truths and real healing, Left of Forever will hit you right in the heart.

Left of Forever is a second chance romance, the divorced version. Ellis and Wren take a road trip to drop off their son to college, and to see if the fire is really gone after 5 years apart. The playfulness between the two is the kind only those who have known each other since they were kids could know, but they pull their punches because they’ve been there before and they don’t know if they should go back. It was a constant push and pull, of will they or won’t they. Imagine calling your ex “honey” or “baby” as a little game to see who sweats first. We see the dual POV and we’re screaming at our book the whole way through. Ellis and Wren are two people who have known each other their whole lives getting to know each other again, but this time with more honesty, understanding, and grace.

As a 30+ year old, I always find it refreshing to see characters my age in romances. Although I don’t relate to being divorced with a kid, I do relate to growing up and growing apart from others, to how hard it is to find your people the older you get, and just navigating life as an adult cosplaying as an adult who knows what they’re doing.

This book was a great representation of finding your person, finding your home, and finding the courage to try again.

Rating: ♾️⭐️
Spice: Open Door, 🌶️ 🌶️
Media: 🎧/ eARC

This book came for my soul. I can't express how much I felt reading Wren (FMC) and Ellis's (MMC) story. A few chapters in and I was crying. Tarah DeWitt has this way of capturing love; the yearning, the vulnerability, and the wanting to be accepted. It's how she weaves her words to capture the raw ache and desire to be loved.

I was excited for Wren and Ellis's story, so excited that I procrastinated reading their story because I just knew it would wreck me. I wasn't wrong. I've been Team Ellis since he said" She's still a Byrd," in Savor It. Once we got his POV in the first few chapters, I was a goner. I think every chapter I highlighted something from Ellis that made me cry, the man was so down bad. All the work Ellis put in, I could not love him anymore. And then Wren, I loved how independent and strong and authentic her character was. It was an amazing exploration into marriage, a palpable introspection on how love can change and grow or lose its way. There were so many moments I connected with the characters from understanding Ellis's sense of responsibility as the oldest sibling to Wren protecting her heart to their fighting for their love. It was such a sincere and open portrayal of marriage. Relationships aren't always perfect and that's okay but how do you work through it to keep it alive?

There were so many additional elements that I loved; the letter writing, the road trip, and the scheming family members. The pining and yearning were top tier. The little snippets into other characters lives in the book were so fun to read. The adventures in the road trip were so wholesome and the questions and Ellis's answers, the entire emotional journey was incredible and nuanced. The Byrds are perfect. My brain permanently resides in Spunes, Oregon. I love Silas and I need more of him in my life. Honestly, when I finished this book, my first thought was this is how you write a romance novel.

This is one of my top reads of 2025. It was beautifully written and heartwrenching.

Thank you to Tarah DeWitt and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

My absolute favorite second chance romance ever!! Seriously THIS BOOK 🥹 a new all time favorite. I could tell just a few pages in that I was going to love this one. The letters they sent 🧡 ugh so romantic. I loved their characters individually. But together they were truly perfect. I felt that their issues were completely relatable. Tarah touched on some very emotional topics. It was written beautifully. I recently read Savor It and I loved that one as well and I was so grateful I didn’t have to wait to hear Ellis and Wren’s story. Because as good as Savor It is, this was better! I admired how dedicated Ellis is to his family. Their love story felt very real and raw. The journey to finding their way back to each other made me swoon, cry and laugh. Everything I want from a romance book. I listened to this on audio and the emotions were portrayed so perfectly!! You could hear the yearning in their voices. I loved it 🧡

At some point, when I was reading this beautiful second chance romance, I started thinking about the reasons why I’m drawn to the romance genre so much. I’m almost exclusively a romance reader and the reason started to slowly dawn on me the deeper I got into the book. Romance is that rare genre built on the premise of hope. Think about it. You have two or more characters, human or otherwise, searching for something, whether it be someone to call their own or a place to belong to, a community to be a part of, and that journey always begins with the idea of hope, that there’s something better out there, worth risking their heart for. Hope is what helps us face the day, allows us to get through the worst of times with the expectation – the hope – that better days are ahead.

Nowhere is this idea of hope so brilliantly illustrated than in this book, a poignant, heartachingly tender second chance romance between the once married Wren and Ellis Byrd who, five years post-divorce, are beginning to realize that they might still be harboring feelings for each other.

