I really enjoyed Left of Forever! Tarah Dewitt has such a great way of writing characters that feel real and emotionally layered. The chemistry between the leads was solid, and I found myself rooting for them the whole way through. It had that perfect mix of heart and humor, with just enough angst to keep things interesting without being too heavy. If you love emotional romances with a bit of a slow burn, this one’s definitely worth picking up.

This was a really sweet book overall! I thoroughly enjoyed it, but it did take me a little bit to get into it. This is a story of kind of the ultimate second chance. Young love divorced, and can they reconcile and come back together? I loved how the whole extended family was involved/silently (not so silently) rooting for the pair. I think the communication they had during their reconciliation was really good, and did not feel off at all. This was a very fun road trip, second chance love story!

Second chance PERFECTION!!!!!🩷🩷🩷😭😭😭 Infinity stars!!⭐️

Wren and Ellis were SOOOO HOT AND PERFECT and the audiobook was everything I needed and more!!!🥹
The narrators were SO outstanding and delicious and I really think it made my experience reading the book so much more enjoyable! 🩷

But as far as the storyline? SO BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN!! Tarah’s writing blew my mind!! She made these characters so full of love & emotions and with experiences that I’m sure so many can relate to (TW: miscarriage) it truly made my heart ache so bad 😭😭😪
I adored the way they found their way back to each other, as well as the growth each character showed individually.

The yearning was my absolute favorite!!!!😍 The way they described how they felt about one another had me DROOLING!!!! 🥵

This book proved day second chance romance will forever be my favorite trope!! There’s something about having the chance to love someone again when the love never went away for either one that is absolutely breathless and beautiful! 🩵

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC and ALC!

This book! I absolutely loved this book. When Ellis said “she was still a Byrd” in Savor It I knew they’d be back around.

I really liked the back story and the maturity throughout the book. You could definitely feel the personalization that Tarah gave throughout the book.

The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is I just wish the last 1/4 of the book had been a bit longer. The last 3 days of their trip seemed short along with after the trip as well.

Thank you so much for the eARC of this book. I can’t wait for the next one!

I need a stiff drink, a hug, a cig because Wren and Ellis took me on a journey and I'm so glad I went.

This was grown and sexy, so adult, so unafraid to "go there" with complex feelings ykwim? From the co-parenting to the trip to the communication, its a very smart book. I would recommend this to people who aren't afraid to challenge themselves intellectually. I feel like my EQ and my IQ both got higher from reading. Thanks DeWitt, you're a real one!!

Read for:

-Evocative emotional prose
-A couple who finally get it right and earn their HEA by communicating
-Realistic reasons for their separation in the first place

Read This Book If…you love a second chance romance!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

Genre: romance
Series: Spunes, OR # 2
Spice Level: 4/5🌶, 3-4 explicit scenes
Setting: small town in Oregon
POV: dual, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: second chance, secret pen pals, road trip, one bed

Audiobook Thoughts: This was dual narrated and I enjoyed both narrators! Their performance made for excellent storytelling.

My Thoughts:
Oops, second chance romance remains one of my top tropes!!! You just can’t beat the shared history between the main characters and this one was particularly stunning!

You’ve got high school sweethearts who got pregnant way too young, carried way too much baggage, and eventually gave up.

But the way both characters grew up during their time apart was beautiful! They both really put in the work and we love to see it.

I’ve loved everything Tarah has written and I especially enjoyed the cameo of one of her previous couples! I can’t wait to see what (and who) is next in Spunes! While this is the second book in the series, they are true standalones.

Memorable Quote: “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.”

Thank you to the publisher for my advance copy!

This was everything I want in a second-chance romance—sexy, emotional, and achingly real. The writing was intentional, the character growth was so well-earned, and Wren and Ellis’s journey felt both heartbreaking and hopeful. The absolute adoration these two share for each other was evident in every page.