The two married young, when an unplanned teen pregnancy forces them to grow up far quicker than anticipated. Although, the argument could be made that Ellis, a firefighter who lost his mom as a child and essentially was tasked with raising his younger siblings, has always been a grown up. For a while things are good and even while struggling with all the responsibilities thrust upon them, Wren, a baker, and Ellis, muddle through, deeply in love and committed to being the best parents they can be.

Unfortunately though, real life is hard and sometimes, even the love you’ve had for the boy you’ve known all your life isn’t quite enough and Wren asks for a divorce and Ellis is all too willing to comply. There’s bitterness and resentment compounded by infertility, an ectopic pregnancy resulting in emergency surgery for Wren, parental health issues, and pretty soon, the metaphorical house that Wren and Ellis built so painstakingly comes crumbling down.

Cut to present day and the two are on the cusp of becoming empty nesters when Sam, their only child, is about to graduate high school and go off to college. Ellis has come to realize through a series of events that he is still deeply in love with his ex-wife and convinces her to go on a road trip with him, one part celebration for successfully coparenting their son and sending him off to college and one part a journey to see whether they might have a second chance at getting it right.

What follows is a jouney of healing, of opening up, revealing their deepest hurts and laying themselves bare, both figuratively and literally. There is sex (whoa, these two have some seriously hot sex), but the sex is so very emotionally initmate that at times, I felt like I was peeking in on something I shouldn’t be. The trip is both hilarious and heartwarming, and Ellis and Wren have to come to terms with the mistakes of the past before they can commit to a future together.

One of the best things about this book aside from the two MCs and the glorious romance unfolding between them, are the side characters, specifically Ellis’ siblings and Wren’s mom and their son, who are all incredibly nosy and well-meaning and highly invested in the outcome of this road trip. What I really love is that even with the two of them divorced, their extended family have remained a part of both their lives. Wren spends holidays with Ellis and his siblings, Ellis helps his former mother-in-law with her yard work, this is a tight knit bond that has not dissipated with the dissolution of their marriage.

And in fact, their family is so invested that a trip that starts off with separate hotel rooms quickly devolves into situations with only one cabin with only one bed and only one tent. There’s an entire community of loving friends and family urging them on but only Wren and Ellis get the final say on how their relationship evolves. The ending is so sweet and lovely and tender, it honestly made me a little emotional reading it.

This is ultimately a beautiful romance about two people who had every reason to lose all hope and yet…all it took was the tiniest spark of hope to build into a flame that could just last for whatever is left of forever.

Content Notes: reproductive health issues, mentions of grief, mentions of therapy, parental loss, burn injuries, mentions of hospitalization

Left of Forever is book two Tarah DeWitt’s Spunes series but it is not necessary to read Savor It (book one) first.

I am a sucker for second chance romance!! I was so invested in Ellis & Wren’s relationship. They had so much chemistry and you could just feel the love they still had for each other. After Wren kissed him for the first time and Ellis said “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 done for. Ellis had me swooning right along with Wren for the entire book. There are so many other moments that I could quote but for the sake of time (and the length of this review lol) I’ll limit it to just that one.

My only complaint was that the beginning stuff ( the letters to be exact) almost felt like it was out of place almost (if that makes sense?). Like it was just extra content we didn’t really need. I liked the little bit of background it provided and that they wrapped it up by adopting the horses at the end but I felt as though the story didn’t really need it. It just created unnecessary drama while they were camping that was immediately wrapped up on the next page. Not to mention that there is no way Wren didn’t recognize Ellis’ handwriting after being married for as long as they were (not to mention that they were friends long before they started dating so I find it very hard to believe she didn’t recognize his handwriting).

Overall I really really enjoyed Left of Forever and I am looking forward to reading Savor It and whatever comes next in the world of Spunes. Looking forward to rereading this one too!!


Thank you to NetGalley, Tarah DeWitt and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

If you're a sucker for second-chance marriage romances like I am, this is the book you've been waiting for. It follows two high school sweethearts who, after years of growing apart, find themselves strangers under the same roof. But a road trip — the one they should have taken years ago — becomes the turning point that brings them back to each other.

It's tender, heartfelt, and full of those quiet moments that make your chest ache in the best way. The chemistry, the history, the what could’ve been — it’s all here, and it’s done so beautifully. This is everything you want in a second-chance story, especially one rooted in marriage rather than new love.

I honestly can't say much more without spoiling it, but just trust me: GO READ THIS ONE. This trope is rare and precious, and this book absolutely nails it.

This is my first time reading anything from DeWitt and I completely get the hype. I’m not someone that looks for second chance romances because I feel that they often leave much to be desired but I believe DeWitt nailed it. She managed how incandescent the yearning was, how lingering and overwhelming it was. The chemistry between Wren and Ellis was white hot but also sweet. Their separation makes so much sense.

I’ve kind of soured on contemporary romance these days because DeWitt and Danielle Allen definitely give me hope.

This was heart-wrenching, beautiful, sweet, and so sexy. What a wonderful read. I can’t wait for everyone to read this!

I am going to need every second chance romance written by Tarah Dewitt!

The angst and attraction between our main characters Wren and Ellis was EVERYTHING. I am always looking for a good second chance romance and this delivered. I loved how fast this book captivated my attention and how invested I was on the characters from the very start. All characters are very likable and relatable which is always important to me when I pick up a book. I also loved that the characters face very realistic obstacles in their relationship that life throws at all of us. Finally, I really liked the that the book highlights the importance of taking care of our mental health and how that benefits every aspect of our relationships.

The only reason it lost a star for me it’s because I thought the ending was slightly underwhelming. I felt like I was in a high and then just felt flat. I still LOVED the story though and thought the love story was so unique. I had the best time reading this and will always recommend it!

Thanks to the publisher for providing a free eARC.

Another Tarah Dewitt smash hit

Heartwarming and horny with a devastating emotional punch

As with every Tarah Dewitt book, while it starts off slow with a lot of setup and character building, this book has such an emotional back half with such endearing characters. Her books are always heartwrenching, sweet, and full of love, but this one specifically felt so much deeper. I don't know what it was, but I felt so much more connected to Wren and Ellis than any of her other characters. The pure free-falling bliss of these two coming back together at the end was so beautiful and unique, and I can't stop crying thinking about it.

Ellis Byrd is my dream man. I love these two so, so much. This is Tarah's best work yet.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Book: Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt @authortarahdewitt
Genre: Romance
Pub Date: May 20, 2025

I absolutely adored this book!! Left of Forever is one of those second chance romances that makes you feel everything—heartbreak, and so much hope. Wren and Ellis were high school sweethearts, had their son as teenagers, and eventually divorced. But life keeps pulling them back to each other. When their son heads off to college, a road trip becomes the spark that might just rewrite their story.

This book felt beautifully grounded in real life and real love. Tarah DeWitt writes with such emotional honesty—every look, every silence, every tender moment between Wren and Ellis hit me right in the heart. Their history added so much weight to their romance, and watching them navigate grief, growth, and intimacy after years apart was genuinely moving. And yes… I cried (more than once). The slow burn was worth every second, and getting glimpses of familiar faces in Spunes made it feel like coming home. If you love emotional second chance romances with heart, depth, and characters who yearn, this book is not to be missed.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @stmartinspressSt. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin for sending me this lovely eARC in exchange for my honest

#LeftofForever #netgalley #arc #arcreview

“We have whatever’s left of forever, you and me.” ❤️‍🩹🏕️✍🏼🗺️

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt has to be the BEST second chance romance I have ever read in my life!

If you know me, you know I rarely cry with books. Well, I sobbed my way through the last 36% of this book. This book finished me! I’m still at the restaurant sobbing into a baked Brie with jalapeño jelly and herbed crostini. 😭

This book completely altered my brain chemistry and my soul. Wren and Ellis’s story is so heartbreaking, filled with vulnerability, rawness, and so much tension. Weaved within all of that is banter that will make you laugh, moments that will make you swoon, and conversations that will make you cry tears of happiness.

If you want a captivating and unputdownable book that grips you from the very beginning, this book is it!

– second chance romance (after divorce)
– divorced couple (they still love each other)
– LOTS OF YEARNING
– the Byrd family (the best!)
– mildly chaotic roadtrip
– beautiful slow burn romance

In the second interconnected standalone set in the world of Spunes, OR, we follow Ellis and Wren. The pair had their son fairly young and were soon married until eventually divorce became inevitable. Now it is years later and their son, Sam, is going off to college. Ellis convinces Wren to take a roadtrip with him, after they drop their son off at college, in hopes of rekindling their past relationship. Wren agrees and the two embark on an emotional journey where they must confront their past to maintain their future.

Ugh. THIS is how you do a second chance romance. I enjoyed Savor It, but I LOVED this book. It's so clear that Wren and Ellis never got over each other. However, this book highlights how marriage is about so much more than loving someone. It's work and continual maintenance and most importantly, communication. Ellis and Wren have to hash out all the ugly parts of themselves, but what they have in the end is so beautiful. This book had me laughing, swooning, and all in the feels. Phenomenal book!