Their chemistry was amazing, but it was the raw, honest conversations and questions —and each of their moments of deep vulnerability—that made this book so so incredible. I also adored the Byrd family’s quiet (and sometimes very loud) support.

Every time Ellis cried I nearly lost it myself. He may very well now be in top 3 book husbands for me. I'm going to need a few business days to recover from their renewed vows.

Listening to the audiobook, Megan Wicks has such a unique, edgy voice that was absolutely perfect for Wren. Connor Crais is also *chef's kiss* every time. This was so so well done I need to go listen again, I just wish I could re-listen for the first time!

AND ONE MORE MOMENT FOR THE COVER OF THIS BOOK ARE WE KIDDING. I can't wait for my preorder to arrive so for the trophy shelf.

PS I was kind of a hater of Savor It but have loved everything else I read from Tarah DeWitt so now I'm questioning whether or not I was okay when I listened to it. Will be revisiting ASAP. 😂

I think my expectations for this book may have done it a bit of a disservice. DeWitt's characters and her writing style have always resonated with me on such an emotional level, and she does a fantastic job at allowing us to watch her characters grow through their struggles or even move out of their own way.

While I feel like we get that with Ellis and Wren finally admitting they still have feelings for the other, I think their reconciliation lacked the depth I would have expected from two people who have been apart for so long and who fell apart the way that they did.

The scenery and concept behind their "journey" and trip together was beautiful and fun, I just didn't buy into their relationship because I feel like steps were missing. It is almost as if these 2 characters were frozen in time and picked up right where they left off....there wasn't enough exploration into resolving what broke them (other than short little games) or who they are currently.

Overall still a book I would recommend, it just fell a little flat for me.

This book was everything to me. The writing was so beautiful and I loved reading about these characters opening up to each other. So tender and sexy It didn't lag for one page. This is a masterclass second chance romance, which is often myleast favorite trope. Truly phenomenal.

Left of Forever was such a whirlwind of emotion for me.

This book is a beautifully written second-chance romance that perfectly captures the reality of long-term relationships...how we handle hardships and conflict, the fear and vulnerability that come with reconnecting after years apart, and that LONGING AND YEARNING that never quite fades. For me, it was the perfect balance between heartache vulnerability, and hope, laughter and longing.

I loved how real this story felt. It was funny at times, heartbreaking at others, but always rooted in something that felt so incredibly human and honest. I fell completely in love with both characters and really felt like, as the reader, I got a front-row seat to their personal growth. Watching them work through past wounds, learn to communicate better, and rediscover what pulled them together and apart in the first place was so special and so important.

The side characters were also so easy to love. Even though this book is part of a series and I haven’t read the others yet, I never felt lost. If anything, it made me even more excited to go back and read Tarah DeWitt’s earlier work.

What a great read. I'm still thinking about it.

The second chance romance! The pining! The tension!! I cannot even explain how much I love these characters. I truly will never be over Ellis and Wren’s story. "She's still a Byrd" !!!

Tarah Dewitt knows how to craft an emotional love story that feels so layered and realistic. The characters are incredibly well developed, I felt like I was in the story with them. I literally laughed and cried with them along the way.

I love being in the town of Spunes, and I really hope to go back because these characters and this town left such a mark on me!

Thank you to St. Martin’s press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc :)

Tarah is slowly becoming one of my favorite romance authors. In this book I think you see the culmination of years of honing her craft. She makes relationships so real, so painfully honest, that it's sometimes hard to watch. It's too personal. She writes like she's trying to teach you something, like she's your mom sitting you down for a lesson in how to love after your first date with a boy.

Everything about this book shines. It is a classic rom-com with raw heart and my god do I recommend it.

Oh now THIS makes me understand the Tarah DeWitt hype! 🙌🏼 An emotional second chance romance, filled with humor and tension filled spice.

🏕️ Second Chance
🌕 Childhood Friends to Lovers
🏕️ Divorced Couple
🌕 Road Trip to Reconnect
🏕️ Soulmates

Now let it firstly be said if you didn't like the Co-Op (much like myself), I really implore you to give this book a try! For me, this really changed my opinion on the author and I do think most people would enjoy this. I also really wish I had read Savor It before this to get the full effect and backstory, but even without it I loved it! 🫶🏼

Now Wren and Ellis have know each other since they were children (they met when they were five! 🥹) They've shared so much of their lives together, and gave each other so many of their firsts. They were friends, to young lovers, to parents, to spouses, to inevitably two divorced people who were hurt so badly but are deep down still so much in love. Watching them journey their way back to one other was deeply emotional and incredibly beautiful.

The writing in this was so good! Romantic, with a mixture of tear jerking emotion and humor. There were so many quotes that really resonated with me (yes even me a single never been married woman with no kids 😅). That's why I feel so strongly that most people would enjoy this. It just HITS.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the insane YEARNING coming from both of these characters, but especially Ellis! All he wanted was his wife back, and he did everything in his power to make it so.

Even in the most scandalous of moments between these two finally getting frisky (yes slow burn to the max at times), it's soaked with such emotion. Everything is heightened and you're right there holding your breath with them, feeling everything all at once.

I'm obsessed with this whole Byrd family now, and I will be going back to Savor it for Sage and Fisher's story. I'm assuming Tarah is going to write about the other two Byrd brothers in the future too, which I'm excited about (especially Silas! 😍)

Overall, really enjoyed it! Very rarely do I feel so much for a second chance romance, but this was a good exception. I'd absolutely recommend it 🤗

I absolutely loved this book. Ever since I read Savor It, I knew Ellis and Wren were special and my excitement for their book just increased as time went on. For it to once again be spring and getting to be back in Spunes with the Byrd family, just one year after I first met this wonderful fictional family, felt so special. This story is achingly sweet and tender and funny. Ellis is a man who YEARNS! I was living for every moment of him working to get his wife back. And Wren was lovely and relatable and I adore her. Tarah is a star. I will read anything she writes, especially if it's in Spunes.

I have been absolutely feral with anticipation for Wren and Ellis’s story ever since meeting them in the first Spunes novel, Savor It. It was clear that, despite being divorced, their story wasn’t over—and I was desperate to understand what had torn their marriage apart, and whether they might find their way back to each other.

Let me tell you: Tarah did not disappoint. She pulled out all the stops in this beautiful, heartbreaking, and tender marriage-in-trouble love story that radiates hope and love. My heart ached for these two from the very first page. It was evident they loved each other deeply but after having grown up together, they had grown apart through their circumstances.

I absolutely loved everything about this novel. Wren and Ellis deserve so much happiness, and I’m so grateful to Tarah for writing their story with such honesty and compassion. She captures the struggles of real-life relationships, showing two people willing to be vulnerable, to grow—both separately and together—and to fight for a second chance.

This book was SO good. Second chance done right, Left of Forever tells the story of Wren and Ellis Byrd, childhood sweethearts who are now divorced co-parents re-considering what may have been and could still be. The writing was bewitching, sumptuous, and sensual. I read and adored the first book in the Spunes series, Savor It (highly recommend!), but even if you haven't, these characters will captivate and charm you. Definitely check out Left of Forever for a sweet and spicy romance that tugs at the heart strings!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I loved returning to Spunes and getting a deeper look into Wren and Ellis. I have been liking these romance novels with 30+yo MCs more and more lately as I can relate, being late-30s myself, more than to the teenage angst anymore. I enjoyed reading the story of two parents reconnecting after a divorce, can definitely relate to kids and life getting in the way of a good marriage to your best friend. Their reconciliation did seem too easy at some points, but the tension and banter made up for it.

You can expect:
Second-chance Romance
Divorced Couple
Birthday Road Trip
Forced Proximity
Pining and Flirting
Care while Sick
Small PNW Town

Tarah said she didn't think she would ever write a sequel until this couple jumped out at her, but now I'm wondering if another sibling will get a story too, it seemed like it could be set up that way at the end. I would love to continue reading an interconnected series with all the Byrd siblings, they're all such well-rounded characters that deserve their own story.

I finished this book in a day!!

You can’t help but root for Ellis and Wren. Tarah DeWitt has accomplished something astonishing. She has written a romance that is perfectly balanced. It balances love and friendship, humor and banter with vulnerability, and tension, longing, PINING, and flirting with joy, reconciliation, and intimacy.

This book is for the hopeless romantic who believes in second chances and true, great loves. Ellis and Wren lost their way and ended up getting divorced. After 5 years apart maybe they’ll be ready to find their way back to each other.

Ellis Byrd is YEARNING and so down bad for his WIFE. He is patient and puts in the work to try and reconcile. I loved him going to therapy, not as a tactic, but because he knew he needed to get himself right before their potential second chance.

Wren is so brave and fierce. Opening herself up to a second chance and prioritizing herself again. They are destined for each other in every lifetime. I adore the epistolary element in this book, through letters, emails, and journal entries.

Tarah has written such a romantic and tender novel and I need you all to read it.
Please read Savor It first because if gives some context to the main family featured in this story.

This book almost destroyed me with its quotes. Here are just a couple I loved.

“I’ll love you for whatever we have left of forever”.

“ALL I KNOW IS THAT IF HEAVEN IS REAL AND I GOT THERE FIRST, ID HANG BACK IN THE WAITING ROOM AND SAVE YOU A SEAT”

5 fat shining stars!! Oh gosh I love Tarah Dewitt so much. Savor It and The Co-op were some of my favorite reads of 2024, so I was thrilled to get an ARC of one of my most anticipated reads of 2025! And let me tell you: I already thought Tarah was great, but she has outdone herself with Left of Forever.

This book was made for me. I was so excited to be back in Spunes, Oregan (not to be confused with Forks); I just love inter-connected standalones where you get to see all your favorite characters again. Not only was I smitten to be with the Byrd’s aka my favorite family, but it was a SECOND CHANCE romance? I mean come on, my favorite trope.

This book was everything. It made me laugh and cry (a lot), and it was so deeply romantic in a way that I expect from Tarah but still made me swoon none-the-less. This story also has a lot of plot packed into a pretty short and quick book: secret letter writing, mental health representation, a road-trip, and of course a meddling family. Speaking of, I NEED a Silas book, please and thank you.

Do yourself a favor and read Savor It before this one (and maybe The Co-op too)… just trust me. Now that this book is over, I’m honestly crashing out because I’ll never be a Byrd.

Thank you so much to SMP and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

"She's kissing me. I'm home."

Read if you like:
- Childhood Friends to Lovers
- Second Chance
- Small Town

Tarah, you have captured my heart with Wren & Ellis.

As someone who absolutely adored Savor It, Left of Forever was one of my most anticipated reads. AND I am pleased to say, it has become one of my favorite reads of the year.

Left of Forever follows Wren and Ellis - two small town kids who fell in love, have a child young, and build their life together. That is, until they begin to fall apart. Now in their 30s, the two may live separate lives, but their feelings for each other keep their hearts connected. After helping their son move into college together, the pair decide to extend their road trip back home. Can they give their relationship one last chance?

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

As a reader, I felt an undeniable connection to Wren & Ellis. Their character growth, their flaws, their hearts, and their relatability. Two yearning filled characters, who dive into a forced proximity road trip, across the beautiful backdrop of the West Coast, rekindling open communication, and not shying away from the deeper feelings. An emotional, soulmate driven, steamy, second chance romance, with a 5 star quality I will endlessly recommend.

Will they make the most of what’s left of forever? You’ll have to read to find out! Mark your calendars for May 20th. Tarah’s writing is beautiful from beginning to end.

Thank you Tarah, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for my gifted ARC, and Macmillan Audio for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.